{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":0.0,"endTime":2.417,"body":"(racy music)"},{"startTime":4.86,"endTime":8.07,"body":"- The last half a century"},{"startTime":8.07,"endTime":10.71,"body":"has seen a transformation"},{"startTime":10.71,"endTime":14.4,"body":"in historians' attitudes to the Vikings."},{"startTime":14.4,"endTime":17.07,"body":"The traditional picture of them"},{"startTime":17.07,"endTime":20.13,"body":"was that of plundering psychopaths"},{"startTime":20.13,"endTime":22.23,"body":"in helmets and beards"},{"startTime":22.23,"endTime":25.743,"body":"who destroyed civilization"},{"startTime":22.23,"endTime":25.743,"body":"wherever they found it."},{"startTime":26.82,"endTime":29.37,"body":"From the 1970s,"},{"startTime":29.37,"endTime":33.84,"body":"Peter Sawyer led the way"},{"startTime":29.37,"endTime":33.84,"body":"to a more supportive view,"},{"startTime":33.84,"endTime":38.07,"body":"arguing that the Vikings were"},{"startTime":33.84,"endTime":38.07,"body":"great civilisers themselves,"},{"startTime":38.07,"endTime":40.74,"body":"as explorers, traders,"},{"startTime":40.74,"endTime":43.8,"body":"founders of towns and kingdoms"},{"startTime":43.8,"endTime":48.21,"body":"and talented poets and craftspeople."},{"startTime":48.21,"endTime":52.86,"body":"It seems now that both views are true."},{"startTime":52.86,"endTime":55.05,"body":"They arrived as looters"},{"startTime":55.05,"endTime":59.97,"body":"and turned into farmers,"},{"startTime":55.05,"endTime":59.97,"body":"traders and town builders."},{"startTime":59.97,"endTime":62.64,"body":"They certainly did all"},{"startTime":59.97,"endTime":62.64,"body":"the wonderful things"},{"startTime":62.64,"endTime":64.86,"body":"that Sawyer has described,"},{"startTime":64.86,"endTime":68.07,"body":"but only when they stopped being Vikings."},{"startTime":68.07,"endTime":72.99,"body":"The term Viking means"},{"startTime":68.07,"endTime":72.99,"body":"a Scandinavian raider,"},{"startTime":72.99,"endTime":75.84,"body":"not trader or settler."},{"startTime":75.84,"endTime":77.55,"body":"And when they were Vikings,"},{"startTime":77.55,"endTime":79.89,"body":"they were every bit as nasty"},{"startTime":79.89,"endTime":82.59,"body":"as the traditional picture made them."},{"startTime":82.59,"endTime":85.14,"body":"They were not driven"},{"startTime":82.59,"endTime":85.14,"body":"to attack other peoples"},{"startTime":85.14,"endTime":87.42,"body":"by population pressure."},{"startTime":87.42,"endTime":91.5,"body":"They came to plunder when"},{"startTime":87.42,"endTime":91.5,"body":"expanding trade works"},{"startTime":91.5,"endTime":94.8,"body":"revealed how rich Europe further south was"},{"startTime":94.8,"endTime":98.37,"body":"and how poor they were by comparison."},{"startTime":98.37,"endTime":102.06,"body":"They at first especially"},{"startTime":98.37,"endTime":102.06,"body":"attacked monasteries"},{"startTime":102.06,"endTime":104.91,"body":"built on seashores and peninsulas"},{"startTime":104.91,"endTime":107.79,"body":"to afford their occupant seclusion,"},{"startTime":107.79,"endTime":110.2,"body":"and now easy targets"},{"startTime":111.87,"endTime":113.82,"body":"to seaborne enemies."},{"startTime":113.82,"endTime":117.63,"body":"And the loss of much early"},{"startTime":113.82,"endTime":117.63,"body":"Anglo-Saxon literature"},{"startTime":117.63,"endTime":121.443,"body":"can probably be blamed"},{"startTime":117.63,"endTime":121.443,"body":"on the Viking raiders."},{"startTime":122.49,"endTime":124.95,"body":"It is a simple truth"},{"startTime":124.95,"endTime":127.41,"body":"that Scandinavian literature,"},{"startTime":127.41,"endTime":129.66,"body":"which derives from"},{"startTime":129.66,"endTime":132.84,"body":"or celebrates the Viking age,"},{"startTime":132.84,"endTime":136.8,"body":"shows an admiration"},{"startTime":132.84,"endTime":136.8,"body":"for psychotic violence,"},{"startTime":136.8,"endTime":140.28,"body":"which is rare in most cultures."},{"startTime":140.28,"endTime":141.69,"body":"For example,"},{"startTime":141.69,"endTime":144.03,"body":"there's a heartwarming story"},{"startTime":144.03,"endTime":146.28,"body":"about a school sports day"},{"startTime":146.28,"endTime":149.49,"body":"from \"Egil's Saga Skalla-Grímssonar\""},{"startTime":149.49,"endTime":153.39,"body":"which means \"The Story of"},{"startTime":149.49,"endTime":153.39,"body":"Egil, Son of Grímr the Bald,\""},{"startTime":153.39,"endTime":155.823,"body":"who's an actual historical character."},{"startTime":157.29,"endTime":160.38,"body":"This is what happens"},{"startTime":157.29,"endTime":160.38,"body":"when he's six years old."},{"startTime":160.38,"endTime":161.43,"body":"Early in the winter,"},{"startTime":161.43,"endTime":163.35,"body":"a ball game was arranged"},{"startTime":163.35,"endTime":166.56,"body":"to which people came from"},{"startTime":163.35,"endTime":166.56,"body":"all over the district."},{"startTime":166.56,"endTime":169.83,"body":"Egil asked a teenage"},{"startTime":166.56,"endTime":169.83,"body":"friend to take him along."},{"startTime":169.83,"endTime":172.44,"body":"There were lots of"},{"startTime":169.83,"endTime":172.44,"body":"youngsters at the gathering"},{"startTime":172.44,"endTime":175.38,"body":"and they were given"},{"startTime":172.44,"endTime":175.38,"body":"their own separate game."},{"startTime":175.38,"endTime":178.586,"body":"Egil was to play against"},{"startTime":175.38,"endTime":178.586,"body":"a boy called Grim,"},{"startTime":178.586,"endTime":181.89,"body":"10 or or 11 years old"},{"startTime":178.586,"endTime":181.89,"body":"and strong for his age."},{"startTime":181.89,"endTime":184.38,"body":"The game began and Egil proved the weaker,"},{"startTime":184.38,"endTime":187.41,"body":"while Grim made the most of his strength."},{"startTime":187.41,"endTime":189.0,"body":"Then Egil got so angry,"},{"startTime":189.0,"endTime":192.42,"body":"he lifted the bat and"},{"startTime":189.0,"endTime":192.42,"body":"struck at Grim with it,"},{"startTime":192.42,"endTime":194.25,"body":"but Grim picked him up,"},{"startTime":194.25,"endTime":196.773,"body":"flung into the ground and beat him up."},{"startTime":198.21,"endTime":200.22,"body":"He said that if Egil didn't behave,"},{"startTime":200.22,"endTime":202.08,"body":"he'd really hurt him."},{"startTime":202.08,"endTime":204.18,"body":"Egil scrambled back into his feet"},{"startTime":204.18,"endTime":205.53,"body":"and left the field"},{"startTime":205.53,"endTime":207.933,"body":"with the other youngsters jeering at him."},{"startTime":208.92,"endTime":212.67,"body":"So Egil then got a thick bladed ax"},{"startTime":212.67,"endTime":215.13,"body":"and went back to the sports field."},{"startTime":215.13,"endTime":217.17,"body":"Grim had just caught the ball"},{"startTime":217.17,"endTime":220.38,"body":"and was racing along with"},{"startTime":217.17,"endTime":220.38,"body":"the other boys after him."},{"startTime":220.38,"endTime":223.8,"body":"Egil ran up to him and"},{"startTime":220.38,"endTime":223.8,"body":"drove the ax into his head"},{"startTime":223.8,"endTime":226.35,"body":"straight through his brain."},{"startTime":226.35,"endTime":227.85,"body":"After that, the adults"},{"startTime":227.85,"endTime":230.94,"body":"divided into two opinions over the matter"},{"startTime":230.94,"endTime":234.153,"body":"and got into a fight in"},{"startTime":230.94,"endTime":234.153,"body":"which seven men were killed."},{"startTime":235.2,"endTime":236.79,"body":"When Egil came home,"},{"startTime":236.79,"endTime":240.45,"body":"his father made it clear"},{"startTime":236.79,"endTime":240.45,"body":"he was far from pleased,"},{"startTime":240.45,"endTime":241.977,"body":"but his mother said that Egil"},{"startTime":241.977,"endTime":244.89,"body":"had the makings of a real Viking"},{"startTime":244.89,"endTime":247.77,"body":"and it was obvious that as"},{"startTime":244.89,"endTime":247.77,"body":"soon as he was old enough,"},{"startTime":247.77,"endTime":250.26,"body":"he ought to be given fighting ships."},{"startTime":250.26,"endTime":251.093,"body":"Ah."},{"startTime":251.093,"endTime":251.926,"body":"(audience laughing)"},{"startTime":251.926,"endTime":255.57,"body":"Egil grew up to be a"},{"startTime":251.926,"endTime":255.57,"body":"great poet and warrior,"},{"startTime":255.57,"endTime":259.38,"body":"but with continued anger management issues"},{"startTime":259.38,"endTime":262.713,"body":"as the modern picture"},{"startTime":259.38,"endTime":262.713,"body":"on the board suggests."},{"startTime":264.03,"endTime":267.96,"body":"A different example is a poem"},{"startTime":267.96,"endTime":270.09,"body":"by Bjorn Cripplehand,"},{"startTime":270.09,"endTime":273.9,"body":"court poet of the Norse"},{"startTime":270.09,"endTime":273.9,"body":"king Magnus Bareleg's,"},{"startTime":273.9,"endTime":278.04,"body":"about the king's cruise"},{"startTime":273.9,"endTime":278.04,"body":"through the Hebrides in 1098."},{"startTime":278.04,"endTime":280.203,"body":"Now, this is a contemporary account."},{"startTime":281.227,"endTime":284.34,"body":"\"In Louis Isle with fearful blades,"},{"startTime":284.34,"endTime":287.61,"body":"our house destroying fire plays."},{"startTime":287.61,"endTime":290.43,"body":"To hills and rocks, the people fly,"},{"startTime":290.43,"endTime":293.43,"body":"fearing all shelter, but the sky."},{"startTime":293.43,"endTime":296.7,"body":"In uest, the king deep crimson made,"},{"startTime":296.7,"endTime":299.52,"body":"the lightning of his glancing blade."},{"startTime":299.52,"endTime":302.25,"body":"The peasant lost his land and life"},{"startTime":302.25,"endTime":305.55,"body":"who dared to buy the Norseman's strife."},{"startTime":305.55,"endTime":308.85,"body":"The hungry battle birds were filled in sky"},{"startTime":308.85,"endTime":311.55,"body":"with blood of locals killed."},{"startTime":311.55,"endTime":314.97,"body":"And wolves on Tyree's lonely shore"},{"startTime":314.97,"endTime":318.45,"body":"dyed red their hairy jaws in gore."},{"startTime":318.45,"endTime":321.15,"body":"The men of Mal were tired of flight,"},{"startTime":321.15,"endTime":323.85,"body":"the Scottish foreman would not fight."},{"startTime":323.85,"endTime":326.97,"body":"And many an island girlies wail"},{"startTime":326.97,"endTime":330.15,"body":"was heard as through the isles we sail,"},{"startTime":330.15,"endTime":333.87,"body":"et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."},{"startTime":333.87,"endTime":335.97,"body":"Magnus, should be noted,"},{"startTime":335.97,"endTime":338.64,"body":"ruled at a relatively late period"},{"startTime":338.64,"endTime":340.77,"body":"when Vikings were Christian"},{"startTime":340.77,"endTime":344.493,"body":"and regarded as much more"},{"startTime":340.77,"endTime":344.493,"body":"civilized than before."},{"startTime":345.78,"endTime":349.26,"body":"As heathens, the initial Viking Raiders"},{"startTime":349.26,"endTime":350.88,"body":"were especially terrible"},{"startTime":350.88,"endTime":353.85,"body":"to the Christian societies they struck"},{"startTime":353.85,"endTime":356.43,"body":"because they despoiled churches"},{"startTime":356.43,"endTime":359.16,"body":"and carried off clergy as slaves."},{"startTime":359.16,"endTime":362.55,"body":"They became, in fact, the"},{"startTime":359.16,"endTime":362.55,"body":"greatest slave traders"},{"startTime":362.55,"endTime":364.95,"body":"of the northern world."},{"startTime":364.95,"endTime":368.91,"body":"So what is the evidence"},{"startTime":364.95,"endTime":368.91,"body":"for their paganism?"},{"startTime":368.91,"endTime":371.52,"body":"The great traditional source"},{"startTime":371.52,"endTime":374.64,"body":"is medieval Scandinavian literature,"},{"startTime":374.64,"endTime":377.4,"body":"especially that from Iceland."},{"startTime":377.4,"endTime":382.4,"body":"This however, all dates"},{"startTime":377.4,"endTime":382.4,"body":"from 150 to 400 years"},{"startTime":383.22,"endTime":386.4,"body":"after the conversion to Christianity."},{"startTime":386.4,"endTime":389.13,"body":"It consists of scholarly works,"},{"startTime":389.13,"endTime":391.5,"body":"poetry or sagas,"},{"startTime":391.5,"endTime":393.93,"body":"which are long prose tales."},{"startTime":393.93,"endTime":397.56,"body":"Our problem is that"},{"startTime":393.93,"endTime":397.56,"body":"medieval Icelandic writers"},{"startTime":397.56,"endTime":399.06,"body":"were not only Christian,"},{"startTime":399.06,"endTime":401.88,"body":"but really sophisticated."},{"startTime":401.88,"endTime":406.88,"body":"All but 40 of the 1,600"},{"startTime":401.88,"endTime":406.88,"body":"surviving Icelandic sagas"},{"startTime":408.57,"endTime":410.7,"body":"are about foreign subjects,"},{"startTime":410.7,"endTime":413.91,"body":"such as the Trojan War, Charlemagne,"},{"startTime":413.91,"endTime":418.47,"body":"Biblical characters and Christian saints."},{"startTime":418.47,"endTime":421.8,"body":"The main sources of the"},{"startTime":418.47,"endTime":421.8,"body":"scholars and saga-writers"},{"startTime":421.8,"endTime":425.31,"body":"for northern paganism were poems"},{"startTime":425.31,"endTime":428.97,"body":"which they may no longer"},{"startTime":425.31,"endTime":428.97,"body":"have fully understood."},{"startTime":428.97,"endTime":430.74,"body":"Their portraits of it"},{"startTime":430.74,"endTime":432.93,"body":"may also have been influenced"},{"startTime":432.93,"endTime":435.12,"body":"by the later paganism"},{"startTime":435.12,"endTime":438.0,"body":"of the Slav and Baltic peoples"},{"startTime":438.0,"endTime":442.62,"body":"against whom the Christian"},{"startTime":438.0,"endTime":442.62,"body":"Scandinavians launched crusades,"},{"startTime":442.62,"endTime":446.163,"body":"with their large, well-built temples."},{"startTime":447.33,"endTime":449.343,"body":"As a result of all this,"},{"startTime":450.33,"endTime":452.67,"body":"those portraits seem to be a mixture"},{"startTime":452.67,"endTime":455.88,"body":"of old native tradition,"},{"startTime":452.67,"endTime":455.88,"body":"which is the good news,"},{"startTime":455.88,"endTime":460.02,"body":"Christianity and Graeco-Roman paganism"},{"startTime":460.02,"endTime":463.59,"body":"and it can be very hard to distinguish"},{"startTime":463.59,"endTime":465.6,"body":"between those elements."},{"startTime":465.6,"endTime":468.99,"body":"For example, one of the most famous poems"},{"startTime":468.99,"endTime":471.69,"body":"that refers to Viking paganism"},{"startTime":471.69,"endTime":475.14,"body":"is from the collection"},{"startTime":471.69,"endTime":475.14,"body":"called the \"Havamal.\""},{"startTime":475.14,"endTime":478.83,"body":"It portrays the god Odin achieving wisdom"},{"startTime":478.83,"endTime":482.19,"body":"by hanging nine days and nights on a tree,"},{"startTime":482.19,"endTime":483.99,"body":"stabbed with a spear"},{"startTime":483.99,"endTime":486.96,"body":"as a sacrifice to himself."},{"startTime":486.96,"endTime":490.95,"body":"Is this a memory of"},{"startTime":486.96,"endTime":490.95,"body":"authentic pagan tradition"},{"startTime":490.95,"endTime":494.46,"body":"or an assimilation of Odin to Christ?"},{"startTime":494.46,"endTime":497.52,"body":"The only clear difference between them"},{"startTime":497.52,"endTime":500.37,"body":"is that Odin hangs for"},{"startTime":497.52,"endTime":500.37,"body":"nine days and nights"},{"startTime":500.37,"endTime":501.813,"body":"before resurrecting."},{"startTime":502.77,"endTime":504.36,"body":"There are similar problems"},{"startTime":504.36,"endTime":506.91,"body":"with other aspects of the literature."},{"startTime":506.91,"endTime":510.9,"body":"It states that there are"},{"startTime":506.91,"endTime":510.9,"body":"ten or twelve Norse deities"},{"startTime":510.9,"endTime":513.72,"body":"in their mountain home of Asgard,"},{"startTime":513.72,"endTime":517.8,"body":"but the actual stories show"},{"startTime":513.72,"endTime":517.8,"body":"either fewer or more of them."},{"startTime":517.8,"endTime":521.43,"body":"The reason why those numbers"},{"startTime":517.8,"endTime":521.43,"body":"are cited as canonical"},{"startTime":521.43,"endTime":524.22,"body":"seems to be because the ancient Greeks"},{"startTime":524.22,"endTime":527.16,"body":"had 10 or 12 major deities"},{"startTime":527.16,"endTime":529.77,"body":"dwelling on their mountain of Olympus."},{"startTime":529.77,"endTime":533.52,"body":"And to look good, the Norse"},{"startTime":529.77,"endTime":533.52,"body":"gods had to be grouped together"},{"startTime":533.52,"endTime":535.56,"body":"in a similar way."},{"startTime":535.56,"endTime":538.02,"body":"It also complicates things"},{"startTime":538.02,"endTime":541.56,"body":"that Norse poets, the skalds,"},{"startTime":541.56,"endTime":544.41,"body":"loved puns and word plays."},{"startTime":544.41,"endTime":547.68,"body":"So, if you find a deity mentioned in verse"},{"startTime":547.68,"endTime":549.84,"body":"who is found nowhere else,"},{"startTime":549.84,"endTime":553.23,"body":"she or he could be a"},{"startTime":549.84,"endTime":553.23,"body":"genuinely distinct one"},{"startTime":553.23,"endTime":558.21,"body":"or a nickname for Odin,"},{"startTime":553.23,"endTime":558.21,"body":"Thor, Freya, et cetera."},{"startTime":558.21,"endTime":560.46,"body":"Goddesses tend to be few"},{"startTime":560.46,"endTime":563.49,"body":"and subordinate in the stories,"},{"startTime":563.49,"endTime":567.39,"body":"but many and mighty in older poetry."},{"startTime":567.39,"endTime":571.77,"body":"Kormak's Saga, for example,"},{"startTime":567.39,"endTime":571.77,"body":"has chunks of poetry"},{"startTime":571.77,"endTime":573.72,"body":"by the original hero,"},{"startTime":573.72,"endTime":576.87,"body":"which name six well-known deities,"},{"startTime":576.87,"endTime":579.15,"body":"one slightly known one"},{"startTime":579.15,"endTime":582.33,"body":"and 10 goddesses who only appear"},{"startTime":582.33,"endTime":585.453,"body":"in those chunks of poetry by Kormak."},{"startTime":587.04,"endTime":589.83,"body":"The literature does contain"},{"startTime":589.83,"endTime":593.61,"body":"some definite memories of paganism."},{"startTime":593.61,"endTime":596.7,"body":"Volsunga Saga has two"},{"startTime":596.7,"endTime":599.403,"body":"in verses included in the text."},{"startTime":600.96,"endTime":604.68,"body":"One runs, \"Runes of war know thou"},{"startTime":604.68,"endTime":607.35,"body":"if great thou would be."},{"startTime":607.35,"endTime":611.1,"body":"Cut them on hilt of hardened sword,"},{"startTime":611.1,"endTime":613.23,"body":"some on the brand's back,"},{"startTime":613.23,"endTime":615.57,"body":"some on its shining side,"},{"startTime":615.57,"endTime":618.81,"body":"twice name Tyr therein.\""},{"startTime":618.81,"endTime":620.7,"body":"Tyr was the war God"},{"startTime":620.7,"endTime":622.59,"body":"and Viking swords had been found"},{"startTime":622.59,"endTime":625.923,"body":"with exactly this rune upon them."},{"startTime":627.72,"endTime":631.2,"body":"Another verse speaks of the"},{"startTime":627.72,"endTime":631.2,"body":"lack of a common picture"},{"startTime":631.2,"endTime":633.39,"body":"of the life after death,"},{"startTime":633.39,"endTime":636.99,"body":"listing different kinds"},{"startTime":633.39,"endTime":636.99,"body":"of superhuman being"},{"startTime":636.99,"endTime":640.953,"body":"with whom dead humans were"},{"startTime":636.99,"endTime":640.953,"body":"thought to take up residence."},{"startTime":642.097,"endTime":644.61,"body":"\"Some abide with the Elves,"},{"startTime":644.61,"endTime":647.94,"body":"some abide with the Aesir gods,"},{"startTime":647.94,"endTime":650.61,"body":"or with the wise Vanir gods,"},{"startTime":650.61,"endTime":653.847,"body":"some still hold with humans.\""},{"startTime":655.83,"endTime":658.89,"body":"Major elements"},{"startTime":658.89,"endTime":660.85,"body":"of Norse mythology"},{"startTime":661.86,"endTime":664.71,"body":"therefore remain doubtful"},{"startTime":664.71,"endTime":668.34,"body":"as aspects of earlier pagan tradition."},{"startTime":668.34,"endTime":669.69,"body":"Sorry about this, folks,"},{"startTime":669.69,"endTime":673.35,"body":"but Valhalla, the Viking paradise"},{"startTime":673.35,"endTime":676.41,"body":"to which warriors slain"},{"startTime":673.35,"endTime":676.41,"body":"in battle were taken,"},{"startTime":676.41,"endTime":681.39,"body":"and Ragnarok, the predicted"},{"startTime":676.41,"endTime":681.39,"body":"destruction of the pagan gods"},{"startTime":681.39,"endTime":684.72,"body":"in a final battle, are two of these."},{"startTime":684.72,"endTime":688.23,"body":"They only appear in"},{"startTime":684.72,"endTime":688.23,"body":"relatively late sources"},{"startTime":688.23,"endTime":691.32,"body":"and may be paganized versions"},{"startTime":691.32,"endTime":694.32,"body":"of the Christian heaven and apocalypse."},{"startTime":694.32,"endTime":696.93,"body":"We just don't know."},{"startTime":696.93,"endTime":699.57,"body":"In general, saga heroes,"},{"startTime":699.57,"endTime":701.46,"body":"whether pagan or Christian,"},{"startTime":701.46,"endTime":704.46,"body":"were very rarely religious."},{"startTime":704.46,"endTime":707.16,"body":"Their general attitude is summed up"},{"startTime":707.16,"endTime":710.55,"body":"by the leading character"},{"startTime":707.16,"endTime":710.55,"body":"of Finnbogi's Saga,"},{"startTime":710.55,"endTime":713.88,"body":"who upon asked by a Christian emperor"},{"startTime":713.88,"endTime":717.027,"body":"of what he believed, replied, \"Me.\""},{"startTime":718.32,"endTime":722.85,"body":"This made a fit with the"},{"startTime":718.32,"endTime":722.85,"body":"stoic, self-reliant attitude"},{"startTime":722.85,"endTime":727.023,"body":"of the rootless, adventurous Vikings."},{"startTime":727.92,"endTime":731.37,"body":"There are however some clearly distinctive"},{"startTime":731.37,"endTime":734.25,"body":"and recurrent deities in the literature."},{"startTime":734.25,"endTime":736.62,"body":"It's kind of the modern Marvel comic"},{"startTime":736.62,"endTime":738.903,"body":"and films franchise characters."},{"startTime":741.21,"endTime":745.02,"body":"The greatest, and their leader, is Odin,"},{"startTime":745.02,"endTime":748.08,"body":"god of travel, wisdom, knowledge,"},{"startTime":748.08,"endTime":750.183,"body":"war and poetry."},{"startTime":751.26,"endTime":753.93,"body":"Second in importance is Thor,"},{"startTime":753.93,"endTime":756.693,"body":"god of the sky, weather and farming."},{"startTime":757.86,"endTime":761.91,"body":"Next comes Frey, the dude of Norse gods,"},{"startTime":761.91,"endTime":765.183,"body":"patron of fertility in crops and animals,"},{"startTime":766.02,"endTime":768.3,"body":"and the babe, Freya,"},{"startTime":768.3,"endTime":771.093,"body":"goddess of love, war and magic."},{"startTime":772.5,"endTime":775.68,"body":"Baldur was the most handsome"},{"startTime":775.68,"endTime":777.81,"body":"and beloved god of all"},{"startTime":777.81,"endTime":779.58,"body":"in a prettier way than Frey."},{"startTime":779.58,"endTime":783.48,"body":"And Tyr, the heroic war god"},{"startTime":783.48,"endTime":785.7,"body":"who sacrificed his hand"},{"startTime":785.7,"endTime":789.72,"body":"to bind the monstrous wolf, Fenris."},{"startTime":789.72,"endTime":793.68,"body":"Finally there is the trickster Loki,"},{"startTime":793.68,"endTime":796.59,"body":"sometimes merely cunning and devious"},{"startTime":796.59,"endTime":799.113,"body":"and sometimes downright evil."},{"startTime":799.95,"endTime":804.95,"body":"And mortal heroes are also"},{"startTime":799.95,"endTime":804.95,"body":"prominent in the tales,"},{"startTime":805.32,"endTime":808.653,"body":"especially the dragon-slayer, Sigurd."},{"startTime":810.27,"endTime":815.16,"body":"So how does all this relate"},{"startTime":810.27,"endTime":815.16,"body":"to the British Isles?"},{"startTime":815.16,"endTime":818.13,"body":"The first point to make here"},{"startTime":818.13,"endTime":821.79,"body":"is that Pagan Viking Britain"},{"startTime":821.79,"endTime":825.0,"body":"lasted a very short time."},{"startTime":825.0,"endTime":829.53,"body":"Vikings arrived in it from the 790s"},{"startTime":829.53,"endTime":832.74,"body":"and were all converted"},{"startTime":829.53,"endTime":832.74,"body":"to Christianity there"},{"startTime":832.74,"endTime":834.75,"body":"by the 990s,"},{"startTime":834.75,"endTime":839.4,"body":"and in their Scandinavian"},{"startTime":834.75,"endTime":839.4,"body":"homeland by 1030."},{"startTime":839.4,"endTime":844.23,"body":"So we're looking at"},{"startTime":839.4,"endTime":844.23,"body":"around 200 years at most."},{"startTime":844.23,"endTime":845.7,"body":"In most of Britain,"},{"startTime":845.7,"endTime":848.49,"body":"the period was actually even shorter."},{"startTime":848.49,"endTime":853.49,"body":"In England, settlement only"},{"startTime":848.49,"endTime":853.49,"body":"really started in the 860s,"},{"startTime":853.677,"endTime":858.127,"body":"and the last pagan Viking"},{"startTime":853.677,"endTime":858.127,"body":"ruler was removed in 954."},{"startTime":859.86,"endTime":863.97,"body":"So the pagan period is less than a century"},{"startTime":863.97,"endTime":865.68,"body":"in southern Britain"},{"startTime":865.68,"endTime":869.73,"body":"and less than two centuries in the north."},{"startTime":869.73,"endTime":872.91,"body":"Vikings were, after all,"},{"startTime":872.91,"endTime":875.85,"body":"settling among a more numerous"},{"startTime":875.85,"endTime":879.54,"body":"and sophisticated Christian population"},{"startTime":879.54,"endTime":883.2,"body":"that readily assimilated them."},{"startTime":883.2,"endTime":886.53,"body":"All in all, this was the paganism"},{"startTime":886.53,"endTime":889.71,"body":"that made the slightest"},{"startTime":886.53,"endTime":889.71,"body":"impression on Britain."},{"startTime":889.71,"endTime":892.443,"body":"Colorful, though it is in general."},{"startTime":893.85,"endTime":897.51,"body":"So what is the evidence"},{"startTime":897.51,"endTime":899.823,"body":"for British Viking Paganism?"},{"startTime":900.81,"endTime":903.63,"body":"The first come the literary resources"},{"startTime":903.63,"endTime":906.63,"body":"and the first category of these"},{"startTime":906.63,"endTime":909.12,"body":"consists of place names."},{"startTime":909.12,"endTime":913.44,"body":"Only those of Orkney have"},{"startTime":909.12,"endTime":913.44,"body":"been properly studied so far,"},{"startTime":913.44,"endTime":916.59,"body":"and they have lots derived from Odin"},{"startTime":916.59,"endTime":917.793,"body":"and none from Thor."},{"startTime":918.781,"endTime":922.47,"body":"And the exact opposite is true of Iceland,"},{"startTime":922.47,"endTime":925.38,"body":"perhaps because the settlers there"},{"startTime":925.38,"endTime":929.46,"body":"were mostly farmers who venerated Thor,"},{"startTime":929.46,"endTime":932.43,"body":"while most of those in Orkney"},{"startTime":932.43,"endTime":934.62,"body":"were warriors and traders"},{"startTime":934.62,"endTime":936.75,"body":"who worshiped Odin."},{"startTime":936.75,"endTime":939.54,"body":"The second category of literary source"},{"startTime":939.54,"endTime":944.54,"body":"consists of Christian"},{"startTime":939.54,"endTime":944.54,"body":"chronicles and Icelandic sagas."},{"startTime":944.82,"endTime":946.35,"body":"I'm lumping these together"},{"startTime":946.35,"endTime":949.92,"body":"because they have very"},{"startTime":946.35,"endTime":949.92,"body":"little relevant to Britain,"},{"startTime":949.92,"endTime":952.74,"body":"but they do agree that Viking armies"},{"startTime":952.74,"endTime":957.533,"body":"carried raven banners"},{"startTime":952.74,"endTime":957.533,"body":"probably sacred to Odin."},{"startTime":957.533,"endTime":961.59,"body":"And the third category"},{"startTime":957.533,"endTime":961.59,"body":"consists of law codes"},{"startTime":961.59,"endTime":964.56,"body":"issued in the early 11th century"},{"startTime":964.56,"endTime":968.7,"body":"by King Canute and Archbishop Wulfstan"},{"startTime":968.7,"endTime":971.58,"body":"to wipe out pagan practices"},{"startTime":971.58,"endTime":975.42,"body":"among Viking settlers in England."},{"startTime":975.42,"endTime":980.42,"body":"They prohibit the veneration"},{"startTime":975.42,"endTime":980.42,"body":"of trees, pools and stones,"},{"startTime":981.87,"endTime":984.54,"body":"and of the sun and the moon,"},{"startTime":984.54,"endTime":989.1,"body":"and the use of pagan songs and charms."},{"startTime":989.1,"endTime":992.85,"body":"This looks like a family-based religion"},{"startTime":992.85,"endTime":995.49,"body":"which used natural landmarks."},{"startTime":995.49,"endTime":998.73,"body":"There's absolutely no mention of temples,"},{"startTime":998.73,"endTime":1001.4,"body":"shrines or priests,"},{"startTime":1001.4,"endTime":1004.64,"body":"and they are invisible in archeology"},{"startTime":1004.64,"endTime":1005.933,"body":"if they are ever there."},{"startTime":1007.07,"endTime":1010.25,"body":"One especially famous"},{"startTime":1010.25,"endTime":1015.25,"body":"and lurid alleged pagan"},{"startTime":1010.25,"endTime":1015.25,"body":"rite found in literature"},{"startTime":1015.32,"endTime":1018.02,"body":"is that of the Blood Eagle."},{"startTime":1018.02,"endTime":1021.44,"body":"It's an especially tacky ritual,"},{"startTime":1021.44,"endTime":1025.1,"body":"in which an enemy leader,"},{"startTime":1021.44,"endTime":1025.1,"body":"once captured alive,"},{"startTime":1025.1,"endTime":1026.84,"body":"was said to be killed"},{"startTime":1026.84,"endTime":1030.86,"body":"by having his ribs cut"},{"startTime":1026.84,"endTime":1030.86,"body":"from his spine one by one"},{"startTime":1030.86,"endTime":1034.04,"body":"and spread in the form"},{"startTime":1030.86,"endTime":1034.04,"body":"of an eagle's wings."},{"startTime":1034.04,"endTime":1036.743,"body":"Do not try this at home, folks,"},{"startTime":1037.58,"endTime":1039.35,"body":"but it's an absolute gift"},{"startTime":1039.35,"endTime":1042.62,"body":"to modern script writers"},{"startTime":1042.62,"endTime":1045.86,"body":"running folk horror images of the Vikings"},{"startTime":1045.86,"endTime":1048.53,"body":"and they've made full use of it."},{"startTime":1048.53,"endTime":1052.67,"body":"But it actually appears"},{"startTime":1048.53,"endTime":1052.67,"body":"in just four stories"},{"startTime":1052.67,"endTime":1055.553,"body":"from the 12th to the 14th centuries."},{"startTime":1057.83,"endTime":1059.66,"body":"Two are legends"},{"startTime":1059.66,"endTime":1063.353,"body":"and two are bits of the"},{"startTime":1059.66,"endTime":1063.353,"body":"alleged ninth century history."},{"startTime":1065.39,"endTime":1068.84,"body":"In 1984, Roberta Frank,"},{"startTime":1068.84,"endTime":1073.16,"body":"one of our best experts in the sources,"},{"startTime":1073.16,"endTime":1075.29,"body":"pointed out that all of them"},{"startTime":1075.29,"endTime":1078.56,"body":"actually derive from one original"},{"startTime":1078.56,"endTime":1081.803,"body":"in the late 12th century Orkneyinga Saga,"},{"startTime":1082.64,"endTime":1085.16,"body":"the story of the leaders of Orkney,"},{"startTime":1085.16,"endTime":1088.223,"body":"concerning one of them, Torf-Einar."},{"startTime":1089.42,"endTime":1091.82,"body":"The saga version in turn"},{"startTime":1091.82,"endTime":1094.49,"body":"depends on a skaldic poem,"},{"startTime":1094.49,"endTime":1098.6,"body":"Torf-Einar having lived hundreds"},{"startTime":1094.49,"endTime":1098.6,"body":"of years before the saga."},{"startTime":1098.6,"endTime":1100.04,"body":"And in this poem,"},{"startTime":1100.04,"endTime":1104.3,"body":"Torf-Einar boasts of an enemy of his"},{"startTime":1104.3,"endTime":1109.04,"body":"being torn by the eagle's"},{"startTime":1104.3,"endTime":1109.04,"body":"talon before burial."},{"startTime":1109.04,"endTime":1110.33,"body":"And that's the beginning"},{"startTime":1110.33,"endTime":1112.94,"body":"of the whole Viking urban legend"},{"startTime":1112.94,"endTime":1115.52,"body":"of the rite of the Blood Eagle."},{"startTime":1115.52,"endTime":1116.96,"body":"And it could just mean"},{"startTime":1116.96,"endTime":1121.28,"body":"that the enemy's corpse"},{"startTime":1116.96,"endTime":1121.28,"body":"was eaten by carrion birds."},{"startTime":1121.28,"endTime":1123.98,"body":"So the entire myth of the Blood Eagle"},{"startTime":1123.98,"endTime":1125.783,"body":"may hang on that misreading."},{"startTime":1127.28,"endTime":1131.54,"body":"Archeology is now the"},{"startTime":1127.28,"endTime":1131.54,"body":"main source of evidence"},{"startTime":1131.54,"endTime":1134.33,"body":"for British Viking paganism"},{"startTime":1134.33,"endTime":1137.09,"body":"and can be especially useful"},{"startTime":1137.09,"endTime":1140.99,"body":"if combined with overseas material"},{"startTime":1140.99,"endTime":1143.81,"body":"and literary texts."},{"startTime":1143.81,"endTime":1148.81,"body":"No temples or shrines"},{"startTime":1143.81,"endTime":1148.81,"body":"have been found anywhere."},{"startTime":1150.29,"endTime":1153.77,"body":"There's only one apparent"},{"startTime":1150.29,"endTime":1153.77,"body":"ritual foundation deposit,"},{"startTime":1153.77,"endTime":1156.26,"body":"that means providing presence"},{"startTime":1156.26,"endTime":1158.9,"body":"for spirits of the land or deities"},{"startTime":1158.9,"endTime":1160.55,"body":"on the place in which"},{"startTime":1158.9,"endTime":1160.55,"body":"you're going to build"},{"startTime":1160.55,"endTime":1162.173,"body":"something important."},{"startTime":1163.63,"endTime":1168.23,"body":"This is a dump of animal"},{"startTime":1163.63,"endTime":1168.23,"body":"bones and of human tools"},{"startTime":1168.23,"endTime":1172.04,"body":"found under a jetty or bridge end"},{"startTime":1172.04,"endTime":1174.731,"body":"at Skene on the River Humber."},{"startTime":1174.731,"endTime":1179.731,"body":"34 Viking swords have been"},{"startTime":1174.731,"endTime":1179.731,"body":"found in English rivers,"},{"startTime":1180.53,"endTime":1182.96,"body":"which are probably offerings"},{"startTime":1182.96,"endTime":1186.32,"body":"rather than accidental losses from ships"},{"startTime":1186.32,"endTime":1188.72,"body":"as they're always found by themselves."},{"startTime":1188.72,"endTime":1190.67,"body":"If things were slipping off a ship,"},{"startTime":1190.67,"endTime":1193.13,"body":"you'd expect to find more with them."},{"startTime":1193.13,"endTime":1196.463,"body":"There are also carvings on crosses,"},{"startTime":1198.59,"endTime":1201.683,"body":"in churches or churchyards."},{"startTime":1204.14,"endTime":1206.03,"body":"Many are in the Isle of Man"},{"startTime":1206.03,"endTime":1208.61,"body":"and many more in northern England."},{"startTime":1208.61,"endTime":1211.61,"body":"By definition, they"},{"startTime":1208.61,"endTime":1211.61,"body":"were made by Christians,"},{"startTime":1211.61,"endTime":1215.57,"body":"but they sometimes have"},{"startTime":1211.61,"endTime":1215.57,"body":"apparent pagan images."},{"startTime":1215.57,"endTime":1217.85,"body":"The trouble is the images concerned"},{"startTime":1217.85,"endTime":1220.58,"body":"could suit both religions."},{"startTime":1220.58,"endTime":1224.36,"body":"The dragon was a symbol of evil in both."},{"startTime":1224.36,"endTime":1227.36,"body":"Loki could be equated with Satan"},{"startTime":1227.36,"endTime":1230.09,"body":"and Ragnarok with the"},{"startTime":1227.36,"endTime":1230.09,"body":"Christian apocalypse,"},{"startTime":1230.09,"endTime":1233.3,"body":"which might have inspired it."},{"startTime":1233.3,"endTime":1237.32,"body":"Heroes are more common than"},{"startTime":1233.3,"endTime":1237.32,"body":"deities in the carvings,"},{"startTime":1237.32,"endTime":1240.77,"body":"especially Sigurd, the dragon slayer,"},{"startTime":1240.77,"endTime":1243.56,"body":"who could be a match for"},{"startTime":1240.77,"endTime":1243.56,"body":"the Archangel Michael,"},{"startTime":1243.56,"endTime":1245.693,"body":"the Christian dragon slayer."},{"startTime":1246.56,"endTime":1250.22,"body":"There's some mythology on them."},{"startTime":1250.22,"endTime":1252.107,"body":"Tyr, the war god,"},{"startTime":1252.107,"endTime":1254.93,"body":"and the wolf Fenris, his binding,"},{"startTime":1254.93,"endTime":1259.73,"body":"appear on a slab in a church at Sockburn"},{"startTime":1259.73,"endTime":1261.65,"body":"in County Durham."},{"startTime":1261.65,"endTime":1265.28,"body":"And gods feature occasionally,"},{"startTime":1265.28,"endTime":1268.37,"body":"so that on the scores of Manx crosses,"},{"startTime":1268.37,"endTime":1270.41,"body":"Odin appears twice"},{"startTime":1270.41,"endTime":1272.6,"body":"and Thor once."},{"startTime":1272.6,"endTime":1275.57,"body":"The Vikings had no tradition"},{"startTime":1275.57,"endTime":1278.09,"body":"of carved stone scenes"},{"startTime":1278.09,"endTime":1280.31,"body":"before the conversion period,"},{"startTime":1280.31,"endTime":1283.79,"body":"so these must have been"},{"startTime":1280.31,"endTime":1283.79,"body":"made for the crosses"},{"startTime":1283.79,"endTime":1286.07,"body":"and we don't know why."},{"startTime":1286.07,"endTime":1288.29,"body":"They could have represented"},{"startTime":1288.29,"endTime":1291.86,"body":"an assimilation of"},{"startTime":1288.29,"endTime":1291.86,"body":"paganism to Christianity,"},{"startTime":1291.86,"endTime":1294.11,"body":"that's converted pagans"},{"startTime":1294.11,"endTime":1295.61,"body":"bringing some of their images"},{"startTime":1295.61,"endTime":1298.73,"body":"into Christian iconography with them."},{"startTime":1298.73,"endTime":1301.46,"body":"Or they could be a sign"},{"startTime":1298.73,"endTime":1301.46,"body":"of the two religions"},{"startTime":1301.46,"endTime":1305.723,"body":"existing side by side"},{"startTime":1301.46,"endTime":1305.723,"body":"peacefully for a time."},{"startTime":1309.8,"endTime":1312.74,"body":"Burials now represent"},{"startTime":1312.74,"endTime":1316.34,"body":"the greatest single source of information"},{"startTime":1316.34,"endTime":1318.233,"body":"for pagan Viking Britain."},{"startTime":1319.25,"endTime":1320.93,"body":"Across the island,"},{"startTime":1320.93,"endTime":1323.39,"body":"most of warrior leaders,"},{"startTime":1323.39,"endTime":1327.47,"body":"that's high status males with weapons,"},{"startTime":1327.47,"endTime":1330.95,"body":"their graves just oozed testosterone."},{"startTime":1330.95,"endTime":1333.44,"body":"Carvings on cross slabs"},{"startTime":1333.44,"endTime":1336.56,"body":"show men lying in graves"},{"startTime":1336.56,"endTime":1338.06,"body":"with swords"},{"startTime":1338.06,"endTime":1341.0,"body":"and swords are indeed sometimes found"},{"startTime":1341.0,"endTime":1343.7,"body":"in northern English churchyards."},{"startTime":1343.7,"endTime":1345.89,"body":"Such graves are common"},{"startTime":1345.89,"endTime":1348.95,"body":"in north settled areas of Scotland,"},{"startTime":1348.95,"endTime":1351.74,"body":"the far north and the islands."},{"startTime":1351.74,"endTime":1353.78,"body":"The men have weapons,"},{"startTime":1353.78,"endTime":1355.64,"body":"the women, jewelry,"},{"startTime":1355.64,"endTime":1359.63,"body":"and both have horses and dogs."},{"startTime":1359.63,"endTime":1364.63,"body":"At Sanday, Orkney, in 1992,"},{"startTime":1364.88,"endTime":1367.85,"body":"a family vault was found"},{"startTime":1367.85,"endTime":1371.54,"body":"of a child, woman and man"},{"startTime":1371.54,"endTime":1374.06,"body":"lying in a wooden burial chamber"},{"startTime":1374.06,"endTime":1377.603,"body":"constructed inside a 20-foot boat."},{"startTime":1378.65,"endTime":1381.26,"body":"They had a cross-section"},{"startTime":1381.26,"endTime":1384.23,"body":"of ninth century personal goods"},{"startTime":1384.23,"endTime":1388.13,"body":"including a sword, a quiver of arrows,"},{"startTime":1388.13,"endTime":1389.63,"body":"a comb,"},{"startTime":1389.63,"endTime":1392.18,"body":"a sickle and a brooch,"},{"startTime":1392.18,"endTime":1395.72,"body":"and even, here's the really"},{"startTime":1392.18,"endTime":1395.72,"body":"lovely domestic touch,"},{"startTime":1395.72,"endTime":1397.313,"body":"an ironing board."},{"startTime":1398.48,"endTime":1403.48,"body":"The most awe-inspiring"},{"startTime":1398.48,"endTime":1403.48,"body":"Viking deposits in Britain"},{"startTime":1404.54,"endTime":1407.27,"body":"are those excavated"},{"startTime":1407.27,"endTime":1412.27,"body":"over the past 50 years at Repton,"},{"startTime":1412.55,"endTime":1416.0,"body":"on the river Trent in Derbyshire,"},{"startTime":1416.0,"endTime":1419.69,"body":"the base of an invading Viking army"},{"startTime":1419.69,"endTime":1422.6,"body":"in the early 870s"},{"startTime":1422.6,"endTime":1427.6,"body":"led by the sons of the"},{"startTime":1422.6,"endTime":1427.6,"body":"legendary hero Ragnar Lothbrok."},{"startTime":1428.84,"endTime":1433.84,"body":"Now historic Viking heroes"},{"startTime":1428.84,"endTime":1433.84,"body":"tend to have nicknames"},{"startTime":1434.54,"endTime":1436.73,"body":"by which you distinguish a lot of leaders"},{"startTime":1436.73,"endTime":1438.5,"body":"who have similar names."},{"startTime":1438.5,"endTime":1441.44,"body":"And translating them"},{"startTime":1438.5,"endTime":1441.44,"body":"can be very difficult."},{"startTime":1441.44,"endTime":1444.47,"body":"So the leader of the plundering army"},{"startTime":1444.47,"endTime":1446.45,"body":"that settled at Repton"},{"startTime":1446.45,"endTime":1449.81,"body":"is translated as Ivar the Boneless,"},{"startTime":1449.81,"endTime":1453.08,"body":"but it could equally mean Ivar the Snake"},{"startTime":1453.08,"endTime":1456.92,"body":"or Ivar the Treacherous"},{"startTime":1456.92,"endTime":1461.18,"body":"or Ivar the Unreadable, the Enigmatic."},{"startTime":1461.18,"endTime":1465.11,"body":"Ivar the Enigmatic even as a"},{"startTime":1461.18,"endTime":1465.11,"body":"nice kind of alliteration to it"},{"startTime":1465.11,"endTime":1466.61,"body":"and we don't know which."},{"startTime":1466.61,"endTime":1469.88,"body":"Likewise, his brother was called"},{"startTime":1469.88,"endTime":1473.45,"body":"Halfdan the Wide Embracing."},{"startTime":1473.45,"endTime":1474.95,"body":"Now we kind of assume"},{"startTime":1474.95,"endTime":1476.33,"body":"that this doesn't just mean"},{"startTime":1476.33,"endTime":1478.065,"body":"that he enjoyed hugging,"},{"startTime":1478.065,"endTime":1479.54,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":1479.54,"endTime":1483.74,"body":"but it could mean that he"},{"startTime":1479.54,"endTime":1483.74,"body":"had an enormous broad chest"},{"startTime":1483.74,"endTime":1487.49,"body":"or it could mean he liked"},{"startTime":1483.74,"endTime":1487.49,"body":"conquering lots of lands."},{"startTime":1487.49,"endTime":1490.46,"body":"And historians have"},{"startTime":1487.49,"endTime":1490.46,"body":"thought the last of those"},{"startTime":1490.46,"endTime":1492.65,"body":"is probably the most likely."},{"startTime":1492.65,"endTime":1495.32,"body":"So we rather queasily settle"},{"startTime":1495.32,"endTime":1498.83,"body":"for calling him Halfdan the Conqueror."},{"startTime":1498.83,"endTime":1502.13,"body":"At any rate, Ivar the Boneless"},{"startTime":1502.13,"endTime":1504.98,"body":"may be preposterously misnamed"},{"startTime":1504.98,"endTime":1507.74,"body":"because he seems to have died at Repton"},{"startTime":1507.74,"endTime":1509.45,"body":"and to have been buried there,"},{"startTime":1509.45,"endTime":1512.27,"body":"and his skeleton, which was gigantic,"},{"startTime":1512.27,"endTime":1514.343,"body":"found in the 18th century."},{"startTime":1515.66,"endTime":1519.84,"body":"And around it was a huge dump"},{"startTime":1521.3,"endTime":1522.48,"body":"of bones"},{"startTime":1524.21,"endTime":1527.42,"body":"which mixed the bodies of Vikings"},{"startTime":1527.42,"endTime":1530.06,"body":"with those of long dead monks"},{"startTime":1530.06,"endTime":1533.69,"body":"from the Anglo-Saxon"},{"startTime":1530.06,"endTime":1533.69,"body":"monastery on the site."},{"startTime":1533.69,"endTime":1535.55,"body":"And the site's very important"},{"startTime":1535.55,"endTime":1540.32,"body":"because it's the mausoleum"},{"startTime":1535.55,"endTime":1540.32,"body":"of the kings of the Midlands,"},{"startTime":1540.32,"endTime":1543.05,"body":"the Anglo-Saxon rulers of Mercia,"},{"startTime":1543.05,"endTime":1548.05,"body":"a kingdom which Ivar the"},{"startTime":1543.05,"endTime":1548.05,"body":"Boneless and his brothers"},{"startTime":1549.71,"endTime":1551.69,"body":"had just comprehensively,"},{"startTime":1551.69,"endTime":1555.41,"body":"and in the long run, finally destroyed,"},{"startTime":1555.41,"endTime":1558.563,"body":"wiping it from the map except in name."},{"startTime":1560.36,"endTime":1564.62,"body":"And we honestly don't know why the Vikings"},{"startTime":1564.62,"endTime":1569.48,"body":"should wish to bury a"},{"startTime":1564.62,"endTime":1569.48,"body":"formidable pagan war leader"},{"startTime":1569.48,"endTime":1574.07,"body":"next to the burial place"},{"startTime":1569.48,"endTime":1574.07,"body":"of the Mercian royalty"},{"startTime":1574.07,"endTime":1577.28,"body":"and surrounded by the bones,"},{"startTime":1577.28,"endTime":1579.26,"body":"not just of some of his followers"},{"startTime":1579.26,"endTime":1581.48,"body":"who, like him, didn't make it,"},{"startTime":1581.48,"endTime":1584.69,"body":"but bodies of long dead monks."},{"startTime":1584.69,"endTime":1587.93,"body":"Now every time early medieval armies camp,"},{"startTime":1587.93,"endTime":1590.54,"body":"you expect them to start dying"},{"startTime":1590.54,"endTime":1594.35,"body":"because right up to"},{"startTime":1590.54,"endTime":1594.35,"body":"near the modern period,"},{"startTime":1594.35,"endTime":1597.77,"body":"static armies are unhealthy armies."},{"startTime":1597.77,"endTime":1602.42,"body":"Quite simply, once you get a"},{"startTime":1597.77,"endTime":1602.42,"body":"larger body of men together,"},{"startTime":1602.42,"endTime":1605.54,"body":"then the ecosystem of support,"},{"startTime":1605.54,"endTime":1607.52,"body":"then epidemics begin."},{"startTime":1607.52,"endTime":1609.08,"body":"And they begin when the fleas,"},{"startTime":1609.08,"endTime":1612.62,"body":"the lice and the latrines"},{"startTime":1609.08,"endTime":1612.62,"body":"all start overflowing"},{"startTime":1612.62,"endTime":1617.06,"body":"and the inevitable result"},{"startTime":1612.62,"endTime":1617.06,"body":"is large body loss."},{"startTime":1617.06,"endTime":1620.6,"body":"But why they should put dead monks"},{"startTime":1620.6,"endTime":1622.91,"body":"with the dead Vikings"},{"startTime":1622.91,"endTime":1624.92,"body":"is an open question."},{"startTime":1624.92,"endTime":1629.9,"body":"Did the Vikings want to give their dead"},{"startTime":1629.9,"endTime":1631.64,"body":"extra sanctity"},{"startTime":1631.64,"endTime":1635.06,"body":"by associating them with native holy men"},{"startTime":1635.06,"endTime":1637.76,"body":"or were the monks skeletons dug up"},{"startTime":1637.76,"endTime":1640.64,"body":"to mock and defile them?"},{"startTime":1640.64,"endTime":1645.64,"body":"Did the Vikings camp"},{"startTime":1640.64,"endTime":1645.64,"body":"around that old church"},{"startTime":1646.94,"endTime":1648.71,"body":"with the royal burials"},{"startTime":1648.71,"endTime":1651.62,"body":"to identify with those native kings"},{"startTime":1651.62,"endTime":1655.25,"body":"and show that they were now"},{"startTime":1651.62,"endTime":1655.25,"body":"their legitimate successors"},{"startTime":1655.25,"endTime":1657.78,"body":"or were they desecrating the site"},{"startTime":1660.626,"endTime":1663.053,"body":"to destroy native English authority?"},{"startTime":1664.73,"endTime":1668.99,"body":"There's the reconstruction"},{"startTime":1664.73,"endTime":1668.99,"body":"of the camp there"},{"startTime":1668.99,"endTime":1670.91,"body":"and we don't know the answers."},{"startTime":1670.91,"endTime":1674.84,"body":"It could even be that the long dead monks"},{"startTime":1674.84,"endTime":1677.12,"body":"were piled around the graves"},{"startTime":1677.12,"endTime":1679.82,"body":"of the dead Vikings and their leader"},{"startTime":1679.82,"endTime":1682.4,"body":"in lieu of human sacrifices."},{"startTime":1682.4,"endTime":1686.33,"body":"That's the most gothic of interpretations,"},{"startTime":1686.33,"endTime":1690.143,"body":"but it's a possibility"},{"startTime":1686.33,"endTime":1690.143,"body":"along with so much else."},{"startTime":1690.98,"endTime":1695.04,"body":"And there are also some individual"},{"startTime":1690.98,"endTime":1695.04,"body":"burials in the churchyard"},{"startTime":1695.9,"endTime":1700.9,"body":"of which one was that of an"},{"startTime":1695.9,"endTime":1700.9,"body":"absolutely classic pagan Viking."},{"startTime":1702.02,"endTime":1705.56,"body":"He had been killed by a sword slash"},{"startTime":1705.56,"endTime":1708.08,"body":"that had opened the artery in his thigh."},{"startTime":1708.08,"endTime":1710.96,"body":"We know this because it'll"},{"startTime":1708.08,"endTime":1710.96,"body":"also cut through the bone"},{"startTime":1710.96,"endTime":1713.75,"body":"and you can't take out the"},{"startTime":1710.96,"endTime":1713.75,"body":"bone with a cut like that"},{"startTime":1713.75,"endTime":1716.21,"body":"without taking out the femoral artery"},{"startTime":1716.21,"endTime":1720.47,"body":"and then it's goodbye to"},{"startTime":1716.21,"endTime":1720.47,"body":"the occupant to the body."},{"startTime":1720.47,"endTime":1722.42,"body":"So we know how he died."},{"startTime":1722.42,"endTime":1726.08,"body":"He had a silver Thor's hammer amulet"},{"startTime":1726.08,"endTime":1729.47,"body":"showing he's a Viking"},{"startTime":1726.08,"endTime":1729.47,"body":"and a follower of Thor."},{"startTime":1729.47,"endTime":1732.14,"body":"He has a sword, of course,"},{"startTime":1732.14,"endTime":1735.02,"body":"a knife, which is also another weapon,"},{"startTime":1735.02,"endTime":1738.74,"body":"but also the standard"},{"startTime":1735.02,"endTime":1738.74,"body":"means of eating at table."},{"startTime":1738.74,"endTime":1740.27,"body":"Forks didn't come in"},{"startTime":1740.27,"endTime":1742.7,"body":"till the other end of the middle ages."},{"startTime":1742.7,"endTime":1746.39,"body":"And a key perhaps to his strong box"},{"startTime":1746.39,"endTime":1748.67,"body":"in which he kept his valuables."},{"startTime":1748.67,"endTime":1750.62,"body":"And a jackdaw's bone,"},{"startTime":1750.62,"endTime":1753.08,"body":"which could have been a lucky charm."},{"startTime":1753.08,"endTime":1755.63,"body":"And a boar tusk,"},{"startTime":1755.63,"endTime":1757.07,"body":"which could have been another"},{"startTime":1757.07,"endTime":1760.82,"body":"or maybe an amulet to ward off evil."},{"startTime":1760.82,"endTime":1765.5,"body":"The interesting thing"},{"startTime":1760.82,"endTime":1765.5,"body":"is that, anatomically,"},{"startTime":1765.5,"endTime":1767.36,"body":"we know that the sword stroke"},{"startTime":1767.36,"endTime":1769.34,"body":"that opened his artery"},{"startTime":1769.34,"endTime":1772.25,"body":"and sliced through his"},{"startTime":1769.34,"endTime":1772.25,"body":"thighbone would've cut off"},{"startTime":1772.25,"endTime":1776.54,"body":"something more obviously"},{"startTime":1772.25,"endTime":1776.54,"body":"masculine as well when it fell."},{"startTime":1776.54,"endTime":1781.01,"body":"And the boar's tusk had been"},{"startTime":1776.54,"endTime":1781.01,"body":"put in place of the organ,"},{"startTime":1781.01,"endTime":1782.87,"body":"which the sword would've cut off"},{"startTime":1782.87,"endTime":1785.06,"body":"to equip him again"},{"startTime":1785.06,"endTime":1787.91,"body":"as he was going into"},{"startTime":1785.06,"endTime":1787.91,"body":"what they clearly hoped"},{"startTime":1787.91,"endTime":1790.133,"body":"would be a good afterlife."},{"startTime":1790.97,"endTime":1795.97,"body":"But what is this archetypal pagan hero"},{"startTime":1796.58,"endTime":1799.103,"body":"doing in a Christian churchyard?"},{"startTime":1800.09,"endTime":1804.71,"body":"Is he there because he or his followers"},{"startTime":1804.71,"endTime":1808.4,"body":"felt this was a holy place originally"},{"startTime":1808.4,"endTime":1811.46,"body":"and he'd have a better"},{"startTime":1808.4,"endTime":1811.46,"body":"chance for an afterlife"},{"startTime":1811.46,"endTime":1813.02,"body":"if he was there?"},{"startTime":1813.02,"endTime":1814.34,"body":"Or did they stash"},{"startTime":1814.34,"endTime":1819.34,"body":"one of their ace Christian"},{"startTime":1814.34,"endTime":1819.34,"body":"killing raiding Viking warriors"},{"startTime":1819.71,"endTime":1822.89,"body":"in the churchyard to render it pagan"},{"startTime":1822.89,"endTime":1825.02,"body":"they hoped once and for all?"},{"startTime":1825.02,"endTime":1827.69,"body":"We can't read this, there are no records."},{"startTime":1827.69,"endTime":1831.35,"body":"So all we can do is"},{"startTime":1827.69,"endTime":1831.35,"body":"reconstruct it as we wish"},{"startTime":1831.35,"endTime":1832.793,"body":"in different ways."},{"startTime":1834.11,"endTime":1838.55,"body":"And these questions"},{"startTime":1834.11,"endTime":1838.55,"body":"are complicated further"},{"startTime":1838.55,"endTime":1840.68,"body":"by the discovery at Henley Wood,"},{"startTime":1840.68,"endTime":1843.65,"body":"which is up or down the same river,"},{"startTime":1843.65,"endTime":1846.8,"body":"the Trent near Repton."},{"startTime":1846.8,"endTime":1849.86,"body":"It's a ridge overlooking the river"},{"startTime":1849.86,"endTime":1854.24,"body":"and it's got a cemetery"},{"startTime":1849.86,"endTime":1854.24,"body":"of around 60 mounds"},{"startTime":1854.24,"endTime":1859.24,"body":"left by other members of Ivar"},{"startTime":1854.24,"endTime":1859.24,"body":"the Boneless's army at Repton"},{"startTime":1860.9,"endTime":1864.92,"body":"or just possibly by pagan Vikings"},{"startTime":1864.92,"endTime":1868.04,"body":"who just followed them soon after."},{"startTime":1868.04,"endTime":1871.4,"body":"But the ridge is clearly"},{"startTime":1868.04,"endTime":1871.4,"body":"visible from the river."},{"startTime":1871.4,"endTime":1875.24,"body":"And so, Viking long ships"},{"startTime":1871.4,"endTime":1875.24,"body":"cruising up and down it"},{"startTime":1875.24,"endTime":1877.22,"body":"would've seen the funeral pires"},{"startTime":1877.22,"endTime":1879.26,"body":"flaming up there on the ridge"},{"startTime":1879.26,"endTime":1880.73,"body":"and know what was happening"},{"startTime":1880.73,"endTime":1884.393,"body":"to the bodies of their"},{"startTime":1880.73,"endTime":1884.393,"body":"friends or co-religionists."},{"startTime":1885.56,"endTime":1887.75,"body":"Bodies of both sexes"},{"startTime":1887.75,"endTime":1891.48,"body":"were cremated on wooden platforms"},{"startTime":1892.43,"endTime":1894.44,"body":"with food,"},{"startTime":1894.44,"endTime":1896.96,"body":"beef, mutton and pork,"},{"startTime":1896.96,"endTime":1900.77,"body":"domestic animals, horses and dogs"},{"startTime":1900.77,"endTime":1902.96,"body":"and swords and belts."},{"startTime":1902.96,"endTime":1905.213,"body":"Mounds were then raised over them."},{"startTime":1906.59,"endTime":1908.99,"body":"So why are they there?"},{"startTime":1908.99,"endTime":1911.3,"body":"With the Viking remains,"},{"startTime":1911.3,"endTime":1914.72,"body":"I think that their nature suggests"},{"startTime":1914.72,"endTime":1917.36,"body":"these are personal objects"},{"startTime":1917.36,"endTime":1921.32,"body":"which are expected to travel"},{"startTime":1917.36,"endTime":1921.32,"body":"somehow into another world"},{"startTime":1921.32,"endTime":1923.48,"body":"with the dead in the graves."},{"startTime":1923.48,"endTime":1927.02,"body":"They're not put there"},{"startTime":1923.48,"endTime":1927.02,"body":"to propitiate deities"},{"startTime":1927.02,"endTime":1929.57,"body":"or gifts to the spirit of the land"},{"startTime":1929.57,"endTime":1932.15,"body":"because giving quite valuable objects"},{"startTime":1932.15,"endTime":1934.55,"body":"to spirits of the land and deities"},{"startTime":1934.55,"endTime":1937.22,"body":"makes sense for about half the objects,"},{"startTime":1937.22,"endTime":1940.52,"body":"but a key to a strong"},{"startTime":1937.22,"endTime":1940.52,"body":"box and an ironing board"},{"startTime":1940.52,"endTime":1942.92,"body":"probably aren't going to go down too big"},{"startTime":1942.92,"endTime":1945.71,"body":"in Asgard or Valhalla."},{"startTime":1945.71,"endTime":1949.79,"body":"So these do look like"},{"startTime":1945.71,"endTime":1949.79,"body":"deeply personal objects."},{"startTime":1949.79,"endTime":1953.99,"body":"But why are some of the Vikings at Repton"},{"startTime":1953.99,"endTime":1955.61,"body":"in the Christian area"},{"startTime":1955.61,"endTime":1960.05,"body":"and some up on the ridge in"},{"startTime":1955.61,"endTime":1960.05,"body":"the completely pagan area?"},{"startTime":1960.05,"endTime":1963.47,"body":"Were these the resting places of invaders"},{"startTime":1963.47,"endTime":1967.64,"body":"who identified as"},{"startTime":1963.47,"endTime":1967.64,"body":"died-in-the-wall heathens"},{"startTime":1967.64,"endTime":1970.97,"body":"while those who related"},{"startTime":1967.64,"endTime":1970.97,"body":"better to Christianity"},{"startTime":1970.97,"endTime":1972.98,"body":"and the local population"},{"startTime":1972.98,"endTime":1976.22,"body":"chose to be buried beside"},{"startTime":1972.98,"endTime":1976.22,"body":"the church at Repton?"},{"startTime":1976.22,"endTime":1977.657,"body":"We just don't know"},{"startTime":1977.657,"endTime":1981.59,"body":"and that sounds like a really"},{"startTime":1977.657,"endTime":1981.59,"body":"neat plausible explanation"},{"startTime":1981.59,"endTime":1983.6,"body":"and it fits the evidence,"},{"startTime":1983.6,"endTime":1986.243,"body":"but it may be wildly wrong."},{"startTime":1987.77,"endTime":1991.61,"body":"The capital of Viking archeology"},{"startTime":1991.61,"endTime":1994.13,"body":"is however the Isle of Man,"},{"startTime":1994.13,"endTime":1999.13,"body":"which was established as"},{"startTime":1994.13,"endTime":1999.13,"body":"an independent rulership"},{"startTime":2000.25,"endTime":2004.12,"body":"by the Vikings and it still is."},{"startTime":2004.12,"endTime":2009.12,"body":"Our new King Charles is"},{"startTime":2004.12,"endTime":2009.12,"body":"Lord of Mann in Mann."},{"startTime":2009.76,"endTime":2012.7,"body":"He is not fair's king of England"},{"startTime":2012.7,"endTime":2015.28,"body":"and as such, he is direct successor"},{"startTime":2015.28,"endTime":2017.53,"body":"to the Viking kings of Mann."},{"startTime":2017.53,"endTime":2018.79,"body":"There was still kings there"},{"startTime":2018.79,"endTime":2021.34,"body":"until Henry VIII who was irritable enough"},{"startTime":2021.34,"endTime":2023.65,"body":"to execute hundreds of people"},{"startTime":2023.65,"endTime":2025.45,"body":"and it was felt tactful"},{"startTime":2025.45,"endTime":2028.81,"body":"that the current Lord of"},{"startTime":2025.45,"endTime":2028.81,"body":"Mann should downgrade,"},{"startTime":2028.81,"endTime":2030.19,"body":"sorry, current king of Mann"},{"startTime":2030.19,"endTime":2032.23,"body":"should downgrade to being a lord"},{"startTime":2032.23,"endTime":2035.41,"body":"to avoid annoying Henry and it worked."},{"startTime":2035.41,"endTime":2037.96,"body":"And the people of Mann"},{"startTime":2037.96,"endTime":2041.14,"body":"still have one of the"},{"startTime":2037.96,"endTime":2041.14,"body":"oldest parliaments on earth,"},{"startTime":2041.14,"endTime":2044.02,"body":"the Tynwald, which still rules the island."},{"startTime":2044.02,"endTime":2046.093,"body":"It's not part of the United Kingdom."},{"startTime":2047.53,"endTime":2048.88,"body":"So it's still in many ways"},{"startTime":2048.88,"endTime":2052.39,"body":"a classic successful Viking polity"},{"startTime":2052.39,"endTime":2054.52,"body":"and it has the greatest collection"},{"startTime":2054.52,"endTime":2059.52,"body":"of Scandinavian calved"},{"startTime":2054.52,"endTime":2059.52,"body":"stones outside Scandinavia"},{"startTime":2059.62,"endTime":2062.29,"body":"and 40 burials with goods."},{"startTime":2062.29,"endTime":2066.28,"body":"It's a very varied and fascinating island,"},{"startTime":2066.28,"endTime":2067.24,"body":"but it's not that big."},{"startTime":2067.24,"endTime":2071.92,"body":"So 40 burials are kind of"},{"startTime":2067.24,"endTime":2071.92,"body":"within half an hour's drive"},{"startTime":2071.92,"endTime":2073.51,"body":"of each other."},{"startTime":2073.51,"endTime":2076.84,"body":"In Jurby parish on the far northwest,"},{"startTime":2076.84,"endTime":2079.0,"body":"six of the eight farms"},{"startTime":2079.0,"endTime":2081.94,"body":"had a great burial mound on their land"},{"startTime":2081.94,"endTime":2084.04,"body":"visible from the sea,"},{"startTime":2084.04,"endTime":2086.92,"body":"probably that the original Viking settler"},{"startTime":2086.92,"endTime":2091.06,"body":"to found the farm and the"},{"startTime":2086.92,"endTime":2091.06,"body":"farms are still there,"},{"startTime":2091.06,"endTime":2093.22,"body":"passed down through the ages"},{"startTime":2093.22,"endTime":2096.73,"body":"intact with the great"},{"startTime":2093.22,"endTime":2096.73,"body":"burial mound still visible"},{"startTime":2096.73,"endTime":2099.31,"body":"to anybody sailing by that coast"},{"startTime":2099.31,"endTime":2102.49,"body":"as a welcome here if you're Vikings"},{"startTime":2102.49,"endTime":2107.49,"body":"or trespassers will be prosecuted"},{"startTime":2102.49,"endTime":2107.49,"body":"announcement to sailors."},{"startTime":2109.18,"endTime":2114.18,"body":"Some of the Manx burials"},{"startTime":2109.18,"endTime":2114.18,"body":"are especially interesting."},{"startTime":2114.76,"endTime":2118.48,"body":"At Balladoole, a ship burial was put"},{"startTime":2118.48,"endTime":2121.45,"body":"into an existing Christian cemetery."},{"startTime":2121.45,"endTime":2123.37,"body":"And this time, to me,"},{"startTime":2123.37,"endTime":2125.62,"body":"the intrusion seems to be"},{"startTime":2125.62,"endTime":2128.638,"body":"a deliberate act of desecration"},{"startTime":2128.638,"endTime":2131.95,"body":"and oblation of the Christian holy sight"},{"startTime":2131.95,"endTime":2134.11,"body":"because the ship burial was dug"},{"startTime":2134.11,"endTime":2137.413,"body":"straight through existing"},{"startTime":2134.11,"endTime":2137.413,"body":"graves to destroy them."},{"startTime":2138.82,"endTime":2143.82,"body":"Into the ship was put a"},{"startTime":2138.82,"endTime":2143.82,"body":"man with a severed head,"},{"startTime":2144.49,"endTime":2148.33,"body":"apparently female, placed next to him."},{"startTime":2148.33,"endTime":2151.69,"body":"Not the kind of thing most of"},{"startTime":2148.33,"endTime":2151.69,"body":"us keep in our mantle pieces,"},{"startTime":2151.69,"endTime":2155.86,"body":"but clearly an important"},{"startTime":2151.69,"endTime":2155.86,"body":"accessory in the grave."},{"startTime":2155.86,"endTime":2158.8,"body":"And the two of them were overlaid"},{"startTime":2158.8,"endTime":2163.8,"body":"by the burned bones of"},{"startTime":2158.8,"endTime":2163.8,"body":"horse, ox, sheep or goat,"},{"startTime":2164.35,"endTime":2167.38,"body":"pig, dog and cat."},{"startTime":2167.38,"endTime":2171.67,"body":"They clearly needed a cat to"},{"startTime":2167.38,"endTime":2171.67,"body":"complete the retinue of animals"},{"startTime":2171.67,"endTime":2173.65,"body":"going into the afterlife."},{"startTime":2173.65,"endTime":2175.96,"body":"Again, the animals going there,"},{"startTime":2175.96,"endTime":2178.0,"body":"some of them could be food,"},{"startTime":2178.0,"endTime":2179.62,"body":"but clearly not the cat."},{"startTime":2179.62,"endTime":2181.363,"body":"So it's a companion."},{"startTime":2183.25,"endTime":2187.57,"body":"This may therefore have been"},{"startTime":2183.25,"endTime":2187.57,"body":"a scene of animal sacrifice"},{"startTime":2187.57,"endTime":2189.7,"body":"and also of human sacrifice,"},{"startTime":2189.7,"endTime":2192.16,"body":"we think of the woman's head."},{"startTime":2192.16,"endTime":2192.993,"body":"But"},{"startTime":2194.14,"endTime":2196.22,"body":"again, we can't be certain"},{"startTime":2197.41,"endTime":2199.69,"body":"because both the woman and the animals"},{"startTime":2199.69,"endTime":2201.49,"body":"may not have been sacrifices,"},{"startTime":2201.49,"endTime":2203.95,"body":"but beloved companions"},{"startTime":2203.95,"endTime":2207.46,"body":"and the woman killed in"},{"startTime":2203.95,"endTime":2207.46,"body":"a raid alongside the man"},{"startTime":2207.46,"endTime":2209.56,"body":"and only her head rescued"},{"startTime":2209.56,"endTime":2211.6,"body":"when the action was over"},{"startTime":2211.6,"endTime":2214.723,"body":"and the couple brought"},{"startTime":2211.6,"endTime":2214.723,"body":"back to lie together."},{"startTime":2215.92,"endTime":2219.04,"body":"A big post had stood"},{"startTime":2215.92,"endTime":2219.04,"body":"at the end of the ship,"},{"startTime":2219.04,"endTime":2224.04,"body":"perhaps a ship mast or"},{"startTime":2219.04,"endTime":2224.04,"body":"figurehead or totem pole."},{"startTime":2224.23,"endTime":2229.23,"body":"The effective illiteracy of"},{"startTime":2224.23,"endTime":2229.23,"body":"the Vikings in the Pagan period"},{"startTime":2229.48,"endTime":2230.8,"body":"rendered as it impossible"},{"startTime":2230.8,"endTime":2233.53,"body":"to give them human stories from the time"},{"startTime":2233.53,"endTime":2235.0,"body":"of the kind that we can give"},{"startTime":2235.0,"endTime":2238.15,"body":"to the Romano British, for example."},{"startTime":2238.15,"endTime":2241.51,"body":"But what we have are"},{"startTime":2238.15,"endTime":2241.51,"body":"these vivid bits of image,"},{"startTime":2241.51,"endTime":2244.87,"body":"which, again, we can"},{"startTime":2241.51,"endTime":2244.87,"body":"read in different ways."},{"startTime":2244.87,"endTime":2246.463,"body":"So let's look at some more."},{"startTime":2247.75,"endTime":2252.37,"body":"At Knock-y-Doonee, a man was"},{"startTime":2247.75,"endTime":2252.37,"body":"buried in the prow of a boat,"},{"startTime":2252.37,"endTime":2256.51,"body":"wrapped in a cloak with"},{"startTime":2252.37,"endTime":2256.51,"body":"a knife, sword, ax,"},{"startTime":2256.51,"endTime":2261.07,"body":"spear, shield and an iron"},{"startTime":2256.51,"endTime":2261.07,"body":"bowl covered in a cloth."},{"startTime":2261.07,"endTime":2262.873,"body":"So far, so usual."},{"startTime":2265.51,"endTime":2270.41,"body":"But uniquely, he also"},{"startTime":2265.51,"endTime":2270.41,"body":"had a blacksmith's hammer"},{"startTime":2271.3,"endTime":2274.78,"body":"and a fishing net left in the stern,"},{"startTime":2274.78,"endTime":2278.56,"body":"perhaps emblems of his occupations in life"},{"startTime":2278.56,"endTime":2280.9,"body":"or perhaps otherwise an expectation"},{"startTime":2280.9,"endTime":2284.29,"body":"he might need to learn"},{"startTime":2280.9,"endTime":2284.29,"body":"a trade in the afterlife"},{"startTime":2284.29,"endTime":2286.093,"body":"once he'd given up being a Viking."},{"startTime":2287.41,"endTime":2289.81,"body":"A horse and probably a dog"},{"startTime":2289.81,"endTime":2291.703,"body":"were laid in the middle of the boat."},{"startTime":2293.02,"endTime":2295.33,"body":"At Cronk Mooar,"},{"startTime":2295.33,"endTime":2299.71,"body":"a planked burial chamber"},{"startTime":2295.33,"endTime":2299.71,"body":"was built in a pit"},{"startTime":2299.71,"endTime":2302.503,"body":"and contained a man in a cloak and a belt."},{"startTime":2303.58,"endTime":2306.37,"body":"A knife was stuck in the belt"},{"startTime":2306.37,"endTime":2309.58,"body":"and the sword laid beside him."},{"startTime":2309.58,"endTime":2313.36,"body":"The body had maggots in it before burial."},{"startTime":2313.36,"endTime":2317.8,"body":"So either they kept him lying"},{"startTime":2313.36,"endTime":2317.8,"body":"in state for a very long time"},{"startTime":2317.8,"endTime":2319.45,"body":"before burying him,"},{"startTime":2319.45,"endTime":2322.9,"body":"or more likely he died elsewhere"},{"startTime":2322.9,"endTime":2325.84,"body":"and they took care, smelly"},{"startTime":2322.9,"endTime":2325.84,"body":"though he must have been,"},{"startTime":2325.84,"endTime":2328.24,"body":"to bring him all the way back to Mann"},{"startTime":2328.24,"endTime":2331.453,"body":"for burial in that special place."},{"startTime":2334.21,"endTime":2338.833,"body":"The most ghoulish site is Ballateare."},{"startTime":2340.3,"endTime":2344.69,"body":"There, a young man had"},{"startTime":2340.3,"endTime":2344.69,"body":"been put in a coffin"},{"startTime":2346.09,"endTime":2350.14,"body":"surrounded by a shattered"},{"startTime":2346.09,"endTime":2350.14,"body":"sword and shield,"},{"startTime":2350.14,"endTime":2352.42,"body":"plus three spears and a knife."},{"startTime":2352.42,"endTime":2355.81,"body":"Again, why are the sword"},{"startTime":2352.42,"endTime":2355.81,"body":"and shield shattered?"},{"startTime":2355.81,"endTime":2359.23,"body":"Is it simply to prevent valuable things"},{"startTime":2359.23,"endTime":2364.23,"body":"being dug up later and reused"},{"startTime":2359.23,"endTime":2364.23,"body":"and profaning the grave"},{"startTime":2364.48,"endTime":2367.48,"body":"or is it ritually to kill them"},{"startTime":2367.48,"endTime":2371.71,"body":"so they can better follow"},{"startTime":2367.48,"endTime":2371.71,"body":"the dead into the afterlife"},{"startTime":2371.71,"endTime":2373.96,"body":"or were they simply"},{"startTime":2371.71,"endTime":2373.96,"body":"shattered in the battle"},{"startTime":2373.96,"endTime":2375.67,"body":"in which the man died?"},{"startTime":2375.67,"endTime":2380.203,"body":"Again, three different"},{"startTime":2375.67,"endTime":2380.203,"body":"equally plausible readings."},{"startTime":2381.07,"endTime":2384.103,"body":"But here's where it gets gruesome."},{"startTime":2385.12,"endTime":2388.42,"body":"Laid over the coffin was"},{"startTime":2385.12,"endTime":2388.42,"body":"the body of a young woman"},{"startTime":2388.42,"endTime":2390.64,"body":"who had been killed by a great blow"},{"startTime":2390.64,"endTime":2392.89,"body":"from a sword or an ax,"},{"startTime":2392.89,"endTime":2395.86,"body":"which had sheered off"},{"startTime":2392.89,"endTime":2395.86,"body":"the back of her skull."},{"startTime":2395.86,"endTime":2400.0,"body":"You can see the hole it"},{"startTime":2395.86,"endTime":2400.0,"body":"created on the screen."},{"startTime":2400.0,"endTime":2402.91,"body":"And over them, as at Balladoole"},{"startTime":2402.91,"endTime":2406.42,"body":"where only the head survived of the woman,"},{"startTime":2406.42,"endTime":2411.01,"body":"was laid piled a layer"},{"startTime":2406.42,"endTime":2411.01,"body":"of burnt bones of dog,"},{"startTime":2411.01,"endTime":2414.498,"body":"sheep, ox and horse."},{"startTime":2414.498,"endTime":2417.28,"body":"And then a big mound"},{"startTime":2414.498,"endTime":2417.28,"body":"was built over the lot,"},{"startTime":2417.28,"endTime":2421.723,"body":"which again was visible"},{"startTime":2417.28,"endTime":2421.723,"body":"from a long way around."},{"startTime":2422.77,"endTime":2425.53,"body":"So what's going on here?"},{"startTime":2425.53,"endTime":2428.65,"body":"Was the woman a sacrifice"},{"startTime":2428.65,"endTime":2430.09,"body":"like the animals"},{"startTime":2430.09,"endTime":2432.16,"body":"to accompany the warrior?"},{"startTime":2432.16,"endTime":2436.33,"body":"A lot of people who've looked"},{"startTime":2432.16,"endTime":2436.33,"body":"at the Ballateare grave"},{"startTime":2436.33,"endTime":2440.23,"body":"have gone straight to a famous account"},{"startTime":2440.23,"endTime":2443.683,"body":"by the Arab traveler, Ibn Fadlan,"},{"startTime":2444.52,"endTime":2448.87,"body":"of people who may have been Vikings"},{"startTime":2448.87,"endTime":2451.6,"body":"on the Volga river in Russia."},{"startTime":2451.6,"endTime":2454.3,"body":"And it gives a long description"},{"startTime":2454.3,"endTime":2457.96,"body":"of the funeral of a chief of these people"},{"startTime":2457.96,"endTime":2459.67,"body":"who were called the Rus."},{"startTime":2459.67,"endTime":2461.923,"body":"It's the origins of our word Russian."},{"startTime":2463.33,"endTime":2466.84,"body":"And it took several days"},{"startTime":2466.84,"endTime":2469.15,"body":"and as part of it,"},{"startTime":2469.15,"endTime":2473.53,"body":"one of the former slave"},{"startTime":2469.15,"endTime":2473.53,"body":"girls of the dead chief"},{"startTime":2473.53,"endTime":2476.98,"body":"allegedly volunteered to accompany him"},{"startTime":2476.98,"endTime":2480.37,"body":"and went through a long"},{"startTime":2476.98,"endTime":2480.37,"body":"process of preparation"},{"startTime":2480.37,"endTime":2483.07,"body":"at the end of which"},{"startTime":2480.37,"endTime":2483.07,"body":"she was knifed to death"},{"startTime":2483.07,"endTime":2486.1,"body":"by an old lady called the angel of death"},{"startTime":2486.1,"endTime":2488.8,"body":"or equivalent local expression"},{"startTime":2488.8,"endTime":2492.16,"body":"and was cremated"},{"startTime":2492.16,"endTime":2495.853,"body":"with the dead chief or interred with him."},{"startTime":2497.29,"endTime":2500.74,"body":"And we may be seeing a parallel here,"},{"startTime":2500.74,"endTime":2504.43,"body":"and of course, for anybody who wants"},{"startTime":2504.43,"endTime":2505.99,"body":"the hard view of the Vikings"},{"startTime":2505.99,"endTime":2508.57,"body":"or just has a gothic taste in history,"},{"startTime":2508.57,"endTime":2510.55,"body":"this is almost irresistible."},{"startTime":2510.55,"endTime":2515.14,"body":"So you can simply add"},{"startTime":2510.55,"endTime":2515.14,"body":"Ibn Fadlan's soundtrack"},{"startTime":2515.14,"endTime":2518.86,"body":"to the story of our couple at Ballateare."},{"startTime":2518.86,"endTime":2523.12,"body":"There is incidentally"},{"startTime":2518.86,"endTime":2523.12,"body":"a truly wonderful film,"},{"startTime":2523.12,"endTime":2524.86,"body":"the 13th Warrior,"},{"startTime":2524.86,"endTime":2528.55,"body":"which starts with that funeral"},{"startTime":2528.55,"endTime":2531.34,"body":"and stars Ibn Fadlan,"},{"startTime":2531.34,"endTime":2532.99,"body":"except in the film,"},{"startTime":2532.99,"endTime":2536.11,"body":"he's taken north to the Viking lands"},{"startTime":2536.11,"endTime":2538.09,"body":"to take part in a saga"},{"startTime":2538.09,"endTime":2540.823,"body":"before going home to write it all up."},{"startTime":2542.35,"endTime":2545.2,"body":"Antonio Banderas is a Mexican, of course,"},{"startTime":2545.2,"endTime":2546.68,"body":"is the perfect actor"},{"startTime":2548.77,"endTime":2551.743,"body":"to play an early medieval Arab traveler."},{"startTime":2554.23,"endTime":2556.09,"body":"On the other hand,"},{"startTime":2556.09,"endTime":2560.053,"body":"we can reconstruct it"},{"startTime":2556.09,"endTime":2560.053,"body":"in other ways as well."},{"startTime":2561.13,"endTime":2566.13,"body":"For example, the young"},{"startTime":2561.13,"endTime":2566.13,"body":"man and the young woman"},{"startTime":2567.01,"endTime":2569.47,"body":"may have been a devoted couple"},{"startTime":2569.47,"endTime":2574.18,"body":"who died together in the same"},{"startTime":2569.47,"endTime":2574.18,"body":"violent incident somewhere,"},{"startTime":2574.18,"endTime":2575.83,"body":"the woman dying with a blow"},{"startTime":2575.83,"endTime":2577.93,"body":"that took off the back of her skull"},{"startTime":2577.93,"endTime":2579.88,"body":"and the man stabbed through the heart"},{"startTime":2579.88,"endTime":2581.62,"body":"or some other vital organ,"},{"startTime":2581.62,"endTime":2584.257,"body":"which would not show on the bones."},{"startTime":2584.257,"endTime":2586.84,"body":"And the two of them were"},{"startTime":2584.257,"endTime":2586.84,"body":"brought back together"},{"startTime":2586.84,"endTime":2589.84,"body":"to lie in honor together in the grave"},{"startTime":2589.84,"endTime":2593.5,"body":"and accompany each"},{"startTime":2589.84,"endTime":2593.5,"body":"other into the afterlife"},{"startTime":2593.5,"endTime":2595.57,"body":"with the dog, the sheep,"},{"startTime":2595.57,"endTime":2597.94,"body":"the ox and the horse,"},{"startTime":2597.94,"endTime":2602.02,"body":"a complete set of equipment for all needs."},{"startTime":2602.02,"endTime":2605.92,"body":"And the three spears and knife"},{"startTime":2605.92,"endTime":2608.59,"body":"and the shattered sword and shield."},{"startTime":2608.59,"endTime":2612.1,"body":"If the shield and the sword"},{"startTime":2608.59,"endTime":2612.1,"body":"were broken in battle,"},{"startTime":2612.1,"endTime":2614.47,"body":"that's another gift to a script writer,"},{"startTime":2614.47,"endTime":2617.11,"body":"maybe bringing back Antonio Banderas"},{"startTime":2617.11,"endTime":2620.53,"body":"to play a part in the story."},{"startTime":2620.53,"endTime":2622.27,"body":"It can be that visual"},{"startTime":2622.27,"endTime":2624.58,"body":"and we can see these people"},{"startTime":2624.58,"endTime":2627.85,"body":"because the face of the young man"},{"startTime":2627.85,"endTime":2629.71,"body":"like that of the burial at Balladoole"},{"startTime":2629.71,"endTime":2634.3,"body":"can be reconstructed by modern forensics."},{"startTime":2634.3,"endTime":2636.85,"body":"So we can gaze it accurately"},{"startTime":2636.85,"endTime":2640.6,"body":"at the very features of"},{"startTime":2636.85,"endTime":2640.6,"body":"the person concerned."},{"startTime":2640.6,"endTime":2643.03,"body":"We can see their faces again,"},{"startTime":2643.03,"endTime":2645.25,"body":"but we can't hear them."},{"startTime":2645.25,"endTime":2647.29,"body":"Because of the lack of writing,"},{"startTime":2647.29,"endTime":2649.48,"body":"their stories are lost."},{"startTime":2649.48,"endTime":2652.15,"body":"And as I've suggested,"},{"startTime":2652.15,"endTime":2656.02,"body":"at least two or three different stories"},{"startTime":2656.02,"endTime":2659.23,"body":"can be told of each of these burials"},{"startTime":2659.23,"endTime":2662.293,"body":"to account for the archeological data."},{"startTime":2663.44,"endTime":2668.44,"body":"To me, the finest story about"},{"startTime":2663.44,"endTime":2668.44,"body":"the Viking graves of man"},{"startTime":2670.75,"endTime":2672.61,"body":"is the modern one,"},{"startTime":2672.61,"endTime":2676.18,"body":"and it's one at least for"},{"startTime":2672.61,"endTime":2676.18,"body":"which we do have good records"},{"startTime":2676.18,"endTime":2678.37,"body":"and it happens to be true,"},{"startTime":2678.37,"endTime":2681.28,"body":"which is that they were excavated"},{"startTime":2681.28,"endTime":2685.18,"body":"by a superlative German archeologist"},{"startTime":2685.18,"endTime":2687.79,"body":"called Gerhard Bersu,"},{"startTime":2687.79,"endTime":2692.79,"body":"who was loved and prized"},{"startTime":2687.79,"endTime":2692.79,"body":"in his native Germany"},{"startTime":2693.04,"endTime":2694.99,"body":"that hated the Nazis."},{"startTime":2694.99,"endTime":2699.99,"body":"And so, he fled a good place"},{"startTime":2694.99,"endTime":2699.99,"body":"in Germany in the 1930s"},{"startTime":2700.06,"endTime":2704.26,"body":"to come to Britain and"},{"startTime":2700.06,"endTime":2704.26,"body":"live free among the British"},{"startTime":2704.26,"endTime":2707.14,"body":"who repaid him by locking him up"},{"startTime":2707.14,"endTime":2712.12,"body":"as an enemy alien as soon"},{"startTime":2707.14,"endTime":2712.12,"body":"as World War II came along."},{"startTime":2712.12,"endTime":2716.59,"body":"And he was in terms with"},{"startTime":2712.12,"endTime":2716.59,"body":"various Nazi prisoners of war,"},{"startTime":2716.59,"endTime":2720.16,"body":"whom he, of course, hated"},{"startTime":2716.59,"endTime":2720.16,"body":"as much as they hated him"},{"startTime":2720.16,"endTime":2721.96,"body":"on the Isle of Man."},{"startTime":2721.96,"endTime":2725.95,"body":"But the British were shame"},{"startTime":2721.96,"endTime":2725.95,"body":"faced enough to realize"},{"startTime":2725.95,"endTime":2730.95,"body":"that Bersu was not as obvious"},{"startTime":2725.95,"endTime":2730.95,"body":"an enemy as the others"},{"startTime":2731.77,"endTime":2733.6,"body":"and he was allowed out."},{"startTime":2733.6,"endTime":2738.6,"body":"He was able to identify"},{"startTime":2733.6,"endTime":2738.6,"body":"the mounds as Viking tumuli"},{"startTime":2738.82,"endTime":2741.223,"body":"and got permission to excavate them."},{"startTime":2742.06,"endTime":2745.15,"body":"But to excavate a viking mound,"},{"startTime":2745.15,"endTime":2746.743,"body":"you need to use tools."},{"startTime":2747.73,"endTime":2751.21,"body":"They wouldn't give him a team to lead,"},{"startTime":2751.21,"endTime":2753.97,"body":"he had to do the job himself."},{"startTime":2753.97,"endTime":2755.8,"body":"And they wouldn't allow him to use"},{"startTime":2755.8,"endTime":2758.23,"body":"things like shovels and spades"},{"startTime":2758.23,"endTime":2760.51,"body":"because they could be turned into weapons"},{"startTime":2760.51,"endTime":2762.19,"body":"and you don't put those in the hands"},{"startTime":2762.19,"endTime":2765.01,"body":"of interned enemy aliens."},{"startTime":2765.01,"endTime":2767.06,"body":"So in the end, they gave him a teaspoon"},{"startTime":2768.4,"endTime":2770.17,"body":"and using a teaspoon,"},{"startTime":2770.17,"endTime":2772.99,"body":"he excavated the classic sites,"},{"startTime":2772.99,"endTime":2776.2,"body":"which I've been describing patiently,"},{"startTime":2776.2,"endTime":2778.99,"body":"expertly and delivered this to us."},{"startTime":2778.99,"endTime":2781.03,"body":"And of course, with the war's end,"},{"startTime":2781.03,"endTime":2784.42,"body":"he could be released and gained the credit"},{"startTime":2784.42,"endTime":2786.7,"body":"that these actions had given him."},{"startTime":2786.7,"endTime":2790.3,"body":"Now there is a true story"},{"startTime":2786.7,"endTime":2790.3,"body":"of travel adventure,"},{"startTime":2790.3,"endTime":2793.45,"body":"ideology, conviction and survival,"},{"startTime":2793.45,"endTime":2795.7,"body":"worthy of any Viking."},{"startTime":2795.7,"endTime":2798.403,"body":"It's Gerhard Bersu Saga."},{"startTime":2800.38,"endTime":2803.89,"body":"So taking him out of the picture,"},{"startTime":2803.89,"endTime":2806.8,"body":"once more we're left not with certainties,"},{"startTime":2806.8,"endTime":2810.22,"body":"but with questions and choices"},{"startTime":2810.22,"endTime":2812.89,"body":"and the choices hark back,"},{"startTime":2812.89,"endTime":2817.39,"body":"like so much to the dual"},{"startTime":2812.89,"endTime":2817.39,"body":"aspect of the Vikings"},{"startTime":2817.39,"endTime":2820.09,"body":"as barbarous destroyers"},{"startTime":2820.09,"endTime":2823.91,"body":"or courageous explorers and creators"},{"startTime":2824.86,"endTime":2827.59,"body":"or creatorsees."},{"startTime":2827.59,"endTime":2830.02,"body":"Whether you yourselves"},{"startTime":2830.02,"endTime":2832.45,"body":"choose one of these"},{"startTime":2832.45,"endTime":2834.43,"body":"or neither"},{"startTime":2834.43,"endTime":2837.19,"body":"or make a blend of them"},{"startTime":2837.19,"endTime":2838.21,"body":"is up to you."},{"startTime":2838.21,"endTime":2840.91,"body":"And the glorious thing"},{"startTime":2840.91,"endTime":2843.92,"body":"about posing so many alternatives to you"},{"startTime":2845.001,"endTime":2847.99,"body":"and so many unresolved questions"},{"startTime":2847.99,"endTime":2850.51,"body":"is that this does leave you"},{"startTime":2850.51,"endTime":2853.45,"body":"with the freedom to choose."},{"startTime":2853.45,"endTime":2856.21,"body":"And since freedom was a quality"},{"startTime":2856.21,"endTime":2861.1,"body":"the pagan Vikings prized"},{"startTime":2856.21,"endTime":2861.1,"body":"almost more than any other"},{"startTime":2861.1,"endTime":2865.397,"body":"and remembering Finnbogi's"},{"startTime":2861.1,"endTime":2865.397,"body":"declaration to the emperor,"},{"startTime":2865.397,"endTime":2867.04,"body":"\"What do I believe in?"},{"startTime":2867.04,"endTime":2868.42,"body":"Me.\""},{"startTime":2868.42,"endTime":2870.577,"body":"That is I think perhaps"},{"startTime":2870.577,"endTime":2874.003,"body":"one of the most fitting"},{"startTime":2870.577,"endTime":2874.003,"body":"conclusions to draw."},{"startTime":2874.944,"endTime":2877.944,"body":"(audience applauds)"},{"startTime":2885.452,"endTime":2886.54,"body":"- Thank you very much."},{"startTime":2886.54,"endTime":2889.213,"body":"That was a wonderful talk this evening."},{"startTime":2890.05,"endTime":2891.61,"body":"We've got time for some questions."},{"startTime":2891.61,"endTime":2893.74,"body":"I've got some online"},{"startTime":2891.61,"endTime":2893.74,"body":"which I will start with"},{"startTime":2893.74,"endTime":2896.2,"body":"and then if anyone in the"},{"startTime":2893.74,"endTime":2896.2,"body":"audience wants to ask a question,"},{"startTime":2896.2,"endTime":2897.913,"body":"we'll come round to you."},{"startTime":2898.99,"endTime":2900.97,"body":"The first one is about the cat."},{"startTime":2900.97,"endTime":2901.897,"body":"So (laughs),"},{"startTime":2903.37,"endTime":2906.13,"body":"you said that you thought"},{"startTime":2903.37,"endTime":2906.13,"body":"the cat might be for company,"},{"startTime":2906.13,"endTime":2909.4,"body":"but it could also be to catch"},{"startTime":2906.13,"endTime":2909.4,"body":"mice or rats presumably."},{"startTime":2909.4,"endTime":2910.69,"body":"We have a listener who's wondering"},{"startTime":2910.69,"endTime":2913.018,"body":"if it could be to provide catgut"},{"startTime":2913.018,"endTime":2915.695,"body":"for a bow or a musical instrument."},{"startTime":2915.695,"endTime":2917.05,"body":"- True."},{"startTime":2917.05,"endTime":2920.62,"body":"I'll go completely with the catching mice,"},{"startTime":2920.62,"endTime":2923.233,"body":"but then catching mice is"},{"startTime":2920.62,"endTime":2923.233,"body":"a part of being company."},{"startTime":2924.28,"endTime":2929.28,"body":"My own cats are both wonderful"},{"startTime":2924.28,"endTime":2929.28,"body":"company most of the time"},{"startTime":2929.56,"endTime":2933.91,"body":"and they're also great"},{"startTime":2929.56,"endTime":2933.91,"body":"exterminators of rodents."},{"startTime":2933.91,"endTime":2936.22,"body":"So the two are compatible."},{"startTime":2936.22,"endTime":2939.19,"body":"As for catgut, yes, possibly,"},{"startTime":2939.19,"endTime":2942.43,"body":"likewise fur, but you"},{"startTime":2939.19,"endTime":2942.43,"body":"need more than one cat"},{"startTime":2942.43,"endTime":2945.19,"body":"in order to get a decent quantity of both"},{"startTime":2945.19,"endTime":2946.96,"body":"for manufacturing things."},{"startTime":2946.96,"endTime":2949.755,"body":"And this was a lone Viking pussy cat."},{"startTime":2949.755,"endTime":2950.95,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":2950.95,"endTime":2952.3,"body":"- A very small bow."},{"startTime":2952.3,"endTime":2953.743,"body":"- Perfect for a voyage."},{"startTime":2956.35,"endTime":2957.28,"body":"- And also we've been asked,"},{"startTime":2957.28,"endTime":2958.63,"body":"do you think the burials happened"},{"startTime":2958.63,"endTime":2960.58,"body":"in the Christian burial grounds"},{"startTime":2960.58,"endTime":2962.86,"body":"because that was a predug bit of ground,"},{"startTime":2962.86,"endTime":2964.81,"body":"so a bit easier to get your shovel in?"},{"startTime":2964.81,"endTime":2965.643,"body":"- Sorry, what did-"},{"startTime":2965.643,"endTime":2966.91,"body":"- So if the burials were happening"},{"startTime":2966.91,"endTime":2969.16,"body":"in Christian burial grounds,"},{"startTime":2969.16,"endTime":2971.2,"body":"was that because they"},{"startTime":2969.16,"endTime":2971.2,"body":"had already been dug,"},{"startTime":2971.2,"endTime":2972.448,"body":"therefore they were actually easier?"},{"startTime":2972.448,"endTime":2975.25,"body":"- No, they were fresh graves."},{"startTime":2975.25,"endTime":2978.82,"body":"These are not ready-made"},{"startTime":2975.25,"endTime":2978.82,"body":"mausoleum that are being reused."},{"startTime":2978.82,"endTime":2980.683,"body":"They're fresh excavations."},{"startTime":2983.11,"endTime":2984.55,"body":"- Our next one is about names."},{"startTime":2984.55,"endTime":2986.203,"body":"We've had a few about names."},{"startTime":2987.1,"endTime":2989.971,"body":"Ivar the Boneless, was"},{"startTime":2987.1,"endTime":2989.971,"body":"this a joke, do you think,"},{"startTime":2989.971,"endTime":2991.258,"body":"in relation to his stature"},{"startTime":2991.258,"endTime":2993.7,"body":"or was he actually rather you know?"},{"startTime":2993.7,"endTime":2996.733,"body":"- Well, it may have been."},{"startTime":2997.57,"endTime":2999.25,"body":"It may have been a joking nickname."},{"startTime":2999.25,"endTime":3002.643,"body":"They were jokers in a"},{"startTime":2999.25,"endTime":3002.643,"body":"rather grim kind of way."},{"startTime":3004.08,"endTime":3009.08,"body":"Or alternatively, this"},{"startTime":3004.08,"endTime":3009.08,"body":"was superbly realized"},{"startTime":3009.15,"endTime":3012.9,"body":"in the modern American-made"},{"startTime":3009.15,"endTime":3012.9,"body":"series, Vikings,"},{"startTime":3012.9,"endTime":3015.06,"body":"he may actually have been a paraplege."},{"startTime":3015.06,"endTime":3017.08,"body":"He may have had"},{"startTime":3017.94,"endTime":3020.94,"body":"a very well-known condition"},{"startTime":3020.94,"endTime":3023.85,"body":"which leaves you without use of your legs"},{"startTime":3023.85,"endTime":3026.28,"body":"and sometimes without your arms."},{"startTime":3026.28,"endTime":3028.02,"body":"So he'd have been been carried around"},{"startTime":3028.02,"endTime":3030.06,"body":"or driven in a chariot,"},{"startTime":3030.06,"endTime":3032.22,"body":"but would've been a very effective leader."},{"startTime":3032.22,"endTime":3035.34,"body":"And that's utterly possible"},{"startTime":3035.34,"endTime":3039.39,"body":"and a rather pleasing"},{"startTime":3035.34,"endTime":3039.39,"body":"interpretation of it."},{"startTime":3039.39,"endTime":3041.85,"body":"It makes another dimension to history."},{"startTime":3041.85,"endTime":3045.42,"body":"But of course, we have at"},{"startTime":3041.85,"endTime":3045.42,"body":"least four other explanations"},{"startTime":3045.42,"endTime":3047.25,"body":"for his name."},{"startTime":3047.25,"endTime":3050.1,"body":"He would've pronounced his name Ivar"},{"startTime":3050.1,"endTime":3052.41,"body":"and spelled it Ingvar."},{"startTime":3052.41,"endTime":3054.6,"body":"And just for the semantic record,"},{"startTime":3054.6,"endTime":3058.77,"body":"the modern Russian name Igor"},{"startTime":3054.6,"endTime":3058.77,"body":"is the modern form of it"},{"startTime":3058.77,"endTime":3060.72,"body":"'cause the Vikings founded Russia as well."},{"startTime":3060.72,"endTime":3062.43,"body":"- Of course, of course."},{"startTime":3062.43,"endTime":3063.99,"body":"They got around, didn't they?"},{"startTime":3063.99,"endTime":3066.57,"body":"Lovely, so should I ask"},{"startTime":3063.99,"endTime":3066.57,"body":"someone in the audience?"},{"startTime":3066.57,"endTime":3069.451,"body":"Got hands everywhere."},{"startTime":3066.57,"endTime":3069.451,"body":"- Oh yes, it's terrifying."},{"startTime":3069.451,"endTime":3070.953,"body":"- The lady in the middle, yes."},{"startTime":3071.97,"endTime":3073.55,"body":"- [Audience Member] Hi, thank you."},{"startTime":3073.55,"endTime":3074.383,"body":"I was just wondering,"},{"startTime":3074.383,"endTime":3078.06,"body":"is there any evidence for"},{"startTime":3074.383,"endTime":3078.06,"body":"Wayland the Smith being known"},{"startTime":3078.06,"endTime":3081.39,"body":"or interacted with in this country?"},{"startTime":3081.39,"endTime":3085.5,"body":"- Yes, he's Saxon rather than Viking."},{"startTime":3085.5,"endTime":3087.963,"body":"He's a part of Anglo-Saxon mythology,"},{"startTime":3089.52,"endTime":3094.26,"body":"but we do know his story also"},{"startTime":3089.52,"endTime":3094.26,"body":"from a Scandinavian source."},{"startTime":3094.26,"endTime":3098.76,"body":"He's on the famous"},{"startTime":3094.26,"endTime":3098.76,"body":"Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket,"},{"startTime":3098.76,"endTime":3102.21,"body":"a bone casket which is"},{"startTime":3098.76,"endTime":3102.21,"body":"in the British Museum"},{"startTime":3102.21,"endTime":3106.14,"body":"with his story wrought"},{"startTime":3102.21,"endTime":3106.14,"body":"upon one of the panels."},{"startTime":3106.14,"endTime":3110.7,"body":"And so, he's a general"},{"startTime":3106.14,"endTime":3110.7,"body":"German Scandinavian figure,"},{"startTime":3110.7,"endTime":3115.7,"body":"but where place names go"},{"startTime":3110.7,"endTime":3115.7,"body":"and representations go,"},{"startTime":3115.98,"endTime":3119.28,"body":"he's much more anchored in Anglo-Saxon"},{"startTime":3119.28,"endTime":3121.301,"body":"than in Norse culture."},{"startTime":3121.301,"endTime":3122.582,"body":"- [Audience Member] Thank you."},{"startTime":3122.582,"endTime":3123.573,"body":"- [Audience Member] Thank you."},{"startTime":3123.573,"endTime":3126.54,"body":"In the Orkney family vault,"},{"startTime":3126.54,"endTime":3129.882,"body":"did the ironing board, was it"},{"startTime":3126.54,"endTime":3129.882,"body":"accompanied by an iron or not?"},{"startTime":3129.882,"endTime":3131.19,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":3131.19,"endTime":3133.473,"body":"- Alas, apparently no,"},{"startTime":3134.67,"endTime":3136.113,"body":"but maybe,"},{"startTime":3138.42,"endTime":3141.36,"body":"they made the selection"},{"startTime":3138.42,"endTime":3141.36,"body":"on the different criterion"},{"startTime":3141.36,"endTime":3142.83,"body":"or maybe they expected to be"},{"startTime":3142.83,"endTime":3145.479,"body":"an abundance of irons in the next world."},{"startTime":3145.479,"endTime":3148.312,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":3149.19,"endTime":3150.19,"body":"- Right next to you."},{"startTime":3151.74,"endTime":3152.573,"body":"- [Audience Member] Thank you."},{"startTime":3152.573,"endTime":3157.573,"body":"Your assessment of the"},{"startTime":3152.573,"endTime":3157.573,"body":"Scandinavian sort of saga poetry"},{"startTime":3157.59,"endTime":3159.9,"body":"seemed to me as though it"},{"startTime":3157.59,"endTime":3159.9,"body":"could have been equally applied"},{"startTime":3159.9,"endTime":3162.54,"body":"to Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Saxon,"},{"startTime":3162.54,"endTime":3165.54,"body":"Frankish song of Roland et cetera,"},{"startTime":3165.54,"endTime":3166.95,"body":"psychopathic violence"},{"startTime":3166.95,"endTime":3169.8,"body":"with a veneer of Christianity or religion."},{"startTime":3169.8,"endTime":3172.92,"body":"What is it that you think"},{"startTime":3169.8,"endTime":3172.92,"body":"makes these Viking sagas"},{"startTime":3172.92,"endTime":3174.36,"body":"distinctive or different"},{"startTime":3174.36,"endTime":3177.071,"body":"from all those other literary editions?"},{"startTime":3177.071,"endTime":3180.273,"body":"- Because they're so much more realistic."},{"startTime":3181.5,"endTime":3186.5,"body":"The Irish and the Welsh sagas"},{"startTime":3181.5,"endTime":3186.5,"body":"are really magical realism."},{"startTime":3187.35,"endTime":3189.18,"body":"They're full of magic."},{"startTime":3189.18,"endTime":3192.51,"body":"And so, there is violence,"},{"startTime":3192.51,"endTime":3197.51,"body":"but it's largely violence"},{"startTime":3192.51,"endTime":3197.51,"body":"of heroic exaggeration"},{"startTime":3198.24,"endTime":3200.46,"body":"as Cú Chulainn gave his war cry"},{"startTime":3200.46,"endTime":3204.393,"body":"and 90 warriors died of"},{"startTime":3200.46,"endTime":3204.393,"body":"fright sort of thing."},{"startTime":3205.563,"endTime":3210.27,"body":"And the Irish sagas aren't"},{"startTime":3205.563,"endTime":3210.27,"body":"anatomically specific."},{"startTime":3210.27,"endTime":3215.27,"body":"Homer, by contrast, is from"},{"startTime":3210.27,"endTime":3215.27,"body":"the Iliad is a butcher's shop"},{"startTime":3215.91,"endTime":3217.32,"body":"or a knacker's yard"},{"startTime":3217.32,"endTime":3219.54,"body":"with very precise descriptions"},{"startTime":3219.54,"endTime":3224.07,"body":"of how you manage to kill"},{"startTime":3219.54,"endTime":3224.07,"body":"warriors in bronze armor."},{"startTime":3224.07,"endTime":3226.41,"body":"They are anatomically detailed,"},{"startTime":3226.41,"endTime":3229.59,"body":"but they are regarded with pity"},{"startTime":3229.59,"endTime":3231.99,"body":"and sometimes with horror,"},{"startTime":3231.99,"endTime":3233.82,"body":"not with exaltation."},{"startTime":3233.82,"endTime":3238.02,"body":"The thing that is so bracing"},{"startTime":3238.02,"endTime":3240.99,"body":"about the Viking attitude to violence"},{"startTime":3240.99,"endTime":3243.99,"body":"is that it is celebrated"},{"startTime":3243.99,"endTime":3246.18,"body":"and it's realistic."},{"startTime":3246.18,"endTime":3247.95,"body":"And that's a very unusual"},{"startTime":3247.95,"endTime":3252.6,"body":"and very potent combination"},{"startTime":3247.95,"endTime":3252.6,"body":"in traditional literature."},{"startTime":3252.6,"endTime":3254.63,"body":"And you don't get other literature"},{"startTime":3254.63,"endTime":3256.98,"body":"in which six year old kids"},{"startTime":3256.98,"endTime":3260.52,"body":"kill a schoolmate with an ax"},{"startTime":3260.52,"endTime":3263.1,"body":"and have it applauded in that sort of way."},{"startTime":3263.1,"endTime":3265.17,"body":"Six year old kids in other mythologies"},{"startTime":3265.17,"endTime":3267.39,"body":"strangle monstrous serpents,"},{"startTime":3267.39,"endTime":3270.777,"body":"kill a dragon to cut their"},{"startTime":3267.39,"endTime":3270.777,"body":"teeth, that kind of thing."},{"startTime":3270.777,"endTime":3273.3,"body":"But this gritty realism"},{"startTime":3273.3,"endTime":3276.003,"body":"is what's so specifically Scandinavian."},{"startTime":3278.01,"endTime":3279.12,"body":"- [Audience Member] Thank you."},{"startTime":3279.12,"endTime":3283.5,"body":"So we tend to think of"},{"startTime":3279.12,"endTime":3283.5,"body":"Scandinavian culture"},{"startTime":3283.5,"endTime":3285.81,"body":"starting at the Viking period."},{"startTime":3285.81,"endTime":3290.28,"body":"What do these grave sites"},{"startTime":3285.81,"endTime":3290.28,"body":"and these archeological digs"},{"startTime":3290.28,"endTime":3292.29,"body":"tell us about life in Scandinavia"},{"startTime":3292.29,"endTime":3295.5,"body":"before the Viking era and vice versa?"},{"startTime":3295.5,"endTime":3298.08,"body":"- Okay, great question,"},{"startTime":3298.08,"endTime":3300.39,"body":"like the others."},{"startTime":3300.39,"endTime":3303.78,"body":"It's all a question of semantics"},{"startTime":3303.78,"endTime":3307.38,"body":"because in a sense, there"},{"startTime":3303.78,"endTime":3307.38,"body":"are two Viking eras,"},{"startTime":3307.38,"endTime":3310.08,"body":"but we don't call the"},{"startTime":3307.38,"endTime":3310.08,"body":"earlier one the Viking era"},{"startTime":3310.08,"endTime":3313.08,"body":"because the term wasn't"},{"startTime":3310.08,"endTime":3313.08,"body":"used at the time about it."},{"startTime":3313.08,"endTime":3317.55,"body":"We call it rather bloodlessly"},{"startTime":3313.08,"endTime":3317.55,"body":"the migration period."},{"startTime":3317.55,"endTime":3320.16,"body":"And it's when the Germanic tribes"},{"startTime":3320.16,"endTime":3322.2,"body":"break into the Roman Empire"},{"startTime":3322.2,"endTime":3324.75,"body":"and take the western half of it."},{"startTime":3324.75,"endTime":3327.45,"body":"So in that sense, the vandals,"},{"startTime":3327.45,"endTime":3330.777,"body":"the goths are landlocked Vikings"},{"startTime":3330.777,"endTime":3334.98,"body":"and the Anglo-Saxons are"},{"startTime":3330.777,"endTime":3334.98,"body":"absolutely generic Vikings."},{"startTime":3334.98,"endTime":3336.33,"body":"They come by sea,"},{"startTime":3336.33,"endTime":3339.87,"body":"they raid to soften up"},{"startTime":3336.33,"endTime":3339.87,"body":"and then they settle."},{"startTime":3339.87,"endTime":3341.46,"body":"And there are horror stories"},{"startTime":3341.46,"endTime":3343.95,"body":"about their earlier deeds as well."},{"startTime":3343.95,"endTime":3347.37,"body":"And Anglo-Saxon heroes like Beowulf"},{"startTime":3347.37,"endTime":3349.29,"body":"look archetypically Viking,"},{"startTime":3349.29,"endTime":3353.19,"body":"except there's a far stronger"},{"startTime":3349.29,"endTime":3353.19,"body":"supernatural element in it."},{"startTime":3353.19,"endTime":3357.66,"body":"But then, there are dragons"},{"startTime":3353.19,"endTime":3357.66,"body":"and living dead and so on"},{"startTime":3357.66,"endTime":3361.89,"body":"and deities in some of"},{"startTime":3357.66,"endTime":3361.89,"body":"the Scandinavian stories."},{"startTime":3361.89,"endTime":3364.38,"body":"They do have an element of magic."},{"startTime":3364.38,"endTime":3368.613,"body":"On the whole, the sagas,"},{"startTime":3369.51,"endTime":3371.91,"body":"as I've said, are realistic."},{"startTime":3371.91,"endTime":3376.91,"body":"You don't tend to get deities"},{"startTime":3371.91,"endTime":3376.91,"body":"appearing in the sagas,"},{"startTime":3377.04,"endTime":3380.499,"body":"though some people"},{"startTime":3377.04,"endTime":3380.499,"body":"worship them in the sagas."},{"startTime":3380.499,"endTime":3383.07,"body":"It's a realistic soap opera."},{"startTime":3383.07,"endTime":3385.56,"body":"So there is kind of a continuum"},{"startTime":3385.56,"endTime":3390.45,"body":"in Scandinavian epic"},{"startTime":3385.56,"endTime":3390.45,"body":"from the fifth century,"},{"startTime":3390.45,"endTime":3393.81,"body":"the Anglo-Saxon descent on Britain"},{"startTime":3393.81,"endTime":3397.95,"body":"to the 12th century when the"},{"startTime":3393.81,"endTime":3397.95,"body":"Viking era comes to an end."},{"startTime":3397.95,"endTime":3401.01,"body":"But there's a gap of a"},{"startTime":3397.95,"endTime":3401.01,"body":"couple of hundred years"},{"startTime":3401.01,"endTime":3404.22,"body":"in which, for reasons that"},{"startTime":3401.01,"endTime":3404.22,"body":"are still being debated,"},{"startTime":3404.22,"endTime":3407.283,"body":"the Scandinavian stop raiding outward."},{"startTime":3409.98,"endTime":3410.82,"body":"- Thank you very much."},{"startTime":3410.82,"endTime":3412.68,"body":"I think that's the end of our time."},{"startTime":3412.68,"endTime":3414.36,"body":"I'm so sorry."},{"startTime":3414.36,"endTime":3416.16,"body":"And I'd just like you"},{"startTime":3414.36,"endTime":3416.16,"body":"all to join me please"},{"startTime":3416.16,"endTime":3418.702,"body":"in thank you Professor"},{"startTime":3416.16,"endTime":3418.702,"body":"Hutton very much indeed."},{"startTime":3418.702,"endTime":3421.702,"body":"(audience applauds)"}]}