How Historically Accurate is Lego's Viking Village? 

People a bit short. Weapons plastic.

Finally, some hard-hitting medieval investigations.

I watched a lego channel review this set and complain about the "Historical inaccuracies", by which they meant the blacksmith being female, and I remember thinking "No way that's even on the list for jimmy". Boy, its nice to be proven right!

This set is unfortunately missing the iconic shredded berserker, clad in a totally historically accurate leather speedo. Disappointing.

"black leather viking" is a very nice little catch-all term for the fantasticized version of vikings vs the historical reality. I just now realized this, but like, vikings and pirates have a lot in common in that they were both actual, historical, groups of people who got COMPLETELY mythologized and romanticized in the modern era to the point that they barely resemble their historical counterparts at all.

Buy it. Build it. Sell it. Add in an archeological critique in the box.

I wouldn't expect too much in terms of historical accuracy from a toy company. But Denmark's no.1 modern cultural export getting Denmark's no.1 historical export wrong seems inherently disappointing. C'mon Lego- do your ancestor's proud with an historically plausible Heorot set already!

I like that the 1st mini fig is wearing a blue cloak. Maybe he's off for some vengeance and violence. In the sagas someone wearing a blue cloak was often out for vengeance.

Thank you for the content warning at the beginning, Jimmy. This is a very serious subject and I’m thankful to you for handling it with such care.

I got the set as a Solstice gift from my older sister because 1. I love vikings 2. I love legos I absolutely freaking love it.

they should sell mystery box archeological lego, where you get a bunch of pieces but have to guess how they go together based on a few pictures representing finds from other areas

More accurate then most Viking shows or movies!

You forgot another use for legos: weapons of mass destruction, at least upon bare feet in the dark😂

Hey man, BrickHammer here (the guy who submitted the original idea for the Viking village on the LEGO IDEAS website) 👋🏻 I really had a great time listening to your thoughts. Great video! Having a master's degree in history myself, I am fully aware that the Viking Village is not accurate at all but I am still super happy with how the set turned out. It is very much inspired by pop culture depictions of Vikings and also fantasy cultures like Rohan which is more fitting for a children's toy. However, I made sure it included at least one authentic helmet (the one in the forge WITHOUT the horns 😅).

I wonder if LEGO fans rant about the cost of their kits the way Warhammer fans bemoan GW’s pricing.

Now I want to see a video of Jimmy making his own lego Viking village...or at least house!

I love how this topic got started in the discord just kinda casually, and it snowballed from there into this video

The Viking woman's horned helmet is giving off very strong Wagnerian opera vibes. The dress is pretty good, though. There was a longship set released a few years back, with options for a (tiny) hall, Jormungandr and the Fenris wolf. I was quite impressed.

If we buy enough ko-fis, can we get a video of jimmy redesigning the village to be more historical?

Honestly, the historical inaccuracies were actually not as horribly bothersome as I thought they'd be when i purchased the set! And upon reading the instructions, they actually offer a bit of a history lesson on the first few pages about vikings and medieval Scandinavia! The original designer also admits that the goal was not for historical accuracy, but more so to recreate the feeling of the og lego viking sets, with the horned helmets and such lol. Still, I will never complain about hearing you talk about legos and vikings, great video! And now I feel there's even more of a cause to make a historical accurate viking set! 💪

In fairness to Lego Vikings' with Molnar, it might be the only decent Lego hammer that isn't a Modern Hammer.

“Disappointed to find figures have sides of heads shaved to reveal aegishjalmur tattoos”

I happened to be on hand when someone I know had the LEGO Titanic model delivered. The finished ship will be around 4 feet long, and the box was so heavy I could barely lift it. They could make a more authentic Viking settlement for the adult builder market, and I bet it would sell, especially if it was like that Swedish fort. And it would still be fun! As for what to do with the finished model...for the Titanic, we were joking that they should hang it from the ceiling above their staircase, angled downward.

Should we all send a few bricks to Jimmy so he can build this?

Wow, I'm gonna get that for my grandson-he loves legos. He's 24 this year. Oh, and speaking of light hearted but hard hitting, have you ever seen the SNL skit with the Scottish air traffic controller? At the end it switches over to Welsh air traffic control. It's effing unbelievably funny.

Now you've got me thinking. I gave up Lego for Minecraft for the simple fact I can't step on Minecraft in the dark when I go to the bathroom at night. One cool thing about the Bedrock edition is creating custom blocks. I've been working on geometric tiles for an Ottoman palace. I don't know why I didn't think about Vikings. Thanks for the inspiration!

if you have a few minutes, look at the instructions that come with the set, they are available online for free and it includes “artist statements” for lack of a better term that explain why they included horned helmets and the thor hammer (the hammer is a reference to the fan designer) also, the fan designer is a historian

"Something's causing a good deal of disturbance in the (Viking Age study) force" "LEGO" "Huh?"

It's always *good* to see Jimmy cover the most _important_ stuffs! 😤🔥

I appreciate such serious, thoughtful deep dive research into important subjects.

Got it for my spouse for Yule and it is a lot of fun, especially with a lighting kit!

Thank you for this--it was fun! I would still happily do Lego now, and I'm in my late 40s, especially if my nieces wanted to play, or any kids I was encountering. I happily played with Lego well into high school, and at that point, Pirate Lego was new. I was ahead of the trend on the pirate thing (this was the early '90s), and totally got into it. A friend of mine enjoyed Castle Lego (which I did, too), but we had a bet that we would play Lego of each of these factions, and would "win." My friend was not familiar with history as much as I was, and my argument for why the Pirates would win was because they had cannons and gunpowder; my friend argued Castle would win because "we have a dragon, a wizard, and a ghost." ;) We never got to have the showdown because he moved away, but we're back in touch now, and we still talk about it...and he at last admitted that I was being too kind in offering to play it out, because he has learned some history now as well. I would love to see some Celtic Lego sets--whether medieval Irish, Welsh, or ancient Gaulish! That would be fun! But I don't have the means currently to design something and submit photos, alas.

I will say though that putting the minifigs in grey, brown, and black in the other dioramas takes away a lot of their charm. The main Lego one shown here looks like more fun because you can immediately tell the characters apart by their bright colors (they're not the same color as the furniture!)

For a Danish company to put this pure fantasy out when they clearly know how to make at least semi-realistic looking viking figures and ships is a bit of a shame and a missed opportunity. But I guess the market wants what it wants, and the market is clearly not ready for horn-less vikings even in 2024. :)

The village is missing the Arabic guy who wants his sword ground into a scimitar.

Nice ! Now I wait for the Asterix comics serie review, it's also very very important :D (and If you want a more serious Viking comics serie, there is also Thorgal !)

Hey Jimmy1 I have a serious question [ignore my non-serious youtube]. I run a museum in Canada and we are having a Lego exhibit this summer. Would you mind if I shared this video with my staff/our audience? We are rebranding the museum to be more academic friendly while still engaging with our core audience of mostly daycares. I think everyone would love to see your take on historic legos.

125 pounds?! oof, my wallet screamed just looking at that price.... those positives are really nice to see tho! and i always love hearing your explanations about what viking-age towns would have looked like! 🥰

LEGO is for kids, yes. Kids of all ages! These sets are aimed at kids 18+. I would like a bit more historical accuracy. ;P Especially from a company based in Denmark! This one is actually quite cheap, relatively speaking, at just under €0.07/piece compared to the "benchmark of a fairly priced set" of (preferabely under) €0.10/piece. :) It would probably look good together with the Dungeons & Dragons castle that is heavily rumored to be officially revealed tomorrow :)

Oh man, my 7yo is gonna be so psyched to watch this one with me. I can hardly wait!

As someone who probably has spent waaaaaaay to much money on legos, I did get this one and it was super fun to put together!

Love the "fireside chat" feel of this video, very appropriate for such a scholarly discussion.

I just had to go check my Medieval Blacksmith set, in which there is a proper forging hammer, so I don't think that woman is meant to be a smith, I think she's meant to be a warrior, which is also nice to see.

I love this, thank you! I wonder if the green is excess fabric from other sets they're using up 😆

I am so here for this!! I love the different shields on the longboat! And thank you for showing the picture of the fortified village in Sweden...just wow...I had no idea!

member of that discord patreon crowd, grinning through the whole video :))) Well done, well done. I support the idea of building an accurate viking village in one of the next ones :)

Looks like fun to own if a bit pricey , thanks Jimmy- needed the chuckle after a working day!!

Sometimes you've just gotta cut loose, let your hair down, and do a Lego video. This was so much fun! And I love the photos of the different settlements! I want to visit them!

This is the video I didn't know I needed.

This was indeed fun & silly & delightful to watch! (It actually "whetted" my appetite, literally, and I was able to have a lovely little supper whilst watching it😀) Hooray for the creator who produces content the patrons plead for😁, well, when it's so pleasant to do, especially, I would imagine.

I'm just glad you found a Lego set that you like "playing" with: I wanted to get their limited-edition "Yellow Submarine" set, years ago, but I couldn't do it. 😞

Jimmy's lego reviewer era has started! 😄

8:06 everyone has the desire to live in that, some are more bold than others

7:13 - if you use it for this vid I think it becomes tax deductible. 😜

I've been to Legoland! It's just a thirty minute drive outside of Orlando!

You mentioned Assassin's Creed Valhalla.There is a game called Discovery Tour: Viking Age. This is related to Assassin's Creed Valhalla but it's a non combat game with a story to complete. However it does actively looks to teach about Vikings. Have you ever seen that? How accurate is that in visuals and it's written material?

Definitely didn't realise I needed to see this - brightened up my gloomy day! Joining the folks who would love to see you design a historically accurate Lego house (virtually or with bricks)!

Wait …. Lego is a Danish company and they don’t want to get a Viking village right? Horns on the helmets? I know, I know, it just a toy but horns on the helmets!! Edit. I’m going to go in search of my sense of humor. BRB

Watching the laugh that I'm sure you and so many others were keeping in while watching/talking about this almost made me burst out laughing in the middle of a laundromat

Hope the ulcer heals up quick, they're never fun. Very interesting video!

This is the cross-over of my RU-vid obsessions that I never dared to think possible. If @bernadettebanner starts restoring oil paintings or mid-century-modern furniture now, I can die happy... 😄

sorry about the owie tooth problem, commiseration over here as I have two, too.

That boat looks fun ! I liked the other sets you showed before the how to train your dragon silliness and the horned helmets ?! really lego ?!

also blues for clothing colors. and some mini-figs in apron dresses without the helmets would be nice too. it does look fun though. it makes a good fantasy set.

Still Mad Lego did not pick the Stargate SG-1set. Love the video.

I think it is interesting, that vikings, generally often from the very flat Denmark, sometimes expliclty stated, are basically always shown in some extremly rocky terrain.

Always appreciate it when something so serious and deep comes across my screen. Really makes me think and reconsider life, the universe in general. Also - the viking ship & pirate ship were my favourites growing up XD

Nice to see Eketorp, it's a interesting place! Maybe I'll go there again next vacation, thanks for reminding me of it. :)

I want to see a series of these covering every historically inspired Lego set.

I very much enjoy the critiques of current archeological debates, and all the educational content,but I also get a lot of joy and fun from these slightly less serious though no less important videos

Fab video! Just what we need on a dreary monday! Was great to meet you at the markets on the weekend too!

I don't blame you for not buying that kit! My kids get kits like that sometimes, but that's because both sets of aunts and uncles will go in together on combined Christmas and birthday gifts, which are purchased with their one uncle's employee discount at the toy store. LEGO gets expensive really quickly.

THIS is the important content we need 😊 (seriously though, love all your videos). @TheWelshViking have you seen the episode of James May's Toy Stories where he attempted to build a functional house out of Lego?

I would love it but cant justify it either. Could you do a review of the lego medieval village set lego have released?

Just gotta say, the first mini fig with a horned helmet has been around for over 15 years

You love your job and I’m really enjoying watching the videos. Cheers mate.

Feeling very inspired - nice to see you finally being serious in your reviews ;)

If I remember correctly, Lego was invented in Denmark, so you would think they would get it right. BUT it is likely designed for kids, and commercial success probably is more important than historical accuracy.

Fun video as always, and the vibe in your comment section is unmatched, this is a really good way to start the weekend

I think we need a review of Playmobil's viking ship set. Iirc the leader wears the Sutton hoo helmet.

This is fun! Thank you for taking on the establishment with hard hitting divisive but accurate content!😊

It's about time you started to discuss the more serious aspects of history. Great video.

I think I spied a wild Jimmy at TORM on Saturday rushing out of the second hall wearing a bowler but it may have been a doppelganger, needless to say if it was you, you looked mighty smart sir and I hope you had a good day! love your content and no matter the topic your enthusiasm is truly contagious 😊 take care and best wishes!

I can’t believe you made this video but this might be my favourite video of yours that you’ve ever done, no lie 🤩🥳😍

i loooooove this. my first lego set ever in my childhood was iteraly a viking ship (two row boats with a thing in the mittel to place the mast on and strings to span between the mast and the ends of the boats, and it had a flag and i thing somewere i still have one of the two viking warriors)

Thank you for covering this important issue!

Loved this type of video.😂 Keep it up!

i really like this, it's an honest review of a theme Lego, really needed to look closer at. it's a company in demark, so why didn't they at least include one dragon? i had the older viking mini set, number triple zero eight 2, which was a boat, mini figure and a dragon. it was a red one. i don't see any dragons now, with Lego's viking sets, why?

Serious archeology, that. LOL! Fun!

Jimmy once again shows up and saves my mood. Hope that's not a hospital bracelet you're wearing, I worry.💜

slightly disappointed you didnt actually have the set to show us lol but understand not wanting to spend that kind of money on it. Thanks for this fun lego review!

Yes! So happy to see this!

If you are looking for an affordable lego-alternative I can whole-heartedly recommend Bluebrixx. Their medieval buildings and especially the fictitious Blaustein Castle with its various extensions is very well-researched and its details never cease to amaze me!

Soooo... I know the guy who was at the head of the Shuttle/Hubble LEGO model, Milan Madge, has a fantastic historical sewing Instagram account... I'll send him the video, maybe something can be done... :D

Good fun! Thank you for this - I had looked at it too and thought of you😂

So I had to stop the video to get out my MASTERFUL simple penannular brooches because they are NOT my little weakling homemade fares, but expertly crafted by a blacksmith in the Ukraine and are thick, sturdy, and downright dreamy. But you were making a face, and so I had to tab forward until your face approved. How dare you delay your approval of my simply elegant loves? You owe me a mead, good sir.

I’m forwarding this to my sister. lol she’ll love it. Thanks Jimmy!

Although at least they got the part about humans not having knees and elbows prior to the Renaissance right.

Love that you can be so silly sometimes. It is a joy!

Love it. It is a fun little episode.