Viking Fantasy and Viking Reality 

This is absolutely bang on, let's hope that through your good work you can bring some clarity to this topic. Great to see someone without an agenda analysing the Vikings.

Too many folks on the internet are spreading manure around like its planting time. And far too few are honestly trying to get reliable information out there. The perspective you provide is much appreciated by those of us who understand and value intellectual and professional integrity. Thank you.

Dr Crawford, your page has intrigued me so much, that I have read the Prose and Poetic Eddas, Havamal, Eggil, Orkney, Vulsung sagas, Furthark and now Norse Mythology. Next is the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok. Thank for these videos!

Fighting rampant idealism with factual analysis. Something tells me Odin would favor this guy over most of his modern worshipers. ;)

Thank you so much for continuing to make these videos. I always learn something, and leave with excitement to watch your next posting.

Thank you as always. Glad to see it when folks stand up for the objective truth.

Keep on doing what you're doing Dr. Crawford. You're a breath of fresh air among the drek. Picking up your translation of the Saga of the Volsungs later this month, as your version of the Poetic Edda was amazingly well done.

Very well said, Dr Crawford. The rampant politicisation and agenda pushing in academia and particularly in archaeology I find these days is highly troubling. Certain theories by people are inflated to a ludicrous degree simply because they have credentials, and people forget to be methodical, or even use common sense. I've actually ran into and spoken with several of these 'academics' myself, and I'm always shocked by just how willing they are to use their station to push their very obvious agenda, even if it seems slightly hypocritical for them to do so, given certain jobs they claim passion for. I'm also happy you called out the extremists on the other end of the spectrum, too. The amount of literal murderers that claimed to be doing it in self-defence that assert opinions as fact all the time, possessing a viking obsession, are also rather pronounced. This is why I'm glad your channel exists. I wish there were more TRULY credentialed people like you, quite frankly.

Thanks, so much Dr. Crawford, for this very needed clarification between the realities of being alive during the Viking age (both for the Norse themselves and those whom they interacted with whether in battle or trade) and the storytelling of those times both contemporary and after-the-fact and the agendas of those doing the storytelling.

Who would have thought that I would learn so much about this from an american cowboy;D Deeply appreciate your work, brother. Keep it up!

You do a good job doing what you do! I love listening and learning.

Thankyou for opening up people to old Nordic culture. Some of the modern day "Viking culture" themes really look silly when compared to what their society was probably really like.

Wow, I loved how you broke this down! What you said here applies to a Hela lot more than just interpreting the Vikings.

You are indeed doing what you are saying. Keep being great :)

Thank you for all the work you do, and all the good material you produce! I really find your language videos interesting. I do not, at all, regret becoming a patron!

Thx i appreciate your videos very much.

So reassuring when you hear from an American with common sense, they tend to get lost in the nonsense.

I love your channel.

What's the Viking equivalent of a mic drop? Horn drop?

I can say what was heard was correct. From Danmark

Whats your opinion on Sweden turning supposed viking artifacts into scrap?

So would a tv show like Vikings on the History channel be very inaccurate?

There’s another great

I'm a US & Swedish citizen and observe that neither country can even report accurately the other's *contemporary* news and culture so we are all surely making many mistakes when we try to know societies of so long ago. Even today Sweden is portrayed much as you described, as a radical egalitarian utopia, or as a homogeneous right wing fantasy by the other extreme. Of course both are very inaccurate.

You're going to tell me Vikings didn't listen to Heavy Metal and have axe shaped guitars next but I won't listen!

In Norwegian we talk about using sources as artefacts (levning) versus using them as a narrative (beretning). Using it as a artefact means we look at what the source can tell us about the time in which they were written. If we use them as a narrative we look at what the narrative itself says. As you point out, there's a sea of difference between the time in which it happened and the time in which it was described. It's important to remember the difference, and many don't.

That little sigh right at the end, as if to say, "Welp, I had to say this... but there goes half my subscribers." ;) Good work, Dr. Crawford. A timely reminder that history is often a lot more prosaic than we might wish.

I've watched dozens of your videos, some of which are the meatiest, lengthiest videos that I've ever seen. And I love those ones to bits! But it's these short, easily-shared videos that I think benefit your channel the most. Thank you so much for all of the work that you do! I just recently started to donate to you on Patreon, and just last night I ordered your translation of the Poetic Edda. Keep up the amazing work :)

Excellent. Clear, concise and an antidote to much rubbish (and to some fun).

Thank you very much, Dr. Crawford - another great video

Thank you so much for fighting the good fight out there on the internet. You're a superhero in the battle against myth and ignorance.

Hi, could you make a vídeo on the real Ibn Fadlan and the norsemen he interacted with? Thanks!

First, Dr. Crawford, you sir, are drengr. Second, I truly appreciate you and your channel, I've learned quite a bit from you and I continue to learn every day, I like your clear and concise facts without all the personal add ons. Third, as I own your book, The Poetic Edda's, I was unaware of your second book.....what is its title and can I purchase this one on Amazon as well?

Holy crap I didn't expect you to expose the truth about BOTH the left and far right's agendas on the Vikings! Not what I come to watch your content for, but you have even more of my respect to saying it as it is! Love your videos as always!

Good stuff, nothing sillier to me than people who pick up Wicca or some other occultism and then decide the ancient world was how they wish it were instead of actually going by data

''the internet has replaced the library.'' Best quote of the day! Thank you for dedicating so much time and energy towards educating 'us' on these topics. It's fascinating to me to learn about Vikings as my family was from a tiny island that survived the pre and post viking age due to the large amount of cod that was harvested and paid in taxes to various kings. My family (0ne branch) was wealthy due to owning ships/merchants/store owner but I its believed that some of the money that funded these business ventures where from viking.

I want to thank you for making this great channel here on RU-vid, Dr. Crawford. I agree that it's of paramount importance to have accurate information available online. Especially information presented in a concise and easy to digest manner. Your shorter videos are an excellent example of this. Keep up the good work!

I am a direct descendant from the Vikings. I live with my family on the west coast of Norway close to King Harald Hairfair royal farm and tomb. We have a wide perspective of history and lives of the Vikings. In reality they where farmers and fishermen. They exported timber and fish to the British isles and to the northern countries of Europe. There are researchers that support that the theory of why the Vikings attacked the monasteries. It is based on the history of why so many Norwegians moved to Iceland. Christianity was a threat to the Scandinavian culture. In this period Christianity was mor or less taking over territories with force. People who didn´t want to succumb to the new religion was in danger to get beheaded and this was the reason for several war battles in Norway. Round 1000AD Norway was overtaken by Christianity. The Icelandic people where dependent of importing grain and other goods to survive the Icelandic climate where refused to sail to Norway. Only when they accepting Christianity could they get access to the Norwegian Harbours and buy the grain they needed. The Vikings are discribed as savages but they where no more violent than the rest of the European society. If this theory are correct the Viking age are a result of preventive action against the destruction of the Scandinavian culture.

You have no idea how happy I am to have found your channel. Keep up the great work!

Thank you! I feel the same can be said as true for other mythologies. People take their stories way too seriously (and that's coming from a pagan). It'd be the same as distant future generations thought our superhero comics depicted our gods x.x I actually wrote a bit on how their creation story could be their way of explaining the Big Bang and the creation of the universe and our world.

Good advice in general. As much as what was said, always consider who said it, when they said it, and in what context they said it.

I've watched the film "The Vikings" made in the 1950's. Fun but completely inaccurate. Has anyone ever written a history of how people viewed the Vikings at different times? I've read that the Victorians thought they were gentlemen who fought duels. Others talk about them as if they did nothing but fight and raid. Every generation seems to project something onto people we actually know relatively little about. A history of these projections might be interesting, if it was ever written.

You're going to change the way we look at Nordic History in the future.... Keep up the good work!

I'm humbled, honoured and incredibly lucky to find your channel. Thank you :)

Your time and hard work is much appreciated, Dr. Crawford.

You also got to hate Nazis and Neo-Nazis bastardizing Runes and Norse Symbols. I've always wanted to get a few Norse tattoos but since those symbols are associated with those bastards I can't in good conscience do that. You have earned my respect for calling people with an agenda to further water down the history of the Vikings. My mothers ancestors came to this country from Denamrk and Sweden. It pains me the way project their beliefs and bullshit onto the Vikings and I hope one day it stops.

Exception that proves the rule regarding "Handsomer" - Egil Skallagrimson. :) Regardless, an excellent video regarding the common traps in assumptions about the Norsemen of the Viking Era.

Hi Professor Crawford! My family has a small kindred in Southern California and after watching several of your videos we bought your Volsungs Saga And Eddas to study with our group. Thank you for these videos!

Very happy to have found your channel. I've been searching for some time for a scholarly treatment of these subjects. I also appreciate your excellent enunciation and overall sound quality as my hearing isn't that great anymore.

5 years on and Crawford’s still the only person on RU-vid offering this information without an agenda

As a History student from the other corner of the continent I must thank you. Your channel is great. Please, keep your excellent work.

I am thankful to see your adoption of video to help communicate your understanding of Norse language and history. You have learned to use this medium well. I also admire your speaking ability on camera. Please continue this excellent work.

Hi Dr Crawford. Thank you for this. I really enjoy hearing more accurate depictions. I do also enjoy the fantasy but I am able to separate the two -- I'm from Scotland so I am all too familiar with the romanticisation of a particular people (the Celts are also largely romanticised here). I was wondering if you have Scottish ancestry as Crawford is a Scottish name.

Thank you for what you do. I don't comment much, but I always learn something.

In the past, I believe you've said you don't like the show Vikings. Is that because of an inaccurate representation? Although I do recognize that it's not a completely accurate portrayal I find it to be a very good show, and perhaps at least a good introduction for those who may wish to look into Viking culture further.

definitely spot on lol

well i figure ya deserve t' be called doctor doc. doctor jackson crawford. kinda has a nice ring to it. your word has a keen edge buried deep in the instinctive mind. thank yew. i'm listenin' story teller. take care gare

Thank you for this short video. I find your videos a great source of knowledge on Old Norse and Viking culture. The hidden, often political, agendas rergarding these particular subjects are spoiling it for everyone. Keep up the good work!

I thank you for these videos, I found you through Grimfrost and have bought your book for both me and my brother. You are my first go to when I need historical information regarding my roots, thanks again.

Thank you so much for this.

just want to say that your videos help me a lot, because I have a youtube channel where I tell the stories of the norse gods for those that speak portuguese and I had difficulty with the pronunciation of the names of the gods and places and was able find them thanks to you channel.

Holy cow his voice is so deep, I was not ready.

keep up the good work! I have learned so much from your page!

Thank you for doing this. I'm in the concept stages of creating a story and you're absolutely right, finding information on the actual viking society, and legit mythos is very hard to come by in my opinion. I'd love to read these sagas but I've searched and searched and have no idea how to or were to start.

I've been studying old Norse history and mythology since I was a kid and I've been a Viking re-enactor for 10yrs. I apply that knowledge to re-enactment as much as possible. Prettying much everything you describe in this video I've had to deal with and educate people on. Especially the right wing stuff. My family are from Sri Lanka and I was born in England so people ask me how I can be a 'Viking'. I explain our understanding of the word that it is a vocation not a national identity. My books are all in storage so your videos are keeping my knowledge sharp. Thank you Dr Crawford.

Why our days of the week named after them?! why so much current symbology ? Coming from a siegfried

Hi Dr Crawford, have you ever thought about what would be your viking name if you were a viking? and what your name would say about you?

I've learned a lot from your videos, have bought and read your books, and have resumed my study of Old English.

Very well put ,i enjoy these videos , thankyou dr.crawford

Thank you!

I wonder if the mysterious unreadable rune stones are just illiterate scribbles? It's not unheard of to use letters as ornaments, like how many in West like Chinese calligraphy for purely aesthetics. There are older examples of this too, where pseudo-writing is used as a decorative border pattern for example, even if not quite as old as runestones.

I believe in the Norse God's myself and I'm so glad that someone like you is working so hard to get the right information out there. There are too many pagans that really have no fucking clue what they are doing yet call themselves witches or gothi or volva or what have you.

Thanks for the scholarly work. Just picked up your translation of the Edda.

Awesome video

Talking heads - if it's just words, many of us can still read.

Very well said, thank you.

The Vikings were all beatnicks, because I sez so.

Yo who tf are the 8 people who have this a thumbs down?!

In the language my youth “Right On Bro”

Dr Crawford, Thank you.

Like si vienes por Greacia :v

Very well made, bias is something we all have, we can't escape it but must do our best to overcome it as much as possible. I'd LOVE to discover the norse people to be some egalitarian society of science and badassery. But they had slaves and treated women as inferiors. In our modern morality these are (hopefully) seen as reprehensible. But we can't project our views onto them. They didn't think "muhuhaha yes let us be evil and use salves for our farms, and not give women the same rights" no one thought anything was wrong with it. Politics, regardless of side, has always tried to stick it's nose in academia, when it should remain as objective as possible.

My interest in the Vikings is mostly driven by my heritage, just like my interest in the celts and the early cultures of Spain. I appreciate your channel because I feel like it gives me the closest idea I can get to how they actually may have viewed the world. I will admit that there is a part of me that seeks some sort of spiritual gain from the process, but I would much rather base that on history than fantasy.

Thank you for this video. It was very interesting.

My wife LOVES your English translations of those books, by the way. I'm a native Danish speaker and have them in Danish, which she also speaks but non-natively. Your translations are perfect for English speakers (and I even enjoy them in English).

I was born in the USA to a family that descended from Norwegian immigrants. My blood is mostly Scandinavian with some Irish/British, French, and Ukrainian mixed in. In other words, I am a blend of all of the places my ancestors settled during/after the Viking Age. I have always loved Norse mythology, history, and culture; and have been drawn to it for as long as I can remember. I have also always been frustrated by the lack of fully objective educational sources, there are some but not enough. I can tolerate most of the fantasy stuff, but when agendas (especially the hateful ones) are forced upon and twisted into my heritage it is extremely frustrating. I am so happy to have found your channel. Thank you so much for the work you do. I am writing a book about Norse mythology from a rather unique perspective and I need all the information I can get in order to make it work. I subscribed immediately after watching your video on Berserkers and Ulfhednar (which was the first video of yours I saw). Again, thank you. Edit: Typo

It's an interesting question whether the "real language" of a people is to be found in its literature or written on its bathroom walls. I tend to favour the latter ... but then again, I'm "into" literature, so go figure. Be that as it may, my point here is that people in the Rogaland area in Norway often write KUG where other Norwegiand write KUK (it's a vulgar word for penis) ... which kind of leads me to the following speculative question: Is the word VIK just a slight "consonant variant" of the word VIG (as in for instance the name Viga-Glum) ... meaning "a justified (revenge) killing" ... which may have BEGUN as a military response to Charlemagne and the Verden incident (with a possible link to Offa and his league of allegiance to Harun Al-Rashid) ... under the assumption that all Christians are the enemy ... but this later carried on more as an excuse to go out and do robbery and atrocities for less communal reasons and more motivated by personal greed. (I suppose it's fair to say that "vikings" had a bit of a Gordon Gekko take on the word "greed" though.) Anyway, calling someone a "viking" in Norway is a questionable thing. It can be a compliment if said person has done some "great thing" or other ... but it can also be an insult, as in someone is displaying predatory behaviour and caring little for the feelings of others.

Dr. Crawford, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am so glad you make these videos, very informative. Great job!! Thank you.

Dr. Crawford, what books would you recommend for someone wanting to learn about Old Norse in an academic manner? The language interests me (i'm actually planning on majoring in linguistics next year, language has always fascinated me), but Im unsure of where to look for good info. Also, is it that Colorado has the whine-wine distinction, or were you raised elsewhere and kept it?

Its like with the Spartans in 300. We have a mental image of what a "viking" was and how they should look, but Historical Truth is widely different from our ideal perceptions.

Thank you. I'm bugged by how the Vikings are now fantasized. I'm sure the reality was those people who had lots of hardship and none had the money to buy hair conditioner or perfect sword. 😂😂😂

I recommend the Viking Age Podcast. He's quite aware of our imperfect sources but manages to paint a presumably realistic life though the series, as he goes chronologically through the events that were recorded in the Anals.

Dr Crawford you are really awesome. As a inspirering archeolegist in Sweden with a intrest in my country's history i must say that i really enjoy your videos. Looking forward to se New videos as Always and it would be really cool to see you talk more about the Rus and the controverseis regarding the stories of Rurik! (Sorry if my English is a bit off).

I only recently become fairly captivated by the known history and mythology of the norse and decided to learn as much as i can about them, and you have been an invaluable source of trusted information on so much. I enjoy the mystique and fantasy that the norse have inspired in our modern day, but the thought of being ignorant to the truth of what we really know of them is not acceptable to me. Thank you for your work Professor Crawford.

Thank you for making your videos! I stumbled on your videos but find them the best I have seen on these subjects!!

Thanks, Dr. Crawford, for explaining and strongly the importance of considering the sources for literature on the Vikings and their beliefs, especially given that much of these sources come from a time generations removed from the times in which they speak of -- much like how so much of the accounts in the Bible were also written down decades and centuries after-the-fact. So, it's basically like a demonstration of the broken telephones game where how the contents of a story told orally change from teller to teller to a point where those contents barely resemble one another after multiple retellings.

Your channel is amazing keep it up brother

According to archeologists a lot of the remains found in graves were that of females. Buried with sword and shield.

As an Icelander, and a descendand of Norse Vikings and their Celtic slaves, I praise you for this video. It is spot on!