What a Cursed Viking "Eggplant Emoji" Can Tell Us About Women's Rights in The Viking Age 

I love how a common theme in the Norse myths is “don’t piss off a woman because she’ll fuck you up with magic fuckery.” Even Odin himself says in the Hávamál not to piss off a witch.

Ocean out here with the puns, but can't bring himself to say 'penetrate'.

And with her dowry returned, no more was heard of Unn. She chose to live happily, on her lands, and no more troubled herself with the foolishment of men & their overly inflated egos or penises.

I thought, "Oh no, the pun is coming!" Then it came lol.

Moral of the story: Don’t lie to (and arguably with) anyone capable of magic.

This whole story was hugely revealing about culture in general and super interesting. Thank you for the retelling and commentary!

"A newt? A NEWT?" "they got better."

Talk about too much of a good thing... The moral of the story, Hel hath no fury as a sorceress scorned.

My first thought is that once Unn and Ya Boi are divorced, he should have tried bedding her again, as the curse did stipulate this problem would occur with his wife. He should have talked with his father in law about this! Surely a great legal mind would have found a loophole.

Time to read the sagas

So... Just because it is funny, the CC puts Hrut as either fruit or root. So at some point, the phrase Gunhild was using fruit for his groot appeared... I wanted to share that with everyone.

The teenager in me was laughing every time his magic stick was mentioned. Great story.

Worst part of a long “world serpent” is that complaining about it seems like humble bragging

Love these stories! THIS is what entertained our ancestors in the past. ❤

Every time I watch your videos, I'm struck by what a wonderful storyteller you are -- truly a rare and ancient skill of perennial value. Thank you for sharing with us!

I literally just started into a book to learn more about Seidr and Völva. The timing of this video couldn't have been better.

If this were a historical record... I would seriously wonder if Unn had vaginismus. It's a condition where a woman's body reacts poorly to the... procreative act, let's say, and it makes the whole process *incredibly* painful for her as well as kinda defeating the whole purpose. The condition shows up most often, to my understanding, in people who have been raised in *extremely* segregated subcultures where the whole "Purity Culture" thing is ramped up to 11, but it's not *limited* to them.

This video got me thinking of that trippy scene in ‘The Northman’ with Willem Dafoe, young Amleth, and Ethan Hawke when Dafoe says, “It is women that know the mysteries of men.”

Hail, and Skål. Yes I am raising my horn to you.

Your videos are always top tier, thank you for doing all the hard work to get them out to everyone in such an entertaining & interesting way 💗 also I gotta say that I'm always impressed by the puns you create and share at the beginning of all your videos 😂

This was both fascinating and hilarious! I enjoyed it immensely. And it was also a great insight into the various roles at the time. Great video!

This story reminds me that scene from Scary Movie 4 with the Viagra pills 😂 Amazing and informative video!!

Hrut seems like a good example of a male. Innocent, unfortunate, but also self-serving in ways. Unn is very decisive, seemingly in defiance of some authority, usually. But she also does not have the sense of freedom that Gunhild and any other accepted magic user (is she a vølve?) might exude. Mord actually means murder in Norse (or at least in Danish), but he ironically is not very murderous at all. The King of Norway also seems like an extroverted people-pleaser, while his mom is more of a calculating type...

Loved this! There was a lot of information to dig through and the fact that you got this down to 29 mins is a feat, hahaha. Excellent work as always (except those puns, ugh, the PUNS /j)!

This story is a wild fuckin ride

See, we need more Norse myths turned into movies.

I think that it was the words of Gunhild that was the curse, but the gold bracelet sealed the curse to hrut

So much great information! My brain is throbbing with knowledge.

I truly love the story-telling-skills you have, my good sir. This was a really entertaining story, which also gave some real insight into marriage in those days. As for the "massive baseball penis" - Curse or not... Maybe he was just born with a massive member, and after having sex with the Queen mother (If she's used to men, as it would hint at) she may recognize that his massive tool, was indeed to big for a fresh virgin maiden, such as Unn. Maybe the curse lied in his ignorance towards what a "normal size penis" would look like, not realizing his "good fortune" was actually a curse. And the Queen mother was merely trying to warn him, before he sailed for Iceland to marry Unn. But i dunno... It's a beautiful story, open to many interpretations i guess... I certainly enjoyed the hell out of this video...

Welp.... that bracelet is going in my D&D campaign now.

I like how you tell stories. Its fun and you really humanize the peoole of the past. A lot of old stories make these people seem larger than life, which I always found to be alienating. But the way you talk about the people in the stories makes me want to sit down and drink a beer with them.

This is the kind of story that requires a flowchart to follow all the relationships.

Good story. Once again, Willy is the main problem for society.

What a fantastic video as always! Best channel on YT

Truly, I would want to peruse the contents of the bookshelf in the background. It looks impressive.

Still one of your best videos. Thank you for the fantastic storytelling.

Good to see ya again...! The descriptions that you " come up " with ,are enormously hilarious!! I have read some of that ( long ) tale n found that the truth 'comes' out ,finally in the end...truly a wonderful production that you have presented, n as I ponder the enormity of the content, I will follow up from a " new " position,no doubt !!! N discuss further the " soft power" of this sorceress..and all of her ram- ifacations, as they unfold!!?? Thanks for sharing this gift today! Good to see n hear from you after " Dragon com"!!!! 👍🧙‍♂️🐺!!!!!!!!!

23:05 what an absolute unit.

“You might have a balloon d***” I’m freaking dead lol

"Temporal Big Dick Energy" is my new favorite phrase. This is why I love the sagas.

Imagine The berserker being the only one not wanting to draw weapon when rejected

I'd love to hear more about Bunnhild there myself. Now me? I have a lineage that can be traced to the Sapmi. My great-great-grandmother fled the homeland. Mostly because, according to her writing, Finnish people kind of wanted to steal her children and raise them as Finnish wards of the state in an attempted cultural genocide and shot anyone in the face who thought they rather not give up their children... ... so I perked up hearing them mentioned. Because, you don't hear much about the Sapmi in general. And a lot of it comes off as... kind of revisionist political speak. Like when the nation of Norway declared that no Sami ever lived in Norway so they shouldn't have to consider granting them land concessions in a government report. Or despite what my own relative wrote down in her journals... "oh no the Finns never tried to do anything even like that and never did anything to the Sami" as I've been told by some Scandinavians. Though it seems is also a blatant lie there when they say it from what little I can find out there. So so strange to hear them mentioned in a Saga like that even offhandedly. ... though I suppose fitting to the relations I have known of it ends with "And she killed them all".

Great video as always.

Gunnhild.... Th OG.... CULTURAL APPRECIATOR... She learned for the Sami... Then had them UNALIVED.... So she could profit from their traditions...

Fantastic video, great story. Your content just keeps getting better and better. Thanks for keeping history and myth both entertaining and valuable!

Always love learning more, thanks so much for making these videos!

Nice to have you back, and uploading!

Love the content Ocean, keep it up.

Hey, this is the first one of your videos I've watched. Could this be a legal balance between oaths and agency? Like, yes people can get divorced and essentially dissolve that oath but they'd better have some kind of reason? Love your storytelling!

Wow, this video extended a lot.

Extremely well done and well put together as usual! I always apprechiate what you share. We all love your great work.

"... in to a newt." Don't worry you'll get better. 😅

Thanx ocean for the greate content your videos also inspire me to continue my research

What a fantastic story absolutely brilliant great video

I’d love a talk about gender identity. Since Christians are so adamant about two clear genders, unlike our gods that may be more ambiguous. It also makes me curious about traditional gender roles, as Christians traditionally believe “women should be silent” etc.

You should do more of the philosophy videos.

The queen is kind of familiar of Warhammer's Morathi, or some depictions of Morgan/Morgause.

Norse soap operas are best soap operas! I'm honestly surprised that no one has mined the Sagas (especially this one, lol) for movies and TV series. Also: those character names! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yeah this would make a great play or series lol for sure. - Good story. Great telling!

Bwahahaha. This tale just gets better and better. Poor fellow.

You are a great story teller. It is so easy to get mixed up w/ sagas. I find it very difficult to sit and read through most any of them even though they are good stories. Your telling where names are repeated and emphasized helps me follow all of it. Are you saying "Hroot"? As in "I am Hroot."? :) Another name, are you saying Ulf or Oaf? It sounds like you are saying "unwashed oaf", and I'm wondering if there is some bit about the etymology of the word "oaf" (which I think actually relates to words like elf and alf) or if I'm just mishearing.

This story reminds me of some of the emails I get from nigerian princes.

Hello good Sir! I’m excited to catch up with your recent videos, as I’ve been away for a bit. I just wanted to pass along the title of a book I just ordered (I’m lucky enough to have a wee book selling job at my local indie) called “Myth, Materiality, and Lived Religion In Merovingian and Viking Scandinavia”, released by Stockholm University Press. I thought it might interest you, and I am about to dive into it myself. Take good care 💛

I know this doesn't relate to the video. But I'm curious. Will you do more draugr stories seeing how we are nearing Halloween? 🎃 👻 I ask because I absolutely loved the two that you did and how you did them. I'll admit I watched quite a few times sense they were released.

Please explain the Norse concept of doom and how it differs from fate. Thank you!

That was great 😂😂😂

This is enjoyable

Hell has no furry like a woman scorn

It seems Han Solo was right , women always know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Why there isn't a movie about this?

Truly a Mim ir worthy tale....OK I'll see my way out

Sounds like Gunnhild was a badass and not to be fucked with, unless she demands you to.

Does anyone think it's a good idea to use time travel to bring a Viking to today in order to learn about the Viking region properly?

I have the Heimskringla and I don't remember this....balunns dic incident 😂

the funny thing about power, power can corrupt and absolute power can corrupt absolutely

"Temporal Big Dick Energy" - Ocean, September 2022, after quoting a historical document

“A newt!?”

I've missed hearing from you

Erik Bloodaxe was one of the last rulers of an independent northern England. He's an important figure in our history.

I adore Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir if im being hounest!

Gunhild is an absolute legend 🤣

wow so.... not much has changed in divorce grounds there then.

Always the truth...when hrut doesnt admit the truth he is punished for it. Valuable lesson.

COMMENT FOR THE ALGORITHM!!!!!!!

Who is the artist who made thumbnail art? She looks amazing

Soooo anyone know the details of this giant wang curse?... Asking for a friend.

Hopnetly i thought more of misandre the red witch from GOT cause she has sex magic?! But thats more soft power plus magic i guess. Alo its kinda foolih to not only tempt the powerful wueen knowing magic, but also lie to her. And its probably still a damaging now , not as such, i hope unn had at least fun with the money.

I love the stories, my only issue is people use this stuff as proof about how the vikings and pagans lived but my understanding is that all of these were written hundreds of years after the viking era actually ended plus they were all written by people who had long been Christianized.

It won’t let me join the discord. It says the link expired :(

🤣🤣🤣😉

Thanks for another great video. Ahahah 🎈 🍆

Rooms a mess, could you please give me some advice on how I should clean it, my first attempt at a youtube video, please.

24th

Hey How would one make an offering to the gods from home and how would one know which god to worship

😆 քʀօʍօֆʍ

So it's not the story of a Texan catboy who accidentally overcooked a steak? "Sorry, it's burnt, ny'all!" ;3 ...I sincerely apologize.

I'm not supposed to enjoy such a good story - these people are distant relatives, and racism means if I appreciate this (and privately go, "well that explains a lot" from time to time) then I can't be what I am today. But here I am, because you tell it so well. And thank you for taking the time to do so.

Curses are interesting, because they never work. As the most powerful coven in Europe can attest to after their curse on Trump failed hahaha

Very interesting story told in an entertaining way. Thanks for the vid