Viking Lives

Ingolf the Icelander

In this episode, Kári tells the story of the foundation of Iceland as a new kind of Viking society on the rim of the Arctic Circle, and of Ingolf, the man who led a party of settlers to the smoky bay he named Reykjavik.

Harald Finehair

In the first episode of series 2 of Viking Lives, Richard has the story of Harald Finehair, the Norwegian chieftain who swore he would not cut his hair or beard until he became king of all of Norway. But his heavy-handed rule goaded people to board their longships and establish new Viking colonies elsewhere.

Sol the Charioteer

To conclude our first series of Viking Lives, Richard & Kári are bringing you a special episode: we’re tracking the strange ride of the goddess Sól across the skies of the Norse world. The Vikings of Scandinavia lived through unimaginably harsh and dark winters, confined to their cramped longhouses for weeks at a time while blizzards raged outside. Then, when the world warmed up and the sea ice broke, they could sail out once more into the wider world. Kári also recounts here some of the rituals he remembers from his boyhood in Iceland that marked the shift from the long winter dark into the eternal light of summer.

Bjorn Ironside

In this episode we follow the fleets of the Viking raiders as they break into Muslim Spain, North Africa and Italy for the first time. Richard and Kári present the story of Bjorn Ironside, famed for his brutal skill as a warrior that made him virtually invulnerable to the weapons of his enemies. In 859 AD, Bjorn led a Viking fleet on an extraordinary voyage into the Mediterranean. They seized loot and slaves wherever they went. And then, when they landed in Italy, they hatched a mad scheme to make Bjorn the emperor of Rome.

Lagertha the Shield Maiden

Lagertha the Shield Maiden appears only briefly in the medieval Viking stories, but she retains a powerful hold on the modern imagination. In this episode, Richard and Kári are joined by Dr. Lisa Bennett, author of Viking Women, to explore the concept of the Norse shield maiden, and to examine the evidence for the existence of these fierce Viking warrior-women.