The Real History of the Vikings: Trade, Exploration, and Sagas

CrashCourse

In this fast-paced and humorous overview, John Green challenges the popular stereotypes of Vikings as merely bloodthirsty warriors wearing horned helmets. The video explores the historical reality of the Norse people between 750 and 1100 CE, revealing a complex society primarily driven by agriculture, trade, and settlement rather than just plunder. It examines how the Vikings expanded from Scandinavia to places as diverse as Kiev, Constantinople, Iceland, Greenland, and North America, establishing a massive trade network that connected the world.