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Documentary, Vikings, The Founders of Europe Part 3 The Vikings
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00:00We owe much to the ancient Greeks, from the invention of democracy, to citizens' participation in government, to the Olympic Games.
00:13The Greeks laid the foundations of science and created Western drama.
00:22The Romans conquered and unified Europe. Their greatest achievements lay in administration, infrastructure, and above all, their system of law.
00:37The Vikings stormed onto the world stage as raiders from the sea, but they went on to build a vast network of trade, and they were the first to discover America.
00:49Between them, these three peoples were the founders of Europe.
01:02Once they were dreaded, but the achievements and discoveries of the Northmen helped shape modern Europe.
01:19The Vikings came from the far north of Europe, or what one Roman historian called the World's End.
01:32The Romans called this distant region Scandinavia.
01:38To outsiders, it was a mysterious place, where nature ruled.
01:49It was not only distant, but almost empty. A place where ice met fire.
01:55There, the untamed forces of nature predominated.
02:05And no matter where you went, the sea was never far away.
02:10The Scandinavian coasts, comprising stretches of today's Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, were the homeland of the Vikings.
02:29When the Northmen set out in their longships, they terrorized much of Europe.
02:33One of their earliest raids came in the year 793, when the dragonships descended upon England.
02:49Their objective, a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, an important place of pilgrimage off Northumberland.
02:56On the island, the monks lived a life of work and prayer.
03:09These pious men were rich and peaceful.
03:14They defended their treasures with words, not weapons.
03:20To the Vikings, a god who had died on the cross must be weak.
03:24He must be a god who was unable to fight or protect his people.
03:39So the treasures of the monastery were there for the taking.
03:43The monastery lay close to the coast.
03:52Once the ships had reached the shore, the raiders would fall on their victims immediately, without warning and without quarter.
04:02That was the typical Viking strategy.
04:05Long-term plans were not for them.
04:08The men on the ships were fearless, seasoned fighters.
04:13This was not their first raid on England.
04:22The treasures of the English church drew them like a magnet.
04:25By the time the monks noticed the invaders, it was too late.
04:44With their attack on the abbey of Lindisfarne, the Vikings opened a new chapter in world history.
04:50No sooner had the monks seen the Viking ships on the horizon than the warriors would have been here standing at the monastery.
04:59For the monks, this would have been a traumatic experience.
05:02Many of them saw it as a sign of worse to come, and they were right.
05:06The raids continued until eventually the monks were forced to abandon the monastery.
05:09So began an age of fear.
05:19The pagan strangers were huge men who knew neither fear nor mercy.
05:23The Vikings became notorious for their brutality.
05:36Worst of all were the berserkers, wild men who worked themselves into a frenzy of slaughter.
05:42The men of the cloth hadn't a chance against the onslaught from the sea.
05:53All they could do was pray.
05:55Most of the monks were killed on the spot.
06:05Any who survived were enslaved.
06:12The booty made the raiders powerful and famous in their homeland.
06:16They carried off as much as they could load aboard their ships.
06:33Behind them, they left death and destruction.
06:36The raid on Lindisfarne was only the beginning.
06:45From then on, the dragon ships attacked the English coast again and again.
06:53In the early Middle Ages, half of Europe lived in fear of the Vikings.
07:01They were the most successful warriors of their time.
07:04Yet their personal equipment was nothing special.
07:08Hardly any of them had chain mail, nor were their weapons exceptional.
07:19Only a few of them had helmets.
07:21And none of the helmets had horns.
07:23That is a myth.
07:27Warriors in horned helmets first appeared in Wagner's operas.
07:34There has also been speculation about what drove the berserkers.
07:39Was it perhaps magic mushrooms?
07:41But they induce nausea.
07:44So probably not.
07:48Perhaps other plants played a role.
07:51They too could have acted as stimulants.
07:53A fungus found in grain is said to bring on hallucinations.
08:00The practice of shield biting could have been a form of self-hypnosis.
08:08But most authorities believe that the Vikings did not use drugs.
08:12Instead, they shouted themselves into a fighting mood.
08:15This released hormones that made them disregard pain.
08:22Nowadays we believe that it was their fighting spirit and not their weapons that made the Vikings such effective warriors.
08:29This was a time when most people were violent.
08:31But perhaps the Vikings more than anyone else really understood how violence worked.
08:34They even gave their swords names celebrating it.
08:38Battle blaze, bloodthirster, life hater.
08:41These swords weren't better than others, but they were an integral part of their owners' lives, important possessions.
08:47We can compare this to those people today who give names to their boats or cars.
08:51The Vikings' most important weapon was their ships.
08:55Their longships were not only the fastest craft of their time, but also the most stable.
09:09From the coasts of Scandinavia, the Vikings sailed to the Baltic, to England, the Rhineland, France, Spain and Italy.
09:17They descended upon cultural and trading centers wherever there were coasts or navigable rivers.
09:30The dragon ships had room for raiding parties of several dozen men.
09:35Farah y Viking is what they call their expeditions in search of booty.
09:41Going a Viking.
09:43In other words, going on raids overseas.
09:45But there was another, more peaceful side to the Vikings.
09:58They spent most of their time at home as fishermen, farmers or craftsmen.
10:03The things they made in their villages were easily traded.
10:13Above all, tanned animal skins and furs.
10:16Some even fashioned rune stones.
10:19But the majority lived from the bounty of the land, the sea or the many lakes.
10:27Their smithies were famous. Many a piece of loot was melted down.
10:35Particularly precious coins were sometimes worked into jewelry.
10:38A typical Viking house was small and without windows.
10:46Much rarer were the big long houses where the clan chiefs and their families lived.
10:50At the beginning of the Viking era, the Northmen had neither a state nor a kingdom.
11:00They were organized in large family clans with a leader, the Jarl.
11:04The most powerful Jarls were a kind of lesser prince.
11:10Below the Jarls came the freemen.
11:14They were farmers, fishermen, craftsmen or merchants.
11:17Their wives were the mistress of the house.
11:19If in summer the men went raiding or trading, they ran the household alone.
11:28At the bottom were the landless, who worked as servants or maids.
11:35All the important decisions were made at an assembly of the freemen of the district.
11:41The thing.
11:43They met at an appointed time in the open air.
11:46There they made important decisions and discussed the law to resolve disputes.
11:55Listen to me.
11:57We have gathered here to meet a decision.
12:00A decision that is good for us all.
12:03We have to be one of the things.
12:05Whoever wants to say something, he will speak now.
12:10In Iceland, the freemen met at the foot of a volcanic chasm,
12:13which they regarded as a magical spot.
12:16There they held a general assembly, the Ulting, an early version of parliament.
12:23There were also trading towns like Birke, Kaepang and Haithabu in today's Schleswig-Holstein.
12:31They carried on international trade as early as the 10th century.
12:40Haithabu was a town of around a thousand people.
12:43It was famous for hosting ships from many different countries.
12:46Merchants from all over Europe came to Haithabu to exchange their wares for jewellery and goods looted by the Vikings.
13:02A trader from the Orient praised Haithabu as a great town at the furthest end of the ocean.
13:19The Northmen's feasts were notorious.
13:28They liked to drink in large quantities and often.
13:32Getting drunk was a sign of manliness.
13:34At the great feasts held by princes, it was customary to have a scald, a poet, to sing the host's praises.
13:50Was ist denn los? Wo bleibt deine Darbietung?
13:56Unser Gast langweilt sich schon.
13:59Ein Lied auf unseren Hausherrn und seinen weitgereisten Gast.
14:06Er hat große Schlaften geschlagen. Mit reicher Beute kehrt er heim.
14:12Und lässt uns alle Anteil haben. Lädt uns zu seinem Festmahl ein.
14:17Goal!
14:25Er kennt sich aus mit vielen Schriften.
14:29Und hat die Welt schon weit bereist.
14:32Doch er kann trinken wie kein anderer.
14:35Und hat die schönste Frau zur Seite.
14:42Joe!
14:44Ihr seid so hoch wie unsere Dattelbäume.
14:49Eure Frauen sind so blond.
14:54Und leuchtend wie die Sonne.
14:58Und ihr seid auf eine Art und Weise gastfreundlich, wie ich es auf meinen vielen Reisen noch nie erlebt habe.
15:10Goal!
15:11Goal!
15:13Goal!
15:14Goal!
15:15Goal!
15:16Goal!
15:17Goal!
15:18Goal!
15:19Goal!
15:20Goal!
15:21Goal!
15:22Goal!
15:23Goal!
15:24Goal!
15:25Goal!
15:29Goal!
15:3012th century on.
15:34The Icelandic sagas and the Edda poems told of the deeds
15:38of courageous men, of drinking parties and pirates' raids,
15:42of wandering the seas and wars.
15:46But they also told of the Vikings' gods,
15:50and there were a lot of them. The gods were not, however,
15:54the only figures that peopled the Viking imagination.
16:00The world of the Vikings was a world of secrets.
16:08It was an inexhaustible source of myths and magic.
16:12They believed that every crack in the ground, every geyser,
16:16was the home of a spirit.
16:20A giant could live in a volcano, or a dwarf tend a smithy.
16:34They believed that giants were involved even in the creation of the world.
16:40In the beginning, there was only fire and ice.
16:44When they met, it brought forth the ancestral father, Ymir.
16:50But the gods killed Ymir.
16:52They made the earth from his flesh,
16:54and the seas from his blood,
16:56the mountains from his bones,
16:58and the forests from his hair.
17:08His skull became the sky, his brain the clouds.
17:12The first man and woman were created from two tree trunks.
17:16The chief god, Odin, lived in Valhalla.
17:22A rainbow bridge connected his realm with the world of men.
17:26His son, Thor, made thunder and lightning with his hammer,
17:32and guarded mankind.
17:34Whatever the problem, people turned to Thor for help.
17:46But when someone died, they sometimes sought the advice of a witch.
17:52Husbands and fathers were often killed on raids over the sea.
17:58Their families hoped that the wise women would be able to answer the question,
18:02where is the dead man now?
18:08For no one could say for sure what happened after death.
18:12Only one thing was certain.
18:14Not everyone was granted an afterlife.
18:19The Vikings believed that the souls of those who did not succeed in entering the other world,
18:24haunted the earth to terrorize the living.
18:28They took him back.
18:30They took him back.
18:31He is dead.
18:32How did he die?
18:34How did he die?
18:36In the war?
18:38I saw not a miracle at him.
18:42I don't know it.
18:44But I want to know, what's happening now with him.
18:48Where will he go?
18:50We can't see you in the other world.
18:55You should be happy about it.
18:57But you can do something, so the spirit of your father doesn't find you back.
19:02And what?
19:04If you buried him, then be careful,
19:08that his head is buried between his feet.
19:12Only courageous warriors found a place in the other world.
19:21They reached Valhalla.
19:25Valhalla was Odin's hall.
19:27Odin and his wife lived there and enjoyed watching contests between the fallen Vikings.
19:33In Valhalla, the warrior elite would live until the end of the world.
19:39In the daytime, they tested their strength in single combats.
19:43In the evening, they celebrated at Odin's table with mead and meat.
19:48As for those not lucky enough to die in battle, hell awaited them.
19:54It is an old Norse word related to the English word, hell.
19:59A dark place of lifeless souls.
20:06Those who could afford it gave their departed an elaborate funeral.
20:10One of the largest Viking graves is in southern Sweden.
20:15The dead man's urn is surrounded by giant rocks,
20:18set up in the shape of a boat that was to take him into the afterworld.
20:24Some were buried in actual boats.
20:30The most famous boat burial site was discovered by a farmer in Norway in 1903.
20:38A year later, archaeologists uncovered the Åseberg ship.
20:43It was 22 meters long and made of oak.
20:46Behind the mast lay a burial chamber containing two female skeletons.
20:56Those who buried them must have been wealthy.
21:05The Åseberg ship is now in a museum in Oslo.
21:08More a yacht than a warship, it testifies to the unique shipbuilding skills of the Vikings.
21:17Among the burial objects were decorated wooden carts and sledges.
21:21Everything that a Viking needed for a comfortable afterlife.
21:24The skeletons belonged to a very old woman and a young girl.
21:34Probably a queen with her maid.
21:37One thing is certain, the person who had such a valuable grave must have been very influential.
21:52The Åseberg ship remains the most important find from the Viking era.
21:59In the 10th century, this tolerance encouraged an intermingling of faiths.
22:02In the 10th century, this tolerance encouraged an intermingling of faiths.
22:27That's for Dave.
22:32The Vikings gradually assimilated Christian concepts into their world of magic and Nordic gods.
22:45Many people took to wearing both a pagan amulet and a cross.
22:50They were happy to accept protection from both Thor and Christ.
23:02Over time, missionary monks converted more and more Vikings to Christianity.
23:08In the 10th century, it was the most important part of the world.
23:13Deutsche Bischöfe sandten schon im 9. Jahrhundert Missionare nach Skandinavien.
23:17Anfangs hatten die noch sehr wenig Erfolg.
23:19Und dass überhaupt diese Mission, die von Deutschland ausging, später auch von England ausging,
23:24dass die überhaupt Erfolg hatte, hat verschiedene Ursachen, die gar nicht so viel mit Religion zu tun haben.
23:29Zum einen, weil ganz Westeuropa schon christianisiert war
23:31und für die skandinavischen Händler es wesentlich einfacher war,
23:35mit christlichen Händlern Handel zu treiben, wenn man sich selbst zum Christentum bekannte.
23:40Und das zweite und in meinen Augen wichtigste ist, dass das Christentum ein Sinnangebot für das Leben nach dem Tod gab.
23:47Die Wikinger hatten nur Wahlhall für die Kämpfer, die mit dem Schwert in der Hand starben,
23:51aber für alle anderen versprach das Christentum ein Leben nach dem Tod im Paradies, wenn man sich auf Erden nur gut verhält.
23:59Und das dritte war, und das ist wichtig für diese Christianisierung von oben herunter, durch die Könige,
24:06dass diese Könige in Skandinavien, diese Kleinkönige, Häuptlinge, Fürsten,
24:10sich auch als Könige von Gottes Gnaden fühlen wollten,
24:13so wie die großen Könige in England und in Frankreich.
24:17The new faith spread slowly, first in Denmark, then in Norway, Iceland and Sweden.
24:24The conversion was by and large peaceful.
24:30Women were particularly receptive to the new religion,
24:34since it held the promise of life after death for them as well.
24:40The churchmen from Germany and England established themselves,
24:43and as the centuries went by, pagan Scandinavia converted entirely to Christianity.
24:52The famous stave churches of Norway were among the first churches in Scandinavia.
24:58They date from the 12th and 13th centuries.
25:00This Swedish crucifix also dates from the time of conversion.
25:09But Viking mythology remains an inexhaustible source for opera and film.
25:15Often it is heavily embroidered, as with Wagner's horned or winged helmets.
25:20The old Norse sagas helped inspire the Lord of the Rings.
25:28Asterix and Obelix encounter Vikings, even if they are called Normans.
25:36There are well-loved cartoon characters, such as Vicky the Viking.
25:41Much of what we believe about the Northmen remains speculative.
25:48But there is one thing we know for sure.
25:50They were great explorers.
25:55While some went raiding, others set out to find a new place to live.
26:00For the limited stretches of fertile land in Scandinavia
26:03could not support its growing population.
26:05Many families left to seek their fortune beyond the bounds of the known world.
26:19They embarked on long and dangerous voyages.
26:30They knew the sea as no one else did.
26:35Their heavy ships, the Canars, carried them safely through stormy seas and across distant oceans.
26:50In the 9th century, Vikings from Norway sailed north-west,
26:55past the Faroe Islands and discovered Iceland.
26:57Iceland.
27:04In those days, Iceland was more temperate than it is today.
27:08And it was uninhabited.
27:10Many Vikings made their home there.
27:18How did the Vikings manage to reach an island that lay over a thousand kilometers from Norway?
27:23Thanks to a spectacular find we now know.
27:26In the 1960s, several Viking wrecks were salvaged.
27:33They are housed today in the Danish Viking Ship Museum at Orosgilde.
27:38The thousand-year-old remains tell us a great deal about the Northmen's ingenuity at shipbuilding.
27:44Two different types of ships were discovered.
27:45The canar, a highly stable transport and merchant vessel, and the narrow, speedy longboat, ideal for marauding.
28:02A few years ago, a team from the museum reconstructed a canal and launched it.
28:13They wanted to find out how the boats performed at sea.
28:16By sailing the ships themselves, we get to know how you actually use what these wrecks means.
28:25We don't know it by looking at the wrecks themselves.
28:28And simply by going in and rebuilding and rebuilding again and trying again,
28:35we actually get to know what it does.
28:37Every summer, the sea stallion sets sail once again.
28:44The crew spend weeks on board to get a real feeling for the ship.
28:53They try out all kinds of maneuvers and are always amazed at how smoothly the ship glides through the water, even with little wind.
29:01I have the deepest respect for the Viking skipper, which have been sailing these ships for 1,000 years ago.
29:10Especially this thing that is a very simple construction of the sail, but at the same time, it's just perfect in balance.
29:20Perfect balance and speed, they are the outstanding characteristics of all Viking ships, whether raiders or merchant vessels.
29:28They are still considered the best ships of their time, and several factors went into making them the best.
29:43When building their ships, the Vikings didn't saw the logs, but split them along the grain.
29:49This made the timber strong and flexible.
29:51The mast could be put up and taken down quickly, essential when facing a bridge across a river, or whenever the crew had to row.
30:08The sail could be adjusted so as to make way against the wind, and the boats had an extremely shallow draft.
30:14The Vikings always began their major expeditions in early summer, when the fjords and coasts were free of ice and snow.
30:30One of their most momentous voyages began in Iceland.
30:33It was led by the most notorious man in the country, Erik the Red.
30:41Erik was belligerent and hot-tempered. Some of his men met their deaths at his hand.
30:47Erik was outlawed several times, but when he killed two men in a quarrel with his neighbour, he was banished from the island.
31:08That was how Erik the Red came to blaze a trail for future explorers.
31:30Erik left Iceland with a few men and some slaves.
31:33He wanted to scout out a land that was supposed to lie somewhere to the north-west.
31:39He found it, and later called it Greenland.
31:46By calling it Greenland, Erik was hoping to lure other settlers.
31:50His plan worked, and many Vikings followed him to a new home.
31:57Erik's eldest son was called Leif.
31:59A happy boy, it was said, who, even as a child, dreamt of going out into the wide world.
32:08He was fascinated by a story that did the rounds in his father's house.
32:13It was said that an Icelandic merchant had drifted off course on his way to Greenland,
32:20and had ended up in a country much further to the west.
32:29Exploration was in his family's blood.
32:33Leif was seized by a hunger for adventure,
32:36but it was years before he was able to go to sea in his own ship to find the mysterious country.
32:41He navigated according to the seafaring methods of old, by the sun and by the stars,
32:53and above all, with the help of experience.
32:58Despite the danger from storms and huge waves,
33:01Leif and his crew sailed further and further into uncharted waters.
33:05Their voyage along the west coast of Greenland took three days.
33:13For two days, they struck out across open sea,
33:17then followed a coast until they finally reached Newfoundland.
33:22In the year 1001, Leif Erikson and his men set foot on new territory.
33:36Little did the young explorers realise
33:39that they had landed on the continent of North America,
33:43so making history.
33:44The new arrivals had no idea what lay in store,
33:54but what they saw seemed to them a paradise.
34:02They reported that the land was green and full of meadows in bloom.
34:07They called the fertile land Vinland.
34:15Of the time it means a wine land or a sea land,
34:18we know we certainly not know.
34:21But two Sagas berichten over expeditions in this land,
34:25that somewhere in North America or in the depths of North America
34:29have received up to 1.000 expeditions in the islands,
34:31and the Vikings took up a thousand there上面,
34:34We know that we know,
34:36And also the scientific monastic texts of the Hoch-Mittal 했던
34:39about where this land in West is located.
34:42It was long thought to be only a legend that the Vikings were the first Europeans to set foot on Newfoundland.
34:49But in 1960, archaeologists found the proof.
34:53They discovered clear evidence of Norse settlements.
34:57The old farms have since been reconstructed.
35:00But after a few years, the Vikings left Vinland, never to return.
35:12No one knows what made them leave, although the Vinland saga mentions clashes with natives.
35:21It was almost 500 years before another European captain dared cross the Atlantic again.
35:31In 1492, Christopher Columbus rediscovered the New World in the name of the Spanish kings.
35:42He and his men set foot on American soil more than a thousand kilometers south of Leif Erikson's landing spot.
35:52Columbus's discovery led to the first permanent European settlers moving to North America.
36:00They were followed by hundreds of thousands of slaves shipped from Africa to labor on plantations.
36:06Together, they built the New World.
36:15But the man who really discovered America was a Viking, Leif Erikson.
36:26Many finds point to the Vikings not only traveling west but also sailing to the east.
36:31Arabic coins found on the Swedish island of Gotland are one sign of their eastward ventures.
36:41Archaeologists have also found several thousand foreign coins in the harbors of the trading towns of Haithabu and Birka.
36:48From Scandinavia, the Vikings developed a huge trading network.
37:03They penetrated deeper and deeper into present-day Russia.
37:07Their goal was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople.
37:12Only the toughest men dared attempt this journey, because it was long and strenuous.
37:20The trip often lasted for months.
37:23I can't expect you to come out of this mückenverseuchten Einöle.
37:28If it's true, what you tell us, then we're going to bath in Constantinople in gold.
37:32Yes, I hope so.
37:34We haven't seen so much now.
37:37This here?
37:39We probably have to go home.
37:41Wait a minute.
37:43You don't know.
37:45Tell us again.
37:47You haven't seen it yet.
37:50This is the richest country in the world.
37:53The people are only Samt and Seile and pure gold.
37:58And the women?
38:03The women.
38:05They have a black hair.
38:08And a brown hair.
38:10They have something in their eyes.
38:12They have something in their eyes.
38:15They...
38:16They have something in their eyes.
38:18And the men are small like a snake and they don't even really eat.
38:22That interests me not.
38:23They pay a lot.
38:25They pay a lot.
38:26And say, can you marry them and marry them, the women?
38:32That comes later.
38:34But don't eat them first.
38:36And stärk them.
38:37We have a long way for us.
38:39Okay.
38:49The leg from Russia to Constantinople was particularly arduous.
38:53Ships and their crews had to go through forests, over rapids and across floodplains and bogs.
39:00It was a logistical nightmare.
39:07To cross the huge expanse, the Vikings sometimes transported their canals overland.
39:13They came up with a strikingly simple idea.
39:19They dragged their boats over planks laid on the ground.
39:22Viking ships had no keel, so they didn't tip over on land.
39:32But they were heavy and it was often days before the men could put them back in the water.
39:37From Haithabu to Constantinople, it was several thousand kilometers.
39:45The men used sheer muscle power to move their ships over land.
39:51If they were lucky, local people might help by lending their draft animals.
39:55Everywhere the Vikings went, they spread fear, especially when they opened up a new line of business.
40:09The slave trade.
40:14In the Russian forests, there were neither rich monasteries nor towns worth raiding.
40:20Besides, slaves were more profitable than the skins of wild animals.
40:32Not even children were safe from the clutches of the Northmen.
40:36Locals, curious about the newcomers, were easy prey.
40:40The slave trade became the Vikings' biggest source of income.
41:04They were ruthless in hunting for people to sell in the slave markets of Constantinople.
41:11They were...
41:14Aaaaaah!
41:15Aaaaaah!
41:19Aaaaaah!
41:25Over the centuries, thousands of people vanished into slavery.
41:31Aaaaaah!
41:32slavery.
41:38The goal of all the Scandinavian traders was Constantinople.
41:42In the Middle Ages, the metropolis was the most important point of exchange for goods
41:48from Europe and the East.
41:54After an arduous journey, the Vikings finally followed the River Dnieper into the Black
42:00Sea.
42:01Then, the goal was in sight.
42:07There were many legends about the city on the Bosphorus, where East met West, and people
42:12of different religions lived side by side.
42:16Constantinople must have an incredible impression on the Nordmänner.
42:29The heart of the city was the Great Bazaar.
42:35The heart of the city was the Great Bazaar.
42:41Strange scents of exotic spices, soaps and perfumes filled the air.
42:48The stalls were overflowing with goods from every country under the sun.
42:54The streets were filled with a babel of different languages.
43:01The Vikings, too, wanted to sell their wares.
43:02They always did good business in Constantinople.
43:07They always did good business in Constantinople.
43:08The Vikings, too, wanted to sell their wares.
43:13They always did good business in Constantinople.
43:25The Vikings' slaves and animal skins were particularly sought after.
43:39They exchanged them for spices, silk and jewelry, or for silver coins.
43:52But it was always important to bargain.
43:59Bargaining was a skill that had to be learned.
44:02Trading in Constantinople could be a tricky business.
44:05The man in Bernfell, 380 Hermelin, 50 Zobel and these two Sklaven.
44:16What have you for?
44:20What's that?
44:2420.
44:2720, 20, 20.
44:29Oh, understand.
44:3110, 20, what's that already?
44:33I don't care.
44:35I'm going to put the mints on the Waage.
44:37Then we'll see how much silver we'll get.
44:39You, measure it.
44:41We're paying here in Münzen.
44:45Not at weight.
44:47Joseph.
44:49Let's say 30.
44:5220.
44:54I've had a long way.
44:5725.
44:59Come on, the old friendship.
45:0125.
45:05You're a good business owner.
45:13In their constant journey in back and forth,
45:15the Northmen left their mark on Eastern Europe.
45:27Over the centuries, Swedish Vikings founded or conquered many towns in what is now Russia.
45:32They were nearly always important trading places such as Novgorod or Kiev.
45:46The invaders from the North were called Rus.
45:50Rus was also the name of the first Russian state.
45:52It was founded in the 9th century by a Viking prince, Alyik.
46:02But Russia is not the only country with Viking roots.
46:05Normandy also has Norse origins.
46:09In the 10th century, the Northmen made so many incursions into the lower Seine that the territory was finally ceded to them.
46:20As Normans, they quickly established themselves as a regional power.
46:25From the 11th century on, Norman mercenaries migrated to southern Italy and took power there.
46:33After conquering Sicily, they converted the former emir's palace in Palermo into their seat of government.
46:40In Apulia, they left a legacy of countless Norman buildings.
46:45Even the Emperor Frederick II, Builder of the Castel del Monte, had Viking blood in his veins.
46:55In 1066, Duke William of Normandy invaded England and was crowned King.
47:02He too was a descendant of the Vikings.
47:05The Vikings founded us a new, greater Europe.
47:09They founded cities like Dublin, York and Kiev.
47:12They founded other states, not only the Normandy and Russia, which has its name from the Rus,
47:18or of course also the middle-old Roman Empire in South Italy,
47:23but they founded new countries like Iceland or Grönland.
47:26That means they took the horizon of Europe to the outside and left us a greater Europe.
47:32As settlers, the Vikings colonized Iceland and Greenland.
47:38As explorers, they traveled to America.
47:40Their descendants ruled in Normandy, England, southern Italy and Russia.
47:46They entered the world stage as raiders, plundering and murdering.
47:53But they had a peaceful side.
47:58They spent a large part of their time looking after their farms and homes.
48:01In a very short time, the wild Scandinavians became global players.
48:11As merchants, they opened up important trade routes that led not only to Southern Europe,
48:17but also deep into Eastern Europe and even to the Orient.
48:20And in their quest for new land, the Vikings were the first to discover North America.
48:31By the height of the Middle Ages, we hear no more of the Northmen.
48:36It's as if they had disappeared.
48:42The Vikings make a very sudden, a very dramatic entrance into the historical record.
48:48In the end, they seem to fade away, but their expansion overseas forced them to adapt,
48:53to fit in with the other cultures they encountered, until eventually they stopped being pagan Scandinavians and become medieval Europeans.
49:03Around the year 1000, they established the three great kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, later Sweden,
49:09which still exist today on a par with Britain and France.
49:11The Vikings don't disappear, they merge into world history.
49:18The Viking legacy to Europe lies in the cities and countries that they founded or conquered.
49:24At the same time, their raids on France, on England, will always be remembered with a shudder.
49:32But wherever they settled, the seafarers merged into the local population.
49:38As Vikings, they existed for only about 200 years.
49:44Since the Middle Ages, they have lived on as the familiar Danes,
49:49Norwegians, Swedes and Icelanders.
49:52The custodians of the fantastic stories and sagas about the warriors, traders and explorers,
50:00who terrified half of Europe.
50:05That was the final in the series.
50:06Tune in next week for more Lost Worlds.
50:10And stay tuned now for Gough Whitlam in his own words.
50:12Music
50:13.
50:22.
50:24.
50:30.
50:31.
50:32.
50:37.
50:38.
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