4. The Greenland Vikings - Land of the Midnight Sun
WATCH WITH VIDEO: • 4. The Greenland Vikin...
One of the most unlikely tales of a society’s fall is the incredible saga of the Vikings of Greenland. Find out how these European settlers built a society on the farthest edge of their world, and survived for centuries among some of the harshest conditions ever faced by man. Discover how this civilization was able to overcome the odds for so long, and examine the evidence about what happened to cause its final and mysterious collapse. Including Viking poetry, Inuit folktales and thousands upon thousands of walrus.
Support Fall of Civilizations on Patreon: / fallofcivilizations_po...
Credits:
Sound engineering by Thomas Ntinas
Voice Actors:
Jacob Rollinson
Jake Barrett-Mills
Sebastian Garbacz
Special thanks to Jordan Ashley Moore (Ancient Literature Dude) for his readings of Old Norse poetry.
Music by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: incompetech.com/
Title theme: Home At Last by John Bartmann. johnbartmann.com/
Thankyou so much for these, I suffer from mental health issues and your voice, cadence and incredible knowledge have helped my life more than you could imagine. May you and your loved ones be safe and happy for ever, Thankyou
Thanks my friend, glad I could help
I love KZhead Because you can find gems like this...just when I have tired of one subject or have learned all I care to. There is always another...this program is well presented
Thanks Robert, much appreciated!
You really know how to transport someone's imagination across time and continents. Whenever I finish one of these podcasts, I really do feel like I've gone somewhere and come back. I'm listening out of order, but this one was my favourite episode yet.
Thank you! There is also a video version available for this episode if you like.
Seriously! I grew up like many others with OG History Channel before it went the way of MTV and conspiracies or Age of Empires. This man deserves everything.
,iuuuiiiuuu
,iuuuiiiuuu
On Baffin Island Canada they have found a spindle to spin wool. The Inuit have never done that, so they attribute it to vikings that could have spun Muskox wool.
The Inuit do spin musk ox wool- it’s called qiviut. It’s amazingly soft and warm (and EXTREMELY expensive since it has to be gathered off bushes and such when they shed in the spring and spun by hand. Takes a long time to get enough for a garment!) I’m not sure if they knew of the practice before European contact, however.
Imagine your family being banished from Norway, then they get kicked out of Iceland, then you decide to sail EVEN FARTHER away from Greenland into the unknown! No GPS, no gore-tex, no chance of rescue... I wonder what these people felt. Were they just terrified? Were they hopeful? Did their faith keep them going or was it pure desperation? Such an awesome podcast. I felt cold and hungry just listening to this one!
I know! It''s impossible to imagine how hard it must have been... Thank you, really glad you enjoyed!
I don't think they were terrified,, I think they were much more alive than most of us today. We try to make our lives as long as possible and in the process a large number of us forget to live.
Different value of life back then, different values in general. Life was much harder and more dangerous. Risks werent seen the same way as they are today when life is always trying to kill you. Conquest, raids, new discoveries were all things that could preserve your name and reputation for history.
I love this voice and narration. My favorite ballad to fall asleep. So many times.....for last two years. Thank you.
Adult bedtime stories ~~~~~
Great work, awesome format, and you are a phenomenal story teller! I am promoting this podcast as much as I can. Indus Valley, Easter Island, and Anasazi collapse are my obvious suggestions.
Oh thank you so much! Your support and encouragement really mean so much. These are great suggestions, and I'll take a look at each of them. So glad you're enjoying the podcast!
I have been listening to "Educational podcasts" for many years. I listen to them all day while I work. Thank you for such wonderful material. It is an absolute pleasure to listen to these. I greatly appreciate your work and time. Excellent. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you!!
Thank you Greg, that's really kind of you! So glad you've been enjoying.
Greg, what podcasts do you listen to?
@@tannisbhee7444 he's busy listening and working, can't type. 😜
I'd be pleased to know which others you admire.
Your podcasts are professional broadcast quality.
Thank you, I work really hard on them!
I am a huge history podcast fan and your content is head and shoulders above any other. Thank you for all of the amazing effort you put into it, the quality shines. A special mention for your music and soundtrack. Absolute perfection. Far beyond the facts and dates, you have managed to convey a sense of gravity and even sadness at the loss of so much, so long ago. I normally do not comment on youtube, but in my opinion, you have transcended the format and produced a masterpiece.
Phenomenal stuff!
Quality, well researched content. So little of this on you tube. Thank you
Thanks Kriss, much appreciated!
I love your podcasts. The quality of your work is fantastic and your story telling and the music are brilliant. Thank you ! Listening from New Zealand
Thanks for listening!
I am learning so much about ancient history thanks to these podcasts... Because of your wonderful ability to help the listener visualise the people, places and struggles they faced, it's much easier to recall them later on and form a complete picture of what happened. This is really amazing stuff.
Hi! Me and my BF are hooked on your podcasts! He came up with a clever question: if the vikings reached canada some rumor of this land must have spread to Iceland and from there to Europe. So why were the explorers in the 1500’s so clueless about The Americas? Did no knowledge seep trough to the courts of Spain and Portugal of another land then India across the Atlantic? I myself have another question: what’s the main reason no one ever sailed from Iceland or Greenland to Canada to settle like Ericksson did going from Iceland to Greenland? Was it conflict with Natives or another reason? Thank you from your fans!
I swear I can’t click on one of your videos and not be impressed. These are better documentaries than anything you can catch on tv. Great job.
Terrific narration... pacing... volume... background music. Terrific production. So many past lessons bbn of empires to learn from
Please keep making these podcasts and video podcasts. it is amazing!
I like to consider myself a bit of a history buff, often I listen to a history podcast and do not learn anything new from it. This podcast, however, has been absolutely wonderful and very enlightening. Thank you for these marvelous episodes!
You sir are just a blessing to our ears and imaginations
I never tire of the stories and speculations about Greenland. This fascination began with reading J. Smiley's book The Greenlanders. Thank you for this Podcast with a definitive and scholarly take on this incredible history.
I really enjoy these and love the sound of your voice.
Thank you, very kind of you!
I have something that you guys might enjoy!!!! It supports what the narrator behind this podcast talked about. In Thomas Jefferson’s “notes on the state of Virginia” 1781 - 1785 he states that the “esquimaux” or Eskimos/Inuit in today’s spelling on the east coast of Canada were in his time “must be derived from Greenlanders” (nords) due to their similarities in appearance and language. Just thought this was an interesting thing for him to claim so long ago!
@Blanc Neige right, the assumption being that they mixed populations and some of the Scandinavian physical and cultural features remained in the Inuit population during his time.
@Blanc Neige Been too long since I read through it, but I believe it was ethnic Europeans he believed they were descended from as he believed even at the time that the vikings had made it to N.America which is what made it stick out in my mind
Amazing, I'm listening to one episode everyday!
Very informative and enjoyable .One caveat , my Icelandic friend told me the Vikings found Irish monks when they arrived. He said the Vestmanajar took its name for them : the Westmen
Outstanding! So well presented and told.
Thanks. Really like your delivery on these. Can just close your eyes and be transported back in time.
I can learn...and sleep again. Listening for the 45th tim entire series... ❤
FANTASTIC! GREAT writing, amazing sound editing, flawless presentation. Love this channel, a new find for me. So happy!!! Thank you so very much. This is outstanding.
Thank you, very kind of you!
1:09:45 "... as the fires burned, and the seal meat crackled in celebration."
Fabulous. Thank you.
Thank you for these, well researched, a joy to listen to!
This is so amazing, i love it so much, great work to everyone who worked on this!
Amazing podcast!
Amazing storytelling.
Amazing research and presentation.
This was by far the very best documentary I've ever seen on the subject of the Greenland Vikings, and most useful to me as a writer in researching this topic for my next book. Your definitely took the time to examine every possible aspect of the story and the live footage of the actual places involved was amazing. I look forward to watching your other podcasts to see if there are any covering the Mesa Verde or Machu Picchu. Thank you!
I love your podcasts!
49:00 this story so spooky. Great job !
Excellent research, beautiful presentation, plus the gravity of the narrator's voice and his perfect elocution - pure pleasure! I think the idea that the Vikings 'went native' in le Carre's phrase is quite likely. Also, I thought VOLUSPA (no accents) was a 10th century creation of Icelanders.
I am a Bangladeshi, by no means connected to vikings.Still your storytelling generates emotion all the while enriching me with knowledge. Still I can see the surroundings through your voice. Such a majestic storyteller you are!!!
Love your productions. Keep it up an excellent work!
Thank you, very kind of you!
These are some seriously well-researched and well-presented podcasts. :)
Absolutely 👍
One of the best channels ever. I always return to it. Thank you 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🙏🇳🇿
Great as always.
The Vikings were brutal warriors, brave explorers and charismatic poets of their time. Sad whatever happened to them. Its mysterious.
They took over Normandy in France and went on to father most of the royal households of Europe once they became christians.
E
All warriors at that time were brutal
Russians Ukrainians scandavians irish genetics
Dublin viking city
thanks for these amazing pieces ! I will recomend this to people
Thanks so much! I really appreciate the encouragement and kind words
You are the best KZhead channel I personally have ever come across!
Simply outstanding job. For more on the Greenland Vikings check out Jared Diamond's book, "Collapse."
Thanks Thomas!
Absolutely amazing style of story telling. Please keep making videos.
Thank you, very kind of you! Should be a new one soon
This is pure podcast gold! May I suggest the Obrodites and/or the Old Prussians, as the last pagans of Europe being forcefully christianized? The fall of Arkona would be nice to hear about, though the source material might be too thin, and these people themselves didn't leave anything in their own words (though a christian prayer book in Old Prussian does exist)... Maybe bunching together the Western Slavs (the ones that inhabited today's Eastern Germany) and the Balts could work... the Duchy of Lithuania was still ruled by Pagan Dukes untill the 14th century... The loss of their ancestral faith can be considdered a sort of extinguishing of a civilization- definately an extinguishing of an ethnos (or rather several of them)...
Thanks so much! These are some great suggestions I hadn't thought of. And glad you've been enjoying it so far.
@@FallofCivilizations Yes, I second this call. The dark shadow of the land named "Ruthenia " haunts myself and my cousins. All our Grandfather could tell us was, as a boy, that he had come from Austria-Hungary, but he named his daughter "Ruth". When we lived in Europe, she complained men would stare at her, perhaps because she looked like one of their countrywoman?
Love these, your awesome, the narration is brilliant, I feel I am actually there when i close my eyes and listen. Thanks
Thanks Jazmin, glad you're enjoying
These are so awesome!
Fantastic work. Great storytelling.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Well done man amazing
Coiled Sinew Backed Bows seen as an advantage for the Inuit... Without Sinew the Inuit wouldn't have had Bows strong enough to stick an awwow into SNOW! As a builder of so-called Primitive Bows, Sinew Backing was Widespread the World Over. Sinew Cable Backed Bows were mostly reserved for areas were there was No Suitable Species of wood available for use as a Core for Bow building. Sinew Cable Backing is a pretty Spectacular Technology for the Time and Place!
Not sure there's enough ads on this video
i prefer the podcast to the video. more room for the imagination to run
Thank You.
i really enjoyed this. Well paced and researched. It is currently super hot here in Australia with bushfires all around and smoke everywhere but i almost had to put on jumper listening to this lol Thanks
Haha thank you, very kind of you!
Amazing! Also, 2000th like!
Best Channel on KZhead! ❤
Hollow Earth Theory holds that the Greenland Vikings headed north over the ice in a group, joyfully singing, to the inner earth. I'm not sure of what medieval source this supposedly quotes, however.
I really enjoy your work, thanks so much for all this mmmmmm knowledge you present to us. Please please do not ever ruin your podcast with adds please!
Thank you, that's very kind! Don't worry, I have no intention of ever adding advertisement.
The vikings arrived in Greenland in the medieval climate optimum that lasted about ad 850-1300. Greenland’s was much warmer (and greener) than it is today as shown by ice core drilling. The Little ice age that followed ended it all being the coldest period in 9000. The Inuit from Canada first arrived in Greenland at the same time as the Vikings did and eachother. In the Inuit population there are found blond haired and blue eyed Inits even today.
I've actually seen the ship in Oslo. Standing next to it and thinking about those seas, it's little wonder why medieval people viewed the Norse with such fear. You had to be among the toughest of people to venture out to sea in such a low sided vessel.
Excellent.
Thanks!
loving your podcast mate, I wanna suggest the indus valley civilization
Thank you, really glad you're enjoying. That's a great suggestion, definitely want to do Indus Valley at some point!
@@FallofCivilizations thanks! btw is there a way for you to put your podcast on the podbean app? I have only found your podcast on youtube.
@@KingofDrama1 I'll take a look at that. It should be available on all major platforms like stitcher.
Thank You for showing the world what isn't in history books. This evidence of undeniable advanced stone placement and crafting technology. The Stone demands its due place in history. The previous human iteration left us a true enigma. I wonder what the next will have of our story. They might think the pyramids were our doing 😅
Brilliant storytelling. I has greatly moved.
Wonderful
Excellent 👌😊
superb thankyou
Great work. I really enjoyed the reading at about the 7:50 mark.
Thanks! Yes, you should check out Ancient Literature Dude on here for more.
how did you like 7:49 & 7:51?
The needle that they found, with a bit of yarn threaded through the eye, was a sewing needle not a knitting needle. As a knitter my ears perked up at that mention, because the earliest knitting evidence we have is quite sophisticated and from the 11th century. It would be wonderful to get an idea of its more primitive forms, which probably developed about the time the L'Anse aux Meadows site was occupied. Sadly for me, it was a slim piece of bone with an eye, through which yarn was drawn to sew. Nothing like the method of handling yarn that knitting requires. I think the confusion comes because the Wikipedia page calls it a knitting needle. They offer no picture, but when you see an actual picture of the artifact it is clearly for hand sewing. There is another craft that is nall binding, and that is done with a needle and bits of yarn. This is an alternate possibility for the purpose of the needle, but there is no textile evidence that I can find other than the bit of thread on the needle itself.
Splendid Work!! Can't wait for your next podcast, may I recommend Ancient Greece?
Thanks so much! Really appreciate the kind words. I love getting recommendations - I'll try and fit it in. 😁
@@FallofCivilizations oh yes mycenae would be great.. Just love all of your videos❤️
i remember i had a storybook called 'eric the viking' as a child. Back then, vikings going to america was pure speculation/fantasy, never happened according to mainstream. It is frankly amazing how much information we've been able to uncover. I would guess these texts this vid refers to were considered myth or something -.- When will archaeologists realise that writing was such a rare n precious thing, that only that deemed vital would be written down. Bedtime 'fairytales' written for entertainment would be unlikely until 2-300 yrs ago. Frankly, even if you look towards the stories such as hansel n gretel, they have important messages. Hansel n gretel is a story about famine and cannibalism sugarcoated
Yes, there can be so much contained in these stories. I like to give plenty of space to literary sources in my episodes!
The thing about archaeology and history is, compared to most other scientific fields, there's way more discoveries being made. In a presentation on one of his books, Eric H Cline mentioned that some of his friends would ask him 'what's new in archaeology?', thinking they were being clever, that everything was old, and all happened ages ago. We know that's not the case, especially in the last couple of decades with all the technology that's opening up so many options for archaeologists, like satellite imagery and devices that can scan beneath the soil.
Hello! These podcasts are terrific. Have you considered pitching to Radio 4? It seems like their sort of thing.
Thank you! I haven't, no.
8:00 ... this is exactly how I imagined a Viking sounds 😆
Chilling mystery... I see what you did there. Loving these. Do you take Pay Pal?
Thanks so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed. You can support the podcast on Patreon, or if you like by PayPal: www.paypal.me/paulmmcooper
Anxiously await new editions . Hopefully soon?
Hey I am just going to add a few comments. I often wonder how much scandinavian historical litteratur have been translated into english. Sometimes it seems like it is very little. Missing fish bones should not be seen as a lack of fishing. It is very common in scandinavian archeology. Even in areas where we can see a high level of fishing activity, there is often found very little fish bones. One of the most importent reasons is that bones from fat fishes such as salmon dissolves by themself pretty quickly. Remember that most fishes around Greenland are fat fishes. The greenlandic settlers came from areas where fish was a major part of the diet, it would be strange if they “unlearned” to eat fish. For the same reasons it would be strange to assume that the Greenlanders didn’t use seal fur. A lot of the problems the norse would face in Greenland is pretty common in scandinavia and we know of seal gloves and boots from there, thouh a large part of the seal fur might have been used for ship rope. Ship rope need to either be made of horse hair or sealfur, to be effective when you have frost and mist. Skrælling means weakling in all nordic languages today except finnish and icelandic. During the middle age the word was used when talking about very old people and inuits. You mention the ivory industry, but the fur industry was also importent for Greenland. Its value dismisses as Russia increases its sale of fur. Another importent part in the decline in trade is that after Norway enters the Kalmar union all trade from Greenland has to go through Bergen and can’t go through Iceland any longer. There is no proff of interaction betwen the dorset cultur and the norse. While they live on Greenland at the same time we don’t have finds to show that the dorset culture comes so far south as to meet the norse, nor the norse comming so far north. They might have meet, but we honestly don’t know.
Thanks for such a detailed comment! Yes, you're absolutely right about the fish bones. Jared Diamond does some good scholarship in places, but he too often devises a theory and then picks the facts to match it. And yes, we know of no Dorset-Norse contact, but we have textual and archaeological evidence of contract with the Thule people at Smith Sound and Ellesmere Island for instance. Thanks for sharing your insight!
You should visit Ilulissat in Greenland, which is situated in the Disko bay. There is a small museum in town called Knud Rasmussen museet, there are viking trade artefacts like coins, jewelery, rusty metal kitchenettes and many more 👍
29:16 *Slight* correction; Narwhals don't have horns, that's an elongated tooth. A very specialized and very long elongated tooth, but there you have it. Scientists are still trying to figure out why they grow them.
Brilliant! Superbly done and very well presented. One of the best documentaries I have heard on this subject. I would make one comment however, once they were a settled community, not directly involved with ships, they were no longer 'Vikings', since that term refers to those actually going out in ships and raiding, trading, exploring and so on. As settled communities they were simply Norse, Norwegians or Icelanders rather than being Vikings in the true meaning of that word.
Thank you, really glad you enjoyed. Yes you are right about the term of course.
@@FallofCivilizations I will be listening to your other videos, you do an amazing job of both presentation and narration, and your research is really excellent. I've seldom ever heard anything as good, and none better. Keep it up!
I've heard the lands were initially abandoned due to a big volcanic event or events lasting over two years with lasting impacts on agriculture.
Thanks
Can you please tell me how I can get/buy the music tracks you use. I love them. Sticks in my head all day.
Much of it is available on the KZhead audio library!
Fall of Civilizations what is the name of the introduction track so I can look it up in the library? Thanks for your help. Love your podcast.
This is an informative and interesting series of audio Podcasts. After listening to two episodes however, my experience is now fraught by ads -- in fact prohibited by an incessant number of KZhead ads (1 ad per 5 min is intolerable)
Hi Ronald, sorry you've been experiencing this. I don't mean to run mid-episode ads on the channel, and I'll review those settings and remove them. In the meantime, you can also listen to the podcast ad-free on all major podcasting apps.
Thank you. I’ve picked up listening again. Excellent productions and great research.
As a norwegian, i would suggest to cover "treller" as it's own subject. The grim reality that surround how it was to be one in old nordic times, give a reality check to the modern victim delusions some people have in recent. As one can imagine, slavery in all forms will always be terrible. And some people have had it for a very very long time, contrary to what's commonly known. It's almost as if humans can't help themselves, having a lower underclass to abuse. In recent times, certain factory workers in certain eastern countries pretty much as become the same. Horrid in my view.
The Icelanders would probably use the Knarr which was built for load. The Gokstad ship was a sports model of a viking ship.
If you are ever so inclined, I'd love to listen to something you produce about modern civilization in the same light you cast on past civilizations. Perhaps from a hypothetical future perspective?
Yes, I have thought about doing this as perhaps a "where next?" episode in the future. But futurology and prediction uses such different skills to history. I might do a series of interviews with experts instead - still trying to work this out!
@@FallofCivilizations It does seem like a natural possibility in your series. I think there is a message to us from the past. I can't help drawing parallels as I listen to your stories.
1:11:40. Perhaps there ARE mention of it , but we haven't found it or it was destroyed
45:18 made me chuckle
This content stands as a pillar of excellence. A similar book I read provided the impetus for change. "Temporal Echoes: Amelia's Odyssey Through Ancestral Shadows" by Vivian Rosewood
Fantastic work. Very much appreciated! I only have one quibble. I wanted to enjoy the sounds of the old Norse , in the poem.. but the translation came over the top and blurred my ability to connect to and feel the beauty of the language. Perhaps you might consider placing the translation after , esp if it is a short poem. Thank you again for your very fine efforts here!
Thanks for the kind words, and the feedback. I'm new to audio editing and this is quite an advanced technique! 😬 I'll have a go at fixing this in the non-youtube versions out there.
@@FallofCivilizations ... I just got finished listening to your bronze age collapse podcast earlier today too! Truly great work! I was wondering if you had heard of or considered Napier's work on the idea of a fragment from comet enke impacting the Earth at that time? resulting in the sudden climate change event , leading to the mass displacement of people's and crop failures etc.. I think they have actually located a suspected impact site recently , dating to about 4000 years ago. I will try to find the links if you are interested. Anyway, much appreciated!
@@pixelspring Thanks! I think it's an interesting theory to entertain, especially his links to comet-like symbology spreading around the world at this time, although I'd like to see more evidence.
They still live among us
Happy Leif Erikson day!
Love U!
I lived in British Columbia for a time and met a beautiful Inuit maiden, very friendly.;)
I believe they are properly referred to as "Squaw" for one, and "Squaws" for more than one., they take great offense at being called a "maiden".,...they equate it with subservience., too close to "maid" I suppose.,...btw : just how friendly was she?, you mean more than their usual, warm, friendly selves?,...after all, nothing says "friendly better than a 300 pound squaw greased up good with whale blubber, and her like greased up twin sister making a sandwich out of you under a big, Polar Bear-skin when the snow & ice blow cold into your igloo's fox skin door curtain thang., there IS no better treatment for cold toes.,...I live in WA state, not far from British Columbia., I've bought cigarettes ON the reservation, so I know what I'm talking about., I'm practically an "expert" on Indian affairs., "Eskimoses rub their noses"., ...and you can take THAT to the bank!