The Vikings have fascinated people for centuries, and they are often portrayed as nasty brutish and thoroughly unpleasant individuals
Over a period of 300 years during the 8th to the 11th century the Vikings traveled by sea from the native
Scandinavia to raid European settlements in
Unprovoked aggression they raided monasteries burned houses and stole everything they could
Leaving with them a fearsome reputation for raping women and murdering anyone who got in their way in
Modern times there are countless films and books written about these powerfully built men marching into battle with their horned helmets
Proved to be untrue and wreaking havoc on who and whatever crosses their path
Burnt could these bloodthirsty warriors really be as bad as they are made out to be
for all of you out there who love the Vikings TV show you're going to love this episode because
Here are five of the most brutal torch methods and rituals used by the Vikings
And I'll leave you to make up your own mind on how barbaric you think they were
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Let's get into this
the snake bit
Its thorn that several famous leaders from the Viking era most notably
Ragnar Lodbrok the legendary Viking commander who is thought to have become the scourge of France and Britain
Met their death by a particularly nasty form of execution
the snake bit
Early history is lacking evidence to piece everything up
But after being captured by King Ella of Northumbria Ragnar was allegedly thrown into a deep and full of starving venomous snakes
most likely puff adders
This would have been a particularly drawn-out death as the victim would be tied down and unable to move
Allowing the snakes to slither and attack their body
The venom from several different kinds of snake bites depending on the territory would radiate through the victim's body
causing them to swell and die a painful death on
Average it takes around five to ten bites from a puff adder to kill a grown man
Now like much of Viking history
like I said the evidence is patchy and
Some historians like to believe the snake bit has been made up over the years to accentuate the Vikings brutal behavior
however writings and drawings very much suggest that snake pits did exist
Now whether or not they were as effective as they sound and the victim died as a result of starvation and exposure
Whilst trapped in a pit with snakes and not from the snake bites itself is impossible to know
But either way is not a good way to leave this world and enter the land the dead
The senseless torture of King Edmund
over the boneless a name given to him due to a somewhat unknown back there and medical condition was a very real and
particularly pitiless Viking warlord
son of Ragnar Iver ruled over the area of modern Denmark Norway and Sweden
before becoming the leader of the great heathen army that raided England in 869 a
demonstration of just how brutal Iver could be was when he ordered the torture and
execution of Edmund the martyr who was king of East Anglia from 855 in
870 Edmund fought over the boneless and his brothers army in Suffolk England
When the Vikings returned with increased troops he tried to avoid a fight and disbanded his army on his way to retirement
He was captured and refused to renounce his faith
After a beating with cudgels. He was tied to a tree and Iver asked his men to use the Kings Bannock as target practice
King Edmund was pelted with arrows that stuck out of his back like a porcupine
But he was still alive so either cut off his head and threw it into the bushes
His remains were later recovered by his people who allegedly followed the cries in an ethereal wolf who led them to him
The much-loved King was buried in a wooden Chapel near to where he was killed
Relics were then moved to st. Edmund's Burnie where an abbey was later built that still stands to this day
Every November a feast is still held in his honor in that area
Not a great time to be born especially born female
When a Viking baby was born it was the tradition for the father to be present and for the baby to be born at home
However the infant would not be accepted into the family or even considered a person
until after its naming ceremony which was performed by its father nine days after birth
These nine days were a life or death period for the child as it was during this time
but they would be decided whether it would live or die if
The baby showed any sign of deformity illness or if his parents were too poor to look out at the child
And they couldn't sell it to a better off family
it wasn't uncommon for child to be thrown down a while where it would either die from its injuries or starve to death if
The child was lucky enough to reach its naming ceremony alive
It still wasn't safe as infant mortality at that time was high and young children
often died before they reached their fifth birthday if
They became ill there was likely they would also be thrown down awhile or left out in the open for the elements to kill them
Now to us this may seem barbaric, but the Vikings seen it as an act of mercy
As any child trying to survive with any sort of illness or defect would suffer greatly
They found it was better to give the child back to the gods
It's not sure. Why either the boneless was not killed birth duties deformities
But as you'll know he went on to become one of the most feared Viking leaders and commanders
Being a male most likely helped Iver as there is evidence, but there was a high number of female infants and children killed
Experts have recently looked at suggestions that the shortage of females amongst the Vikings may have been caused by selective female infanticide
Some have even speculated that this was the reason they traveled from their homes to parts of Europe
Not to rape and pillage, but to search for wives to keep their lineage going
Grotesque funeral rituals and afterlife torture
It seems the Vikings had many different funeral and burial rituals all aimed at leading the dead to the afterlife
The drive behind some of their bizarre funeral rituals was fear in that if they were not sent off happily to the afterlife
They would come back as revenant and haunt the living
For the lower classes this meant a proper burial with a dead adequately prepared for the next life
Sometimes that involved them having body parts and limbs cut off or being buried with animals
But for kings and the most important people in Viking society a far more elaborate ceremony was performed
Much like the Egyptians the Vikings believed in sending their dead off with all of the possessions. They would need for the next life
Typically their body would be put on a ship and set on fire a tradition many of us would have heard about before
Although it was not always pushed out to sea as most believe it was left on the land marked out with a perimeter of stones
If you happen to be a slave or wife of the deceased that it was your duty to join them in the afterlife
Even though you are still very much alive it
Sounds crazy but most of the time they were quite willing to do this
They strongly believed that their lives were already mapped out and that whatever happened was inevitable
Basically if death came tomorrow. It was because that was their destiny from birth
However, it's believed that on occasions a more macabre ceremony was performed one that was usually set aside for Viking chiefs
The Chiefs body would initially be placed in a grave and left there for several days until new clothes were made for him
During his time a slave girl would volunteer or be chosen to join her master in the afterlife
She would be given copious amounts of alcohol
rendering her almost unconscious
Before being passed around all the local men in the village who would rape her
Finally as if that wasn't bad enough she would be forced to sleep with six Viking warriors, then violently strangled and stabs
Other warriors would stand outside and bang their shields to drown out the sound of her final screams as she was murdered
Her body would then be placed alongside the dead chief on a wooden ship, which would be satellite
But it seems not all the dead were even left to rest after they passed
During times of trouble such as crop failure sickness and defeats in war it was always blamed on a dad and at these times
Vikings would take up the recently deceased looking for signs of undead activity
This included if history is to be believed either the boneless who requested to be buried underneath the battleground as to cause havoc
his body was dug up and removed by the opposing side as it was blamed for their loss of battle if
There were signs of disturbed earth or blood around the mouth of the corpse then action would be taken
This could be simply adding weapons to the coffin or sprinkling oils
However in more extreme cases a wooden stake would be driven through the body to keep it pinned to the ground
All their head would be cut off
The blood eagle a
List of this nature would not be complete without mentioning one of the most infamous and brutal tortures utilized by the Vikings
the blood evil
The bloody or is one of the vilest and slowest torture methods ever described and even the Vikings only used it against their most notorious
Enemies or as a ritual sacrifice to Odin the god of war and death and the old father of all the Nordic gods
The victim would be secured in place with
Their bare back exposed to the executioner then using a sharp knife an eagle was carved into the skin
Their back was then ripped open and the ribs were separated from the backbone using an axe or sword
The lungs would then be pulled through the opening and splayed over the detached ribs giving the impression of wings in
A slightly crueler twist it could also be done by cutting open the chest and pulling out the lungs that way
making the victim up here winged from the front if
The victim was still alive at this point the giant open flesh wound was then rubbed with salt to inflict additional pain
before the victim succumbed to his injuries indefinitely
although continuing debate on whether the ritual was a real practice or a mistranslation
There are two Norse literature's that mentioned the blood eagle
One reads as follows and was performed as a ritual sacrifice to Odin
inna made them carve an eagle on his back with a sword and cut the ribs all from the backbone and
draw the lungs there out and gave him to Odin for the victory he had won a
Truly horrific way to die
So that's five brutal torture methods and rituals practiced by the Vikings
I hope you've enjoyed learning more about the Vikings way and the massive. Thank you to the Vikings wargame for sponsoring this video
Thanks again, and I'll see you in the next video