#495 – Vikings, Ragnar, Berserkers, Valhalla & the Warriors of the Viking Age
4/9/20262 hr 10 min
Lars Brownworth is a historian, teacher, podcaster, and author specializing in Viking history, medieval Europe, and the Byzantine Empire.
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Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/lars-brownworth-transcript
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EPISODE LINKS:
Lars’s Website: https://larsbrownworth.com/
The Sea Wolves (book): https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Wolves-History-Vikings/dp/1909979120
Lars’s Books: https://amzn.to/4sHY0xw
12 Byzantine Rulers Podcast : https://12byzantinerulers.com/
Norman Centuries Podcast: https://apple.co/4sgSxNi
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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(01:03) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(08:57) – The start of the Viking Age
(18:50) – Viking military strategy, tactics & technology
(32:33) – Ragnar Lothbrok
(42:00) – The Great Heathen Army
(46:42) – Rollo and Normandy
(56:54) – Viking religion and Valhalla
(1:07:25) – Viking explorers
(1:12:33) – Vikings in North America
(1:25:55) – Vikings in the East
(1:45:33) – Byzantine Empire
(1:54:17) – History and human nature
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Clips
Showing 10 of 12Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLex Fridman· Host0:00
The following is a conversation with Lars Brownworth, a historian and author of many excellent history books, including "The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings" and "The Normans: From Raiders to Kings." He's also the host of two history podcast series. The first, called "Twelve Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire," is one of the first, if not the first ever history podcast, launched over twenty years ago in June 2005. His second series, "Norman Centuries," explores the remarkable rise of the Normans from Viking raiders to the rulers of kingdoms stretching from England to Sicily. In this conversation, we focus primarily on the Vikings, the seafaring Norse warriors and explorers who, over a period of just three hundred years, reshaped the medieval world and the trajectory of Western civilization as we know it. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description or at lexfridman.com/sponsors. It is in fact the best way to support this podcast. We've got Laradin for understanding how AI is used in your business, BetterHelp for mental health, LMNT for electrolytes, Fin for customer service AI agents, Shopify for selling stuff online, and Perplexity for curiosity-driven