Real Vikings
Podcast

Real Vikings

NOISER

11 episodes

The Vikings terrified the medieval world. Yet they beguile us today. Who were they really? Welcome to Real Vikings - the new show from the award-winning Noiser Podcast Network, hosted by Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Resident Evil, Downton Abbey). Each week we’ll take a deep dive into the Viking age… boarding longboats bound for new lands, from Greenland to North Africa, Constantinople to Canada… following mighty warlords like Eric Bloodaxe and Olga of Kyiv… meeting master navigators like Leif Erikson… and uncovering the real figures behind the legends of the sagas. With contributions from leading historians, original music and immersive sound design. Real Vikings is available for free wherever you get your podcasts or at noiser.com (http://noiser.com/) Noiser+ subscribers get early access to new episodes and ad-free listening. Click the Noiser+ banner at the top of the feed or head to noiser.com/subscriptions (http://noiser.com/subscriptions) to get started. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

What this show covers

NormandyIrelandSlave tradeDublinExplorationVinlandGreenlandLeif EriksonEnglandCanuteEthelred the UnreadySveyn ForkbeardMediterraneanConstantinopleByzantine Empire

What listeners will find here

Dublin rises as Viking power hardens across Ireland and Normandy
This episode follows a turning point in Viking expansion as Thorgest arrives in Ireland, Rollo the Walker takes control of Normandy, and Dublin is born. It also traces the slave trade reaching across the Viking world and the Irish High King's push to drive out a pagan enemy.
From Erik the Red’s exile to Leif’s North American voyage
This episode follows Erik the Red’s banishment from Iceland, his founding of Greenland, and Leif’s push farther west to North America. It looks at Viking expansion through the family that turned exile into exploration.
Canute rises as England’s Viking wars reshape a North Sea empire
This episode follows the path from Ethelred the Unready’s violent anti-Norse purge to Sveyn Forkbeard’s assault on Wessex and the rise of Canute. It also draws an unexpected line to a 1997 Silicon Valley CEO inspired by the Vikings.
Vikings push into the Mediterranean with deception, siege craft, and imperial ambition
This episode follows Viking expansion across the Mediterranean, from a leader feigning death to outwit enemies to eastern Vikings hauling ships over land toward Constantinople. It also looks at how Norse warriors became the Byzantine Emperor’s Varangian Guard as Viking fame spread from Spain to Persia.
1066 as the Viking Age’s final reckoning
The episode centers on the rival claims to England in 1066, as Harald Hardrada and William of Normandy challenge Harold Godwinson. It frames the crisis as the ultimate Norse showdown and the event that brings the Viking Age to a close.

Episodes

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