What Caused the Viking Age?
Gone Medieval
History Hit
4.5 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A wind whips across the North Sea as dragon-headed ships cut through the waves towards Anglo-Saxon England. Their arrival marks the start of the Viking Age.
In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Terri Barnes and C.J. Adrien of the Vikingology podcast to explore why Vikings left their Scandinavian homelands. From climate change and political upheaval to innovations in shipbuilding, they examine the forces that set these raiders and explorers on a path that would reshape medieval Europe.
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Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From long-lost Viking ships and kings buried in unexpected places to tales of murder, |
| 0:07.7 | power, faith, and the lives of ordinary people across medieval Europe and beyond. |
| 0:13.3 | Join me, Matt Lewis, Dr. Eleanor Jarniger, and some of the world's leading historians, |
| 0:18.0 | as we bring history's most fascinating stories to life only on |
| 0:22.3 | History Hit. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries |
| 0:27.2 | with a brand new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world to World War II. |
| 0:33.6 | Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. |
| 0:41.7 | Hello, I'm Dr. Eleanorianica and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, the podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history. |
| 0:51.1 | We uncover the greatest mysteries, the gobsmacking details, and the latest |
| 0:57.0 | groundbreaking research from the Vikings to the Normans, from kings to popes, to the crusades. |
| 1:03.9 | We delved into the rebellions, plots, and murders that tell us who we really were. And how we got here. |
| 1:16.6 | A wind whips amid stormy seas. |
| 1:24.8 | Waves caress the sand-skin shores of Anglo-Saxon England, and on the horizon looms a pack of dragons. |
| 1:35.3 | In armada of wood-wittled ships, lithe and nimble, cut through the froth and ebb of the North Sea tide. |
| 1:45.2 | Like the bark of a tree, the ships are encased by rows of hardwood shields and manned by |
| 1:51.9 | hulking Northmen, who tame flailing sail and oar. |
| 1:57.4 | And at their bow, at the very front of each ship, |
| 2:01.7 | dwell the faces of monsters hewn into oaken fabric, |
| 2:07.1 | instilling fear and despair upon those that bear them witness. |
| 2:13.2 | These are the Vikings, |
| 2:16.1 | and with their coming, a new era begins. |
| 2:25.3 | Today, on Gone Medieval, we're asking where exactly did these Vikings come from? |
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