The Scandinavian History Podcast Mikael Shainkman

Welcome to the first episode of the Scandinavian History Podcast.
This first episode is dedicated to Scandinavia from the time the ice started to recede after the last Ice Age until the beginning of the Viking Age.
Music: The Vikings by Alexander Nakarada serpentsoundstudios.com promoted by free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 Int creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Who were the Vikings, and why did they decide to start plundering and killing? Was it really because of something some random West-Saxon bailiff said? Or because the Northumbrians cut their hair in a way that upset God?
Find out in this episode, when we kick off the Viking Age with the infamous attack on the monastery at Lindisfarne. 

After the initial attack on Lindisfarne, the Vikings shifted their focus away from England--settling the islands off the coast of Scotland and raiding in Ireland. The Shetland and Orkney Islands, as well as the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, were soon dominated by Scandinavian settlers. In Ireland, they established colonies that remain important urban centers to this day.

The Scandinavians who settled in Ireland became an integral part of the social and economic fabric of the island. For a few generations, the Viking Kings of Dublin were a major power not only in Irish politics, but also across the Irish Sea.
Even though they eventually lost their political and military power, the influence of the Scandinavians linger on the Emerald Isle. It can still be seen both in local place names as the Irish gene pool.

If you know the name of only one Viking, chances are that name is Ragnar Lodbrok. In this episode, we take a closer look at the legend of Ragnar and his sons. For hundreds of years, this legend shaped the way Scandinavians understood their own past. It was a source of both fascination and pride, and kings—as well as regular Scandinavians with an inflated ego—claimed to be descendants of the Ragnarssons.

Despite the corona quarantine, I’ve managed to record a new episode!
In the year 865, a large force of Vikings invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Everyone was robbed, and those who didn’t submit to Scandinavian rule were also killed. King Edmund of East Anglia was turned into a pincushion by Ivar the Boneless. Only Wessex continued to defy the onslaught. Its teenage king Alfred fought the Viking forces that are known to history as the Great Heathen Army.