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PODCAST

The Scandinavian History Podcast

Mikael Shainkman

A chronological journey through the history of Scandinavia from the last ice age to the dawn of the space age. Geographically, we cover the five modern Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland—as well as a few other bits and pieces here and there where it‘s relevant. Visit the SHP shop: bit.ly/podshpshop Make a donation: patreon.com/scandinavianhistory

history

All Episodes

32:51

034 Royal Saints

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/01/14

During the reign of Sven Estridsson and his five sons, Denmark definitely went from a Viking society to a medieval kingdom. Thanks to the classic medieval mix of secular and ecclesiastical politics, the country also gained not only one, but two, royal saints. To keep things simple, they were both called Knut.

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34:41

033 Church and State

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/12/31

Unlike the king, who was a distant figure somewhere far away, the Church reached each and every one living in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages. It quickly became a rich and powerful institution that developed in parallel with the kingdom, often aiding and strengthening the secular political power—but sometimes also challenging it.

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33:25

032 Three Kingdoms

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/12/17

Despite Magnus Barefoot’s best efforts, the Viking Age eventually ended and turned into the Middle Ages. At the time, Scandinavia was divided politically into three kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. This is an overview of their physical and political landscapes, as well as the financial and military resources at the medieval king’s disposal.

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31:38

031 The Last Vikings

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/11/26

Harald Hardrada’s son Olav returned to Norway with his father’s body and proceeded to rule in peace for a quarter of a century, shunning war and glory in favor of law, commerce and religion. But his son, Magnus, resembled his martial grandfather Harald and wanted to reignite the Viking Age. Magnus fought wars in England, Sweden and Ireland. In the end, he resembled grandpa Harald a little too much and got himself killed while on campaign in the British Isles.

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30:19

030 The Harsh Ruler

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/11/05

Just as Magnus the Good was getting comfortable as king, his uncle showed up from nowhere demanding to share the kingdom. Since uncle Harald was rich and powerful, Magnus had little choice but to agree. The arrangement was awkward and brief, ending with Magnus' death. Harald went on to try and conquer both Denmark and England, but the only thing he managed to accomplish was to put an end to the Viking Age.

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32:13

029 Tables Are Turning

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/10/15

After more than a century of Danes fighting to rule Norway, the crown of Denmark unexpectedly fell into the lap of a Norwegian teenager. But even though Magnus the Good was recognized as king of Denmark, not everyone was willing to accept being ruled by a Norwegian.

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31:13

028 Swedes and Geats

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/09/24

In the late 10th century, a guy called Erik became the first king of Sweden. He started out ruling together with his brother, but he soon died. Erik’s orphaned nephew tried to usurp the throne, but the fact that Erik is known as “the Victorious” should give you a clue about how it all ended.

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34:03

027 The Eternal King of Norway

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/09/03

Olav Haraldsson was an ambitious man who wanted two things more than anything else: to be king of Norway and to Christianize the Norwegians. In life, he was a divisive character and was killed after a brief stint on the throne. But in death, he became a unifying national symbol and king forever.

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33:38

026 A Viking Empire

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/08/13

Sven Forkbeard established a vast empire, covering Denmark, England and (sometimes) Norway. Even though it fell apart when Sven died, his son Knut the Great eventually managed to reclaim his father’s possession of Denmark, England and (sometimes) Norway.

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30:29

025 A Christian Viking

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/07/23

Olav Tryggvason was a zealous Christian, but it didn’t stop him from leading violent Viking raids. He became king of Norway thanks to impeccable timing and by spending copious amounts of silver that he had acquired on his raids. Once Olav became king, he spent his reign killing pagans and making powerful enemies.

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38:30

024 Harald vs Harald

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/07/02

When Harald Greycloak became king of Norway, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark expected his nephew to be thankful and obedient. After all, it was the Danish king who had paid for the three invasion fleets needed to put Harald Greycloak on the throne. But the new Norwegian king had other plans. Plans that didn’t include his overbearing uncle.

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31:06

023 Harald Bluetooth

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/06/11

Under Harald Bluetooth, Denmark became a powerful unified kingdom. But not powerful enough to take on the Germans. Harald strengthened the southern border defenses and erected the trelleborg fortresses all over his realm. This shows not only that the Danes had impressive engineering know-how and considerable political, financial and military resources--but also that Harald was scared enough of the Germans to pay for it all. In the end, though, his downfall would come from much closer to home.

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35:16

022 Fairhair's Heirs

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/05/21

Harald Fairhair used his many sons as local rulers in his name. This worked well as long as he was still alive, but when he died, many of his sons found it hard to accept that their brother Erik should be the king of them all. It didn’t help that Erik didn’t do a very good job as king—or that he had a tendency toward fratricide, which earned him the nickname Bloodaxe.

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26:45

021 Harald Fairhair

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/04/30

Harald Fairhair gets the credit for uniting Norway under one crown. According to the legend, he did so because a woman he fancied made this her condition for marrying him. Not because he was a ruthless and vain brute. Once Harald achieved his goal, he persecuted his opponents, raised taxes and got a haircut. Lucky for him, his nickname is based on the last of those activities.

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37:16

020 A New Religion

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/04/09

Various European rulers started to send missionaries to Scandinavia already before the violent Viking raids really became a thing. But it was slow going in the first century or so. Even though a handful of Scandinavians did switch to Jesus, Christianity only took off when local kings started to put pressure on their subjects to be baptized.

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32:54

019 Old Norse Mythology

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/03/19

Even today, almost a thousand years after the Scandinavians abandoned the old gods for Christianity, people are fascinated by the stories about the heroic and hammer-wielding (albeit slightly thick) Thor, his dad Odin—the one-eyed King of the gods—and Loki, Odin’s evil blood brother.

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29:41

018 Old Norse Religion

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/02/26

The pre-Christian religion in Scandinavia is largely shrouded in mystery—not least because of the Church’s best efforts to eradicate the memory of its predecessor. Nonetheless, thanks to some eyewitness accounts from horrified Christian missionaries, snippets from sagas and the work of modern-day archeologists, we still know a thing or two about Old Norse religious practices, ceremonies and sacrifices.

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29:15

017 Sagas and Runes

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/02/05

Even though the Vikings had a rich literary tradition, it was mostly oral. The sagas that have survived were written down after the Viking Age is conventionally considered to have ended and the Middle Ages begun. But the Vikings weren’t illiterate. They used their own unique alphabet—the runes—and they've left us plenty of runic inscriptions all over the place. Except in Iceland.

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34:54

016 The Viking at Home

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2021/01/15

Most Viking Age Scandinavians weren’t really Vikings. Instead of gallivanting across the seas in search for gold and glory, they spent their lives eking out a meager existence at some isolated farm somewhere where the summers were too short and the winters too long. This episode is dedicated to a closer look at their daily lives.

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32:00

015 Serkland

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2020/12/25

The Vikings who travelled the furthest away from home, reached Muslim lands around the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus Mountains. There, they encountered men who didn’t wear pants, but rather caftans or tunics, so naturally the Vikings called the place Serkland—or “Gown Land”. Many a Scandinavian trader made a fortune selling furs and slaves in Serkland. Many others lost their lives fighting local armies.

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134 results

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