Your Life at Every Viking Rank

What was life really like at every Viking rank? Follow Steve from thrall to oarsman, warrior, berserker (briefly), housecarl, ship captain, jarl and finally sea-king — and find out the one thing that moved Vikings up the ranks. It wasn't swinging a sword. Along the way: the freedom ale, the shield wall, horned helmets (there were none), Saturday baths, the Danegeld, and why your phone's Bluetooth logo is a Viking king's initials. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 A sea-king who used to sleep next to a pig 0:30 Rank 1 — Thrall 1:41 Rank 2 — Oarsman 2:55 Rank 3 — Drengr 4:28 Side quest — Berserker 5:18 Rank 4 — Housecarl 6:51 Rank 5 — Ship Captain 8:12 Rank 6 — Jarl 9:22 Rank 7 — Sea-King 📚 Sources • Ibn Fadlan, Risala (922) — account of the Rus funeral on the Volga • Gulathing Law and Frostathing Law — freedom ale (frelsisöl) • Laxdæla saga — the price of a thrall • Alcuin's letters on the Lindisfarne raid (793) • Gokstad ship (Viking Ship Museum, Oslo); Gjermundbu helmet (found 1943) • Carl Emil Doepler's costumes for Wagner's Ring cycle (1876) • The Lewis chessmen (British Museum / National Museum of Scotland) • Fatur (2019), "Sagas of the Solanaceae", Journal of Ethnopharmacology (berserkers and henbane) • Grágás — Icelandic law on berserk frenzy • John of Wallingford's chronicle — Danes' combing and Saturday bathing • Hedenstierna-Jonson et al. (2017), "A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics", American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Birka Bj 581) • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle — Battle of Maldon and the Danegeld (991) • Hávamál, stanzas 76–77 • Harald Bluetooth and the Bluetooth logo (Bluetooth SIG) #Vikings #VikingHistory #History