Where the Hell is Viking London?
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- London! The big smoke! It's an absolute treasure trove of archaeological wonders and it's where beer costs £6 a pint. The whole mighty conurbation is home to museums filled with artefacts, historical buildings, fortifications, and wondrous mysteries!
But why don't you ever hear about the Vikings in London? You always hear about the Romans, Boudicca's raid, late Saxons, Normans, and the later medieval period and Tudors. But why no Viking London? Some people claim there's nothing from the Viking Age to be seen in London but OH LADS DO I BEG TO DIFFER!!
Join Jimmy on a stroll through Viking Age London, and find out why we don't have all that many artefacts from the period to drool over!
Stop drooling on the artefacts.
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Ok, but when is History hit gonna give Jimmy his own show? He absolutely deserves one!
Take note, illustrious sponsor!!
Definitely! Interesting, poignant, funny and infectious - in a good way. Jimmy everyday would not be a bad thing! Love you! :)
Yes!
I would definitely watch. Here's my vote
They definitely should!
Good,informative vid,Jimmy: never knew that Westminister starts is existence as an Anglo-Saxon island!👌👍
"Damn, there are long ships full of bearded northmen in a looting mood on the river! What are we going to do?"
"Oh I don't know Aethelwulf, a completely walled square mile would come really handy right now, if only we had such a place..."
_*looks at the abandonned and crumbling ruins of Londinium accusingly_
"You look grander because you have this wall around you" - tell that to my therapist why don't you?
Unrelated, but buy Jimmy's notebooks from his merch store. They're excellent and I loved mine enough to make it my Polish notebook. (I hope that's a good use of nerd powers)
Language is always a good use of nerd powers.
Love Edwardian Gentleman Jimmy! And this was really interesting, thank you. And that drinking horn was wonderful! Serious envy happening at one point.
As a german its interesting how the old pronunciation of borough sounds a lot like the german Burg which means castle, Also an walled enclosure
Same root!
I also reflected that it must be the same word as the Swedish borg, meaning fortified place/castle.
I don’t care what I’m doing, when I see Jimmy has posted, I will stop and watch the video
Me too! Haha I was smack dab in the middle of another video, and heartlessly clicked right off and ran over here. 😂
Same; was listening to another video, at work, got the notification on discord, and came over here so fast I broke the sound barrier
LOOK AT THE ROAD
Also this is incredibly sweet of ye. You rock and I am humbled
Your videos are always a joy to watch. Thank you for all the work that these take. I love learning what really happened and not some sensationalized clickbait!
The Museum of London used to have some large axe heads on display that (I think) had been retrieved from the Thames. They claimed they were possibly Viking in origin and conjectured that they might have been lost during Olaf II of Norway's attack on London in the early 11th century. This was a disputed historical event that has been proposed as a (very unlikely) explanation for the 'London Bridge is Falling Down' nursery rhyme and featured in the episode of the Vinland Saga anime where Thorkell first appears. The museum's currently closed as its being demolished and the collection moved to a new site, so don't know whether they'll be back with the same description. Possibly it's now considered outdated, as the Anglo-Saxons also used big axes during the same period.
I once missed my last train home when I was visiting some friends in London and had to walk back to their flat in Bethnal Green because the tube had finished for the night and I couldn't afford a cab. Part of the walk was through the City of London, after midnight, and it was totally eerie how empty the Square Mile was compared to every other part of the city. It was an absolute ghost town. I was just wandering by all these big skyscrapers and famous buildings with literally nobody else in sight most of the time. I've never seen anything else quite like it. The closest thing I can think of is the zombie movie 28 Days Later. It's a very, very strange place, built for money, not people.
Oh! I'm not the only one who thinks of a zombie movie when walking by London's financial centre... I feel slightly better for that.
Hmm, demolished you say? That would be an excellent opportunity to do some of that hands on digging to see just what they can find under their foundations!
I know you only threw it in as a passing example but I'd love an entire episode on the history of that little Welsh church in the remains of a Roman fort. Maybe not as good at attracting sponsors but the people who have been there are just as real (some might say more real) than many of the denizens of the "square mile".
I’d love to! I’ll get footage next time I’m home :D
I would love that, too!
Especially because I'm sure the history of such quirky "little" places is in fact often chock full of interesting connections to the "big" history.
What I'm hearing is that the noble purpose of unearthing archaeological sites requires us to strip the eyesores down to their foundations. I mean, obviously we'll recycle the building materials for public works.
Sorry Viking raiders, the rich have left, our ale sucks but we will sell you some barley. Seems like a great strategy to me.
Thank you for another interesting video. Borg is the Danish Word for castle. We have the similar names in Viborg, Aalborg, Nyborg (with is the danish variant of Newcastle) 👍🇩🇰
Clear the skyline, give access to archeology, and rid us of the banks, three birds with one stone!
J. Draper is another youtuber that did a video on this!! She points out the various places in the city that are viking or of viking descent though there aren't many. I would highly reccomend her channel, she's amazing.
I'm subbed to her channel too! She's another really great presenter!
@@SarahGreen523 yeees!!!!
closed captioning interpreting "Londonberry?burry?" as "London buddy" is really charming
Haha! London, buddy! How you doing?
@@TheWelshViking There's a Czech song calling Paris a Mademoiselle (erroneously, I understand; the name is feminine in Czech) and wishing it good evening, so this could make a companion song. :D
I was amused by the "pottery shirts". I think the captions gnome gave up when it got Llangorse, so it was nothing like!
@@TheWelshViking In the deepest depths of job hunting, which is a source of multiple existential crises per day. Could be better.
It pains me to know that there's so much archaeology beneath cities and it's pretty much inaccessable due to the massive buildings :'(
We have that where we are. They discovered there was Roman activity, and signs there could have been a fort and other things but it has a housing estate over the top of it 😭
And whenever it is finally accessible, it's only temporary and they are building things on top of it.
I'd certainly prioritise uncovering any Viking age knickknacks and Alfred's building projects over any big silly bank building, hopefully someday soon we shall see more archaeology in the City!
It didn't occur to me to think about the lull period in London's archaeology. It's fascinating to think about why there would be so little evidence
As ever, delightful, charming, and wildly informative. Thank you, Jimmy!
having grown up in a city with ancient roman background, it's true that you will always find something once you start digging. Like every second building project has to be stopped because they found the foundation of some old wall or villa again. That, or an old bomb. I find it very fascinating that there is so much buried under london buildings as well.
Speaking of Burghs, hi from Doesburg. A lovely little medieval town in the Netherlands 😁
I have been a History Hit subscriber for a year and it’s worth every penny. It’s fantastic, and I love watching and listening to the videos and podcasts.
Jimmy looking v dashing here
Hey JImmy, I am wondering what are the books on your bookshelf? Perhaps a video of your books and your thoughts/recommendations on them for those wanting to learn more? :)
1: can we please, please, please get a tour of the book shelf behind you? Including books and items.
2: History hit can give you a show with several seasons.
Jimmy, "I'm not sure; I can't tell you." Oh, Jimmy you'll never get a series on History Channel with doubts like that. 😍
G O O D!
Okay, now you have got me curious (she says, as if I´m ever not interested in archaeology and history): when did Westminster stop being an island and how?
The level of the land gradually roae over a few centuries and it just sort of quietly silted up and was built over. Apparently it was quite a nice green placw 1000 years ago!
@@TheWelshViking Thank you, much appreciated!
It is so nice to learn from someone who is passionate about accuracy. Thanks.
Man. It’s not fair that you are such a well spoken stranger on the internet. I wish to be your friend and send you memes and chat about stuff. Alas you do not know me and I do not know you. You are just so friendly and funny and handsome and you know all these cool things! Curse my earnest nature and the folly of parasocial relationships
Bitte schön from Germany 😅 (I'm not even German but I've been in Germany and married to a German for long enough that when you talked about the Blitz I felt a little 😬 oops). I found it so funny how you see a big destruction as a digging opportunity 😅
Not sure why they changed the name, but I still maintain Londinium is such a cooler name than London
In Czech, it's still called Londýn, with the I sound. :-)
I was wondering Welsh... When are you getting to host a show on History Hit ?? xD
My name is Jimmy, and I’ll ask them once they’re drunk enough to accept!
@@TheWelshViking |In that case, Jimmy, Send them a crate of Glenfiddich... >P
In Rome, they unearthed a Roman church beneath an old church and under that a temple of Mithras! I was standing in that temple, overly aware of being a woman, but it was really eerie and realistic. They had the altar there complete with the god killing the bull. That was way better than the Coliseum. That's was so cool about Europe--it's like the geostrata of humanity.
Okay, so not relevant, and I would watch your stuff no matter what you wore, but love the shirt and detachable collar :)
That was great. I had never really given any thought to the history of London. The older I get the more lacking I find my education was.
Jimmy's Thinking Face: 😳
A comment
Thank
A response. Pretend it's clever and witty.
@@Bildgesmythe A counter respons even more witthy and full of wisdom.
I'm loving having you back on the regular, definitely worth the wait and I'm inspired to do some of my own research again ❤️❤️
Was literally just looking at the Ringerike stone in St Pauls earlier for a Ringerike inspired tattoo. Glad to see your content is back mate. 😊
Cheers dude. It’s a great piece! Sean at Sacred Knot tattoos has done a few based on it. Lovely design!
Me, who doesn't give a toss about massive office buildings and financial districts: "So... if we start nuking some buildings now, and we're careful, we could find some interesting historical stuff beneath..."
OMG it is mindblowing to think that there are places where humans built buildings and monuments for thousands of years... i know that people lived here for thousands of years, but i don't think they left buildings here (Saskatchewan) so how do they learn from nomadic peoples?
Good afternoon from sunny California. Thanks for another lovely & educational video.
Ohh lovely end to a Friday. It's always interesting to look at what remains of various periods of occupation in cities.
So many layers and so much loss!
So the long Beach would be why its called The Strand?
Yep!
Is that a removable collar? You look very put together it's charmingly distracting
Ta! I prefer them :)
Thanks Jimmy - this is a complicated history ( for me!!) and I love your teaching it so well!! Looking handsome too❗️✌🏼
Glowing even harder today my man's loving the content. ❤❤❤ thank you
I could hear the air quotes round bankers! 😂
This really intrigues me
Annoyingly Billngsgate fish market, after the thick end of a thousand years of being there for its importance of trading eels... has now moved to west london.
You cant stop progress apparently. Its making way for posh flats.
NO? I had no idea it was being flattened. At least people will be *living* there I guess? Who am I kidding, they’ll be more pieds à terre for bloody oligarchs. Hope the fish guts rot the foundations and we at least day the building work with a long excavation
@@TheWelshViking Honestly mate, its absolutely disgusting. Being moved to warehouse areas in west london. Without soul. 1000+ years of history literally gone. Arguably one of the reasons london is even where it is and not left to ruin.
That was fascinating - thank you SO much
Thanks for one more great story, but I doesn't believe that there's anything left under a skyscrapers foundation... 😒
Excellent pronunciation of "saaaaaath" 😂
I'm always so excited to see your uploads ❤ great video!
Burg (high german)=Castle
Wasn't a whole king just buried under a parking lot
Leicester. He was buried in a monastery precinct we had already located, so there was no real mystery to where Dicky III was buried, despite the hype.
@@TheWelshViking still surprising how much can be underfoot. I live in the US so most of our cities histories pale in comparison.
Get yourself on a dig at some point! It’s really good fun :)
@@TheWelshViking Even though I love history, my interests are primarily paleontological. Unfortunately the glaciers that scrubbed off the topsoil of New England removed the Neolithic and mesozoic deposits. I was thinking about heading to VT in the summer to look at some Cambrian age outcrops though
@@TheWelshViking The hype was largely because a whole load of people still refused to accept he could be buried there despite the evidence, until it was definitively proved by genetics, wasn't it? At least that was my retrospective impression when I did a presentation on that for school here in Czechia (ETA: Well, him the historical king vs him the literary figure, that was the actual topic). Lots of internet comments even after the fact going "it can't be him, he wasn't actually a hunchback, that was Tudor slander", too, so it seems it really was only the genetics that shut people up. :-)
I love all of this. I live in California but London is one of my favorite places, especially archaeologically. I enjoy visiting the Museum of London (and seeing the bits of Roman wall there), and following the mudlarkers who find artifacts along the Thames, particularly Lara Maiklem. Like you I sort of hope for demolition in London so y'all can study what's underneath. I've been down into the depths of St. Bride's Church, which dates back to the 6th or 7th century and existing structures date back to the 11th century.
I read somewhere (or saw a documentary) that the Vikings weren't in the habit of leaving architectural signs of their presence. They simply used the buildings that were already there. There were pictures of fortresses in Andalucia, Spain, showing how the Moors left their mark; but the images of old buildings from Normandy, France, where Vikings settled don't show any characteristic details. My conclusion was that stonemasons apparently didn't go a-viking.
Not true. We have lots of interesting rectilinear Norse style buildings from places like Dublin, Lllanbedrgoch, and Scandinavia ofc! Normandy was already built up to a degree, so there were plenty of locals about to throw buildings up!
@@TheWelshViking then my memory is probably faulty. I should revisit the source. Apologies!
I really wonder about the accuracy of the traditional accounts of post-Roman Britain in general, and of Londinium in particular.
The majority of the excavations that have occurred in the footprint of Londinium were done before the excavations began in Wroxeter, and if there were similar reuse of sites in Londinium (basically, buildings flattened to create level platforms for timber-framed buildings comparable in size to later Roman villas in the British provinces, all during the mid-5th to early 6th centuries), the excavation techniques of the day would likely have not only misinterpreted the rubble platforms, they would have literally destroyed the evidence of those sites ever existing.
Future excavations in the footprint of Londinium need to be aware of the possibility of post-Roman timber houses being used, and be prepared to look for evidence of post-holes & timber rails in the post-Roman rubble layers.
🙂
These videos are great. I've enjoyed watching them any time I take a break from my own dissertation (which I have no idea how you do both!). Have to admit, I had to rewind this one a couple times though because I kept to getting distracted by the beautiful book set behind you.
Thank you for making history entertaining!
Where link for History Hit?
Oops
Should be sorted. Thanks Kelly!
Hey jimmy, if you ever see this, hi . Just wanted to say I really enjoy your videos. And the way you have sculped your facial hair looks really good on you in this video >///
Thank you, Lady Shield! All credit to my barber!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Jimmy, glorious work, thankyou 😁
Like deployed 👍
So cool. Thanks for sharing!
This video screams for a Jay Foreman "Unfinished London" collab!
Ooooh!
Not sure the styles would mesh, but it really does scream Unfinished London.
Thank you good Sir! I just subscribed to The history Hit. 👍Thank you Awesome Jimmmy! 💯
Very informative and interesting as always, thank you!
Have you seen the archeological site on Micklegate in York? Very exciting.
Super cool bunch as well!
So… what you’re saying is… Assassins Creed Valhalla is historically accurate! 😂😂😂
Rewatching again. When the present gets me down I soothe myself with history and science and your pleasant voice, so thanks again.
Kyning Ton now Kennington was the seat of crowning for Harthacnut and Harold Godwinson now Kennington Park (South of the River Thames)
West of London and North of the Thames is Gunnersbury Park which was named after Gunhilda, Cnut's niece. And in neighbouring Brentford is supposed to be the beach where Cnut sat in the tidal flow of the Thames.
There is a wee section in the British Museum of Viking relics found in London
I remember many moons ago visiting an excavated building site in York that revealed a wee city from Eric Bloodaxe's era and how truly fascinating it was!
In 1012 the Viking's stronghold base camp was in Greenwich. In that same year they kidnapped the then archbishop of Canterbury (Alfege) and held him captive ransomed at a mahoosive 3000 gold sovereigns. Alfege fearing his followers would starve to death as he'd been held for 7 or 8 months by then, refused to be ransomed and was instead "oxboned to death".(The mind boggles. Perhaps you could enlighten me on what "oxboned to death" actually entails).Alfege was martyred later in the same year becoming St Alfege. His remains are interred beneath the medieval floor of St Alfege Church in Greenwich before the alter.
It has to be said though, Erik (from The Last Kingdom)'s Norse warlord chat-up line to Aethelflaed was pretty original: "I gave up Lunden for you". 😁
Did you play AC:Valhalla and make it to London? It was pretty cool that it was mostly Roman ruins, and people making houses there among and using the ruins. And it even has some new farming settlement to the West of the docks.
Thank you for saying this Jimmy! I am an American who studies and practices a mixture of pagan cultural and religious rites. I consider myself neo-pagan because I obviously cannot verify the accuracy of these historical practices. I try to explain the nuance of these issues as much as I can, but I am not quite as eloquent and educated as yourself. Keep up the good work! You really do make a difference.
They also sometimes have handsome historians on their podcasts chatting about early medieval Cornwall ;)
I'm glad WW2 did some good at least in history research. I never knew this much about London and I'm glad to know it now
So your telling me Wick means town… so that means John wick is actually John Town 😱
Can someone tell me the name of the podcast he mentions? Edit: Found it! For anyone also not doing well with getting names in your non native language, it's Will I vike it?
"who cares how it's pronounced, that was over a thousand years ago" says the guy who over pronounces everything haha
good times
I would love to go on a bookshelf tour someday, always just out of focus in the background.
The gravestone from St Paul’s is so interestingly square! And lacking in Christian imagery on the side shown, which makes me wonder about how it compares to its Saxon contemporaries (if any survive in that area). Is the squareness an 11th-c thing, or more of a “living in a city with plenty of good stonemasons” thing? As an aside, I’d love to see a video on VA drinking horns/vessels.
Short answer: we dunno. Long answer: it’s probably intended as a “runestone” like they’d erect in Denmark, but as a guess maybe the local mason suggested squaring it off as there were no natural menhirs nearby available? Or maybe it’s a recycled dressed stone?
But yes, a *fascinating* artefact!
Awesome video! You mentioned minster complexes being built on Roman sites - this sounds similar to Winchester, where the current cathedral (which is on the site of the prior Old and New Minsters) is likely situated beside where the Anglo-Saxon palace complex was, which itself was built over the Roman forum it seems. Loved the map you included on Winchester too, happy to see Nunnaminster was on there!
Also York and Chester!
Good old Lundene (in Old English accordng to Oxford)
Yes! Level the banks… for the archaeology
IS THAT THE BARTIMAEUS TRILOGY BACK THERE?!
It was my absolute favorite for years. I always wanted a sassy murder hobo friend like Bartimaeus. Such a fun series.
Might be :F
Is that a separate collar 😄
Yup!
Ok I think you’ve scored the best sponsor ever!
this was amazing!
Another brilliant video! It just kills me that much of our developed world with its buildings and such has completely ruined any chance of finding anything of archeological value in many cases. What were they thinking? Obviously nothing about our history... still, some chance still exists for some, I hope. Thanks for this video, Iago mab Iago! 😊
I love that you properly pronounced vicus w a W not V
Cool! Thank you for the video!
I've never been to London (or most of the cities you've named) I spent a day in Edinburgh many, many years ago but it's clear that I really need to make a British Bucket List! Thanks for sharing this Anglo-Archaeology lesson to your channel!
It's fascinating to me about how London has changed so many times . i wonder .. Did the Romans convert people to Christianity in england etc ?
In Britannia? Absolutely. Christianity was the state religion for a while.
I think those big bank skyscrapers have foundations so deep they will have destroyed any archaeology right back to the age of the dinosaurs
And yet they don’t! We do find things under big buildings, amazingly enough :)
Two of my favourite things, history wise, in one vid. I could seriously listen to a lot more.
Oh! I’m so pleased! I’d love to do more in this style with more location shooting if that appeals?
@@TheWelshViking That appeals very much! What can /we do to help make it happen? Beyond supporting you on Patreon
Thank you for an extremely interesting video.😊
Well thank you for an extremely nice comment :)