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Viking Lives

Viking Lives 20 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

The great arc of Viking history told through a chain of life stories, presented by broadcaster Richard Fidler and author Kári Gíslason.

Episodes

The Draugur Oct 12, 2026 1:01:00 For this final episode of series 3, Richard & Kári have a collection of Viking Ghost stories, recorded at a special event at the Byron Writers’ Festival with a live audience. These are tales taken from the sagas, from Icelandic folklore, and from an incident that occurred while making this series at Oxford University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gudrid the Far Traveller: Part 2 Oct 5, 2026 39:40 In this episode, Gudrid sets out with her husband Karlsefni on an expedition to make a new Viking settlement in North America, the land they know as Vinland. Three ships, with 65 people, livestock and provisions, cross the North Atlantic and eventually find their way to the rich, temperate land that Leif Eriksson had spoken of. The new Viking colony seems destined to succeed, until they encounter

Gudrid the Far Traveller: Part 1 Sep 29, 2026 32:01 Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir was the daughter of an Icelandic chieftain, who was very likely the most well-travelled human being of her time. In this first episode, Gudrid’s family settles in the new Viking colony on Greenland. The settlement is struggling, and a seer named Thorbjorg comes to prophesy its future. Even though Gudrid is a Christian, she assists the seer in performing her pagan rite … wh

Leif the Lucky Sep 21, 2026 31:35 Richard has the story of the epic voyage of Leif Erickson, son of Erik the Red, who sailed west out of Greenland and travelled across the North Atlantic all the way to North America. Known as Leif the Lucky, he became the first European to set foot in the Americas, some five centuries before Christopher Columbus. His journey can be traced through two accounts: the Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga

Erik the Red Sep 15, 2026 42:11 This is the first in a series of episodes following the Viking explorers and settlers who sailed west into the unknown and formed settlements in the New World. We begin with Erik the Red, who was sent into exile from Iceland for his crimes, and sailed all the way to the island of Greenland, where he founded two Viking colonies in the tenth century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i

Thorgeir the Lawspeaker Sep 8, 2026 43:57 At the turn of the first millennium, the Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia were abandoning the old Norse religion and officially adopting Christianity.Norway sent missionaries into Iceland and in the year 1000 AD, a meeting was held at Iceland’s open-air parliament, the Althing, to decide whether they too would become baptised Christians. But tensions were running high between the converts and those

Hallgerd Longlegs: Part 2 Sep 1, 2026 42:12 This is the second part of the story of Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir, known as Hallgerd Longlegs. Hallgerd, already widowed twice, went to the annual assembly at Thingvellir, where she met the handsome and charismatic Gunnar of Hlidarendi, who had just returned to Iceland after finding great success in Norway. The two were considered the most attractive people on the island, and they were instantly and

Hallgerd Longlegs: Part 1 Aug 25, 2026 34:34 This is the first of two episodes on the life of Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir: the most dangerous woman in tenth century Iceland. Hallgerd was a striking figure; she was tall, with hair so long it could cloak her whole body. She was married three times, and was both a victim and an instigator of violence. This episode follows her childhood and her first two arranged marriages, in which she’s both forme

Hrafnkel the Priest of Frey Aug 18, 2026 43:39 This episode tells the story of a Viking named Hrafnkel, a powerful chieftan who lived in an isolated part of Iceland. Hrafnkel was rich and arrogant. One day he killed a shepherd for mishandling his most prized horse, which he associated with a Norse god.The result was a bitter feud between clans that Hrafnkel lost...but then won in murderous circumstances. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The Lost Brother Aug 11, 2026 29:08 The first episode of series three of Viking Lives comes to you from Oxford in the UK. Our Viking is an unknown man, killed in the St. Brice’s Day massacre that took place there in the year 1002 AD. This was a murderous attack on a community of Norse settlers in Oxfordshire, incited by the English king Aethelred the Unready. The bones of the slaughtered victims were tipped into a pit on the grounds

Snorri the Priest Jul 14, 2026 36:59 For the final episode of series 2, Kári has the story of an Icelandic chieftain who came to be known as Snorri Goði - Snorri the Priest of Thor: a manipulative and shrewd leader who devised a cunning plan to lure two extremely violent Swedish berserker warriors to their death. Viking Lives will return with series 3 on Tuesday 11 August. In the meantime, Richard and Kári will be presenting 'Vi

Thordis the Wronged Jul 7, 2026 48:13 This episode features the life of Thordis Sursdottir, a Viking woman from the tenth century. Thordis’s family was forced to escape Norway after her brother Gisli killed two men who wanted to marry her. The family set up a farm in the northwest fjords of Iceland, where she married her husband Thorgrim. But when Thorgrim was murdered in the middle of the night – again by Gisli – Thordis took her rev

The Prague Castle Warrior Jun 30, 2026 29:11 Today’s episode comes from forecourt of Prague Castle in the Czech Republic, recorded while Richard and Kári were in Europe. It was here, under the pavement, that the bones of a medieval warrior were excavated in 1928 … with a Viking sword buried beside him. The discovery set off a fierce struggle between Hitler and Stalin to claim his ancestry. Was this man a Germanic Viking? Or was he a Slavic w

Gunnlaug Serpent Tongue Jun 23, 2026 48:20 Gunnlaug Serpent Tongue was an arrogant and impetuous Viking, famed for his ability to compose brilliant poetry spontaneously for the kings of medieval Sweden and England. But in doing so, he became the deadly rival of another poet, who spitefully married the woman Gunnlaug had known since childhood. Relations between the two men became poisonous, and they descended into a cycle of pointless viole

Egill the Broken Jun 16, 2026 52:07 Egill Skallagrimsson was both a vicious, murderous Viking raider and a poet of great sensitivity and feeling. He fought on behalf of an English king who rewarded him handsomely, but the queen of Norway detested him and tried to kill him. Eventually Egill retired to his family farm in Iceland, where a terrible loss brought out one of the saddest poems of the Viking Age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c

Gudrun of the Springs (with Hannah Kent) Jun 9, 2026 52:49 Hannah Kent, author of the international bestseller ‘Burial Rites’ joins Richard and Kári to tell the story of our favourite Viking woman: Gudrun Osvifsdottir. Gudrun was an Icelander of the tenth century, who was famous for her high-mindedness and fine manners. But when her honour was slighted, and her heart was wounded, she brought down the man she loved, hated and needed all at the same time. H

Aud the Deep Minded Jun 2, 2026 41:06 The Vikings came to Ireland at the end of the eighth century, first as raiders, then as settlers, and they founded the cities of Dublin, Wexford and Limerick as slave trading centres. In this episode, Kári and Richard tell the story of a Viking queen of Dublin known as Auð the Deep-Minded, who was forced to flee to Iceland, where she became one of its most powerful chieftains. Hosted on Acast. See

Melkorka the Silent May 25, 2026 43:32 Melkorka was an Irish woman who was enslaved by Vikings in the ninth century AD. She was brought to Scandinavia, where she was bought by an Icelandic farmer named Hoskuld, who made her his concubine. But Melkorka was mute, and so Hoskuld knew nothing of her origins, until he caught her talking by a stream one day.Special guest Lisa Bennett, author of Viking Women: Life & Lore. Hosted on Acast.

Ingolf the Icelander May 19, 2026 42:05 In this episode, Kári tells the story of the foundation of Iceland as a new kind of Viking society on the rim of the Arctic Circle, and of Ingolf, the man who led a party of settlers to the smoky bay he named Reykjavik. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harald Finehair May 12, 2026 43:47 In the first episode of series 2 of Viking Lives, Richard has the story of Harald Finehair, the Norwegian chieftain who swore he would not cut his hair or beard until he became king of all of Norway. But his heavy-handed rule goaded people to board their longships and establish new Viking colonies elsewhere. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sol the Charioteer Apr 14, 2026 44:55 To conclude our first series of Viking Lives, Richard & Kári are bringing you a special episode: we’re tracking the strange ride of the goddess Sól across the skies of the Norse world. The Vikings of Scandinavia lived through unimaginably harsh and dark winters, confined to their cramped longhouses for weeks at a time while blizzards raged outside. Then, when the world warmed up and the sea ic

Bjorn Ironside Apr 7, 2026 51:14 In this episode we follow the fleets of the Viking raiders as they break into Muslim Spain, North Africa and Italy for the first time. Richard and Kári present the story of Bjorn Ironside, famed for his brutal skill as a warrior that made him virtually invulnerable to the weapons of his enemies. In 859 AD, Bjorn led a Viking fleet on an extraordinary voyage into the Mediterranean. They seized loot

Lagertha the Shield Maiden Mar 31, 2026 39:44 Lagertha the Shield Maiden appears only briefly in the medieval Viking stories, but she retains a powerful hold on the modern imagination. In this episode, Richard and Kári are joined by Dr. Lisa Bennett, author of Viking Women, to explore the concept of the Norse shield maiden, and to examine the evidence for the existence of these fierce Viking warrior-women. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva

Ragnar the Raider Mar 24, 2026 36:16 Last time we brought you the mythic tale of Ragnar Lodbrok.In this episode, Richard and Kari go on the trail of the real-life, flesh-and-blood Ragnar, whose life is recorded in the chronicles of medieval Europe.This Ragnar is remembered as a ruthless chieftain, hated by the kings of Christendom, who led a Viking invasion of France, and then put the city of Paris to siege. Hosted on Acast. See acas

Ragnar the Legend Mar 17, 2026 54:01 This is the first of two episodes on the life of Ragnar Lodbrok.Richard and Kári begin with the story of the legendary Ragnar taken from the mythic saga that bears his name. In this telling, Ragnar is an impossibly strong Viking warrior who kills a dragon, marries the princess Aslaug, and becomes a king. Ragnar’s adventures make him famous, but when his sons' reputations threaten to overshadow him

Mad Amleth Mar 9, 2026 47:37 Kári and Richard present the strange tale of Amleth the Mad: the Danish prince whose uncle murders his father and then marries his mother in unseemly haste. Amleth, alone and in great danger, pretends to be mad until he can figure out how to take his revenge. This was the original story that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and formed the basis of the recent film The Northman’, with Alexander Skarsg

Yngvar the Helmsman Mar 3, 2026 44:04 Richard and Kári dig up the remains of a Viking king named Yngvar.Yngvar was long thought to have been a figure of legend. But in 2008, a ship-grave was excavated on a Baltic island that was dated to the year 750 AD.Inside the ship were the remains of 34 wounded warriors and their mysterious leader, who was found with a gilded sword and a chess piece lodged in his mouth. Hosted on Acast. See acas

Beowulf the Strong Feb 24, 2026 47:55 Kári and Richard plunge into the tale of Beowulf, the legendary Norseman who sets out to kill a murderous creature named Grendel, and then must face an even more dangerous monster: Grendel’s mother. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gudrun the Vengeful Feb 17, 2026 42:13 Richard and Kári delve into the semi-mythic tale of the Viking heroine Gudrun the Vengeful, and her destruction of Attila the Hun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dawn on Lindisfarne Feb 10, 2026 11:48 Introducing a new podcast by Richard Fidler and Kári Gislason, in which they travel to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in England where Viking plunderers stepped ashore in 793 AD, generating a shockwave that rippled across Christian Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Odin the One-Eyed Feb 10, 2026 42:01 Kári and Richard go to Oxford to speak with Professor Carolyne Larrington on the mythic origins of Odin, the doomed chieftain of the Norse gods, who makes a sacrifice of himself to himself in the pursuit of wisdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viking Lives

Episodes

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