Vikings

Expert articles about the real history behind the TV show 'Vikings'

Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn Ironside, son Ragnar Lothbrok and king of Kattegat

Vikings Season 6: plot recap, plus 8 historical questions answered

Alex Hogh Andersen as Ivar the Boneless

The real Vikings: the early medieval world behind the hit drama

Monument to Prince Vladimir the Great in Moscow

Q&A Who were the Kievan Rus and what do they have to do with the Vikings?

Vahalla is depicted as a round-topped building in this funerary stone from 8th-century Sweden

Valhalla: fighting and feasting in the Viking warrior afterlife

The British poster for 'Mary, Queen of Scots' (2018). Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I and Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart. (© Focus Features / courtesy Everett Collection)

The best historical TV shows and films to stream right now

Illustration of the raid on the monastery at Lindisfarne

Slaves in the Viking Age: how prevalent were enslaved people in Viking societies?

The Oseberg ship from around AD 820 is one of the most well- preserved Viking ships ever excavated

Viking ships: 5 lesser-known facts

Alfred the Great (849–899). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Who was King Alfred the Great?

The Varangian Guard as depicted in the illuminated 12th-century manuscript known as the Madrid Skylitzes. These Viking warriors became the Byzantine emperors' personal bodyguard

What was the Varangian Guard? A brief history of the Viking warriors of the Byzantine empire

How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History quiz: How much do you know about the Vikings?

The front facade of the prehistoric chambered tomb of Wayland's Smithy

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #6: Viking military mind games, Anglo-Saxon mind maps, and embroidery before the Bayeux Tapestry

A Pictish stone carving featuring a salmon

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #3: the salmon of knowledge, rolling Roman mosaics, eels, and Crusades

Image of a medieval skull showing arrow injury

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #2: arrows in the eye, The Last Kingdom, Viking dogs

Painting of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great and Edington: how the King of Wessex became great

Viking ships sailing towards unknown land. (Photo by Getty Images)

9 podcasts about the Vikings to listen to right now