Thats my problem with viking history, they dont write shit down so the only way to rly get a clue about their culture is to read wrtings from the saxons, arabs or other cultures who recorded
MrEvldreamr Icelandic people are a product of Norwegian Viking men and women settling the land of Iceland, alongside stolen women from the UK. They spoke a Norse language, followed Norse culture and traditions. Today they are arguably the least changed and most pure in their maintenance Norse heritage. Even after they were made to convert to Christianity. Even today they have kept their old Norse names. So yes they are Norsemen. If not for them then we wouldn’t know little to anything about them.
Yeah. Ikr. Ive been studying norse mythology alot lately but the more i study i just end up with more and more questions that lead nowhere. Did they have a high illiteracy rate? Did they not have good access to writing tools? Did they keep records but the mediums were low quality and just turned to dust? Did the saxons destroy their records? Or did they simply not care about writing anything?
@@pakistan19inchcockinsidein56 Yes. In WW2 the US had an Icelandic military base they could utilize. But the Icelandic military leader (cant remember name and rank) in charge of the base wouldnt let some of the US planes land there because of the scary creatures painted on the front of the craft. Same rule has applied to all ships approaching the island for centuries. He said it was because it would scare away the land vaettirs. Mythological creatures.
I am quite new to this channel, but I must say, that I like it, it doesn't seem to have much showmanship, but it is very informative and I am grateful for your work, keep it up!
I’m not saying they braided their hair like on the show. I have extremely long hair. You still have to comb it in order to braid it in any way. Otherwise they would have had dreadlocks.
There are many evidences and sources in Ukraine(Kyivan Rus - Gardarike). One of the most famous warriors and rulers of Kyiv Sviatoslav I the Brave (who actually was Sveinald Ingvarsson) had very famous hairstlye that also became one of the sign of ukrainian traditional hairstyle later during medieval ages - Chupryna (Crest, forelock) .
I heard that the Vikings would braid their hair or but it in buns/pony tails in battle so their hair wouldn’t get in there face while they had a helmet on
I know this is an old video by now but... if I want to grow a beard+moustache and long hair, is it dump because it is not even historically accurate? I don't want to call myself viking, I'm not even Scandinavian (even though people say I look like that), but I like the style and look of vikings from modern point of view. I am asking because I have a respect for old cultures and traditions. Btw. the video is informative, understandable and well prepared. Thanks!
hey, Scandinavian here; do whatever you want mate. The vikings cared a lot for their beard, with braids and the like, and I’m sure they had the same care for their hair. It is a very Scandinavian thing to have long hair, and we also call it ‘Viking hair’. So if it’s because you feel the need to ask about the culture, that’s great:), but go ahead This is an old comment, so I hope you just did it anyway
Which is why they go out and get absurd and horrid and "unmanly" hairstyles themselves in the modern day. And worse! They inflict such fashion breaches on their children!
Yes, and Samurai were not warriors bound by honor, knights didn't rescue princesses from castles guarded by dragons, and the Pirates life wasn't a life full of grand adventure and living skeletons. History is history, but all cultures have been romanticized, and bent in creative, and fictional ways, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but history buffs love to shit out what they know in the comments of any social media page bagging on anyone who is interested in those more fictional, romanticized aspects. History is important, but so is creativity, let people enjoy what they enjoy, correct them if they think the creative parts are actual history, but you don't need to insult them, it gets you and your point no where.
Being a combative type people, It would make since that they did wear what might appear to be eyeliner. But more then likely it was the smugges that a lot of combative people wore to cut down the glare of the sun and other bright lights.
I would like to make a note about the eyeliner part; since you compared it to Egyptians, I'll also use them as an example of why people of antiquity would wear eyeliner. The Egyptians wore it as a way of keeping the sun out of their eyes and staving off infections, because coal is antibacterial and if you surround your eyes with a dark substance it blocks out some of the light that reflects off of your face to your eyes (I found this out first hand). If a sea faring people were to have used eyeliner, it may have been for these reasons, rather than to stay looking young and beautiful. Since we can safely concur that they cared about their hygiene, it may be reasonable to guess that if they did use this sort of ancient eye liner during their day to day lives, it would have been for similar reasons as the egyptians did. Both sand and water are very reflective, and an eye infection can happen to anybody, so both societies using eyeliner would make sense if it weren't just for fashion but also practicality
A theory I have about the black ash paint around the eyes. Football players put black under their eyes to deflect light making it easier to play the game long term It is my theory that they may have done this to help prevent light damage to the retinas from the reflection of sunlight off of the high seas.
The black around the eyes could have been because of the reflection off of the water, snow or light sensitivity ? Kinda like American football players put black around there eyes for bright light .
You can actually look at portrayals or depictions (old paintings) of Vikings that show braided hair and long beards…. For example there’s an old painting of a knight showing a his superior a decapitated Viking …. Literally holding the beheaded Vikings head by his braids… it’s a very old painting. Any thoughts?
Ive read and watch many things that mention the braids are worn during battles, but apart from that, they were a very vain civilization, taking much pride in their looks
Correction on the comb thing and not making sense with braids. Combs like that can easily be used to section hair and even tease the roots before braiding. Also braids make a practical sense since easy to make it look nice and keep away from your face when fighting. Vikings were vain but also warriors, travlers and merchants so they had to be practical. So your assumption seems wrong to say the least.
Also it doesn't in to account the actual names of said vikings for example certain names translate to split beard. And you just glossed over the fact that in Denmark they have found evidence of braiding I like this statement "We know from fabrics found that they did know how to braid. We know from descriptions that some did braid their hair or beards. We do not however are in a position to claim all vikings, or even a small minority did this. Some probably did when times deemed it fashionably. There is a terrible shortage of good portraits and pictures from this period."
@Kaptorga - Visual History, Thank you for your interesting video. Valuable insights. Looking at the sculptural relicts you show in this video it's not save to make a clear decision about viking's general hair styles, the sculptures are too abstract, and stylized, and maybe even idealized. There is a lot of art process involved in these sculptures means it is a artists/craftsman point of view (and btw art often exaggerates and even lies ;-) much like the written word quite often does too. Due to this It is just a lot of guessing and speculation. I strongly discourage archaeologists to do too much interpretation in a guessing manner and then selling this as facts. While you have clear evidence how this comb was made you still don't have clear evidence how exactly it was used in viking hair style as long as you don't find several mummified vikings from different places from different periods. For example my wife and daughter use a comb right before braiding their hair simply to simplify braiding, so braiding and usage of combs are a good combination. You could also speculate braiding make sense in a warriors context to avoid being pulled at his hair in a fight. This is as well pure speculation, but modern warriors (e.g. MMA fighters) do exactly this. I don't see the point in trusting an abstract sculpture but distrusting an arab chronicler and denying him intellect and intel making a true judgement about his time.This is somewhat biased. In my opinion you cannot trust both, but it is still a valuable and interesting bit of information. It's ok that scientist develop theories but theories are not facts. The comb that you show is fact but how vikings used it exactly is still not.
I was told by a historian they would often have dreadlocks. Lol I personally dont think owning a comb means you never braid your hair xP and btw a majority of Vikings had brown hair xP so..
Is it possible the eyeliner was used as a way to reduce glare much like the way modern athletes use eye black to reduce glare on the playing field? This would be especially useful in the snow and on the ocean where sunlight will glare heavily off drifts and waves respectively.
Ihr legt anhand einer Figur fest wie die Wikinger ihre Haare trugen? Vielleicht war es für den damaligen Künstler einfacher einen ordentlichen Bart und eine glatte Frisur zu schnitzen als eine zottelige wilde Mähne? Die ganzen Strähnen und Locken hätten vielleicht sein Können überstiegen? Eure Herangehensweise ist nachvollziehbar aber so richtig wie falsch.
Naja, was kannst du denn als Quellen vorlegen? Wenn "vielleicht" ein Argument ist haben sie sich vielleicht die Haare von Reptiloiden auf dem Mars schneiden lassen.
Unwahrscheinlich. Aber nicht alle Kinder sehen so aus wie der Junge auf der Kinderschokolade. Die Figur zeigt einen ordentliche frisierten Mann und daraus darf man ableiten, dass es ordentlich frisierte Männer gab. Nicht mehr. Eure Ableitung, dass es NUR ordentlich frisierte Männer gab ist meiner Meinung nach argumentativ falsch. Systematik: was stellt sich ein, wenn man sich nicht die Haare schneidet? Lange, offene Haare. Dafür bedarf es keiner Quelle, weil es von alleine passiert. Ein Eingriff hingegen in Form einer ordentlichen Frisur konnte durch die Figur und die Argumentation aus dem Video belegt werden. Folglich gab es offene Haare (kein Beleg notwendig) und die vorgeführte ordentliche Frisur. Ein Undercut wäre ebenfalls ein Eingriff und nachzuweisen. Es gibt jedoch keine Quellen. Ergo fasse ich zusammen: es gab offene Haare, es gab die ordentliche Frisur und es gab keinen Undercut.
i think somewhere i heard the concept behind the eyeliner part was i think the idea that since vikings were on the sea and exposed to. sun the reason of the black eyeliner thing was to. protect the eyes from. the exposrue. Similar to the american football. players black. lines under their eyes. But thats a theory so i dont know how historically accurate it is.
This is a theory that was brought up at some time, but it's neither scientific convincing nor according to the sources. There is one written source from the end of the viking age, that some people in Heddeby used eyeliner for beauty purposes. Any other sources are lacking. So, according to scientific standards of evidence, we cannot prove nor guess with good reason that Vikings used eyeliner.
@@KaptorgaVisualHistory It could also just be a localized fashion phenomenon in Denmark or just down around Hedeby. Viking age scandinavians might have shared alot of culture, but they werent excactly clones
In skaldic poetry and the (medieval) sagas, striking eyes are often brought up as a desirable trait in both men and women. So it's reasonable that some people would have worn make-up to enhance the appearance of their eyes. That said, we don't know how widespread it was.
But... You need a comb to untangle your hair, so you can braid it. I mean, yeah they had combs, but that doesnt mean they didnt braid their hair, if they wanted ti braid their hair they would most likely use the comb to untangle it, cause its nearly impossible to braid tangled hair.
Combs are needed to straighten the hair for braiding. It's not like braids are permanent either. The "ornaments" you speak of in the beards could be something like a hairband. You can braid hair all day if you want, but you need something to keep it in place.
I braided and beaded my beard for years until a certain pirate film came out and I got bored of comparisons, just started doing it again the last two years or so but my beard takes forever to grow, belt length head hair but beard growth is glacial... About 6" braids now and starting to gain some body and thickness to them, great look with a kilt and sleeveless band tshirts :-)
There are records in the sagas of braided hair and beards to be kept out of the way in battle. Also the examples of bright blonde you showed are all natural for Scandinavians, platinum is rare but we are all born that way and a few keep it all through our teens.
Lol, no, not all Scandinavians are born with bright blonde hair. Even in ancient times, dark hair was common there, all-blonde Scandinavians is a 19th century myth, like the horned war helmets. Some old Norse kings were even named for their black hair, such as en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfdan_the_Black
I enjoy how he speaks, kind of building up for a joke but instead of a punchline it is detailed knowledge🤔 Thank you and well done, good way to keep the interest up throughout the video!
There are examples of elaborate hairstyles and beard braiding, before and after the Viking age, in sculptures and bog bodies. The Norse people traveled and traded with different cultures and countries. More than likely they came across different hair styles and copied or recreated them in their own styles.
I feel like _impressionism_ has been dismissed too quickly. Drawing from another (very generalized) historical group, the Native Americans knew the importance of presentation when making war on another peoples. First impressions could mean the difference between a quick or drawn out conflict. Native Americans are very adept when it comes to presentation. That's not to say they are going to walk around with war paint on all the time. Perhaps on a day-to-day basis, the Vikings wore their hair straight with the neck knot, but when going into war, they would surely want to capitalize on the psychological impression of god like warriors. From within their own ranks, seeing each other dressed for war would trigger an endorphin dump and psychologically prepare them for the fight that is to come. Day-to-day life may have been spent in casual living. But they knew war was on it's way, and they left their digital cammo back at the boat, a bit of ash from a firepit smeared across the lower face and chest, and a braid to keep the hair out of your face, could have been in order.
This has been very interesting. I came across your channel researching Norse hair styles. Paint models called Warhamemer, specifically Space Wolves (Space Vikings). As you can gusss I love vikings so I'll be watching more.
i got an undercut, can't grow a beard yet i got the cut and maintain it for multiple reasons: my hair is poofy af and it gets warm... real warm without it i thought it was nordic (got it a while ago) and i am Danish :D
Since they had a God of Soot. And they also believed Ash/Soot was medicinal. I would guess that it was the source for the 'eye-liner'. It would most likely block UV light. Aside from possibly enhancing beauty like modern makeup, it could have protected caucasian skin from sun aging. Something that is very common these days, and makes people look much older by the age of 25+
The eyeliner was for vision purpose. Far at north, the sun allways stands low in the sky. They put this black paint on their eyes to absorb the sunlight reflecting from the wather. For them it was wearing sunglasses.
That “sources” part killed me! Trying to dig deeper into my Scandinavian roots, no pun intended ... okay I guess there is. But gettting bored with my hair and would love to do something different with it.
Well said and absolutely correct in regard to citing Historical source materials. Most of what I see my fellow Heathens doing is copying popular culture impressions from TV Shows and Hollywood. Even 90% of the costumes in the Vikings Tv show are fanciful and barely relate to what Vikings and Saxons wore in period. The fancy plaited beards with beard rings and beads are unsupported and fanciful but so are the extreme punky shaved heads that go with them. It's a lot of bollocks quite frankly and utterly over the top. The Tattoos that modern Heathens adorn their bodies with also follow no Historical precedent ... it is just a hodge podge of Culture signaling without any due regard to context or Historical accuracy. What these people are doing is dressing up like the movies ... it has nothing to do with real Vikings ... my ancestors.
Honestly there's not any real evidence to support either. Beads and "beard rings" could simply be hairbands. Which would make sense when you don't have rubber. They probably braided their hair, for practical reasons. And in the end we're talking about thousands of individuals. It's hardly possible that they all had the same haircut.
@@Jonathan-bu7iv The difference is we have sources showing us what they did look like, we have no sources showing what some people seem to think they looked like. That's the difference between Academic assurance and speculative nonsense.
Correction on tattoos. When historical writer and travler from arabia Ibn Fadlan visited the Russ he described men being covered in tattoos. "The Rūs appear as traders who set up shop on the river banks nearby the Bolğar camp. They are described as having bodies tall as (date) palm-trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. Each is tattooed from "the tips of his toes to his neck" with dark blue or dark green "designs" and all men are armed with an axe, sword and long knife" however the designs most people use are from Iceland after viking age ended that you see with modern people. Since no preserved Viking corpse has ever been found due to the vikings burial traditions.
Actually braids does make sense however how much it was used is hard to know but there is a very good statement that uses Danish Viking museum as source. We know from fabrics found that they did know how to braid. We know from descriptions that some did braid their hair or beards. We do not however are in a position to claim all vikings, or even a small minority did this. Some probably did when times deemed it fashionably. There is a terrible shortage of good portraits and pictures from this period.
If I understood correctly, you said it doesn't make sense that they would braid because they combed their hair? But you can't just keep braiding your hair over and over and over and over without combing it after taking it out of the braid. Correct me if I misunderstood, though.
You didn’t have as many sources as some other groups that also cite their works properly. Being of Viking decent I can also tell you that some of the traditions that have been passed down contradict some of what your saying in terms of their looks.
I really like this video. Your knowledge, thats beeing shard here is very appreciable. I will become a patreon as soon as possible. Also ma ernsthaft: Ihr hammt der Seider! Danx.
I would also add that being in snow conditionsconditions, using black eyeliner would deflect strong light from the bright white snow ..the army uses this technique in sand and snow
Seems they even had diversity, equity and inclusion in the picture. It is comforting to know that a current political ideology based on neo-liberal globalisation was also shoehorned into Nordic regions thousands of years ago.
Love your videos! What do you think about the theory that the amazons were really scythian women? Id like to hear your thoughts about it since you mentioned adrienne mayor (her book on the subject was fascinating!)
Close! It was Al Tartushi. And he wrote not about the vikings, but about the night live at the town of Hebedy in 965. The town was christian, as was Denmark. So this is quite a singular thing and we have no evidence to belive this was a thing even in other towns. Next thing is, Hebedy ws quite multi cultured, so we do not even know, who wore this make up. It is similar but worse with Ibn Fadlan - we do not know whom he encoutered. There is no eveidence these people were scandinavians. There is actually a lot to write about this topic. :D
So, in short, all of us who want to have real historical early medieval hairstyle, the best thing to do is just grow your hair? I once had undercut but started to hate it.
Ⰲⰾⰰⰴⰻⱄⰾⰰⰲ Ⱎⱍⱆⱃⰻⱋ I. May I ask why you started to hate it? I’m thinking about trying it because I wear a hat quite often. I’m just trying to find some pros and cons.
@@zoltanlund7869 I am a sucker for historical accuracy, and that hairstyle isnt really accurate as far as we know. But as a hairstyle it isnt that bad, you should try it. After all we learn with experience.
Ⰲⰾⰰⰴⰻⱄⰾⰰⰲ Ⱎⱍⱆⱃⰻⱋ I. Ok, I see what you mean. I got the haircut yesterday and so far I like it. I didn’t really get it for the historical part though so I can see why you wouldn’t like it. Thanks.
Hey, Would you be open to do a video about early medieval European hairstyles? I really hate this Viking TV show crap anesthetics... Years ago when i was into reenactment i read something about Mohawk style haircuts within Frisian tribes in the 12th century if I'm not mistaken. Also the unique haircut og Slavic men (u sure know this weird back part shaven and front rather long style) Would be super amazing to show all these Ragnar dinguses what could pass for a fact and what not. Also f*ck these hippie dreadlocks. Thanks for your great work, cheers from an old starigard fella :)
I see this alot when talking about hair styles especially in men do you think people braid there hair and beard and just leave it like that no dumb ass they take it out every day if hair was really that important to Vikings they would braid and style it and decorate it. It's just common sense
About the bleaching there are actually natural ways to bleach your hair without man made chemicles and it is actually almost just as effective as what we use now just not as fast acting
I'd like to see realistic reconstructions of these hair and beardstyles... I've seen artists who try to recreate faces if historic persons, why not hairstyles too?
As far as the hair style goes. Some probley did braid, others probley not. They could pin it back for a fight or for other reasons. I beleive your comb explaination to be spot on though.
Try to think of it as you were living in that time would you want to look good so would they I think it's a semi accurate betrayal but you do make valid points I enjoyed your video
I cannot imagine the hair being all braided like the show. Hair like that stinks, unfortunately, unless it is taken down and washed fairly often. I cannot see them having time for all that. If I were a raider, I would be concerned with someone grabbing me by the hair of the head and cutting my throat in almost one motion also. Short hair can't be easily grabbed and lice don't like it.
Vikings with long braided hair came along with the series Vikings. As far as we know real vikings wore their hair half long combed backwards. They wore colourful clothes, red, blue and yellow and had probably no tattoos.
@@joemama-ib2lh The Rus had picked up a lot of things from the Slavic peoples and had a bit of different culture than their European brethren. Sometimes I even have a hard time thinking of the Rus as typical "Vikings" (even though they were at times). I've never read any description of a European Norseman sporting any tattoos. Since the bible says not to mark up or disfigure your body you'd think Christian European writers would be pretty quick to point out any tattoos, scarification, or other similar thing as another evil the pagans did against God to further demonize them.
@@waynepurcell6058 Well, considering that a fair bit of the Rus population was descended from Sweden, it is not to farfetched to presume the Scandinavian people had tattoos as apart of their culture.
@@waynepurcell6058 And also, I'm sure a fair amount of the vikings body was covered in either cloth or chainmail which would probably block the tattoos from being shown.
This guy talks but I didn't see anything sources or anything like that In the description of the video so i am going to take everything he said as lies
I disagree with you on the part about hair bleaching, I used to relax my hair and the two most common active ingredients in relaxer are guanidine hydroxide and sodium hydroxide (lye) which is unsaponified mind you, meaning it's almost the same as what the Vikings would have used, it would lighten my hair quite a bit, my natural hair color is medium dark blonde and the relaxer would cause it to go Platinum
“We have 1 clear example of a hairstyle, so anything that doesn’t match it is probably wrong.” “We only have 1 clear example of someone wearing eyeliner, so they probably didn’t wear it.” You can’t have it both ways. Simple fact, we don’t know anything for sure about either. 950 is 157 years after the Viking Age began and 166 years before it ended. How is that “late” period? Also, braids and combs aren’t incompatible. First you comb, then you braid. Shaving part of your head isn’t incompatible with combs either. You still have to comb the parts that aren’t shaved. The best evidence we have of men’s hairstyles is the side knot, but that’s Migration Era, so it’s too early to know if it carried into the Viking Age.
It is bonkers for them to suggest a hair style based on one sculpture as their proof. Of one model, unless they are North Korean and are restricted in their hair styles.
Thats my problem with viking history, they dont write shit down so the only way to rly get a clue about their culture is to read wrtings from the saxons, arabs or other cultures who recorded
MrEvldreamr You are forgetting about the large Sagas written by the Icelandic peoples.
Aryan Dariyush
So.... are the icelandic people the same as the norsemen?
MrEvldreamr Icelandic people are a product of Norwegian Viking men and women settling the land of Iceland, alongside stolen women from the UK.
They spoke a Norse language, followed Norse culture and traditions. Today they are arguably the least changed and most pure in their maintenance Norse heritage. Even after they were made to convert to Christianity. Even today they have kept their old Norse names.
So yes they are Norsemen. If not for them then we wouldn’t know little to anything about them.
Yeah. Ikr. Ive been studying norse mythology alot lately but the more i study i just end up with more and more questions that lead nowhere. Did they have a high illiteracy rate? Did they not have good access to writing tools? Did they keep records but the mediums were low quality and just turned to dust? Did the saxons destroy their records? Or did they simply not care about writing anything?
@@pakistan19inchcockinsidein56
Yes. In WW2 the US had an Icelandic military base they could utilize. But the Icelandic military leader (cant remember name and rank) in charge of the base wouldnt let some of the US planes land there because of the scary creatures painted on the front of the craft. Same rule has applied to all ships approaching the island for centuries. He said it was because it would scare away the land vaettirs. Mythological creatures.
I am quite new to this channel, but I must say, that I like it, it doesn't seem to have much showmanship, but it is very informative and I am grateful for your work, keep it up!
Ramsay Bolton Thank you very much. That's what we intend.
Your english and pronounciation is very good (you have to read this in russian dialect 🤣)
I’m not saying they braided their hair like on the show. I have extremely long hair. You still have to comb it in order to braid it in any way. Otherwise they would have had dreadlocks.
Yes, that's for sure. And viking women did most probably braid their hair sometimes but quite different from the style of the TV show.
There is lot of vikings tradition influenced in Dublin Ireland and Christianity could you share your knowledge on the Irish and vikings
Great Idea! A fascinating history indeed.
Irish love the African invasion... They just can't get enough!
There are many evidences and sources in Ukraine(Kyivan Rus - Gardarike). One of the most famous warriors and rulers of Kyiv Sviatoslav I the Brave (who actually was Sveinald Ingvarsson) had very famous hairstlye that also became one of the sign of ukrainian traditional hairstyle later during medieval ages - Chupryna (Crest, forelock) .
Ukrainian here. It has been popularized again after the revolution. It looks hilarious on people in modern setting. Bonus points if it's greasy...
Ukraine = Kazhars , nothing to do with old Rus
I heard that the Vikings would braid their hair or but it in buns/pony tails in battle so their hair wouldn’t get in there face while they had a helmet on
I know this is an old video by now but... if I want to grow a beard+moustache and long hair, is it dump because it is not even historically accurate? I don't want to call myself viking, I'm not even Scandinavian (even though people say I look like that), but I like the style and look of vikings from modern point of view.
I am asking because I have a respect for old cultures and traditions.
Btw. the video is informative, understandable and well prepared. Thanks!
hey, Scandinavian here; do whatever you want mate. The vikings cared a lot for their beard, with braids and the like, and I’m sure they had the same care for their hair. It is a very Scandinavian thing to have long hair, and we also call it ‘Viking hair’.
So if it’s because you feel the need to ask about the culture, that’s great:), but go ahead
This is an old comment, so I hope you just did it anyway
People just want to believe that vikings were freaky hipsters lol.
They watch movies and believe they speak the truth, how delusional they are.
Which is why they go out and get absurd and horrid and "unmanly" hairstyles themselves in the modern day. And worse! They inflict such fashion breaches on their children!
@@ImYourOverlord even if viking men didnt braid their hair, native american people sure did. Nothing unmanly about a man braiding his long hair
@@ilikelefunymemes2828 I agree! The braiding isn't what I object to about the style. I've had a braid or two in my own hair on rare occasions.
Yes, and Samurai were not warriors bound by honor, knights didn't rescue princesses from castles guarded by dragons, and the Pirates life wasn't a life full of grand adventure and living skeletons.
History is history, but all cultures have been romanticized, and bent in creative, and fictional ways, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but history buffs love to shit out what they know in the comments of any social media page bagging on anyone who is interested in those more fictional, romanticized aspects.
History is important, but so is creativity, let people enjoy what they enjoy, correct them if they think the creative parts are actual history, but you don't need to insult them, it gets you and your point no where.
Being a combative type people, It would make since that they did wear what might appear to be eyeliner. But more then likely it was the smugges that a lot of combative people wore to cut down the glare of the sun and other bright lights.
I would like to make a note about the eyeliner part; since you compared it to Egyptians, I'll also use them as an example of why people of antiquity would wear eyeliner. The Egyptians wore it as a way of keeping the sun out of their eyes and staving off infections, because coal is antibacterial and if you surround your eyes with a dark substance it blocks out some of the light that reflects off of your face to your eyes (I found this out first hand). If a sea faring people were to have used eyeliner, it may have been for these reasons, rather than to stay looking young and beautiful. Since we can safely concur that they cared about their hygiene, it may be reasonable to guess that if they did use this sort of ancient eye liner during their day to day lives, it would have been for similar reasons as the egyptians did. Both sand and water are very reflective, and an eye infection can happen to anybody, so both societies using eyeliner would make sense if it weren't just for fashion but also practicality
Yes, they also used it because of the reflection of light on the snow.
A theory I have about the black ash paint around the eyes. Football players put black under their eyes to deflect light making it easier to play the game long term
It is my theory that they may have done this to help prevent light damage to the retinas from the reflection of sunlight off of the high seas.
and snow
Mark Benecke hat mich hergeleitet, sehr toller Kanal, weiter so!
Overall very good! However there a few game figurines from Denmark and Iceland which show long and beards in a single braid.
The black around the eyes could have been because of the reflection off of the water, snow or light sensitivity ? Kinda like American football players put black around there eyes for bright light .
You can actually look at portrayals or depictions (old paintings) of Vikings that show braided hair and long beards…. For example there’s an old painting of a knight showing a his superior a decapitated Viking …. Literally holding the beheaded Vikings head by his braids… it’s a very old painting. Any thoughts?
ameriican here, took ancestry dna test, my blonde bright hair came out 80% Norwegian
Ive read and watch many things that mention the braids are worn during battles, but apart from that, they were a very vain civilization, taking much pride in their looks
Correction on the comb thing and not making sense with braids. Combs like that can easily be used to section hair and even tease the roots before braiding. Also braids make a practical sense since easy to make it look nice and keep away from your face when fighting. Vikings were vain but also warriors, travlers and merchants so they had to be practical. So your assumption seems wrong to say the least.
Also it doesn't in to account the actual names of said vikings for example certain names translate to split beard. And you just glossed over the fact that in Denmark they have found evidence of braiding I like this statement "We know from fabrics found that they did know how to braid. We know from descriptions that some did braid their hair or beards. We do not however are in a position to claim all vikings, or even a small minority did this. Some probably did when times deemed it fashionably. There is a terrible shortage of good portraits and pictures from this period."
@@vx8431 Exactly! Like Sweyn Forkbeard
So meticulously combing your hair is pagan... Cool dude.
Braided hair is a Celtic thing, not a Nordic thing,
Nordics wore their hair short in the back and long bangs that went up to their chin.
As some one with a long beard I promise it takes a lot of care lol
I’m sure they did braid their beards to keep them out of the way for battle
I had a couple problems with some of your points.
@Kaptorga - Visual History, Thank you for your interesting video. Valuable insights. Looking at the sculptural relicts you show in this video it's not save to make a clear decision about viking's general hair styles, the sculptures are too abstract, and stylized, and maybe even idealized. There is a lot of art process involved in these sculptures means it is a artists/craftsman point of view (and btw art often exaggerates and even lies ;-) much like the written word quite often does too. Due to this It is just a lot of guessing and speculation. I strongly discourage archaeologists to do too much interpretation in a guessing manner and then selling this as facts. While you have clear evidence how this comb was made you still don't have clear evidence how exactly it was used in viking hair style as long as you don't find several mummified vikings from different places from different periods. For example my wife and daughter use a comb right before braiding their hair simply to simplify braiding, so braiding and usage of combs are a good combination. You could also speculate braiding make sense in a warriors context to avoid being pulled at his hair in a fight. This is as well pure speculation, but modern warriors (e.g. MMA fighters) do exactly this. I don't see the point in trusting an abstract sculpture but distrusting an arab chronicler and denying him intellect and intel making a true judgement about his time.This is somewhat biased. In my opinion you cannot trust both, but it is still a valuable and interesting bit of information. It's ok that scientist develop theories but theories are not facts. The comb that you show is fact but how vikings used it exactly is still not.
If it isn't a short crop, it's a flop.
Another myth is also that vikings are blonde, most of them had dark to light brown or blonde hair, not only blonde.
I was told by a historian they would often have dreadlocks. Lol I personally dont think owning a comb means you never braid your hair xP and btw a majority of Vikings had brown hair xP so..
Das b in comb ist stumm. Man spricht es koum
Excellent commentary, well researched.!
Is it possible the eyeliner was used as a way to reduce glare much like the way modern athletes use eye black to reduce glare on the playing field? This would be especially useful in the snow and on the ocean where sunlight will glare heavily off drifts and waves respectively.
Ihr legt anhand einer Figur fest wie die Wikinger ihre Haare trugen? Vielleicht war es für den damaligen Künstler einfacher einen ordentlichen Bart und eine glatte Frisur zu schnitzen als eine zottelige wilde Mähne? Die ganzen Strähnen und Locken hätten vielleicht sein Können überstiegen? Eure Herangehensweise ist nachvollziehbar aber so richtig wie falsch.
Naja, was kannst du denn als Quellen vorlegen?
Wenn "vielleicht" ein Argument ist haben sie sich vielleicht die Haare von Reptiloiden auf dem Mars schneiden lassen.
Unwahrscheinlich. Aber nicht alle Kinder sehen so aus wie der Junge auf der Kinderschokolade. Die Figur zeigt einen ordentliche frisierten Mann und daraus darf man ableiten, dass es ordentlich frisierte Männer gab. Nicht mehr. Eure Ableitung, dass es NUR ordentlich frisierte Männer gab ist meiner Meinung nach argumentativ falsch. Systematik: was stellt sich ein, wenn man sich nicht die Haare schneidet? Lange, offene Haare. Dafür bedarf es keiner Quelle, weil es von alleine passiert. Ein Eingriff hingegen in Form einer ordentlichen Frisur konnte durch die Figur und die Argumentation aus dem Video belegt werden. Folglich gab es offene Haare (kein Beleg notwendig) und die vorgeführte ordentliche Frisur. Ein Undercut wäre ebenfalls ein Eingriff und nachzuweisen. Es gibt jedoch keine Quellen. Ergo fasse ich zusammen: es gab offene Haare, es gab die ordentliche Frisur und es gab keinen Undercut.
Some of what youre saying is absolutely bullshit
i think somewhere i heard the concept behind the eyeliner part was i think the idea that since vikings were on the sea and exposed to. sun the reason of the black eyeliner thing was to. protect the eyes from. the exposrue. Similar to the american football. players black. lines under their eyes. But thats a theory so i dont know how historically accurate it is.
This is a theory that was brought up at some time, but it's neither scientific convincing nor according to the sources. There is one written source from the end of the viking age, that some people in Heddeby used eyeliner for beauty purposes. Any other sources are lacking. So, according to scientific standards of evidence, we cannot prove nor guess with good reason that Vikings used eyeliner.
@@KaptorgaVisualHistory thats what i thought thanks for the info :) really enjoyed the video quite informative
@@todorminchev2123 Thank you 🙂
@@KaptorgaVisualHistory It could also just be a localized fashion phenomenon in Denmark or just down around Hedeby. Viking age scandinavians might have shared alot of culture, but they werent excactly clones
In skaldic poetry and the (medieval) sagas, striking eyes are often brought up as a desirable trait in both men and women. So it's reasonable that some people would have worn make-up to enhance the appearance of their eyes. That said, we don't know how widespread it was.
But... You need a comb to untangle your hair, so you can braid it.
I mean, yeah they had combs, but that doesnt mean they didnt braid their hair, if they wanted ti braid their hair they would most likely use the comb to untangle it, cause its nearly impossible to braid tangled hair.
To assume they braided it you need evidence though. But in all the evidence they have just neatly combed beards.
Combs are needed to straighten the hair for braiding. It's not like braids are permanent either. The "ornaments" you speak of in the beards could be something like a hairband. You can braid hair all day if you want, but you need something to keep it in place.
@@jagrmelo2453 What clan is that?
@@toolcruise it's not a clan
Thank you for some actual historical information. Unfortunately the history Channel did not get the history right.
I braided and beaded my beard for years until a certain pirate film came out and I got bored of comparisons, just started doing it again the last two years or so but my beard takes forever to grow, belt length head hair but beard growth is glacial...
About 6" braids now and starting to gain some body and thickness to them, great look with a kilt and sleeveless band tshirts :-)
There are records in the sagas of braided hair and beards to be kept out of the way in battle. Also the examples of bright blonde you showed are all natural for Scandinavians, platinum is rare but we are all born that way and a few keep it all through our teens.
Lol, no, not all Scandinavians are born with bright blonde hair. Even in ancient times, dark hair was common there, all-blonde Scandinavians is a 19th century myth, like the horned war helmets. Some old Norse kings were even named for their black hair, such as en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfdan_the_Black
@@mbh4575 They were named for their black hair because it was so rare
@@aethulwulfvonstopphen8013 By that logic, red hair was as rare too, since Erik the red and others were named for it...
@@mbh4575 The way I understand it, it is relatively rare in Scandinavia.
@@aethulwulfvonstopphen8013 Compared to what, Ireland maybe? It is pretty common here.
I enjoy how he speaks, kind of building up for a joke but instead of a punchline it is detailed knowledge🤔 Thank you and well done, good way to keep the interest up throughout the video!
There are examples of elaborate hairstyles and beard braiding, before and after the Viking age, in sculptures and bog bodies. The Norse people traveled and traded with different cultures and countries. More than likely they came across different hair styles and copied or recreated them in their own styles.
@@Whatever-u5w I deleted all my nonsense. Let's shake hands and agree to disagree. We're both better than that.
@@mighty_mouse_marines_mcI deleted mine as well 🤝
I feel like _impressionism_ has been dismissed too quickly. Drawing from another (very generalized) historical group, the Native Americans knew the importance of presentation when making war on another peoples. First impressions could mean the difference between a quick or drawn out conflict. Native Americans are very adept when it comes to presentation. That's not to say they are going to walk around with war paint on all the time. Perhaps on a day-to-day basis, the Vikings wore their hair straight with the neck knot, but when going into war, they would surely want to capitalize on the psychological impression of god like warriors. From within their own ranks, seeing each other dressed for war would trigger an endorphin dump and psychologically prepare them for the fight that is to come. Day-to-day life may have been spent in casual living. But they knew war was on it's way, and they left their digital cammo back at the boat, a bit of ash from a firepit smeared across the lower face and chest, and a braid to keep the hair out of your face, could have been in order.
Impropable due, as you can see on the knife handle, the helmet. Especially in war you need a hairstyle that fits under the helmet
This has been very interesting. I came across your channel researching Norse hair styles. Paint models called Warhamemer, specifically Space Wolves (Space Vikings). As you can gusss I love vikings so I'll be watching more.
i got an undercut, can't grow a beard yet
i got the cut and maintain it for multiple reasons:
my hair is poofy af and it gets warm... real warm without it
i thought it was nordic (got it a while ago)
and i am Danish :D
Since they had a God of Soot. And they also believed Ash/Soot was medicinal. I would guess that it was the source for the 'eye-liner'. It would most likely block UV light. Aside from possibly enhancing beauty like modern makeup, it could have protected caucasian skin from sun aging. Something that is very common these days, and makes people look much older by the age of 25+
Too short. You could have addressed more. This was just getting warmed up!
Shaved around the sides and back is the worst. No point in keeping any hair on the head at all, rather than look foolish.
The eyeliner was for vision purpose. Far at north, the sun allways stands low in the sky. They put this black paint on their eyes to absorb the sunlight reflecting from the wather. For them it was wearing sunglasses.
But Hededy is not far far north ;)
Love these hair cuts.Regards from Germany.
That “sources” part killed me! Trying to dig deeper into my Scandinavian roots, no pun intended ... okay I guess there is. But gettting bored with my hair and would love to do something different with it.
Well said and absolutely correct in regard to citing Historical source materials. Most of what I see my fellow Heathens doing is copying popular culture impressions from TV Shows and Hollywood. Even 90% of the costumes in the Vikings Tv show are fanciful and barely relate to what Vikings and Saxons wore in period. The fancy plaited beards with beard rings and beads are unsupported and fanciful but so are the extreme punky shaved heads that go with them. It's a lot of bollocks quite frankly and utterly over the top. The Tattoos that modern Heathens adorn their bodies with also follow no Historical precedent ... it is just a hodge podge of Culture signaling without any due regard to context or Historical accuracy. What these people are doing is dressing up like the movies ... it has nothing to do with real Vikings ... my ancestors.
Honestly there's not any real evidence to support either. Beads and "beard rings" could simply be hairbands. Which would make sense when you don't have rubber.
They probably braided their hair, for practical reasons. And in the end we're talking about thousands of individuals. It's hardly possible that they all had the same haircut.
@@Jonathan-bu7iv The difference is we have sources showing us what they did look like, we have no sources showing what some people seem to think they looked like. That's the difference between Academic assurance and speculative nonsense.
Correction on tattoos. When historical writer and travler from arabia Ibn Fadlan visited the Russ he described men being covered in tattoos. "The Rūs appear as traders who set up shop on the river banks nearby the Bolğar camp. They are described as having bodies tall as (date) palm-trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. Each is tattooed from "the tips of his toes to his neck" with dark blue or dark green "designs" and all men are armed with an axe, sword and long knife" however the designs most people use are from Iceland after viking age ended that you see with modern people. Since no preserved Viking corpse has ever been found due to the vikings burial traditions.
Actually braids does make sense however how much it was used is hard to know but there is a very good statement that uses Danish Viking museum as source. We know from fabrics found that they did know how to braid. We know from descriptions that some did braid their hair or beards. We do not however are in a position to claim all vikings, or even a small minority did this. Some probably did when times deemed it fashionably. There is a terrible shortage of good portraits and pictures from this period.
@@vx8431 The Translation is wrong. Its about scabbards painted and not the arms.
I'm sry but I cant get over the way he says comb😂😂😂
If I understood correctly, you said it doesn't make sense that they would braid because they combed their hair? But you can't just keep braiding your hair over and over and over and over without combing it after taking it out of the braid. Correct me if I misunderstood, though.
That comb is beautiful.
Diddent they have dreads most of Them? The first woman sculpture looks like dreads.
As far as i'm concerned, vikings weren't fucking reggae jamaicans. If they'd do dreads, they would not have used combs, wouldn't they?
They had braided hair yes
@@rollothewalker5535 Dreads aren't only fro reggae jamaicans, atleast come up with a better joke
You didn’t have as many sources as some other groups that also cite their works properly. Being of Viking decent I can also tell you that some of the traditions that have been passed down contradict some of what your saying in terms of their looks.
I really like this video. Your knowledge, thats beeing shard here is very appreciable. I will become a patreon as soon as possible.
Also ma ernsthaft: Ihr hammt der Seider!
Danx.
dis for this! clickbait...
So sorry, you expected syling tips and what you got was hard evidence based archeologicla research. How will we ever atone for our sins? :D
I would also add that being in snow conditionsconditions, using black eyeliner would deflect strong light from the bright white snow ..the army uses this technique in sand and snow
Jason Segel?
4:55 It's a modern hairstyle. historically incorrect
Needs more views.
Seems they even had diversity, equity and inclusion in the picture. It is comforting to know that a current political ideology based on neo-liberal globalisation was also shoehorned into Nordic regions thousands of years ago.
Not everyone has a Bowl Cut either.
Vikings with Corn-Rolls ? Huh
I m watching this while i m in the toilet. Big needs lmao
Love your videos! What do you think about the theory that the amazons were really scythian women? Id like to hear your thoughts about it since you mentioned adrienne mayor (her book on the subject was fascinating!)
so basically the image of a viking people have to day is more accurate to a hipster that make artesanal beer on his garage.
so not sure if your a gamer but I'm wondering your thoughts on bannerlord 2
Hawkeye
I thought the hair dye was a little interesting.
Wasn’t it Ibn Fadlan: An Arab trader/traveler that visited the Rusvik Vikings around 921 that did write about the “black around their eyes”?
Close! It was Al Tartushi. And he wrote not about the vikings, but about the night live at the town of Hebedy in 965. The town was christian, as was Denmark. So this is quite a singular thing and we have no evidence to belive this was a thing even in other towns. Next thing is, Hebedy ws quite multi cultured, so we do not even know, who wore this make up. It is similar but worse with Ibn Fadlan - we do not know whom he encoutered. There is no eveidence these people were scandinavians. There is actually a lot to write about this topic. :D
1:27 love it sources
Because the Vikings didn’t really record their life
So, in short, all of us who want to have real historical early medieval hairstyle, the best thing to do is just grow your hair? I once had undercut but started to hate it.
Ⰲⰾⰰⰴⰻⱄⰾⰰⰲ Ⱎⱍⱆⱃⰻⱋ I. May I ask why you started to hate it? I’m thinking about trying it because I wear a hat quite often. I’m just trying to find some pros and cons.
@@zoltanlund7869 I am a sucker for historical accuracy, and that hairstyle isnt really accurate as far as we know. But as a hairstyle it isnt that bad, you should try it. After all we learn with experience.
Ⰲⰾⰰⰴⰻⱄⰾⰰⰲ Ⱎⱍⱆⱃⰻⱋ I. Ok, I see what you mean. I got the haircut yesterday and so far I like it. I didn’t really get it for the historical part though so I can see why you wouldn’t like it. Thanks.
@@zoltanlund7869 No problem friend!
Hey,
Would you be open to do a video about early medieval European hairstyles? I really hate this Viking TV show crap anesthetics... Years ago when i was into reenactment i read something about Mohawk style haircuts within Frisian tribes in the 12th century if I'm not mistaken. Also the unique haircut og Slavic men (u sure know this weird back part shaven and front rather long style)
Would be super amazing to show all these Ragnar dinguses what could pass for a fact and what not.
Also f*ck these hippie dreadlocks.
Thanks for your great work, cheers from an old starigard fella :)
They’re are written sources which state the Vikings had hair like rope
Share with the class!
I see this alot when talking about hair styles especially in men do you think people braid there hair and beard and just leave it like that no dumb ass they take it out every day if hair was really that important to Vikings they would braid and style it and decorate it. It's just common sense
About the bleaching there are actually natural ways to bleach your hair without man made chemicles and it is actually almost just as effective as what we use now just not as fast acting
I'd like to see realistic reconstructions of these hair and beardstyles...
I've seen artists who try to recreate faces if historic persons, why not hairstyles too?
Very interesting! Waiting new videos)))
Never taken too many shrooms?????? Black tears if you eat too many
Show's hairstyles belong to nomadic tribes of Eurasia more than any other culture
If you play this video in 1.25 seconds the guy is still talking relatively slowly
As far as the hair style goes. Some probley did braid, others probley not. They could pin it back for a fight or for other reasons. I beleive your comb explaination to be spot on though.
Same here in north east England , my whole family look like an episode of vikings lol
Reality is far more interesting than fantasy.
Try to think of it as you were living in that time would you want to look good so would they I think it's a semi accurate betrayal but you do make valid points I enjoyed your video
are you an actual historian ?
I hope ur not going along with it
I cannot imagine the hair being all braided like the show. Hair like that stinks, unfortunately, unless it is taken down and washed fairly often. I cannot see them having time for all that. If I were a raider, I would be concerned with someone grabbing me by the hair of the head and cutting my throat in almost one motion also. Short hair can't be easily grabbed and lice don't like it.
They would stink anyway.
Comp
Vikings with long braided hair came along with the series Vikings. As far as we know real vikings wore their hair half long combed backwards. They wore colourful clothes, red, blue and yellow and had probably no tattoos.
Nope, an Arab wrote of Rus Traders with tattoos that covered the men from their fingers to their shoulders.
@@joemama-ib2lh The Rus had picked up a lot of things from the Slavic peoples and had a bit of different culture than their European brethren. Sometimes I even have a hard time thinking of the Rus as typical "Vikings" (even though they were at times).
I've never read any description of a European Norseman sporting any tattoos. Since the bible says not to mark up or disfigure your body you'd think Christian European writers would be pretty quick to point out any tattoos, scarification, or other similar thing as another evil the pagans did against God to further demonize them.
@@waynepurcell6058 Well, considering that a fair bit of the Rus population was descended from Sweden, it is not to farfetched to presume the Scandinavian people had tattoos as apart of their culture.
@@waynepurcell6058 And also, I'm sure a fair amount of the vikings body was covered in either cloth or chainmail which would probably block the tattoos from being shown.
Did they have mohawaks? Did they actually braid them?
mohawks DEFINITLY not.
Good to know
This guy talks but I didn't see anything sources or anything like that In the description of the video so i am going to take everything he said as lies
This is exactly how high school teachers treat an assignment with no given sources at the bottom of it 😂
Grade? F
Deutsch Bitte. .
m.th-cam.com/video/tejibpn9ZfQ/w-d-xo.html
I disagree with you on the part about hair bleaching, I used to relax my hair and the two most common active ingredients in relaxer are guanidine hydroxide and sodium hydroxide (lye) which is unsaponified mind you, meaning it's almost the same as what the Vikings would have used, it would lighten my hair quite a bit, my natural hair color is medium dark blonde and the relaxer would cause it to go Platinum
Judging an entire show off a few pieces of historical artifacts that may or may not be completely understood. Go 21st century critics
“We have 1 clear example of a hairstyle, so anything that doesn’t match it is probably wrong.” “We only have 1 clear example of someone wearing eyeliner, so they probably didn’t wear it.” You can’t have it both ways. Simple fact, we don’t know anything for sure about either. 950 is 157 years after the Viking Age began and 166 years before it ended. How is that “late” period? Also, braids and combs aren’t incompatible. First you comb, then you braid. Shaving part of your head isn’t incompatible with combs either. You still have to comb the parts that aren’t shaved. The best evidence we have of men’s hairstyles is the side knot, but that’s Migration Era, so it’s too early to know if it carried into the Viking Age.
It is bonkers for them to suggest a hair style based on one sculpture as their proof. Of one model, unless they are North Korean and are restricted in their hair styles.
du bist deutscher hab ich recht?
Ja das denke ich auch