After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode: The Dark Side of the Vikings

Date: December 4, 2025

Hosts: Anthony Delaney & Maddy Pelling

Guest: Dr. Eleanor Barraclough

Overview: Into the Shadows of Viking History

In this episode, Anthony and Maddie are joined by historian and author Dr. Eleanor Barraclough for a myth-busting exploration of the Vikings’ sinister reputation. Moving beyond the pop culture stereotypes, they dive into what really made the Vikings feared—and fascinating—from acts of violence and ritual to magical practices and the complexity of their beliefs, communities, and gender roles. This discussion uncovers both the literal and metaphorical dark sides of the Viking world, peeling away centuries of rumor, legend, and Hollywood myth.

Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. Defining "Viking"—Who, When, Where?

[05:27–12:25]

• Origins of the Label:

  • "Viking" is both a noun (Vikingr: raider/pirate) and a verb—going on a “Viking” means going on a raid. (Dr. Barraclough, [09:36])
  • The "Viking Age" is commonly bracketed by Lindisfarne’s famous raid (793 CE) and the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066 CE), but both are very Anglocentric dates.
    • “Part of the problem... there's no such thing as the Viking age at the time. People didn't wake up one morning and say 'well, I guess that's over.'” (Dr. Barraclough, [08:42])

• Geographical Reach:

  • Core homelands: Norway, Denmark, Sweden.
  • Expansion across British Isles, Ireland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and even to North America.
  • Eastward movement to Byzantium and Baghdad; blending with local cultures, e.g., Normandy (Northmen -> Norman).
    • “That Norse diaspora, that whole cultural sphere, is so much more interesting than just raiding.” (Dr. Barraclough, [10:51])

• Cultural Fluidity:

  • Adaptability and integration with local populations—sometimes violent, sometimes more assimilated.
  • Iceland’s settlement by Norse overlapped with possible itinerant Irish monks ("papar"), but exact histories are unclear ([13:09–13:23]).
  • Personal stories—from ancestry DNA results to TikTok debates about the British Isles ([13:24]).

2. Viking Belief Systems: Gods, Storytelling, and Material Culture

[14:56–26:00]

• Gods and Spirituality:

  • Pantheon included Odin, Thor, Freyja, Loki; stories colored by later (mainly Icelandic) written accounts.
    • “These gods, these are badly behaving, gender-bending, absolutely fantastic gods.” (Dr. Barraclough, [16:13])
  • Challenge: Pagan Scandinavians left few written sources beyond runes; most myths/texts written in 13th-century Iceland after Christianization.

• Material vs. Textual Culture:

  • Viking culture’s story preservation is often through artifacts rather than literature; impacts our modern understanding.
    • “A saucer of milk left out for an elf looks identical to a saucer left out for a cat… that's the problem.” (Dr. Barraclough, [17:46])
  • Preservation of culture spikes as societies perceive threat (e.g., during Iceland’s violent civil wars and Norway’s attempted takeover).

• Religious Fluidity and Conversion:

  • Christianity arrived late (ca. 1000 CE in Iceland), often out of political pragmatism rather than conviction.
  • Pagan practices lingered beneath the surface for decades ([26:03]).

3. Violence, Ritual, and the Darkness Within

[27:26–41:19]

• Vikings and Violence—Myth vs. Reality:

  • Raiding is inherent to the Viking definition, but the entire age was brutal.
  • Monks and chroniclers—often the victims—painted the most dramatic picture:
    • "What happens on Lindisfarne is awful. It’s not that that’s not an awful set of things happening... but violence wasn’t unique to the Norse." (Dr. Barraclough, [28:55])
  • The shocking aspect to contemporary victims was not the violence itself, but the unfamiliar methods (e.g., sea and river raids, sudden mobility).

• Ritual Violence and Sacrifice:

  • Archaeological and textual evidence point to rituals, sometimes including human sacrifice:
    • E.g., Discovery on the Isle of Man: a woman’s body placed above a leader in a burial mound, her skull damaged, suggesting ritual killing ([32:07–32:13]).
    • Ibn Fadlan’s account: detailed, disturbing description of a Rus chieftain’s funeral and the (apparently voluntary) sacrifice of an enslaved young woman ([34:12–35:14]).
      • “…what we would say, it’s not how he puts it, but essentially mass rape… It’s a horrible, horrible text.” ([34:12])
    • Oseberg ship burial: two elite women, possibly magical practitioners, one of whom may have been sacrificed for the other ([36:07]).

• Magic and the Supernatural:

  • Norse magic (seidr), often associated with women or gender-bending, played a key role in Viking society.
  • Material finds (e.g., grave goods, cat-adorned wagons, hallucinogenic seeds) hint at magical roles and practices.
  • Fluidity of gender and power in magic, sometimes tied to transgressing prescribed gender roles ([44:03–46:05]).

4. Gender, Magic, and Identity in the Viking World

[42:27–56:48]

• Magic and Gender Fluidity:

  • Seidr (a form of Norse magic) often had female practitioners but was also practiced by Odin, reflecting gender ambiguities in mythology and societal anxieties about gender norms.
  • Sagas and stories include gender-crossing, shapeshifting, and role-switching (e.g., Loki giving birth to an eight-legged horse).

• Rigid Roles and Social Policing:

  • Norse society placed weight on "manly" and "womanly" behaviors—accusations of "unmanliness" or "ragar" were grave insults, sometimes punishable by death ([47:46–50:18]).
  • Humorous aside: “If your husband wears a top that is too low and he shows his nipples, that’s ragar… In my opinion, that is grounds for divorce” (Maddie & Dr. Barraclough, [50:16–50:27]).

• Women Warriors: Shieldmaidens—Myth and Evidence:

  • The textual motif of shieldmaidens abounds (e.g., Lagertha in legend), but physical evidence is scarce and complex.
  • The famous Birka burial: initially assumed male due to weapon-rich goods, DNA proved otherwise—yet absence of warfare-related trauma on bones creates uncertainty.
    • "You have to preserve that gray space for what is this?... It doesn't necessarily mean it reflects roles on the ground..." (Dr. Barraclough, [56:13])
  • Warning against simple narratives: compelling female figures need not imitate male roles to be interesting.

5. Viking Storytelling—Public and Private Memory

[39:13]

• Death as Story:
  • Viking burials are less about posterity and more about the ritualized present, a living storytelling for those left behind.
  • Runestones sometimes offer more public forms of memorialization, but enslaved people, for instance, rarely entered the record except in rare cases, e.g., Tolkie, a freed smith ([39:45–41:19]).

6. Modern Connections & Historical Travel Tips

[58:18–60:55]

• Relatability and Popular Culture:

  • Vikings would love their Hollywood (Robert Eggers’ "The Northman" accurately features saga details, e.g., sticking a zombie's head up his bottom to prevent haunting—[57:26]).

• Best Viking Place for Modern Travelers:

  • Dr. Barraclough’s top pick: West coast of Greenland, where Norse farmsteads and even a church still stand virtually untouched—offering an immersive glimpse into the medieval Norse world ([58:54–60:55]).
    • “All this stuff, because it hasn’t been built on, still survives… What you are looking at is what they would have seen.” (Dr. Barraclough, [60:03])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Myth vs. Evidence:

  • “Every time you try and dispel the myths... there is that thing.” (Dr. Barraclough, [45:43])

• Storytelling Through Death and Memory:

  • “This is an embodied way of storytelling that’s for that moment. It’s not necessarily for posterity.” (Maddie, [39:13])

• On Gender and Magic:

  • “Magic, where you’re operating in the fringes of social norms and acceptability, that is where this form of magic takes place, which makes me love it.” (Dr. Barraclough, [44:10])

• Caution About Certainty in History:

  • “I think it’s really important not to be entrenched on one side or the other… that beautiful area of doubt and uncertainty.” (Dr. Barraclough, [54:22])

• Pop Culture Connections:

  • “The Vikings would love Hollywood… and especially the Hollywood version of themselves.” (Maddie & Dr. Barraclough, [56:48–56:53])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Defining Vikings—When/Where/Who?: [05:27–12:25]
• Expanding, Colonizing, Diaspora: [10:09–11:54]
• Belief Systems, Gods, and Evidence: [14:56–17:46]
• Material Culture & Preservation: [23:35–26:01]
• Violence, Raiding, and Sacrifice: [27:26–36:07]
• Magic, Fluidity, & Gender Roles: [42:27–51:01]
• Female Warriors, Birka Grave: [51:01–56:48]
• Best Place for Viking Immersion: [58:54–60:55]

Tone & Style

The conversation is fast-paced, witty, and self-aware, blending deep scholarship with sharp pop culture references, dry humor, and a commitment to recognizing uncertainty and nuance in history. Maddie and Anthony inject playful banter, while Dr. Barraclough brings expert clarity—never shying from the complex, bloody, weird, or ambiguous corners of the Viking world.

For listeners who missed the episode, this summary provides a vivid roadmap of the topics, insights, and memorable moments that make the “dark side” of the Vikings so enduringly fascinating—and why the reality is both more complicated and more thrilling than the legends.