Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Vikings are often associated with mead and heavy drinking, but everyday life in the Viking Age looked very different from popular myths. Mead was made from honey, which was not easy to obtain in Scandinavia, making it a drink reserved for feasts, rituals, and special occasions. On a daily basis, beer and ale were far more common.
In this video, I explain what the Vikings actually drank and why beer played such an important role in everyday life. Many Viking towns, such as Hedeby and Jelling, did not have access to clean drinking water, which made fermented drinks a safer alternative. Beer was brewed with both low and higher alcohol content, allowing the entire household to drink it — including children.
Beer and ale were not the same thing in the Viking Age as they are today. Beer was brewed from malted barley, while ale was often made from fruits and was closer to a cider than modern ale. Wine was known as well, but it was imported and likely consumed only by the wealthy or powerful, as reflected in Norse mythology and the sagas.
The video also touches on how drunkenness was viewed in Viking society, including warnings found in the Hávamál, where Odin speaks against excess drinking. Finally, I address common myths, such as the idea that Vikings drank from the skulls of their enemies, and explain where that misconception comes from.
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#vikings #vikingage #beer #norsehistory #skjalden #vikingchildren
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The Vikings are often associated with mead and heavy drinking, but everyday life in the Viking Age looked very different from popular myths. Mead was made from honey, which was not easy to obtain in Scandinavia, making it a drink reserved for feasts, rituals, and special occasions. On a daily basis, beer and ale were far more common.
In this video, I explain what the Vikings actually drank and why beer played such an important role in everyday life. Many Viking towns, such as Hedeby and Jelling, did not have access to clean drinking water, which made fermented drinks a safer alternative. Beer was brewed with both low and higher alcohol content, allowing the entire household to drink it — including children.
Beer and ale were not the same thing in the Viking Age as they are today. Beer was brewed from malted barley, while ale was often made from fruits and was closer to a cider than modern ale. Wine was known as well, but it was imported and likely consumed only by the wealthy or powerful, as reflected in Norse mythology and the sagas.
The video also touches on how drunkenness was viewed in Viking society, including warnings found in the Hávamál, where Odin speaks against excess drinking. Finally, I address common myths, such as the idea that Vikings drank from the skulls of their enemies, and explain where that misconception comes from.
Facebook:
facebook.com/Skjaldenspage
Website:
skjalden.com
#vikings #vikingage #beer #norsehistory #skjalden #vikingchildren
To clarify:
• Every Amazon link above is an affiliate link. This means that as well as showing you the product, it tells them that we sent you there.
• If you click on one of our affiliate links, and then chose to buy anything from Amazon within 24hrs or so, they give me a small percentage of what you paid them as a commission.
• It doesn't cost you any more to buy through one of the Amazon affiliate links.
• Amazon lets me see a list of every object that has been bought after clicking on a link. It doesn't say who bought it. It doesn't say when it was bought, it is completely anonymously.
Other sources:
goo.gl/pL7nWz
goo.gl/1dFbk5
goo.gl/GomBvK
goo.gl/CgvqcN
goo.gl/r7sDBK
goo.gl/1HY3BZ
goo.gl/MMRASa
goo.gl/9JMgKY
goo.gl/iyH4v6
