Ridiculous History

CLASSIC: When Vikings Loot The Wrong Town

7 snips
Oct 16, 2025
Join Jonathan Strickland, known as 'the Quizster' for his trivia flair, as he dives into the infamous blunder of Viking leaders Halfdan and Bjorn. Discover how their ambition to raid Rome led to an embarrassing mistake where they actually sacked Luna instead. The hosts explore Viking culture, the legacy of Ragnar's raids, and how Dudo of St. Quentin's accounts shape our understanding of these events. Plus, enjoy a fun quiz segment featuring a disastrous English expedition to Cadiz, highlighting the chaos of history!
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INSIGHT

Limitations Of Viking Naval Warfare

  • Viking raiding tactics favored boarding and quick plunder not pitched naval battles, so they avoided strong resistance.
  • Facing professional Moorish naval forces with incendiary weapons exposed Viking weaknesses at sea.
ANECDOTE

Raids Along Iberian Coast

  • After suffering naval defeats, Bjorn and Halfdan kept raiding the Iberian coast, capturing scouts full of loot and captives.
  • They were forced to pay ransoms and retreat after losing many ships to Moorish incendiaries, but remained undeterred in seeking bigger prizes.
INSIGHT

Raids Built Viking Reputation

  • Vikings valued legendary raids that built reputation across generations, so they aimed for ever-larger targets.
  • Ragnar's sack of Paris set a cultural benchmark that motivated sons like Bjorn to attempt a raid on Rome.
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