Lost Worlds: The Vikings (2007) History Channel

The Vikings

Did the Viking explorers Erik the Red and Leif the Lucky make it all the way across the Atlantic to America 500 years before Columbus? Josh Bernstein sails a Viking ship from Denmark to discover what made the Vikings such masterful mariners. With the ancient Viking sagas as a guide, he embarks on a 4,000-mile journey from Scandinavia to Newfoundland, via Iceland and the wilds of southern Greenland. Along the way, he tracks down the archaeological evidence behind the Viking legends and proves, once and for all, that they really did beat Columbus to become the first Europeans in the New World!

This documentary takes a look at the storied history of the Vikings. Often pictured as god-like brutes wearing horned helmets, the real-life Vikings were a brutal invading force that plowed its way from Scandinavia through much of Western Europe. The program uses expert commentary and computer recreation to tell the true story behind the myth.

Pillage, rape, and plunder--these are the acts we most readily associate with the Vikings. But now, new evidence suggests that some lesser-known endeavors, including building, navigating, and colonizing, may have been what really helped them to thrive. At the end of the eighth century AD, the Vikings--fearsome warriors from Denmark and Norway--powered their way through Western Europe, ransacking whatever and whoever stood in their way. They first targeted coastal monasteries, but later constructed magnificent ships that could sail up rivers and sack inland towns. In this eye-opening program, join the LOST WORLDS team as it reconstructs the Vikings’ presence in Britain and Northern France and discovers surprising evidence of their existence much further from the coast than previously thought. Featuring stunning computer reconstructions of life during the time of the Vikings, HISTORY presents a rare look into the real scope and influence of these formidable, yet highly skilled, warriors.