Lessons from the Vikings and the Roman Empire - Historian explains | Lars Brownworth and Lex Fridman
Historian Lars Brownworth discusses lessons from Viking and Byzantine civilizations with Lex Fridman, covering Viking grooming habits, the spirit of exploration, Byzantine governmental longevity, and how understanding human nature is key to interpreting history.
Summary
The conversation begins with surprising revelations about Viking hygiene and grooming practices, challenging common misconceptions about their appearance and cleanliness. Brownworth explains that Vikings bathed regularly, dyed their hair blonde with lye to kill lice, and were sometimes mocked in England for being 'too soft' due to their grooming habits, while also being attractive to English women. The discussion then shifts to broader lessons from Viking culture, particularly their fearless, pragmatic approach to exploration and the 'rags to riches' mythology they represent. Brownworth draws parallels between Vikings crossing unknown oceans and the American spirit of exploration and self-made success. The conversation transitions to the Byzantine Empire, which Brownworth sees as offering more practical governmental lessons due to its thousand-year duration. He notes both similarities and differences between Byzantium and modern America, including their polyglot populations and Greco-Roman Judeo-Christian roots, while also highlighting the dangers of absolute power as demonstrated by Byzantine emperors. The discussion concludes with reflections on human nature and historical continuity, with Brownworth arguing that ancient people were psychologically identical to modern humans, making their experiences and wisdom relevant today. He emphasizes that understanding human nature - as fundamentally flawed but capable of both good and evil - is essential for properly interpreting historical lessons.
Key Insights
- Vikings were mocked in England as being 'soft' because they took too many baths, challenging stereotypes about their hygiene
- The spirit of exploration represented by figures like Christopher Columbus and Vikings embodies crossing into the unknown without knowing what's on the other side
- Only a handful of states have lasted a thousand years, with Byzantium being a rare example of governmental longevity worth studying
- Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as demonstrated throughout Byzantine history where emperors like Justinian and Basil were effective but tyrannical
- Ancient people were psychologically identical to modern humans, which is why we can understand them and why historical texts like Marcus Aurelius's Meditations remain relevant
Topics
Transcript
[0:02] What lessons from This is a big ridiculous question. What lessons from all the things we've talked about the exploration of the Vikings? What lessons do you learn from Vikings? >> Lessons? Lessons to learn from the Viking age. By the way, I should mention one thing that's a very practical lesson uh that we didn't talk about that you taught me is the the Vikings were like groomed themselves. Oh, yeah. Yeah. [0:33] >> like clean. This is all very surprising to me. They like washed themselves and then both the men and the women >> Yeah. really took care of themselves. >> Yeah. >> You don't often think about that. There was this whole like the Vikings…
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