Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

How To Swear Like A Viking

October 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

How To Swear Like A Viking

In medieval Iceland, if someone called you argr or ragr, you could legally kill them. The law code Grágás (Grey Goose) lists these words as what modern scholars call "killing insults" — utter them, and the target was entitled to take your life without legal consequence. The insult wasn't about your mother, your hygiene, or your intelligence. It was about your sexuality: specifically, the accusation that you had been the passive partner in male same-sex intercourse. For the Vikings, that was the worst thing you could possibly say.

The Language Behind the Insults

The Vikings spoke Old Norse, a North Germanic language that is the ancestor of modern Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Faroese. Modern Icelanders can still read the Old Norse sagas written down in the 13th century — the language is remarkably well preserved. As historian Eleanor Barraclough explains, "Icelanders, famously modern Icelanders can read the Old Norse texts, say for example sagas that are written down in the 13th century. It's closer than modern English and Chaucer."

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:04) **Introduction & Setting the Scene** - Kate Lister welcomes listeners and sets the scene for a journey into Old Norse insults.
  • 2 (04:09) **Guest Introduction: Eleanor Barraclough** - Historian and author Eleanor Barraclough joins to explain how to swear like a Viking.
  • 3 (06:40) **Old Norse: Language & Preservation** - Eleanor explains how we know what Old Norse sounded like and why it matters for understanding insults.
  • 4 (09:58) **Norse Influence on English** - The lasting impact of Old Norse on modern English vocabulary and grammar is explored.
  • 5 (15:48) **Sources for Viking Insults** - How written evidence helps us reconstruct offensive language from the Viking Age.
  • 6 (18:15) **The Killing Insults: *Argr* & *Ragr*** - The most offensive words a Viking could use, and why they were punishable by death.
  • 7 (23:40) **The Logic of Sexual Insults** - Why gender and penetration dynamics underpin Viking swearing.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

*TRIGGER WARNING: CONTAINS OLD NORSE SWEAR WORDS*


How would you insult a Viking? What strange nicknames did they give each other? And what did a Viking rap battle sound like?!


Brush up on your Old Norse and impress your friends with the most obscene Viking swear words. To help you out and talk Kate through the reasons behind their offensive language is historian and author Dr Eleanor Barraclough.


This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.


Check out the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can take part in our listener survey here.


All music from Epidemic Sounds.


Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.


History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

More from this podcast

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society →