Vikings: What Does Their Hair Tell Us?

Gone Medieval

If you've watched a film or TV show about vikings recently, you may well have noticed a distinctive hairstyle featuring an undercut and a ponytail. But is this actually a realistic depiction? And, do we really know much about viking hair at all?

Luckily, we certainly know a lot about viking grooming, not least because Norsemen were said to be popular with Anglo-Saxon women thanks to their (relative) cleanliness! What we know about viking hair, hygiene and grooming can actually tell us a lot about the Viking age as a whole. Alas in this episode, Cat sits down with Dr Steve Ashby, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of York, to find out more about this hairy subject.

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