The Vikings were farmers and food gatherers, fierce and violent in battle, with family and clan loyalties that lasted beyond life. This program covers the Viking sea prowess and explorations: Viking influences in England and Scotland, trade with the Far East 300 years before Marco Polo and the discovery of America 500 years before Columbus, the Viking presence as far as the Black Sea, and encounters between Slavs and Vikings. The program also covers the Normans—Vikings who had conquered northern France and adopted both Christianity and the French language—and their establishment of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily; the Norman conquest of England in 1066; and the Magna Carta and its effects. The program concludes with the final barbarian invasions of Europe by the Magyars. (37 minutes)