Genius Of The Vikings (five)

The Vikings' reputation always used to hinge on their ability to rape, loot and pillage. Now they've been reinvented by the historical spin-doctors and, although they still aren't the sort of chaps you'd take home to meet mother, they're given credit for being more robbers than butchers.

You might have thought the BBC2 series about the Vikings would have said all there is to say. But no, the TV boys with their historical toys are at it again in this two-part documentary.

It began along the usual lines of the Vikings being the most feared men in Europe, although I can think of one or two Eurovision Song Contest participants who were pretty frightening too.

They've been famous for 1,200 years for their bloodlust, barbarism and prowess in war. Perhaps they were pussycats, which was an excuse to recreate their hardware and know-how in "a series of unique experiments" using "ground-breaking technology", the boast of so many history TV productions these days.

Spare a thought for the monks on the island of Lindisfarne, who were going about their devotions on Saturday, June 8, 793AD, when armed raiders landed on the north coast and indulged in an orgy of violence. The monastery was ransacked and the monks killed. Raids on Scotland, Ireland and France came next.

The Vikings' motives were both economic and political. They stole gold and treasures from churches, while warning Christians to back off. Within 50 years, they'd conquered most of England, and then set out to take the rest of the world.

Historical experts tried to make sense of the Vikings' behaviour, although the main interest seemed to be the long ships. The design of these vessels enabled the raiders to hit and run at great speed. Not only did the vessels look good, but were aerodynamically sound. A case of minimising drag, which has nothing to do with Danny La Rue and everything to do with overlapping planking and control of the wind (a necessity when 32 rowers are couped up in close quarters).

Sails were made out of wool, which wasn't as silly as it seems. They didn't become waterlogged because those clever old Vikings only used the wool of a particular breed of primitive sheep that was naturally water repellent and had great elasticity.

Not all the programme's experiments went to plan. A modern yacht raced a Viking long boat - and won. "But the ship has more than held its own," said the narrator by way of an excuse.

The Vikings' weapons were shown, through X-rays, to be no better than anyone else's. What gave them the advantage was that they were better fighters. Their shields were shown to be vulnerable to axe attack, which is probably why they painted them bright colours to hide the vulnerable grain in the wood. Their chain mail, too, was subjected to testing.

Perhaps the silliest experiment involved a Viking re-enactor taking a dose of the magic mushrooms said to have been consumed by warriors. The effect of the narcotic did nothing to improve his fighting skills. He couldn't even hit the target with his spear.