Valhalla Fact Check: Did Vikings Really Invent Surfboards?
The new Vikings spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, depicts the characters using paddleboards to help them during battle, but it's reasonable to question the historical accuracy of Vikings inventing surfboards. The documentation of the Viking era comes from many sources, including enemies of the Vikings, meaning writers of the show must come to their own interpretation of what life was like. Although Vikings were responsible for many different inventions still used today, the idea that surfboards are one of them is debatable.
Set around 100 years after the end of Vikings, the follow-up series Vikings: Valhalla focuses on famous Norse warriors such as Leif Eriksson, Harald Sigurdsson, Freydis Eriksdotter, and King Canute. Covering new Viking explorations and historical events, the series also depicts a battle in which the Vikings lead an attack on London Bridge. During the offensive, dreamed up by Leif, the Vikings utilized paddleboards to carry out their plan. This raises questions regarding whether Viking warriors might have been the first people to invent and use surfboards.
Related: Valhalla: Every Vikings Character Reference & Family Connection Explained
Although Vikings: Vahalla depicts Leif creating surfboards for the Viking scouts to paddle silently through the English marshes, there is no evidence that this reflects history. The earliest record of surfboards dates back to 12th century Polynesia, where cave paintings detail surfing in action. Based on this and other historical evidence, it is widely held that Polynesia was the birthplace of surfboards. There are also reports of similar methods of travel, such as stand-up paddleboarding, being used as far back as 1000 B.C. So the Vikings using surfboards in the Vikings:
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