I’m a fan of the History Channel’s TV series, Vikings. Since season four begins tomorrow, February 18th, so it’s a worthy topic for a blog.
(Official Series Overview) The series is inspired by the tales of the raiding, trading, and exploring Norsemen of early medieval Scandinavia. It follows the exploits of the legendary Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok and his crew and family, as notably laid down in the 13th-century sagas Ragnars saga Loðbrókar and Ragnarssona þáttr, as well as in Saxo Grammaticus‘ 12th-century work Gesta Danorum. Norse legendary sagas were partially fictional tales based in Norse oral tradition, written down about 200 to 400 years after the events they describe. Further inspiration is taken from historical sources of the period, such as records of the Viking raid on Lindisfarne depicted in the second episode, or Ahmad ibn Fadlan‘s 10th-century account of the Volga Vikings. The series is set at the beginning of the Viking Age, marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793.
I think I should get into this series.
I've been meaning to for ages. Another on the "must watch" bucket list.
I feel kind of guilty not having watched a single episode of "Vikings" despite quarts of Norwegian Viking blood pumping through my veins as I write this.
I think it's more a time management thing on my part, but sitting down and watching a television series seems like I am accomplishing nothing.
You need to watch it from the beginning. It's one of those family sagas that is based on a solid historical context. The Vikings behave like Vikings, not like some new-age hippie cult.
It's the history of England.
I am POSITIVE that you'd enjoy this series.
I think of it more like reading a good book. You can read a chapter, put it down, read another chapter when you've a mind to. Most television has that revisionist history scent about it, but this one is different (maybe because it's a history channel production?) and I think that they do a good job.
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