Vikings - History Channel Series

[Coito ergo sum]

Yes, but it's very clear that the renowned Ragnar Lothbrok did not participate [edited to correct] in the raid on Lindisfarne, and all the "lands to the west" were known long before the time in which the series is set.

That being said -- I watched last night's episode, and I am starting to dig this series. I am trying to get used to Ragnar's near constant Cheshire grin. I will have to look past the series' use of famous names for some of the fictional characters. I don't know why the priest is named Aethelstan or Ragnar's brother is named "Rollo" (rather than something sounding like Rolf -- Rollo is the Frankish or Latinized version of Rolf -- nobody in Viking Age Norway would have been called "Rollo.")

It's a weird thing about this series, though. It has us rooting for murderers and thieves. None of the characters are actually fun to root for. So far, they've basically just been out looking for defenseless people to rob and murder. We get to sympathize with them just because they are set against the Earl Haraldson who is portrayed as even worse because he's looking to swindle the robbers themselves. Humans seem to respect someone who robs fair and square than one who swindles.

And, of course, then there is the moral line-drawing. We can side with Ragnar's band of pirates because they are out robbing for loot, but they don't cotton to rape. Knut is raping the Saxon woman and it is portrayed as unacceptable to the vikings, as if they'd have had some sort of moral qualm about banging the odd Saxon maiden.

Nevertheless, I think the series is getting into a groove and if I just compartmentalize my overly-analytical tendency, it's pretty good.

[Animavore]

When they asked the monk to 'join them'... lol!

[Coito ergo sum]

When they asked the monk to 'join them'... lol!

Yeah - that was weird. Here, monk, wanna fuck my wife?

LOL -- might've been funny if the monk said yes, and then opened his robes to reveal that he's packing double what Ragnar has.

[Animavore]

This series is slowly getting better.

[Coito ergo sum]

Yeah - I saw part of last night's episode. Pretty good. I'll watch it On Demand during the week.

I thought it was weird, the scene where the guy comes in with his wife and he's complaining that the wife cheated on him with some stable boy and got pregnant. So, Lagertha gets pissed at him, and declares that the god Heimdal fucked his wife and gave them a child and he should be glad about it. LOL.

Lagertha is letting a viper into their midst, though, by bringing Siggy under her protection. That will come back to haunt them.

[Svartalf]

I couldn't get in... 8th century Danes who don't know about the British Isles and Western Europe? The clinker built langskip not yet invented? Nobles ruling as if by divine right and using the death penalty as a judicial punishment?

Sorry, there's only so much I'll take from a fiction, and I'll take less when it's from the "history" channel.

[klr]

Hold on ... the History Channel still does actual history?

Bloody hell, that would be a turn-up for the books.

[Coito ergo sum]

I couldn't get in... 8th century Danes who don't know about the British Isles and Western Europe? The clinker built langskip not yet invented? Nobles ruling as if by divine right and using the death penalty as a judicial punishment?

Sorry, there's only so much I'll take from a fiction, and I'll take less when it's from the "history" channel.

Yeah - the whole idea that they did not know about England is pretty dopey. There were Saxon migrations to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, as I recall, and the Romans knew of the British Isles, as did the Franks. It was common knowledge.

I don't think the show suggested that they hadn't invented the clinker built ship, though, or that Earl Haraldson ruled by divine right. I think there are tales in the Sagas though about Norse Kings claiming descent from Odin and whatnot. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

And, the death penalty was most likely used quite often.

[Svartalf]

Actually, that first ep does suggest that Floki's design is pretty revolutionary... and that Jarl rules like he had 200 armed men behind him as his personal thugs and can afford to mistreat the peasants in his district like a robber baron and with no fear of them rising up in arms and asking the neighboring earls to become their new lord... Basically, he acts like a king would, and even Norse kings who asserted their rule through military strength were more generous and less high handed with their followers, at least until the 1100s or 1200s.

As for the death penalty, in the Norse world, it was only an extra judicial thing. Basically, it was revenge taken by the family and friends of the aggrieved party, never an actual judicial penalty... courts, even royal courts, never ordered it, using banishment or outlawry as the maximum punishments available, even though a king or other powerful man would have little qualms about killing a personal foe, and then daring anybody to do anything about it... in the sagas, there are cases of people bragging about committing slayings and never paying wergild, but never a record of a court or other judge decreeing a death penalty (outlawry usually was little better, but there are sagas about men who survived 10 or 20 years as outlaws).

[Bella Fortuna]

[Coito ergo sum]

[Animavore]

A friend of mine got a part on Vikings.

[Animavore]

My mate's also the drummer in this band.

[Animavore]

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Why form a shield wall if you're just going to break it on the first step?