History Channel’s Vikings ‘Kill It’ Again

I am more excited than ever about the show “Vikings” by History Channel after watching episode three of the second season. Not only have they made the series engaging and interesting to a wide audience, but they are also subtly including important themes relating to the Viking Age that are relevant and important to understand. These themes include the Viking quest for knowledge (as it relates to their mythology), the ruthlessness of the time period, and the discovery of fertile lands in the kingdoms the Vikings attacked. Each of these themes helped to define an age, the Viking Age, which ultimately set the precedent for the progression of European society into the Middle Ages.

If there is one thing we should all understand about the Vikings, it is that they were not as barbaric as we tend to think of them compared to other Europeans. We need to remember that what we know about them comes from Christian authors who were both shocked and appalled at the Vikings‘ blatant disregard for their faith. Yet, the Chritians acted the same way towards other faiths. A few years before the raid on Lindisfarne in 793, Charlemagne had finished conquering the Saxon lands in Germany and had forcibly baptized and murdered (in that order) 3000 prisoners from his conquest. The Franks were conquering in the name of God, and they quickly reached the borders of Jutland, modern day Denmark. Some scholars suppose that the aggressive expansion of Christendom may have helped to initiate the Viking Age. Evidence for this exists in the account at Lindisfarne where the raiders dragged the monks to the ocean and drowned them; perhaps a response to the forced baptism of the Saxons. “Vikings” does a good job at showing that this was an age of violence and that the Scandinavian raiders were not the worse of the mix. In the third episode of the show, King Ecbert is portrayed as a confident man who accepts death as part of his power and responsibility. This shows us, the viewers, that the show acknowledges the historical theme of violence, and that everyone in this time period participated.

Ecbert also evoked the time he had spent with Charlemagne, and his experience with the Northmen already attacking the Frankish Empire. This is a great historical detail that requires some explanation. The Danes had begun raiding the coast of a territory known as Frisia, or modern day Netherlands, as early as the mid-8th century. It is no stretch of the imagination to think that the story told by Ecbert in the series is true, although there is no evidence I know of to place the king of Wessex in Frisia at that time. But the story lends to the idea that these were violent times. According to the dialogue, Ecbert witnessed a raid which ended as quickly as it had begun and Charlemagne’s troops did not react quick enough to catch the Northmen. This detail is mentioned in the works of Adam of Bremen who wrote of the first raids and how the Franks experienced them. Even more intriguing in the dialogue is the evocation of the power of Charlemagne’s troops who, according to Ecbert, were an impressive show of force. This again is a subtle detail which helps viewers understand that everyone was in a warring state in the 8th and 9th centuries.

The next theme that the show included in the third installment of this season was the discovery of fertile lands. I could already see Ragnar’s wheels turning in his head, and the ambition in his eyes. Arable land was indeed scarce in Scandinavia, and many scholars theorize that the Vikings left home because of scarcity. England, of course, is an obvious target, and Viking ambitions quickly grew to total conquest in the British Isles. But that is not the only place they wanted to conquer. At the time, Britain was divided into five kingdoms locked in regional warfare. While the farming in England is better than in Norway (for example), it was not as fertile as lands further south. The Vikings made tremendous efforts to conquer parts of the Frankish Empire, specifically the regions of Normandy and Brittany, both in modern day France. These were not easy targets. Normandy eventually came under Viking control; the name Normandy is from the Danish word for North Man (Nor Mann). Brittany, however, repelled the Vikings. The last target — once Viking kingdoms had been established in Britain and Normandy — was Ireland. Dublin, Wexford, Limerick, and Waterford were all founded by Viking settlers. Thus, the theme presented in the show “Vikings” about finding and then desiring land is both realistic and historically accurate.

The third theme the show has focused on has more to do with the mythology of the Norse rather than physical events. It embodies the Viking’s convictions, their motives, and their culture. To understand the theme, it is first important to understand the myth that supports it. Odin, the leader of the Norse pantheon, was an intrinsically curious figure. He studied nature, questioned other gods, and loved to learn. So strong was his desire to learn that he was willing to sacrifice a great deal to acquire knowledge. One day (as the myth goes), Odin learned there was a way to see into the future and know the events of Ragnarok. He immediately traveled out of Asgard to Mimir’s well. Mimir had once been the wisest of the Aesir, the gods, but had been traded to the Vanir as part of a peace deal to end a bloody war. All who drank from Mimir’s well would receive his knowledge. Odin approached the well and asked to drink. But Mimir required a sacrifice: Odin’s eye. Without hesitation, Odin took his own eye and cast it into the well. He drank from the waters and learned of the end of the world.

Odin’s willingness to sacrifice for knowledge shows us that the Vikings had a deep cultural tradition of exploration and learning. Archeological evidence of this can be found in Scandinavia today where technologies from other parts of the world were suddenly used in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish farms during the Viking Age; when Scandinavian raiders were traveling the known world. The mystery of the Ulfbert and how they were able to make crucible steel is included in this idea. The willingness to learn is perhaps the most powerful and important concept to understand when learning about the Vikings, and Ragnar Lodbrok of the “Vikings” series embodies the idea beautifully. He is analytical, questioning, and constantly searching for new ideas. He listens to the priest and asks questions about Christianity without fear. While the Christian characters appear to be less interested in learning about their foe, the Vikings in the show continue to study their victims and improve their methods for exploiting them. For this detail in the show alone, I cannot praise the writers enough.

In all, the show does not disappoint. From the spectator point of view, the show is exciting and fun. From the historian’s point of view, the show is interesting, detail oriented, and is promoting the learning of history. If you have not yet seen the show, it is a must-watch. The producers of the show are entertaining the public and teaching them history; they have revived the History Channel.

If you are interested in C.J. Adrien’s work, you can buy his book here.