An old English prayer goes something along these lines …
… “From the Fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord” …
… but having just watched the first two episodes of the ‘History Channel’ series ‘Vikings‘, I have to say that, with so little to watch on TV these days, I thank Odin for giving us this saga about a bunch of scruffy Scandinavian seafarers and smelly shieldmaidens.
It all looks authentic, with not a horned helmet in sight, just dodgy haircuts and lots of dirty bits. Yes, the characters certainly seem to live up to the description by an Arab emissary who met a group of Vikings, and described them as .. “The filthiest of Allah’s creatures: they do not wash after shitting or peeing, nor after sexual intercourse, and do not wash after eating.”
I do enjoy a good ‘historical’ drama, and, as not much is known about this period of history, there is not too much that can be criticised in this production, which is based on history and myth; and even in the ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ it reports that .. “the harrying of the heathen miserably destroyed God’s church in Lindisfarne by rapine and slaughter” .. so all that bloody slashing and hacking at those poor old monks was probably a realistic depiction of a raid by Ragnar and his filthy followers. No wonder the petrified priests and people of the time intoned that old prayer.
Oh! .. and before I forget. This show comes with a big bonus. For unlike so many TV dramas these days, you can hear every word the actors say and see all the action, even when it takes place …
… ‘in the dark’ !
bigjohn 
