Review: Vikings

Vikings first aired in 2013, but I didn't watch the first series until 2014. I had just started volunteering at a Viking museum, and I kept being asked if I had seen the show. So, I watched it. Actually, that's not quite accurate. I devoured it. Then I introduced my mum to it, and she was just as obsessed with it as I was. Now that the series has ended, and there are 89 episodes, this review will look at the series as a whole rather than picking at the details. Maybe I could do that in the future.

The series follows the fabled exploits of Ragnar Lothbrok (Fun fact: the real Ragnar's nickname was 'hairy-breeks', which means hairy trousers) and his sons. Ragnar's sons are historical figures, but Ragnar himself is a little trickier to pin down. One theory is that the Ragnar of legend is an amalgamation of multiple men. What we do know for certain is that no Ragnar was involved in the first raid on Lindisfarne on June 8th, 793 CE.

Vikings is full of things that make me want to rip out my hair and throw a large glass bottle at a wall. One of those things is the costuming. The Vikings loved colourful clothing, and thanks to the Coppergate Dig in York, I am very happy to inform you that colours such as yellow, green, pink, and orange were very common. Deeper reds and blues were less common but would have been around, especially amongst the higher-ranking people in society. Purple was still restricted to the very wealthy, but yes, they had purple too. One of my pet peeves in the show is a market scene; I forget which episode it is in, where a lady is wearing purple. This bugs me so much because, honestly, some parts of the show are well-researched, but the researchers were too lazy to check whether a common person would have worn purple. The clothing style is completely inaccurate, too. Part of me wants to think they did this because the viewing public wouldn't accept historically accurate clothing because it's not what most people are familiar with, but I think that is just me hoping for the best.

There are other issues with the historical accuracy, not as many as some would like you to believe, but it's still too many for a show that was trying to be an accurate depiction of Viking life... and that aired ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL. I have, on several occasions, sat down and picked apart each episode one by one, pointing out what was wrong and what was right (and if you'd be interested in me posting something like that, do let me know), but that doesn't mean I think the show is bad. As you probably guessed from the introduction, I love it.

Some of the dialogue is clunky, some of the details are a bit weird, like where did the idea of licking the hand of the Oracle come from? If that is rooted in cultural traditions, can someone please let me know? But... I love the drama; it has some of my favourite female characters in all media, Lagertha and Judith to name two. The religious crisis Athelstan goes through is likely one that many people living in England experienced. Ragnar's insistence that he is just a farmer... and the music? Wardruna are wonderful, and I wish their music was used more throughout the series. I was once lucky enough to see a talk given by Einar Selvik, but that's a story for another day.

I love the fact they show just how many cultures the Vikings interacted with. There are mentions of silk, which would not have been worn by farmers like Ragnar and Lagertha, but we do know some wealthy Vikings had access to silk, again thanks to the Coppergate Dig in York. Yes, shieldmaidens were a thing, and no, I will not tolerate anyone saying otherwise. There is archaeological evidence. In the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, Aslaug has prophecies, one of which concerns the birth of Ivar. There are so many of these details I could add that make coping with the terrible costumes and messed-up timeline easy. I can even forgive them performing the Blood Eagle on Jarl Borg even though I hoped they'd save it just for King Aella, because I despise Jarl Borg. Historically, Aella died in battle; the Blood Eagle legend is just that, a legend, but one thst I'm glad to see shown in the show. Sometimes legends are more important to a culture than historical fact.

If you watch the show and want to get more into Viking history and Norse Mythology, I recommend reading the Prose and Poetic Eddas. While these were written by a Christian a long time after it was made illegal in certain parts of Europe for Pagans to speak about their beliefs publicly, they are the best sources we have on the mythology. I'd also suggest reading the Sagas. The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, the Voluspa Saga, and the Laxdaela Saga. For history, there are so many books and resources out there, but a great place to start, especially if you're in England, is the Jorvik Viking Centre (and their website if you can't visit the museum), and I'm not just saying that because I worked there for 10 years. Richard Hall, the archaeologist, wrote a fantastic book about the Coppergate Dig as well as other books about the Vikings in York.

I will admit that a small part of why I love the show so much is that watching it now reminds me of watching it with my mum, and because of that, I probably look at it through rose-tinted glasses.