History Headscratchers / Vikings

** He probably thought of it as a sacrifice or payment for helping Ivar. It's possible that in addition to easing Ivar's pain, he also gave him wisdom.

* Just what was Harbard's motive for seducing Aslaug and letting Siggy drown? Shits and giggles?

** The Scandinavians had a system of gift-giving that was a part of both their political system and their economy where the king/earl/any other chieftain with more than ten ships and the men to man them would receive oaths and silver from warriors under him and he would in return offer them material wealth (usually in the form of wargear, silver or armrings, which were actually a form of currency and status symbol to Scandinavians) and pledge that he would lead them to glory and death in war. The gifts plundered from Christian churches in mainland Europe were for the most part absorbed into this system of gift-giving and in and of themselves might have been used as currency. Medieval Scandinavia, despite being a pretty savage place to live, actually had various centers of industry and manufacture, so there was always stuff for the money to chase.

** The jewelery goes not their wifes, daughters and themself or is sold to merchants. The crosses are probably melted down and sold to merchants to. They probably buy salt, lifestock and other products for the money.

** In episode 5, Floki invites another Viking to bed with him and him and Helga. Apparently, two guys doubleteaming a girl wasn't that unusual for Vikings, at least in the context of this show.

** In episode 5, Floki invites another Viking to bed with him and his slave. Apparently, two guys doubleteaming a girl wasn't that unusual for Vikings, at least in the context of this show.

** Also note that in the above two instances, it's two Vikings with a slave. It may very well be that the slave 'doesn't count', even though they are participating, making it less weird for them.

*** See below for an answer to the "Gotland/Gotaland/Götaland" debacle.

** Wherever ''this'' Ragnar Lodbrok is intended to hail from it is not Norway. There is ''NO'' saga wich describes Ragnar as a Norwegian. He was either Danish, Swedish or Danish-Swedish, but not Norwegian. The enviroment is pure ArtisticLicense and should not be taken a evidence for where he hails from.

*** ^"Götaland" not "Gotaland". And the sea wich separates Sweden and Denmark is called "Öresund".

**** Gotland is not a providence of Gotaland. They are different regions and peoples. Gotland came under Swedish influence but remained somewhat independent during the viking age.

** Ragnar is a Yngling, so that basically implies he's from Sweden. His father, Sigurdr Hringr, was Swedish. He began the House of Munso, which is a cadet branch of the Ynglinga and a line of Swedish royalty.

*** Only it's Götaland/Gotaland and not Gotland. Gotaland is on the mainland and inhabited by geats. Gotland is inhabited by gutes (goths?). Two different places.

* So what do the Vikings actually do with all the stuff they steal? Obviously they can use the swords and things themselves, but what use do the Vikings have for a big golden cross? Do they sell it to someone? If so to who?

* So what do the Vikings actually do with all the stuff they steal? Obviously they can use the swords and things themselves, but what use do the Vikings have for a big golden cross? Do they sell it to someone? If so who?

** It's a literal dramatization of a passage in the account of Ahmad ibn Fahdlan, a real Arab traveler who encountered Vikings (and who Antonio Banderas plays in ''The 13th Warrior''). He was making a point about their lower hygiene standards. But some writers think the bowl would have been refilled regularly, and he was really objecting to the Vikings not using running water - a common bowl would have been "unclean" to him anyway.

* It's a literal dramatization of a passage in the account of Ahmad ibn Fahdlan, a real Arab traveler who encountered Vikings (and who Antonio Banderas plays in ''The 13th Warrior''). He was making a point about their lower hygiene standards. But some writers think the bowl would have been refilled regularly, and he was really objecting to the Vikings not using running water - a common bowl would have been "unclean" to him anyway.

* What was up with that scene in episode 2 where the raiders blow their boogers into a bowl of water and then wash their faces with it? There was a scene like that in The 13th Warrior too, and it was just as baffling there.

** The show keeps dropping hints that Rollo is going to end up becoming a 'great man', so there's already one detail that points towards him being Hrólfr. Hrólfr was also descended from the Ynglinga clan according to Hversu Noregr byggðist, from whom Ragnar Lothbrok and the House of Munso were also descended, so that actually makes the historical Hrólfr distantly related to Ragnar. Furthermore, there's a lot of scenes in the show that are inspired from apocrypha relating to the historical person: upon his deathbed, one story goes that Hrólfr had a crisis of faith and had a hundred Christians beheaded in front of him in honour of the Norse gods. Now recall how Rollo proves his faith after Floki accuses him of forsaking the gods. If you're upset regarding the chronology, keep in mind that Ragnar wasn't supposed to be at the raid of Lindisfarne either, or that Ecbert has just come into the throne by 800 AD, and was not the well-established and feared king he is portrayed as until some decades later.

*** They asked him about it while he was in their custody? Or maybe they think they'll take it from him after he's dead? He's not going anywhere, after all. Could be they won't loot Athelstan because that would be un-Christian.

*** Since when was it that this only applied to areas 'influenced by Christianity?' Christianity didn't make headway into Scandinavia until the late 11th century and didn't fully replace Pagan beliefs until the 15th. These descriptions of Northern marital laws are given in Gragas, which predates the coming of Christianity into Scandinavian societies. Unless you think that they're somehow not valid given that all written records of Gragas, and indeed, all forms of Scandinavian law in general were written down after the Viking Age ended.

*** Since when was it that this only applied to areas 'influenced by Christianity?' Christianity didn't make headway into Scandinavia until the late 11th century and didn't fully replace Pagan beliefs until the 15th. These descriptions of Northern marital laws are dated way before that according to Icelandic sources, which, admittedly, may only reflect how Icelanders did things in the Viking Age.

* Has there ever been any clear indication that Rollo is even meant to be the historical Hrólfr of Normandy? The only reference I found (linked on TheOtherWiki) was a short remark in an interview with Clive Standen, which did not strike me as very authoritative in that regard. Yet the assumption that Rollo is supposed to be a loose interpretation of Hrólfr is nigh ubiquitous, on this wiki and everywhere else, even though he is not connected to the legend of Ragnar in any way, their dates don't match up, and so far the only in-universe connection between Rollo and his supposed historical counterpart is his baptism, which Rollo regarded as a joke.

** Knowing Ragnar will one day become King of both Denmark and Sweden and his ever-growing ambitions, perhaps Ragnar will come to Gotaland to claim Borg's jarldom in Season 3.

*** Most historians agree that our knowledge on bisexuality and homosexuality (of any form) in pre-Christian Viking culture is fuzzy at best. The show takes place in a time period when Christianity and its values hadn't yet influenced most of pagan Scandinavia, and since Vikings couldn't read, write, or physically record their history and beliefs in their own words, almost all information from that era was written by biased Christians. So, it's possible that like free Viking women of the same time period, same-sex partners weren't frowned upon nearly as much as in later years when Christianity became the dominant religion.

** In episode five, Floki invites another Viking to bed with him and his slave. Apparently two guys doubleteaming a girl wasn't that unusual for Vikings, at least in the context of this show.
** Also note that in the above two instances it's two Vikings with a slave. It may very well be that the slave 'doesn't count' even though they are participating, making it less weird for them.

*** In the Northlanders graphic novels (which mine the same source material used in this series), there is some exposition about shield walls - that saying "hold the wall" is basically meaningless, because the side that doesn't is dead. In fights between two groups that both use effective shield walls, it comes down to which side "has the stronger backs and wants it more". The shield wall holds off the attackers while both sides try to break the line by poking their blades over, beneath, and between the shields... it's the guy who gets his thigh slashed open who first drops his shield, and then the enemy comes pouring through. (A veteran wall will seal the breach while someone behind the wall despatches any trespassers, as Floki does in the show.)

* Why ''Earl'' Haraldsson and not ''Jarl'' Haraldsson?

** Possibly to avoid confusion with the parts of the English-speaking world who ''haven't'' played Skyrim. But yes, it bothers me too.

*** Haraldson and the others come from Kattegat which is in Sweden, isn't it?
*** Kattegatt (a Dutch name) is the sea that separates Sweden and Denmark. Yet the Geography of the place is almost unmistakably Norwegian.

** Historically, Horik was responsible for the destruction of St Mary's Cathedral in Hamburg, so he's generally remembered by some for his great offenses against Christianity. This is emphasized by his dialogue with Bishop Swithin; "You preach against our gods." Thus, we can infer his piety in his own faith approaches that of Floki's or even Ragnar's. Given that Christianity, by its monotheistic nature, blasphemes against the Norse gods to the highest possible degree, it's natural Horik would be disdainful of such disrespect. After all, the Norsemen themselves were perfectly fine with acknowledging the existence of the gods of other cultures, including the Christian god. The fact that this isn't reciprocated by the Christians is likely quite galling to him.

** While I'm no longer questioning Sigvard's characterization as a villain in light of the rape scene, I am going to state that 'not attending a social function' when you're a woman and wife to a Jarl, is a completely valid reason for getting punished. For one thing, it makes the chieftain look weak seeing as he cannot control his woman, which in turn makes him vulnerable in a society that was basically built upon raiding each other for cattle and women. Yes, treatment of women in Scandinavia was very progressive... in comparison to mainland Europe, which, in truth, isn't really worth much. Same way that medieval Scandinavians being abnormally cleaner as compared to mainland Europe, again only implies the bare minimum of cleanliness, not only by today's standards, but also by the standards of other contemporary cultures, such as the Islamic world. Remember Ibn Fadlan's account of the Russ? (And also take into account that Muslim sources regarding the Vikings are far more reliable and less prone to embellishment than the Christan ones, as the Muslims had very little reason to be hostile towards the Vikings, or pagans in general, as around the time of Ibn Fadlan's account, they were slowly attempting to convert the Turks, who had thus far been pagan, to Islam. Fadlan was sent north into the Volga to help the newly converted Bulgars there build a mosque. And bear in mind that this is a firmly patriarchal warrior culture we're seeing, so Sigvard even apologizing after hitting her is still a great deal by the standards of the era this show is set. The rape scene is still an indication of villainy, despite the treatment of the nuns at the raiding camp, only due to the fact that Sigvard is essentially breaking his culture's own laws by raping a free woman.

** possibly to avoid confusion with the parts of the English-speaking world who ''haven't'' played Skyrim. But yes, it bothers me too.
** Alternatively, to avoid anymore gratuitous norse than necessary. Jarl is the root word for Earl, at any rate, so just some more translation convention.

** By this time, Athelstan seemed to be pretending to have lost his faith and converted to paganism. He kept his bible hidden, he easily identified the statues of the norse gods and spoke of them with reverence, he had grown his hair out, and he outright denied still being a Christian when the question was raised. Distracted as he was with everything else, Ragnar might have missed the signs that showed Athelstan was faking it. There's still the "willing" aspect, but even going back to ''Burial of the Dead'', we have Ragnar showing Athelstan willing slaves offering themselves for sacrifice; it's possible he's been grooming Athelstan for this since then.

** While I'm no longer questioning Sigvard's characterization as a villain in light of the rape scene, I am going to state that 'not attending a social function' when you're a woman and wife to a Jarl, is a completely valid reason for getting punished. For one thing, it makes the chieftain look weak seeing as he cannot control his woman, which in turn makes him vulnerable in a society that was basically built upon raiding each other for cattle and women. Yes, treatment of women in Scandinavia was very progressive... in comparison to mainland Europe, which, in truth, isn't really worth much. Same way that medieval Scandinavians being abnormally cleaner as compared to mainland Europe, again only implies the bare minimum of cleanliness, not only by today's standards, but also by the standards of other contemporary cultures, such as the Islamic world. Remember Ibn Fadlan's account of the Russ? (And also take into account that Muslim sources regarding the Vikings are far more reliable and less prone to embellishment as the Christan ones, as the Muslims had very little reason to be hostile towards the Vikings, or pagans in general, as around the time of Ibn Fadlan's account, they were slowly attempting to convert the Turks, who had thus far been pagan, to Islam. Fadlan was sent north into the Volga to help the newly converted Bulgars there build a mosque) Bear in mind that this is a firmly patriarchal warrior culture we're seeing, so Sigvard even apologizing after hitting her is still a great deal by the standards of the era this show is set. The rape scene is still an indication of villainy, despite the treatment of the nuns at the raiding camp, only due to the fact that Sigvard is essentially breaking his culture's own laws by raping a free woman.

* The crucifixion of Athelstane:

*** According to the extra-material for the show the scene is based on a historical account of a monk who came back with Viking raiders and was crucified, so it's apparently not that far-fetched as it seems to be. Though naturally they overwrought the scene with symbolism, by basically recreating the common image while Athelstan is still wearing the arm ring.
*** They asked him about it while he was in their custody? Or maybe they think they'll take it from him after he's dead? He's not going anywhere, after all. Could be they wont loot Athelstan because that would be un-Christian.
*** On a sidenote, it is highly unlikely Athelstan would have survived crucifixion. Having both of your wrists pierced all the way through by two ten inch nails would make him bleed out too quickly (there's a reason many theologists today believe Christ's arm was actually pierced ''sideways''), and even if he managed to survive the blood loss, he'd probably die of inffection. He'd also probably have one or both of his hands amputated if he managed to survive.
**** Which is why Athelstan was pierced through the hands, and not the wrist, with his arms bond to the cross in order to hold him up. If his hands (and feet) survive the ordeal - we'll see.