And so, Vikings has finished.
After three months of fairly intense watching I have now finished all four seasons of 'Vikings'. It has been highly entertaining watching the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok and his family.
Ragnar Lothbrok is an interesting character. He is ingrained in the very fabric of Nordic, but also English folklore. In the late 8th century raiders from Scandinavia began popping along the English coastline and they were pretty grim folk. One of these ancient kingdoms affected was Northumbria. In the 9th century it had a King called Aelle. In legend this king finally kills the Viking Ragnar by dropping him into a pit of snakes.
This event kicked off in legend and reality a huge chain of events that still reverberate to this day. Ragnar Lothbrok's last words were. "How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers"
He had sons. He had quite a few sons. And one things Vikings liked was avenging. The death of Ragnar brought over from Scandinavia what we now call, the Great Heathen Army. An army brought together by his sons to exact a gruesome revenge of King Aelle.
According, again, to Norse legend King Aelle was blood-eagled. A particularly brutal way to depart this earth.
The Great Heathen Army swept through Northumbria. They then decided to stay and carry on ravaging and destroying the many kingdoms that formed England. This was the invasion that created, ultimately what we would call the Danelaw. England was sliced into two. The differences in regional pronunciation's, town names still flows from this moment in English history; The death of King Ragnar Lothbrok brought all this about.
This is essentially the very basis of the series the beginnings of Ragnar; as a farmer, to an Earl and then, a King. Then a dead King.
Ragnar Lothbrok is an interesting character. He is ingrained in the very fabric of Nordic, but also English folklore. In the late 8th century raiders from Scandinavia began popping along the English coastline and they were pretty grim folk. One of these ancient kingdoms affected was Northumbria. In the 9th century it had a King called Aelle. In legend this king finally kills the Viking Ragnar by dropping him into a pit of snakes.
This event kicked off in legend and reality a huge chain of events that still reverberate to this day. Ragnar Lothbrok's last words were. "How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers"
He had sons. He had quite a few sons. And one things Vikings liked was avenging. The death of Ragnar brought over from Scandinavia what we now call, the Great Heathen Army. An army brought together by his sons to exact a gruesome revenge of King Aelle.
According, again, to Norse legend King Aelle was blood-eagled. A particularly brutal way to depart this earth.
The Great Heathen Army swept through Northumbria. They then decided to stay and carry on ravaging and destroying the many kingdoms that formed England. This was the invasion that created, ultimately what we would call the Danelaw. England was sliced into two. The differences in regional pronunciation's, town names still flows from this moment in English history; The death of King Ragnar Lothbrok brought all this about.
This is essentially the very basis of the series the beginnings of Ragnar; as a farmer, to an Earl and then, a King. Then a dead King.
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