The Vikings – a new, 9 part series on the History Channel

On Sunday night, I watched episode one of The Vikings, a new dramatic series on the History Channel that begins with the ambitions of an 8th century Scandinavian warrior and farmer, Ragnar Lothbrok, who has heard rumors of wealthy places to the west called England and Ireland.

I was especially interested in the series after visiting Iceland last fall and delving into Icelandic sagas which chronicle the same culture 200 years later, after they’ve mastered the art of navigation on the open sea.  (search on “Iceland” on this blog to see the writings and photos that followed that trip).  All the details on episode one fit what I learned in terms of historical accuracy.   I’m looking forward to watching the next eight episodes in the series.

Episode one depicted a violent culture, but one with its own detailed code of honor.  In that respect, it mirrored the Old Testament world presented in episode one of “The Bible,” which came on next on the History Channel.  Plenty of smiting in both cultures.

I recommend the series.  Anyone who is interested can check out episode one on Hulu:  The Vikings on Hulu.