Thyra Dane

Author of Romance. Blogs about Scandinavia, Vikings and books.

I can`t wait until the third of March. Why? Because of this trailer for the series about Vikings on History Channel:

 

Vikings are coming – the trailer

 

It`s very short and it only shows Vikings running around with axes and swords – the Viking myth, if you like – but there was one detail which made me jump for joy: They`ve included a female warrior – a shieldmaiden – in the series. Shieldmaidens have become almost invisible until recently. The archaeologists of the 19th and 20th century were too colored by the time they lived in and the gender roles they lived by to be able to see that women had to fight too in the Viking age. Some to defend their villages but some also went abroad to find riches – just like their male counterparts.

So March can`t come soon enough for me. Maybe more people will realize that Vikings weren`t just men. They were women too!

Female Viking Warrior

Wikipedia about History Channel series “Vikings”

21 thoughts on “The Vikings are Coming

  1. fffbone says:

    OMG I saw this the other day!!!! I can’t wait. And I thought of you when I saw it. Happy New Year!

  2. fffbone says:

    Oh my I just read that Gustaf Skarsgard will be in it. Nice.

  3. thyra10 says:

    Oh yes, he has an important role in this series.
    And Happy New Year to you too! I hope you had a great time. I just came home from a three week vacation but I still want more 🙂

  4. fffbone says:

    I just found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p45AxrA9lQs
    Not sure if you’ve seen this. I don’t think I have.
    You must post some pictures. I’m sure you had a great time.

  5. thyra10 says:

    Heyheyhey! Oh, I`m looking forward to watching this later on on a computer with good sound. Thank you! *hugs*

  6. Alison says:

    I just read that Travis Fimmel has a lead role as Ragnar; he is like Eric Northman’s cute little brother, so as well as being educational this will be very easy on the eye.

    1. thyra10 says:

      Oh, eye candy. I don`t have to have it to watch this series but I`m not objecting to it either 😉

  7. fffbone says:

    I don’t know if you ever heard of Todd Rundgren (UTOPIA). I was a big fan back in Jr. High and HS. Anyway, He did a song call “Song of The Viking.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyYp2NM0VKk

    1. thyra10 says:

      I`d never heard that song (or anything else by Todd Rundgren). I must admit that it didn`t sound very hmmmm vikingy but it was still a nice song. Thank you!

  8. isismama says:

    Can’t wait!

    1. thyra10 says:

      Me neither 🙂

  9. isismama says:

    Reblogged this on isismama.

  10. Alison Griffiths says:

    I’m all for anything with Vikings but the acceptance of a Shieldmaiden is great! Hope you have a God Jul (is that just Swedish?) and a Happy New Year.

    1. thyra10 says:

      Oh yes, more shieldmaidens in main stream media – that`s my new demand 🙂

      God jul (yes, we say that as well) to you as well. And Godt nyttår (happy new year).

  11. Have you been watching?! What do you think? I have been loving it so far!

    1. thyra10 says:

      I had a couple of objections to historical facts and to some of the actors but all in all I loved the first episode. I loved the fact that a shieldmaiden was included, of course 😀

  12. Scott Hornbuckle says:

    After doing some research, it seems to me that women in the Nordic lands weren’t expected to own weaponry or go to arms; they were expected to work alongside their husbands and control the property while their husbands were out traveling or raiding. I couldn’t find any sources calling female fighters “shieldmaidens;” I think the term refers to the Valkyries. None of the sagas refer to female warriors, although women do occasionally pick up weapons. For example, in Gísli’s Saga, when Eyjólfur and his men attacked Gísli and his wife, Audur, she stood by her husband and fought with a club. Women who fought may have existed, but they would not have been nearly as common as is depicted in Hirst’s show Vikings.

    1. Scott Hornbuckle says:

      Wait: I just found something new. In the Volsunga Saga, a shieldmaiden named Brynhild is mentioned. And apparently, shieldmaidens are mentioned throughout the Norse sagas! The historian Saxo Grammaticus even mentions 300 shieldmaidens fighting on the Danish side at the Battle of Bråvalla in 750. So shieldmaidens may have indeed existed! It’s kind of interesting that they aren’t mentioned in the Icelandic sagas, though.

  13. thyra10 says:

    Women were buried with swords. Figures of women with swords have been found. The mentioning of women fighting is in the sagas several places – check out Hervor or Brynhild – not to mention Frøydis Eiriksdatter.

    Historians assume that female warriors mainly fought in defense – defending the villages when their men were away – but, as one historian I spoke to said, there is absolutely no reason why they couldn’t also have been in on the raids.

    Remember that our view on the Vikings is colored by 1000 years of Christianity and a change in the gender roles since the Vikings roamed.

    https://www.facebook.com/norsemythology/photos/a.130109523685391.17678.129784597051217/862151827147820/?type=1&theater

    1. Scott Hornbuckle says:

      Saxo Grammaticus was a 12th-13th century historian; I forgot to mention that. It’s pretty weird how there’s plenty of evidence of warrior maidens in the Legendary sagas but no evidence in the Icelandic works. I wonder if the Icelanders had different views.

      1. thyra10 says:

        I have Saxo Grammaticus’ works (got the collected writings as a present at one point).
        The sad thing in general is that we have nothing written by Vikings when they actually lived – especially pre-Chritianity Vikings. Even the sagas are a bit late – and after Christianity made an inpact on the way people thought of what was right and wrong.
        The Vikings told their history orally, not written, and so the sagas are a way of writing down all those stories. They may still be influenced by the way of thinking when they were written down.
        We really need a time machine so we can have some facts on the table 😉

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