Vikings Is Almost Entirely Fantasy
The History ChannelVikings does get a few things right — like the lack of horned helmets — but the show is rife with inaccuracies.
The History Channel’s Vikings is an epic series that chronicles the lives and battles of several warriors from Viking-era Scandinavia, but this historical drama focuses much more on the drama than the history.
Perhaps most notably, the love/hate relationship between brothers Rollo and Ragnar is one of the main storylines of the show. But according to History, the two men were not brothers, and they probably never crossed paths, even though they may have lived around the same time period.
And some historians say that Ragnar may not have existed at all. While there is a large amount of substantial evidence that shows Rollo was a real person, the same cannot be said for Ragnar, leading some to believe that the latter may have been more of a legendary figure than a historical one.
The show also takes some artistic license with its depiction of Ivar the Boneless. Though Ivar was a real-life figure who was known to have been a powerful Viking despite his inability to walk, his renown came more from his cunning mind and intelligent tactics than from his ferociousness in battle.
In the Vikings series, Ivar eventually meets a brutal end on the battlefield, but the real-life warrior likely died of an unidentified disease, which was possibly connected to his mysterious “Boneless” title.
The History ChannelIvar the Boneless, as depicted in Vikings.
Vikings also takes liberties with the historical timeline. Early on in the show, the Vikings lead a brutal raid of a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne — a real event, English Heritage reports, that took place in 793 C.E.
Then, later on in the show, the same warriors take on Paris, another real event that happened in 911 C.E. — nearly 120 years later.
Even the Vikings’ clothes are wrong in the television series. According to the World History Encyclopedia, the notion that Vikings were rough and grimy is a complete misrepresentation of their actual culture.
In truth, Vikings were well-groomed and sometimes even wore colorful clothing with jewelry. Christian scholars often noted how the Vikings took care of their appearances and condemned their grooming as vain posturing.
The real Vikings also regularly carried combs with them and wore clothing made of wool, linen, animal hides, and silk — a far cry from the monotone, tight leather armor that the Vikings in the television series wear.
There are several other errors in the show, from geographical inaccuracies to historical figures interacting when they would have never met in real life.
Does that make Vikings a bad show? No, many people enjoy the fantastical nature of the series. But don’t write a history report based on it.
