Vikings: History Channel Series

  Last night, Sunday March 3, Frank and I sat down to watch the premiere of Vikings, a History Channel series about the vikings of Scandinavia before the voyaged west.  The time period is 793(?) A.D. and through the lens of a family system, we see how vikings actually conducted themselves in day-to-day life.  Most people see vikings in their minds as brutal people who raped and pillaged and that was all they ever did.  However, the vikings were not the ones who wrote that history; monks of the churches in England wrote these things so that the paganized Scandinavians were in history never to be followed until all the Scandinavian countries were Christianized. So the vikings we think about are not entirely the ones that were real.

Click HERE for videos on History about the series.

  In this series, it is interesting to learn about the family and how close the family bond was.  Family was important and, while each member had his or her own job to play, every member was seen as equal.  Men and women could fight alongside each other.  Everyone learn how to use a sword, defend themselves, fish, hunt, and so on.  The women stayed at home most times and watched the children, the men went to their own men meetings every year and did most of the dirty work.  However, both men and women in a household could go to war and defend their family - that's how tough they were.  They defended their family.  Finally some rebels decided to move west, towards England, because food and land were growing short in the Scandinavian country.  Frank notably pointed out that Rollo, the brother of the main character, was a real historic figure: he was the ancestor of the Normans in France who later led the Norman conquest of 1066 and took the throne of England.  Cool right?

  Something personal for me to witness is the fact that I have Scandinavian in my lineage.  While my maiden name (Greve) is German, I have many parts to my ancestral heritage.  My Granddaddy Alborg was complete Scandinavian.  Mostly Swedish, but most likely a bit of Danish (and maybe some Norwegian) to add to the mix; all of Scandinavia once ran together as one nation at one point.  It's fascinating to see how the people I am descended from lived and worked out problems.  It's one thing for me to watch something Celtic, or that took place in Ireland or Scotland where I have little or no ancestry, but to watch something I know I have thick in my blood is pretty neat. It's also cool to know that Sweden, part of Scandinavia, is where I am called together with Frank to minister to someday.  I love everything about Scandinavian history and culture and I am so excited to go there.  But in the moment, I love seeing what life was like for my very own ancestors (and I wonder if any of them were true voyaging vikings!)  Sometimes I wish I had more Scandinavian blood in me...

  Over all, Frank and I are highly captivated by this series and we really want more!! Next Sunday on History at 10pm!