Were the Vikings Dirty?

No, our Vikings were not dirty! In fact we were cleaner than most of those nasty and smelly people that we raided… excepting perhaps, King Ecbert, because we all know his fondness for bathing!

Vikings Dead: Fifty Shades of Odo…

First of all, I want to thank all of my followers for joining me on this trip through time to the Viking age! Our raiding season has come to an end for this year but that does not mean that we are finished with our visit with these Vikings! As I have mentioned previously, I will be remaining on here in Paris for the time being- I need a bit of a vacation and while the present company tends to be rather stuffy, snotty and at times somewhat perverse, the accommodations are far more comfortable and luxurious than those of a long boat ride and another stay in Kattegat. The food is excellent as well… now, if I could just find way to rid myself of Charles and a few others residing here, my vacation would be almost perfect!

I don’t mind if Gisla stays… Yes, she can be a bit much to deal with at times- but I have a feeling she will be quite pre-occupied and busy with her upcoming nuptials and her future husband.

I will tell of that story later, as well as the story of what happened with our Viking group. I am quite sure most of you are already aware by now that our illustrious leader, Ragnar did not die but rose up to accomplish his goal of conquering the city- at least for a few hours! He has now departed for the trip home to Kattegat and we will tell that story later.  Right now, I want to discuss the one other person who has caused such a stir and controversy within the walls of Paris. That would be Count Odo, of whom rumors and gossip are running rampant now.  I have now spent some time at this court and heard many of the women, men whispering of him behind his back.  Never would anyone voice these thoughts openly around him. But, there are indeed rumors floating around about his personal life… and about how he may react to the news of Gisla being given to the Northman, Rollo instead of him?

With all of that in mind, perhaps we should take a closer look at Odo and the recent event that has caused such controversy.  Before we proceed with this discussion, I do need to warn and advise that the following discussion will contain adult subject matter, some sexual content and some nudity. If any of this causes you discomfort, then please do not read further. I would also have to say that if you are uncomfortable with this subject, then I am reasonably certain the recent event that took place with Odo and a willing participant caused you a great deal of discomfort! It was probably even more disturbing and discomforting for you because it was cut and edited in such a way for American viewers that you may not have understood the full context or reason for the scene?  The reasoning for this scenario is still up for debate even among those who had the benefit of viewing it in it’s entirety. It did seem somewhat out of context and un-necessary at first. But, after thinking much about it and doing some additional research on this particular character, I can see where it may be coming from on a number of different levels.

Before we get into the discussion of it, let us look at exactly what happened!  Count Odo was once again put off by Gisla and immediately after that he was approached by an unknown, un-named as yet, young Noblewoman. This young woman was open about her desire to show her gratitude to Odo for saving their city, even if Gisla would not. She showed an interest in spending more personal time with him. Odo, to his credit, did not just immediately take her up on it, but spent some moment thinking this over before giving her a hopeful answer in his response of, “Perhaps later”

Odo approaches Gisla about that marriage proposal

gisla’s response to odo this is neither the time nor place for this discussion

This young woman searches Odo out, approaches him and is quite forward in her advances toward him. Odo did not go in search of her, nor did he do anything that would be of questionable conduct or behavior on his part.  This is extremely important to remember later. This young woman purposefully set her sights and attentions on Odo and offered herself to him. He did seem hesitant about agreeing to her proposal.

In considering his hesitation over this and what takes place later, we now have to wonder about the other unknown woman that Odo seemed to have some relationship with at an earlier time?

Odo and the new mysterious woman seem to be in agreement on something

Who is this other unknown woman… what role does she play in his life, both personal and professional? She does bear a resemblance to our more recent young woman, and at first I thought perhaps they were one and the same? But, I don’t think so… this woman appears to be older, more experienced and seems to already have some connection with Odo? How does she fit into what we are learning about Odo and the French court? I can only assume that this will all unravel for us in the next season!

Odo’s attention is on this woman.

For now, let us just focus on what took place later between Odo and this unknown young woman.

They did meet later in Odo’s chambers, where once again, she made it clear what she was offering. She made comments about how she was sure that Gisla was boring, so good, so pious and would not hold Odo’s interest for long. Odo brought up the subject of this woman’s husband and she responded that he was probably already so drunk as not care or notice where she was or what she was doing. So, we now know that this woman is married and is willing to enter into some arrangement with Odo despite that state. As a note- this was not at all uncommon then- we will discuss that later!

the woman’s thoughts on gisla she seems very boring

you would soon tire of her believe me

When the woman comments on her husband, Odo’s response shows he is well aware of her intent and her game, and he is letting her know it.

 

the woman my husband will be too drunk to even care Odo I almost believe you

In Odo’s response to her about Gisla, we get a clue as to what the future could possibly hold for Gisla if she should end up married to him… or if the marriage event does not go his way and he would choose to extract some personal vengeance upon Gisla for it?

Odo perhaps but then again breaking her could be interesting

Please remember that this woman is willing and eager to enter into some arrangement with Odo. She suggests that perhaps she could hold his interest far longer than Gisla ever could. Odo responds with we shall see…

the young woman is eager and willing

is there a way that I could keep your interest

Odo: Come come with me and we shall see if you are up to the challenge?

The young woman then follows Odo down a dim hallway to what one would suppose to be a much more private and less known about dungeon like space…

Odo leads her down a dark passage

This is obviously not a space that Odo shares with the general public or more casual acquaintances…

Odo’s private play room

she seems to be having second thoughts as she observes the dungeon room filled with torture devices

Well this was certainly not what she was expecting she has to rethink this for a moment

This is where we discover Odo’s more personal and private preferences. Apparently, no other woman at court has thought to possibly warn this young woman ahead of time of just what type of sexual proclivities, deviations or acts Odo may be fond of practicing. I am certain that there are probably other women who know of this, who have experienced this with him, but for what ever reason they have kept such information to themselves- a much guarded secret? Perhaps they have been well rewarded for their silences on this matter…or perhaps they are in fear of any retribution on Odo’s part if he should find they have been sharing this secret… possibly, it’s a bit of both. In any case, this woman is rattled by this place and it takes her some time to regain any composure. The key to this is that, she does regain her composure, she does go ahead with this experience even after being warned and cautioned by him to choose carefully.  The other part to remember here is that Odo is not looking at this as abuse. He is well versed and well trained in this art of BDSM and is giving her free choice as to continue or to walk away. If she chooses to continue, he is willing to guide her through this experience.

What we see is this young woman having second thoughts, weighing the choice in her mind and probably the benefits of continuing on as well… this is entirely new for her, and she battles to overcome some fear and possible distaste for the idea in thought of what the eventual reward might be for her.  She has obviously set her sights on an arrangement with Odo for some reasons that most likely have little to do with sexual gratification- though that would be an added side bonus- but more to do with advancing her and or her husband’s status at court. This was the most general reason for women entering into such affairs, and often they had their husband’s agreements on such an activity. One could look at it as a career opportunity for young women at court. We will delve into that a bit closer after we view the rest of this experience.

Odo gives her his explanation and his offer… If you would submit to being chained and whipped, we might come to some arrangement. The key here is that he is giving her choice and she is free to decline is she so chooses.

If you would submit to being chained up and whipped we might come to some arrangement

Odo of course I would allow you to choose the whip

you will always be able to call halt though I would prefer to decide that for myself.

preparing herself and summoning her courage

odo watches as she tests the chains

I can not stress or emphasize enough that this experience, this act is not in and of itself abuse or torture. Odo is a trained expert in this form of sexual practice and they are both consenting adults on this experience. He is giving her fair warning, free choice in the matter and no one is forcing her into this experience. While it may be disturbing to watch, and it may not be to your personal taste, sensibilities or morals, it is not abuse. As I said, he will guide her through it and will give her choice as to when to strike or when to halt. The final choice is now left up to her and she makes her decision…. What a portion of this choice comes down to is that of what a person might be  willing to do for status, fame, power or control. I will not say love at this point because in this particular situation, love or obsession has nothing to do with her motives or his. There may be, though a willingness on her part too, to experience it for curiousness of this act?

What follows is this young woman’s initiation into the sexual practice of BDSM with guidance from Odo, her Master in this experience. Odo allows her to choose when…

say strike when you are ready

After a moment of preparing herself, she is ready

what much of the viewing audience missed was the rest of the act…

Ode to Odo and fifty shades of gray by Ines Jager at Vikings Aftermath facebook group

We did not see any further sexual conclusion to this initial act so we really have no idea if she truly embraced the experience and enjoyed it or not. We can assume that is was pleasurable for Odo, and that as such a well trained master in this practice, he would have enlightened her as to the basic premise that there is a fine line between pain and pleasure. This premise is the basis for much of the practice of BDSM.  What we do see at a later point is that she does seem to have elevated her status at court somewhat by being at Odo’s side at an important Court function, Ragnar’s supposed funeral. This small detail may be easy to overlook but it is extremely important in the context of this experience and what her benefit or reward might have been!

and what have we here is this our young woman who played odo’s game and is now elevated in her level of status

 

Now that we have looked at the experience, let us look at those other pieces of the puzzle…

First of all, we need to look at the character of Odo and where this part of his character may have originated. I know we have looked at him and his part in history previously but let’s look one more time because this seems to be a new side of him that his original history did not necessarily prepare us for? Of course, this particular preference or practice may not be one that would be so well known or documented through history!

We have previously gone on the assumption that he is a representation of Count Odo of France, but there are couple of Count Odos during this time period. I believe that our Odo is most likely another of those combinations of historical figures. While he certainly is most likely partially a representation of Odo of France as basically described here:

King of Western Francia
The Coronation of Odo, from the Grandes Chroniques de France
Reign	888–898
Coronation	February 888, Compiègne
Predecessor	Charles the Fat
Successor	Charles III
House	Robertian
Father	Robert the Strong
Mother	Adelaide of Tours
Born	c.852
Died	1 January 898 La Fère, France

Odo (or Eudes) (c. 852 – 1 January 898) was a King of Western Francia, reigning from 888 to 898. He was a son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, whose branch of the family is known as the Robertians. Odo is also known as the Duke of France and Count of Paris.

For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of the Vikings at the Siege of Paris, Odo was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat. He was crowned at Compiègne in February 888 by Walter, Archbishop of Sens.  Odo continued to battle against the Vikings and defeated them at Montfaucon, but he was soon involved in a struggle with powerful nobles who supported the claim of Charles the Simple to the Frankish throne.

In 889 and 890 Odo granted special privileges to the County of Manresa in Osona. Because of its position on the front line against Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as manresanas or manresanes. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, for the next two centuries.  To gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to the Eastern Frankish King Arnulf of Carinthia. But in 894 Arnulf declared his support for Charles, and after a conflict which lasted three years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival and surrender a district north of the Seine to him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_France

He is most likely also a portrayal and representation of  Odo I, Count of Blois. Odo, Count of Blois and Touraine, was a French nobleman of the tenth century. He is described as a vicious, cruel man who lost his left arm in a sword-fight. 

http://www.renefiles.com/odohist.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_I,_Count_of_Blois

This link is to a short peview of a book called Odo Count of Champagne and Tyrant of Burgundy

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/546450?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21106624154483

For our purposes, we have not yet seen our Count Odo as overly cruel or vicious… He seems to be a well capable man in charge of defending his City and making far more rational, sound decisions than King Charles! What we can see of him is a desire for added power and fame, which the marriage to Gisla would bring him. So far, he has really done nothing else to warrant our suspicions and speculations upon his character, his morals or his supposed cruel streak. He is in a high position of power and presents himself with that level of confidence and authority for the most part.  At this point, his personal proclivities, preferences or fetishes are just that- his personal business, and he as yet not let them carry over into his professional life. We can not pass judgement on him for that yet. He has made mention that it might be interesting or enjoyable to break or tame the lady Gisla… but right now, there are countless other men who probably feel similarly in that respect… namely, our Rollo! But, that is a separate story from our current topic!

 

As to our unknown young woman’s motives, ambitions and loose morals… We need to look at the idea and the role of mistresses in the context of Royalty and history. As I mentioned earlier, this was not really uncommon and not really looked down upon. For young women living at Royal Courts it was often expected that they would use their assets wisely to benefit themselves and their families. Many families sent their young women to court specifically for that reason- to use their feminine assets in order to develop alliances and connections that would help all of the family move up in status and wealth. Just because they were perceived as religious and pious people does not mean that they were all pure, good and devout in their beliefs and their actions. This was a cut throat world and their intent was to survive and thrive by any means necessary. Women in this time had just as much desire for status, wealth, power and control as men did. They just went about achieving their goals in a slightly different type of warfare!

We know next to nothing about this woman, her husband or her family so we can not be sure exactly of all her reasonings and motives for seeking out this arrangement with the high level Count Odo. She may have been put up to it by family members seeking to increase their status via her relationship with such a powerful man, or it may be her own ambition pushing her on in this endeavor. That all remains to be seen in the future!

A brief look at Mistresses in history:

A mistress is a relatively long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner, especially when her partner is married. Generally, the relationship is stable and at least semi-permanent, but the couple does not live together openly and the relationship is usually, but not always, secret. There is often also the implication (if not the fact) that the mistress is “kept” – i.e. that her lover is paying for some (and sometimes all) of her living expenses.

The historically best known and most-researched mistresses are the royal mistresses of European monarchs, for example, Agnès Sorel, Diane de Poitiers, Barbara Villiers, Nell Gwyn and Madame de Pompadour. The keeping of a mistress in Europe was not confined to royalty and nobility but permeated down through the social ranks, essentially to any man who could afford to do so. Any man who could afford a mistress could have one (or more), regardless of social position. A wealthy merchant or a young noble might have a kept woman. Being a mistress was typically an occupation for a younger woman who, if she were fortunate, might go on to marry her lover or another man of rank.

The ballad “The Three Ravens” (published in 1611, but possibly older) extolls the loyal mistress of a slain knight, who buries her dead lover and then dies of the exertion, as she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. It is noteworthy that the ballad-maker assigned this role to the knight’s mistress (“leman” was the term common at the time) rather than to his wife. In the courts of Europe, particularly Versailles and Whitehall in the 17th and 18th centuries, a mistress often wielded great power and influence. A king might have numerous mistresses but have a single “favourite mistress” or “official mistress” (in French, “maîtresse en titre”), as with Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. The mistresses of both Louis XV (especially Madame de Pompadour) and Charles II were often considered to exert great influence over their lovers, the relationships being open secrets. Other than wealthy merchants and kings, Alexander VI is but one example of a Pope who kept mistresses.  While the extremely wealthy might keep a mistress for life (as George II of England did with “Mrs Howard“, even after they were no longer romantically linked), such was not the case for most kept women.

In 1736, when George II was newly ascendant, Henry Fielding (in Pasquin) has his Lord Place say, “…but, miss, every one now keeps and is kept; there are no such things as marriages now-a-days, unless merely Smithfield contracts, and that for the support of families; but then the husband and wife both take into keeping within a fortnight.”

Occasionally the mistress is in a superior position both financially and socially to her lover. As a widow, Catherine the Great was known to have been involved with several successive men during her reign; but, like many powerful women of her era, in spite of being a widow free to marry, she chose not to share her power with a husband, preferring to maintain absolute power alone.

Mistresses were a common part of Royal and Noble life throughout history. In fact in history, the Charlamagne that Charles is so fond of reminding people of, had a number of mistresses.

Charlemagne

• Gersuinda of the Saxons
• Amaltrud of Vienne
• Ethelind
• Sigrade
• Madelgard
• Regina
• Landrade des Herbages
• Adelindus

And, if we use Charles the Simple as part of our role model for our Charles, he had a few himself!

Charles the Simple

• Edgiva of Kent
• Frederuna von Ringleheim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_royal_mistresses

While Count Odo is not Royalty, he is close and in history, he would be king for a time. So, this would put him in the category of Royalty for a young woman determined to advance herself and her family.

A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or an heir apparent. Some mistresses have had considerable power. These powerful mistresses have been commonly referred to as the “power behind the throne“. The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of political and dynastic considerations, leaving little space for the monarch’s personal preferences in the choice of a mate.

In European history the children of mistresses were not normally included in the line of succession, except perhaps when secret marriages were alleged. Hence the Monmouth Rebellion when James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth claimed the thrones of England and Scotland on the grounds that his mother had been the wife, rather than a mistress, of Charles II.

 

The last portion of this discussion is a brief, basic explanation and history of Odo’s personal sexual practices, BDSM. I am not going to go into any lengthy detailed discussion of it as it is not really pertinent here and it is a very personal choice and lifestyle which each person has different levels of accepting or believing in. I would not pass judgement on anyone for their personal tastes in such areas as long as it does not cross boundaries set by either consenting party. That is the most important thing to remember about any type of relationship.

BDSM is a variety of erotic practices involving dominance and submission, roleplaying, restraint, and other interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves as practicing BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture is usually dependent on self-identification and shared experience. Interest in BDSM can range from one-time experimentation to a lifestyle.

 

The BDSM initialism

The term BDSM is first dated from 1969.  The term BDSM was formed by joining the term B&D (bondage and discipline) with S&M (sadomasochism, or sadism and masochism). (It is sometimes believed to contain within it, as well, the compound D&S (dominance and submission) but that is not historically correct, and an example of folk etymology). BDSM is used today (2015) as a catch-all phrase covering a wide range of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures. BDSM communities generally welcome anyone with a non-normative streak who identifies with the community; this may include cross-dressers, extreme body modification enthusiasts, animal players, latex or rubber aficionados, and others.

Unlike the usual “power neutral” relationships and play styles commonly followed by couples, activities and relationships within a BDSM context are often characterized by the participants’ taking on complementary, but unequal roles; thus, the idea of informed consent of both the partners becomes essential. Participants who exert sexual dominance over their partners are known as dominants or tops, while participants who take the passive, receiving, or obedient role are known as submissives or bottoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM

The Historical Origins of BDSM

 The historical origins of BDSM are obscure. During the ninth century BC, ritual flagellations were performed in Artemis Orthia, one of the most important religious areas of ancient Sparta, where the Cult of Orthia, a preolympic religion, was practiced. Here ritual flagellation called diamastigosis took place on a regular basis. One of the oldest graphical proofs of sadomasochistic activities is found in an Etruscan burial site in Tarquinia. Inside the Tomba della Fustigazione (Flogging grave), in the latter sixth century b.c., two men are portrayed flagellating a woman with a cane and a hand during an erotic situation. Another reference related to flagellation is to be found in the sixth book of the Satires of the ancient Roman Poet Juvenal (1st–2nd century A.D.), further reference can be found in Petronius’s Satyricon where a delinquent is whipped for sexual arousal. Anecdotal narratives related to humans who have had themselves voluntary bound, flagellated or whipped as a substitute for sex or as part of foreplay reach back to the third and fourth century.

The Kama Sutra describes four different kinds of hitting during lovemaking, the allowed regions of the human body to target and different kinds of joyful “cries of pain” practiced by bottoms. The collection of historic texts related to sensuous experiences explicitly emphasizes that impact play, biting and pinching during sexual activities should only be performed consensually since only some women consider such behavior to be joyful. From this perspective the Kama Sutra can be considered as one of the first written resources dealing with sadomasochistic activities and safety rules. Further texts with sadomasochistic connotation appear worldwide during the following centuries on a regular basis.

 

http://www.asubmissivesjourney.com/history_bdsm.html

 

aethelwulf practices self flagulation and punishes himself for what ever sins he can think of

 

The final thought that I need to address here is one that some people have brought up in various discussions of this scene. Some people have compared Count Odo’s behavior to that of Aethelwulf’s self flagellation. I do not believe that Aethelwulf’s self flagellation has anything to do with eroticism but more to do with the religious context of it.

The Flagellation refers in a Christian context to the Flagellation of Christ, an episode in the Passion of Christ prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. The practice of mortification of the flesh for religious purposes was utilized by some Christians throughout most of Christian history, especially in Catholic monasteries and convents.

In the 13th century, a group of Roman Catholics, known as the Flagellants, took this practice to its extreme ends. The Flagellants were later condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as a cult in the 14th century because the established church had no other control over the practice than excommunication.  Self-flagellation remains common in the Philippines, Mexico, and one convent in Peru.

Some members of strict monastic orders, and some members of the Catholic lay organization Opus Dei, practice mild self-flagellation using an instrument called a “discipline”, a cattail whip usually made of knotted cords, which is flung over the shoulders repeatedly during private prayer.  Pope John Paul II took the discipline regularly.

St. Therese of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun of late 19th-century France who has now been declared a Doctor of the Church, is an influential example of a Catholic Saint who questioned prevailing attitudes toward physical penance. Her view was that loving acceptance of the many sufferings of daily life was pleasing to God, and fostered loving relationships with other people, more than taking upon oneself extraneous sufferings through instruments of penance. However as a Carmelite nun, she practiced voluntary corporal mortification.

Because practices such as starvation, sleep denial and flagellation are known to induce altered states, flagellation may be used by religious ecstatics and mystics as part of ritualistic practices or ceremonies to achieve unusual states of mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-flagellation

 

I hope this answers any questions, confusion or puzzles you may have concerning Odo, his personal practices, his history, and the young woman’s possible reasons or motives for entering into this arrangement. Hopefully it will give you some insight as how and why this scene fits into the context of the story. I can do nothing about your personal feelings, judgements or discomfort regarding all of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings Dead: My first thoughts

 

OMG! Ok, I do not have much time right now to go in depth about this final epic event that will leave all of us tearing our hair out and drinking far too much mead for the foreseeable future as we try to return to our normal lives for the next months as we wait for the next raiding season. I just want to give my first thoughts on it. I will have a full review on Sunday or Monday… Damn real life things like work keep interfering with my fantasy life!

 I just finished watching the finale and am now torn between wanting to give Mr. Hirst my undying gratitude for putting Rollo’s story in high gear, and also wanting to put him at the top of my hate/hit list for leaving so much hanging, so many questions and puzzles with no answers until next year! I want to grab Lagertha’s stealth maidens- well who ever is left of them- and go on a covert mission into Hirst’s computer and find my answers cause it’s going to drive me nuts! And, if he thinks that meager little teaser of Bjorn and the Bear is going to appease me, he is sooo wrong!

Thanks and credit to the wonderful group of friends at Vikings Aftermath on facebook for this screen art and the following one of Mr. Michael Hirst!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1549964118584940/

Rollo salud by aftermath crew

First of all, My undying gratitude to you Mr. Hirst for giving us Rollo’s story and his future. Because of you, more people have taken an interest in the real history of Rollo and that always makes me happy!  Of course, I must add my thanks and greatest fan appreciation of Mr. Clive Standen who has brought the character to life for us! History tells us various stories about the man, Rollo but, Clive Standen has managed to put a face (and, as a fan, I must add, a very handsome one at that!), and heart rending emotion to the Character of Rollo. I know that as with all  historical fiction, Mr. Hirst has to continually play with time lines, events and characters in order to fit the scope of the story he is telling. What I appreciate so much is that within all of those twists and bends of history, Hirst does always run a thread of truth through the story. He has not failed me with his coming interpretation of Rollo’s destiny as founder of Normandy! For more insight on what the future will hold, here are a few previews and interviews with Michael Hirst regarding the future!

This was a transformative season for Rollo. One of the standout scenes was his conversation with the seer. At the time, he was a man who seemed to have nothing left. But now, in Paris, his legend seems even larger than Ragnar’s. Can you talk about where his journey will take him, going forward?
The conversation with the seer was critical and vital. It’s also one of the best moments for Clive [Standen] in the entire show. We happened to have a great female director [Helen Shaver] at the time, and I think she encouraged him to give a really emotional, deeply felt performance. And he was saying: “I’m worthless. I’ll always be in Ragnar’s shadow. It’s not worth me being alive, frankly.” And the seer told him: “If you know what I knew, you’d be dancing naked on the beach.”

So Rollo’s been on a private journey to work out what the f— that actually meant. For a long time, he can’t figure it. The raid is so disastrous. So many things go wrong. He has a glimpse of the Frankish princess. For some reason, he’s drawn to her. And when they come to him with this offer, I think that the pieces start to fall into place. He thinks that this is why he should dance naked on the sand. He is being given the opportunity to be his own man.

What he said to Ragnar in the coffin was: “I’m surprised that you went first. And I’m sure you are, too. We all thought the gods favored you, and not me.” Here, it looks to him—reading into what the seer said—that the gods, at last, are favoring him. He’s come out of that in a totally extraordinary way. He is on the verge of a big, huge change in his life.

Which is a good setup for the new season. And of course [laughs] if anyone wants to read the history books, they can find out how important Count Rollo was in French history.

Earlier this season, it felt to me as if, after many years of turmoil between them, Rollo and Ragnar were very much united. Could he once again turn on his brother?
I think he knows that that is what his part of the bargain is. It’s costing the French Emperor a lot of money. But it’s a very clever move. How do you beat a Viking? You hire another Viking to do it.

As far as the brothers are concerned, Rollo has confessed to what he thought was a dead Ragnar that he’s never got over his jealousy. So Ragnar knows. And remember, it wasn’t Ragnar who let Rollo stay. He was too sick to make that decision. It was Bjorn. Ragnar, I don’t think, would have ever allowed Rollo to stay. And I don’t think that Ragnar ever forgave Rollo. He just let him go because he was blood. I really don’t think that Ragnar felt able to forgive Rollo.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/23/vikings-season-finale-michael-hirst

Here is another article dealing with the finale!

http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-vikings-finale-just-pulled-off-the-most-epic-bait-and-switch/

Although Micahel Hirst is the undisputed genius creator behind this Vikings saga, he does have some incredible help in putting all of this history into context.

Meet the man who makes sure Vikings is historically accurate: interview with Justin Pollard!

Justin Pollard is an archaeologist, author, screenwriter, and consultant who has worked as a historical consultant on a large number of movies and popular television programs, including the History Channel’s Vikings. In this short interview we discuss how he got into this line of work, his research, and the mythological and historic roots of Vikings.

First things first: Among other things, you’re a historical consultant on a variety of great television shows. I’m envious! How did you get into this line of work?

I started out after Cambridge as a field archaeologist working for the Museum of London on Thomas Becket’s old monastery at Merton. After a year there the unit rather abruptly folded due to lack of funding and, combines with a tragedy in the family, I was left wondering what to do next really. I thought about going back into academe but I didn’t want to have to narrow down my frankly dilettante interests to one period or subject so I needed to invent a job for myself. This was the mid 1990s and a lot of US companies were starting to commission historical documentaries from London TV production houses so I started writing to lots of them offering my services as a historical consultant/ researcher/ writer. After a lot of polite refusals one company took me up on the offer and I’ve been fairly consistently employed ever since.

How did you become attached to Vikings?

That’s all thanks to Michael Hirst the writer and show-runner. I had my ‘break’ into movies in 1997/8 when I was asked to advise on a movie called Elizabeth starring Cate Blanchett. The writer was Michael and we got along so well that we’ve been working together ever since. It was working on The Tudors that Michael mentioned he wanted to write about the Vikings. I had written a biography of Alfred the Great, who we’d previously talked about making a movie of, and mentioned the somewhat obscure history of Ragnar and his sons. Michael took it from there.

What kinds of preparation do you make when you’re going to start consulting on a program? Do you do field research, reach out to historians, visit the library?

The research process has changed dramatically since I started. When I began you’d go to the British Library for a month and call up book after book, searching for those little individual nuggets of information that inform a scene – those small details that make it instantly believable but still strange and wonderful. These days much more is online. From my study in Dorset I have access to very large reference collections, the whole of JSTOR for academic papers as well as the usual online academic sources. Not only has having these available online reduced the need for library work but the search-ability of online sources has radically changed the time it takes to find things out. Failing inline sources I can now order a book over the net in minutes and have it delivered from just about anywhere in the world in a matter of days. I have a very eclectic library! The face to face work comes these days mainly from visiting museums and academics. I keep in touch with lots of great academics from around the world who are unfailingly helpful withe everything from small queries about 16th century etiquette to how to swear in Old Low Franconian.

For more of the interview go here!  http://suvudu.com/2015/04/meet-the-man-who-makes-sure-vikings-is-historically-accurate.html

 

 

Now, as to my personal thought on the idea of Rollo betraying Ragnar again. I do not see it that way and I hope that it really does not come down to that… although, that may be the way Ragnar will perceive it.  In my opinion, Rollo is just doing what he feels he needs to do for himself now. He realizes that he and Ragnar will never see things the same way and in his mind, Ragnar has done his own share of betraying their people. I will go more into this when I post the rest of my thoughts along with the in depth review.

Now, on to the second half of my thoughts right now… the ones where I wish to recruit who ever is left of Lagertha’s elite stealth maidens and make a covert hit on Michael Hirst’s private notes to answer those puzzles and questions that will drive me nuts while I wait for next season!

Just a few of the nagging unanswered questions I will spend the next months trying to figure out on my own… Where the hell did Porunn go, and will we ever see her again? I’m sure we will, but will we even recognize her when she shows up again? What’s going on in Wessex… and what is so damn important about baby Magnus in the future? I hope that Kweni finds a somewhat rational and sane nursemaid for him or we could see a truly berserker future ruler of Mercia- even more so than Kweni herself… now that’s a scary thought! Does Judith manage to find a way out of this nasty web that Ecbert has her caught in? I hope she does not become a dead victim cause I do like her.  Then, there is the whole puzzle of Kalf… Ohhhh Kalf, Please do not turn out to be another evil, devious villain… we have more than enough of those already! What about slimely little scum Erlandeur, Why, ohhh Why is that boy still alive even now and would someone please kill him quickly next season!  for all of those questions you have left us with Mr. Hirst, I must agree with this thought!

hirst hit list by ines jagger at aftermath

Ahhhhh and one last thought today for you Mr. Hirst… if you think this tiny snippet preview of next season is going to appease me, Please think again!

 

Vikings: What does the future hold for Rollo and Gisla?

 

 

Ok, I have a meeting with the Seer and am going to quickly give my guess and prediction for the fated couple…

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Gisla is showing her more petulant and pouting spoiled Princess side.

We have also been made aware of the fact that Rollo has achieved some great recognition and reputation as the Crazed Bear, so I think we can safely assume that Rollo is the Bear that the Seer speaks of and Gisla is the Princess…

sintric he fights like a crazed bear

There was definitely some interest shown by both of them upon seeing each other….but I do think that Rollo will have some personal affront and issue with the fact that she was up on the wall in the first place and the sight of her caused him to nearly kill himself? I also think that Gisla, while she may be somewhat interested in this warrior, is not going to be quite so willing to be married off to him?

Gisla may have some curious fascination with this wild man, but she is quite vocal and blunt as to how she feels about those Heathens. It was she in fact who was insistent on Odo bringing her Sigfrid’s head if he cared at all for her? Poor Sigfrid’s death was just an attempt to appease her pouting arrogant high handed demands… and she certainly was not above pouting when it did not go quite the way she had envisioned!

Sigfrid has the last laugh

gisla is not amused

What we need to look at is what else was going on during the “trial” of Sigfrid and Sinric… Odo was so impressed with Rollo’s actions and warrior quality that he insisted on knowing more about this great warrior that fought like a crazed bear and managed to stop their siege machine bare handed!

odo: this man sintric will be of use to us gisla and this earl

Now, throughout this discussion, Odo tried to get the King’s opinion and decision on what to do… but Charles seemed to engrossed in his own thoughts.

Odo waits for Charles to come up with any form of intelligent decision.

while odo questions Sinric, charles is thinking on something else

Just what is Charles thinking of besides, When is this going be over, this is all so beneath me… Well, here is what he may have been thinking, “What the Devil do I do with this spoiled daughter of mine, she’s starting to get on my nerves.” Then his thoughts wander to the over all predicament they are in and this talk of a Wild Warrior Viking… Charles is tired of all this constant fighting, it’s so annoying and interrupts his naps and his prayer, much like his daughter does on occasion. Hmmm, how to solve this so that I come out looking good? I can not afford to keep paying off these Vikings for very long. And because I am paying off them off all over the country and our coffers are close to empty, I can’t afford to keep this Princess in long dresses let alone pay a dowry for her either… His thoughts ramble on to Odo… if he thinks he is going to marry my daughter and reach even higher in station, he should think again.  He is only here to make me look good! Everyone assumes that Charles is spineless and a bit dimwitted… well, he probably is a bit of both, but he does have some thoughts in his mind. Charles goes on thinking to himself while they debate the fate of these prisoners. He keeps going back to that Warrior Viking and how impressed everyone seems to be with the man? Suddenly, a plan enters his brain on how to solve all of it and not spend too much more gold… Pay this Viking off in land, we have plenty of excess land around here! Perhaps I can convince this Viking Warrior to take some land, some coastal land to be exact. If he is such a ferocious Warrior, then he could guard his own damn land and ours as well? That’s it! I’ll offer this man coastal land, which he will then have to protect from the rest of those Heathens trying to rob him blind… See how he likes it then!  In the middle of his perfect scheme, he hears his daughter’s demanding voice and winces. She’s giving me another headache… I know she means well, but I have simply had enough of her and Odo! what to do, what to do about her? Ahhhh, I know! I’ll throw her into the deal as a wife for him. In fact, I will insist that he take her or the whole deal is off! Yes, Yes… this will all work out perfectly if Odo does not mess it up for me!

In the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) with King Charles, Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert. In return, King Charles granted Rollo land between the Epte and the sea as well as parts of Brittany  and according to Dudo of St. Quentin, the hand of the King’s daughter, Gisela, although this marriage and Gisela herself are unknown to Frankish sources. He was also the titular ruler of Normandy, centered around the city of Rouen. There exists some argument among historians as to whether Rollo was a “duke” (dux) or whether his position was equivalent to that of a “count” under Charles.

According to legend, when required to kiss the foot of King Charles, as a condition of the treaty, he refused to perform so great a humiliation, and when Charles extended his foot to Rollo, Rollo ordered one of his warriors to do so in his place. His warrior then lifted Charles’ foot up to his mouth causing the king to fall to the ground.

After 911, Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. However, he also continued attacks on Flanders.

After Charles was deposed by Robert I in 922, Rollo considered his oath to the King of France at an end. It started a period of expansion westwards. Negotiations with French barons ended with Rollo being given Le Mans and Bayeux and continued with the seizure of Bessin in 924. The following year the Normans attacked Picardy.

Rollo began to divide the land between the Epte and Risle rivers among his chieftains and settled there with a de facto capital in Rouen. Over time, Rollo’s men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled into French Catholic culture as Normans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo

Of course, plans do not always go quite as one imagines them in one’s mind, so I am sure that there will be a few changes to this genius plan inside Charles’ wandering mind. One thing he does do is remind both Odo and Gisla of just who is King, and who makes the final decisions… well, him and God, but you get my point! At their most recent meeting before sending Odo off on his mission to pay the Vikings off, he makes it fairly clear to Gisla that while her ideas might have some merit and value, it is not for her to decide. None of these things are really for you to decide, dear girl, we only let you play at it and have your way when it benefits us… as you will soon see!

gisla: otherwise we will have failed.

 

Given Gisla’s distaste and downright hatred of these Barbarians, I do not imagine that she will initially be too excited about the prospect of marrying one of them… even if it is Rollo! She may be willing to do her duty for God, Country and her Father but, really this carrying things a bit too far, don’t you think Daddy? You could not honestly be serious about this idea! I am reasonably sure that Rollo may not be too happy about this initially either, depending on how he is conned into it… But, he may be keeping the Seer’s prophecy in mind and convincing himself that this really is a good thing even as she throws her first tantrum at not getting her way. These two may be fascinated with each other and attracted to each other but I have a feeling this partnership is going to test both of them. 

I envision a rather rocky start to this relationship in which Gisla must learn that she can not always have her way and that pouting will not cut it with Rollo! I have a thought that Rollo will go by the time tested adage of “If you choose to act like a child, then I shall treat you as one.” Now, normally, I am not an advocate of corporal punishment, but in this instance, I am of the opinion that a good spanking may be in Gisla’s future if she continues to be demanding and pouting with our Rollo… Ummmm, actually, I would love to see this scenario played out on screen instead of just in my head!  This punishment would not have been remiss, uncalled for or unheard of back in their time, though it most surely would not sit well with Gisla?  The action would however, tie into a small bit of  limited information that we do have historically for Gisla.

Gisela of France, also called Gisella or Giséle (fl. 911), was traditionally a French princess and the consort of King Rollo.

According to tradition, Rollo was betrothed to Gisela, daughter to the king of West Francia, Charles the Simple, after his conversion to Christianity upon his ascension as ruler of Normandy in 911. Legend says that Rollo treated Gisela with cruelty. Her father sent her two knights to act as her support in Normandy, but they were both executed by hanging on the order of Rollo. Gisela had no children.

The marriage and the existence of Gisela are not confirmed. It has been suggested that, if she really did exist, she may have been a natural daughter of Charles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisela_of_France

My personal thought on this… Gisla gets spanked by Rollo then tries to run home to Daddy accusing the man of violence and cruelty towards her. Charles’ response to this is to send her right back with a message for Rollo, “She is your problem now, deal with her as you see fit… Why do you think I let you marry her!”

Now, of course, the Seer and I could be completely off base here… it’s been known to happen, we have on occasion been wrong? But, in this preview clip, we do see what could be a wedding, and the Princess Gisla does not look too happy about it, then again no one else looks too happy either so I guess the dancing naked on the beach will have to wait a bit… I do have to say, Our Rollo certainly looks fine in his formal attire for such an occasion!

So, there you have my thoughts and guesses as to the rocky start of wedded bliss for Rollo and Gisla… Will the bear tame the pouting princess or will the princess tame the wild bear? Perhaps it will be a bit of both, but I can not wait to see how it all plays out!

 

 

 

 

Vikings: Breaking Point

First of all, I do apologize for the delay in my post and review of last week’s events. It’s been a bit hectic and chaotic here in Paris! Our visit is not going as well as planned and everyone, including me, is at their breaking point!  Our people are wounded, sick and dying faster than we can care for them or count the dead. I do have to admit right now that while I will be sad at this season ending, especially in such loss to all of us… I am mentally and emotionally exhausted and am in desperate need of a real vacation after this! Somewhere warm, quiet and filled with luxury will do me just fine at this point! I also apologize for the extreme length of this post! I usually try to break them up but am running behind this week and did want to make sure I got it all posted!

Vikings disneyland paris from Athelstan’s facebook page

Another attempt was made to get inside Paris… this time it was planned and executed by Lagertha and Rollo. I do want to say that even though it too ended in complete and utter disaster, it could be looked on as success in some ways. They did get inside this time, and Rollo did end up making a name and great reputation for himself as a result of the attack. In fact, the Franks were so impressed with his actions that they wanted to know more about him! I will touch on that later.

What I want to bring up now is the initial portion of the attack in which Lagertha and her shieldmaidens made a covert stealth move to the bridge and eventually made their way inside without notice. The reason I mention this is because when I first heard of the plan for the bridge, I was reminded of part of the actual attacks in history. I should have said something right then and made my own suggestions… but alas I am not in a position to give out tactical advice and be taken seriously.

In the attack of Paris in 885-886, which Rollo was involved in… For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, making trenches and provisioning themselves off the land. In January 886 they tried to fill the river shallows with debris, plant matter, and the bodies of dead animals and dead prisoners to try to get around the tower. They continued this for two days. On the third day they set three ships alight and guided them towards the wooden bridge. The burning ships sank before they could set the bridge on fire, but the wooden construction was nonetheless weakened. On 6 February, rains caused the river (still filled with debris) to overflow and the bridge supports gave way. The bridge gone, the northeast tower was now isolated with only twelve defenders inside. The Vikings asked the twelve to surrender, but they refused, and were all subsequently killed. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(885%E2%80%9386)

That is of little consequence here and now. They went with Lagertha’s plan to sneak into the city and open the gates for Rollo’s army of warriors. It was not without it’s own hazards and death but Lagertha  held up her end even while watching her shieldmaidens get dowsed with boiling oil. She fought fire with fire, and set the gates flaming so Rollo’s group could enter. My own personal thought is… Ok, now the damn gates are permanently open for quite a while- those gates can’t just be replaced over night! Wouldn’t it be relatively easy for us to swarm through there at a later time? Just a thought… now back to what actually happened!

The gates were on fire and easily knocked down for our men to enter.

This is where it all once again, started to go so terribly wrong for us!

While the Franks were initially surprised by this attack, they were quick to man their defense which as usual for them included advance war machines.  While Odo set about preparing this defense, a worried Gisla prepared her women and warned them not to be taken alive by these barbaric heathens.

inside Paris the alarms have rang again and the women are in fear

gisla’s instructions make sure they do not capture you alive

As our Viking warriors raced into the hall towards the inner city, they were suddenly met with the Frankish secret weapon… a literal wheel of death!

This wheel is truly a grisly weapon of mass torture and death as it rolls down the hall over our men who can not out run it fast enough!

Rollo was not deterred by it though, he was determined to get into this city and some machine was not going to stop him!

While Odo, his army, and yes, Gisla watched in some amazement and even awe, Rollo fought like a mad man… a true berserker against them all!

Eventually even Rollo had to admit defeat, retreat, and haul ass out of there!

rollo fought like a mad man but they could not break through the defenses

During this battle there is something else to note… that would be the true spinelessness of this King Charles.  I actually had some empathy for Odo as he attempted to get Charles to at least go down and show his face to his troops as a way of inspiring them to fight. Count Odo begged the King to make an appearance for the sake of the Holy Mother. He even tried to spur Charles on with a reference to Charlamaigne, his Grandfather, how Charlamaigne would have put on his armor and fought with his men. Charles replied to these requests first by stating that if the Holy Mother was on their side protecting them, then what did they need of him? His response to the comment about Charlamaigne was, “I am not him, I am not my Grandfather Charlamaigne” I’m sure that Odo’s thought at the time was one of, No unfortunately for all of us, you are not… you are a worthless and spineless imitation of any King and we are stuck with you!”

Charles What you want me to do what You want me to go out there surely you jest?

Charles reprimands Odo and tells him not to speak for the Holy Mother to him in such a way

the king would rather rely on the holy mother to come to their aid

Now back to Rollo and his retreat for self preservation in order fight another day… As I mentioned earlier, this was actually a success for him in some ways. His actions during this fight brought him fame, attention and even some respect in the eyes of the Franks, and his retreat ensured that he would still be alive to appreciate it later!

During the battle, our warrior Sigfrid and our wanderer Sinric were captured and brought before the court where their fate would be decided, not so much by Charles- for he stayed mostly silent during this event, his mind thinking of other things- but by Odo and by Gisla… it is here that we find out the thoughts these people were having about our Rollo. There was much discussion about what to do with these prisoners, whether they were of any value or not?

while odo questions Sinric, charles is thinking on something else

odo this man sinric will be of use to us gisla and this earl

 

odo about sigfrid perhaps he could be bartered if he is so important

 

during the discussion, Odo wants to know of the great warrior that managed to take down their machine with his bare hands. Everyone is speaking of this wild and brave warrior? Sinric replies, “That is Rollo, brother to the King Ragnar… he fights like a crazed bear!” And, so Rollo’s fame and reputation have begun… to the Franks he will now ever be known as that wild Viking warrior bear!

sinric: he fights like a crazed bear

Odo decided that Sinric would be of future use to them and so spared his life. To Odo’s credit, he did make some attempt as well to spare Sigfrid’s life by suggesting that he as an earl might be worth bartering for? He was shot down by a now somewhat more petulant Gisla, who demands that Odo bring her his head if he cares anything for her. Now, possibly Gisla was thinking that after such a disaster, her people needed to see themselves in more control of this situation? Perhaps she felt that they were so cowed and awed by the actions of Rollo that they needed to see a different side of these Viking warriors… they needed to see one taken down and conquered by death. Perhaps she felt that her people needed to see a Viking warrior die in front of them to counteract the now legendary fighting of Rollo. What ever she might be attempting to achieve in this situation, the reality was that she came across as the petulant demanding princess that she could probably be quite often. Odo was not exactly in favor of the idea but if it would score him points in Gisla’s favor, he was willing to go along with it. After all, it was just another heathen they were killing… This came down to a sort of compromise between Odo and Gisla. Odo got to keep the different one, Sinric and Gisla got her wish for Sigfrid’s head.

poor sintric realizes this didn’t work out so well for Sigfrid

Sigfrid would eventually lose his head but, he would have the last laugh before it was finished!

in paris sigfrid faces his accusers and his end

but he does face his death with dignity and bravery

sigfrid: but I want someone to hold my hair out of the way so it does not impede a clean blow.

Odo what the hell is he saying Damn I need to learn their language

Odo shows he does have some compassion for a dying man’s last wishes and goes along with Sigrid’s request…

not wanting it said they deny someone of a last wish they comply and a man holds sigfrid’s hair back.

Odo watches and thinks I will never understand these heathens and their strange ways

Sigfrid pulled back his head at the last minute and the axe went through the man’s hand…

Sigfrid has the last laugh

 

these villagers of Paris are stunned and awed by Sigfrid’s bravery while Sintric tries to hide a laugh of his own

Needless to say, Odo and  Gisla did not see the humor in it…

Odo has been thwarted again Damn it this is not funny

gisla is not amused

Sinric tried to hide his laugh but sigfrid laughed loud at his own last revenge on the Franks, because Damn it was funny, and Odo would probably even admit in private… probably not Gisla right now, because she is showing her more childish pouting side!

Speaking of Gisla’s more childish pouting side… she showed it again later at a meeting with the King and Odo. Please understand, our siege of Paris may not be completely successful but we are having some profound affect on the city. Our efforts have also been helped by the fact that a serious case of the Plague has arrived in the city as well.  On a historical note, a case of unidentified plague and pestilence were documented during Ragnar Lodbrok’s attack on Paris during 845. In the historic account, the plague entered the Viking camp… which could be the cause of such sickness that is currently overtaking ones such as Ragnar…

The Vikings finally arrived in Paris on either Easter Sunday, 28 March, or Easter Day, 29 March, entered the city and plundered it. During the siege, a plague broke out in their camp. The Norse had been exposed to the Christian religion, and after first praying to the Norse gods, they undertook a fast, acting on the advice of one of their Christian prisoners, and the plague subsided.

We will return to what is going on in our camp later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(845)

Inside Paris, the plague and lack of food supplies are decimating and demoralizing the population. Odo as a competent commander realized this and was willing to admit that they must end this siege by negotiating with the Northmen. Gisla shows her youth and some lack of understanding of the direness of the situation. She is insistent and determined that they keep fighting at all costs, else they shall have failed themselves and their people. Gisla may be courageous in the face of battle but she as yet lacks the wisdom to accept that sometimes one must retreat or compromise in order to live and fight another day. Odo does understand this and while he is not happy about this defeat and giving into the Northmen, he knows that it must be done.

in the city something else has arrived with the vikings the plague has arrived as well.

gisla: otherwise we will have failed.

Odo realizes the disaster facing them and admits defeat he suggests they come to terms with the vikings

Charles knows what Odo is going to say but asks him anyway what is your advice

Charles is pissed because now he has to actually make a decision

What is interesting to note here is that in history, it was Odo who opposed the negotiating and giving in to the Northmen.

To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought for a long time to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking besiegers, and instead allowed them to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt), as well as promising a payment of 700 livres (pounds; 257 kg). Odo, highly critical of this, tried his best to defy the promises of Charles, and when Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(885%E2%80%9386)

In viewing Odo’s actions thus far, I am not seeing him in nearly such bad light as this pathetic King Charles! Odo is attempting to save his city and it’s people but is willing to concede defeat if need be in order not lose more lives. Gisla is acting from a more youthful, childish belief in the heroics and romanticism of the battle. And, ultimately it comes down to a decision from Charles anyway, which proves and reminds her in some way that she does not have as much power as she thinks. In reality, she is still just a young girl under the power and authority of her Father, no matter how brave or adult like she tries to act. In the end we see a young girl put in her place by her Father, the King… who whether they like it or not, is the one who has the last say! In the Viking camp, Ragnar will soon make this clear to all of his people as well!

The siege is taking it’s toll on everyone and our Viking group is disheartened, depressed and disgruntled. The weather is awful, our attempts at conquest are failing, our people are beginning to turn on each other and our esteemed King is off in the woods puking up blood and having strange visions. Yeah, we’re pretty much falling apart here!

Let us look at Ragnar’s condition and those strange visions he is having? He has not recovered at all from the fall he took earlier…

He has been suffering ever since, wandering around camp watching everyone, while occasionally stopping to piss or puke up blood. It’s obvious that he has suffered some serious internal injury and could easily be succumbing to the plague as well? What ever it is, the man is Gods awful sick but he’s still managing to survive and maintain some sort of rulership…

He can not go on the middle of the night raid because, well because he can barely stand let alone fight right now! At one point he wanders out to the woods, presumably for quiet private suffering where no one will see him in such agony…

Why did Ragnar not join the raid Well Ragnar is king and ragnar is busy puking his guts out

Ragnar gives into his pain and at first it does appear that he might just be giving into death calling upon him? He begins to have hallucinations or visions… Athelstan comes to him

Athelstan reaches out to Ragnar and Ragnar starts to reach back to his friend…

But, before their hands can touch, Odin appears as well!

Athelstan fades away and is replaced by a vision of the Christ God…

during part of this vision, Ragnar begs, “Do not abandon me” Now, it might seem that he is speaking specifically to Athelstan but I think he is speaking more in general terms asking of all the Gods, “Do not abandon me” He is begging the Gods, all of the Gods save him.

For a time, he is left on the ground in a pool of his own blood while the Gods determine his fate.

Is this a battle between the Gods for his eternal soul? Is this his penance and retribution for going against his Father God Odin, whom he claims to be descended from? Is it a final renunciation of his old beliefs to turn against Odin and be claimed and welcomed by the Christ God in heaven?

Or is it more of a waiting and watching over him by both Gods as he fights his inner battle for survival and must make some choice…

Ragnar has always believed that we have choice in all things, all actions and decisions, so then must we also have choice in that Gods to follow. I think that Ragnar looks upon the Christ God as another of the many Gods so he would call upon him as well, knowing how strongly Athelstan believed in him. For Ragnar right now, this is not a battle of  which God to follow, or choice of which one to believe in… this is a battle and a choice of life or death for him. The Gods, all of the Gods will watch over him as he fights this battle. As to Athelstan’s leaving, it was more of a way of his Christ God taking his place and in a way saying, “Athelstan, you can step aside now, I will take over this watch.”

ragnar curled up while the gods debate his fate

Don’t abandon me and then ragnar rises

The Gods do not abandon Ragnar and while he is far from well by any means, he rise with some clarity and renewed inner strength to go on. I believe what both Gods were telling him was, “It’s not your time to come with either of us yet, but rest assured that when your time does come, we will be here waiting for you and it will be your choice which resting place to choose.”

After the disastrous latest siege attempt, as I mentioned, our camp was at odds with each other on how to proceed next, especially after the Franks showed up with an offer of  gold and silver to end the siege. They  brought Sinric along as their prisoner translator and I did feel quite bad for him coming back into camp tied to a rope such as he was! Ragnar could do little more than listen from his bed on the side while Bjorn stepped up and took control of the meeting.

ragnar listens from the side unable to do much more than that

Everyone stood by and let Bjorn take charge of the meeting, but at the end, Rollo stepped forward to rescue our Sinric!

 

It was after this meeting that the bickering got out of hand and it was rather apparent that we were falling apart as a team?

Lagertha is disgusted Why should we negotiate with them

Bjorn responds with because 1000 men are dead and many more injured or sick, and soon it will be winter and we will starve…is that not reason enough?

 

Rollo points out Why do they offer terms if they’re so sure we can not breach the city

Kalf is realistic in his appraisal of the situation They have probably run out of food

 

Erlandeur voices his own whiney dissent then we should let them starve

As I said, the arguing and bickering were getting us nowhere except mad at each other!

Ragnar listened to it from his bed and finally could take it no longer. He dragged himself up and decided to put an end to the discussion once and for all… if they wanted to be mad at someone, let it be him… at least they would be united on one front then!

Ragnar has to put them all in their place and shut them up!

ragnar I did not become king out of ambition but once again I had no choice

Ragnar points out everyone in his admonishment of I lead not you not you and not you

ragnar to erlandeur I had no choice as a result of other people’s actions

Rollo just stays out of this he knows Ragnar’s mood

The only two who made effort not to be phased and remain calm, besides Bjorn, were Rollo and Kalf… who were both wise enough not to show fear or agitate Ragnar any more than he already was!

Ragnar’s question to Bjorn, “What does a King do?”  Bjorn answered with, “He rules”

What does a King do Bjorn He rules Yes that is exactly what he does

ragnar: You’ve all had your ideas and they have all failed

Ahhhh, he probably would have went on much longer with this tirade against everyone but he was interrupted by a sudden inconvenient attack…

This put a bit of damper on his speech as everyone watched in some concern for their King who was now puking up blood in front of them…

Ragnar can not finish his speech as he must stop to puke again

 

ragnar: ummm forget you saw that Now there is no more discussion about this we do it my way

Ragnar regained his composure and took Sinric off for a more private meeting.

Rollo says nothing but you can see the concern for his brother on his face

All Bjorn could do was shake his head at his Father’s tirade, his audacity to rub failure in everyone’s faces and laugh in some resignation at Ragnar’s actions which would be par for the course with his Father! He is so used to his Father’s behaviors that even this does not surprise him.

 

Ragnar has managed to put them all down, remind them of their failure and let them know that now they would do it his way. He would meet with this Odo and decide for himself whether to negotiate terms with them. The next morning, he did just that. He left early, taking no one with him but Sinric as his translator and met privately with Odo.

I do have to add here that after seeing Rollo and Sigfrid, I am thinking that Odo’s reaction to seeing a bruised, battered and ailing Ragnar was more one of  this is your King??? But, he did not let on to that thought and made every attempt to bargain with Ragnar.

ragnar leaves the others behind and meets with Odo on his own

odo offers a price of 5000 lbs of silver and gold

ragnar: tell him I know there are no reinforcements coming

ragnar to odo: No one is coming to save you and the offer is not enough

Why is the 5000 lbs not enough? Well, because in history they offered 5670 lbs… why short yourself when you have a feeling you could get a little more out of them!

The Siege of Paris and the Sack of Paris of 845 was the culmination of a Viking invasion of the kingdom of the West Franks. The Viking forces were led by a Danish chieftain named “Reginherus”, or Ragnar, who traditionally has been identified with the legendary saga character Ragnar Lodbrok. Ragnar’s fleet of 120 Viking ships, carrying thousands of men, entered the Seine in March and proceeded sailing up the river. The West Frankish king Charles the Bald assembled a smaller army in response, but as the Vikings defeated one division, comprising half of the army, the remaining forces retreated. The Vikings reached Paris at the end of the month, during Easter. After plundering and occupying the city, the Vikings finally withdrew after receiving a ransom payment of 7,000 French livres (2,570 kilograms or 5,670 pounds) of silver and gold from Charles the Bald.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(845)

There was also a small matter of something else Ragnar wanted in addition to the money…  Ragnar stated that he wanted to baptized!

ragnar: I am a dying man and when I die I want to be reunited with my friend who is Christian

Of course, the Bishop takes issue with this request and tells Ragnar the only place he will be going is to Hell and not Heaven!

Ragnar has his own response to the Bishop, possibly resulting from his earlier vision and meeting with both Gods. Ragnar tells the Bishop, “That is not your decision to make!”

When the bishop tries to put off the baptism, Ragnar shows his understanding of the religion and the significance of the symbolism in baptism. “This is a man of God and this is water so you will do it here and you will do it now!”

this is a man of god and this is water you will do it here and you will do it now

The bishop has little choice but to baptize Ragnar on the spot with all of the Frankish men watching.

Now comes the most difficult part to understand or make sense of. Has Ragnar truly converted to Christianity? Has he indeed foresworn his Pagan Gods and beliefs for this Christian belief? Is he truly dying and hoping desperately to reunite with Athelstan in that Christian Heaven?

First of all, let’s look at the fact that he has carried this out in secret, not wanting his Viking followers to know about this act. Is this because he is ashamed of his act, his denial of the Pagan Gods and he knows that his group would not understand or accept his decision? Well, that could be a remote possibility, but my thought is that he’s done it in secret because, no his group would not understand, but not for the reasons we would assume. He’s doing it in secret so the Frankish men will all see it and believe it wholeheartedly- that is who he needs to convince with this act. They need to firmly believe that he is a changed and converted man. If he told anyone in his group about this, one of them would surely blow this whole thing! They would not understand how, even if he doesn’t believe in it, he could take this act of denial of their Gods so lightly.  This is an ultimate act of blasphemy on both the Christian and the Pagan side so how could he commit this act.  Well, if one looks at it from Ragnar’s perspective, it really isn’t such a betrayal because he does have some belief in both Gods. As I mentioned earlier, I think Ragnar looks at the Christ God as another one of the many Gods. If baptism is what this one God requests as an act of faith, he doesn’t have a problem with it. He does know though that everyone else would or will have a problem with it and he doesn’t have time to deal with all of these arguments right now! What he needs to do right now is prove to himself, to others and to Athelstan that he can get into the city… that his plan will work better than theirs.  In order to do that, he needs to have everyone believe he is truly dying and he has converted to Christianity!

floki is furious at this betrayal of their gods on Ragnar’s part

In order to understand this possible plan of Ragnar’s you need some background history. In history, it was Bjorn Ironside who accomplished this successful plan at the town of Luna, Italy.  In 860, Björn led a large Viking raid into the Mediterranean. After raiding down the Spanish coast and fighting their way through Gibraltar, Björn and Hastein pillaged the south of France, where his fleet over-wintered, before landing in Italy where they captured the coastal city of Pisa. They proceeded inland to the town of Luna, which they believed to be Rome at the time, but Björn found himself unable to breach the town walls. To gain entry, he sent messengers to the bishop to say that he had died, had a deathbed conversion, and wished to be buried on consecrated ground within their church. He was brought into the chapel with a small honor guard, then amazed the dismayed Italian clerics by leaping from his coffin and hacking his way to the town gates, which he promptly opened, letting his army in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rn_Ironside

Now, realistically, even Ragnar can not pull this off on his own. He has to have help from someone he trusts completely. He puts his life and his trust in his son, Bjorn to help him accomplish this plan!

So, in answer to the questions, Does Ragnar die, does Ragnar convert to Christianity… My personal predictions are,  No Ragnar does not die anytime soon- he still has some matters to attend to in England in case anyone has forgotten about that! As far as converting, Ragnar will see no need to convert as the Gods have already spoken to him. He has already seen both Gods and he believes that both can exist.

Now, before we finish this book of epic length proportion, I might as well add a few other last thoughts. Is Floki still in danger… well, yes probably at some time in the future. Ragnar has not forgotten about his betrayal. But, as for Floki’s loss of Helga… Helga is still watching out for him from a distance so maybe there is hope there yet?

In Kattegat, Aslaug is taking her responsibilities and duties as Queen far more seriously.  And, this time I agree with her treatment of this misguided, ignorant, martyr type missionary who wandered into their village attempting to convert them by insulting them, calling them names and deriding their religion. Obviously this man failed every class he might have taken in how to win friends, influence people and properly guide people into conversion. In my personal opinion, he deserved everything he got for his arrogance and his refusal to think outside the box when dealing with other cultures. A poor pathetic excuse of a missionary he was, Athelstan himself would have been hard pressed not to show this man the error of his ways.  Aslaug did give him opportunity to come to some compromise and ease his way out of the situation and their village. He refused, and assumed that his God would over come, his God would rule mightily and make him a hero in the eyes of these people… His God would perform such a miracle that the villagers would be awestruck and immediately converted. What he forgot was that one can not use miracles like this else they would not be so special, would they? His God and Aslaug showed him the error of his ways!

This ridiculous fool is certainly no Athelstan

to her credit Aslaug allows him to speak and to thus seal his fate.

Aslaug has offered some compromise some way for him to get himself out of this but the young man refuses to compromise his belief

The missionary envisions a great miracle….

What he gets is a heated dose of reality!

aslaug and son look down at the missionary in his ignorant failure

the reality rather than the vision

the villagers are not in awe but in hysterics at his stupidity

his god has not interceded on his behalf

aslaug: So what was that about you god being greater?

Later that evening, Aslaug takes a moment from care of her children to calmly  condemn the missionary to death.

 

Aslaug takes a moment from her care of Ivar to answer the guard’s question of what to do with the christian Kill him

 

Ok, I shall end our book here and we shall look at Wessex in a separate post… because I am quite sure you are now as exhausted as I am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings: Lagertha… a Warrior Goddess worth dying for!

Ok, there is one situation in Paris that we have not talked about yet? I think we should look at it before we see Ragnar’s upcoming wrath… because if you’ve viewed the previous promo clip from my last post, you will be well aware that a portion of  his anger is directed at Lagertha for some reason. Perhaps he’s annoyed with her recent alliance with Kalf? Yes, as much as she professes to hate Kalf, she has proven that while she may hate him, she is not immune to his better qualities!

Now, I know that we make much of the Viking men around us and often end up leaving the women out… I am going to remedy that a bit today with a little tribute to our own Viking Goddess, Lagertha! It seems the only one not enamored of her lately is her ex-husband, Ragnar! Ragnar is often downright rude to her and seems to constantly find ways to cut at her with his remarks and his disregard for her feelings. If he has some inner desire to get her back, I believe he is going about it in the wrong way! Well, fortunately for Lagertha, as I said, other men seem to appreciate her assets. Rollo knows things are long over between him and this feisty shield maiden but he continues to hold a spot for her in his heart. Ecbert of Wessex was extremely fond of her, comparing her to one of those ancient Roman Goddesses. And, Kalf has made it abundantly clear that no matter what their other issues are, he desires her more than anything, he stated in the past that he thinks their fates are twined together… And, quite recently he set out to prove just that!

Lagertha Our lives are stories: Fan art by Jul Sanchez at facebook group, Vikings the Aftermath

lagertha’s thought… ummm no this isn’t wrong in fact I think it’s going pretty well

lagertha the goddess

kalf admits I did yes I did even though all the while I was desiring you.

I am not going to go over her entire life history here, we all know of it already. She is a strong independent and stubborn woman, a shield maiden, a Mother, a wife spurned for a younger woman by one husband and abused by another husband. She handled both of those situations and is even stronger from those experiences. She makes her share of mistakes, sometimes she is far too trusting, other times she is far too stubborn and refuses to give up even when she might not be right. She is also now a Grandmother who is far from ready to sit at home and knit… if she even knows how to knit?

Here is a little of Lagertha’s story in real history:

Lagertha’s tale is recorded in passages in the ninth book of the Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work of Danish history by Saxo Grammaticus. According to the Gesta (¶ 9.4.1–9.4.11), Lagertha’s career as a warrior began when Frø, king of Sweden, invaded Norway and killed the Norwegian king Siward. Frø put the women of the dead king’s family into a brothel for public humiliation. Hearing of this, Ragnar Lodbrok came with an army to avenge his grandfather Siward. Many of the women Frø had ordered abused dressed themselves in men’s clothing and fought on Ragnar’s side. Chief among them, and key to Ragnar’s victory, was Lagertha. Saxo recounts:

Ladgerda, a skilled Amazon, who, though a maiden, had the courage of a man, and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose over her shoulders. All-marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks flying down her back betrayed that she was a woman.

Impressed with her courage, Ragnar courted her from afar. Lagertha feigned interest and Ragnar arrived to seek her hand, bidding his companions wait in the Gaular valley. He was set upon by a bear and a great hound which Lagertha had guarding her home, but killed the bear with his spear and choked the hound to death. Thus he won the hand of Lagertha in marriage. According to Saxo, Ragnar had a son with her, Fridleif, as well as two daughters, whose names are not recorded.

After returning to Denmark to fight a civil war, Ragnar (who, according to Saxo, was still annoyed that Lagertha had set beasts against him) divorced Lagertha in order to marry Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr, daughter of King Herrauðr of Sweden.He won the hand of his new love after numerous adventures, but upon returning to Denmark was again faced with a civil war. Ragnar sent to Norway for support, and Lagertha, who still loved him, came to his aid with 120 ships, according to Saxo. When at the height of the battle, Ragnar’s son Siward was wounded, Lagertha saved the day for Ragnar with a counterattack:

Ladgerda, who had a matchless spirit though a delicate frame, covered by her splendid bravery the inclination of the soldiers to waver. For she made a sally about, and flew round to the rear of the enemy, taking them unawares, and thus turned the panic of her friends into the camp of the enemy.

Upon returning to Norway, she quarreled with her husband, and slew him with a spearhead she concealed in her gown. Saxo concludes that she then “usurped the whole of his name and sovereignty; for this most presumptuous dame thought it pleasanter to rule without her husband than to share the throne with him”.

According to Judith Jesch, the rich variety of tales in the first nine books of Saxo’s Gesta, which include the tale of Lagertha, are “generally considered to be largely fictional”.In portraying the several warrior women in these tales, Saxo drew on the legend of the Amazons from classical antiquity, but also on a variety of Old Norse (particularly Icelandic) sources, which have not been clearly identified. Saxo’s depiction of women warriors is also colored by misogyny: Like most churchmen of the time, Saxo thought of women only as sexual beings. To him, the Viking shieldmaidens who refused this role were an example of the disorder in old heathen Denmark that was later cured by the Church and a stable monarchy.

A woman called Hlaðgerðr, who rules the Hlaðeyjar, also appears in the sagas of the 6th century Scylding king Halfdan. She gives him twenty ships to help defeat his enemies.Hilda Ellis Davidson, in her commentary on the Gesta, also notes suggestions in the literature that the name was used by the Franks, for instance by Luitgarde of Vermandois (c. 914–978), and that the tale of Lagertha could have originated in Frankish tradition.

When Saxo describes Lagertha as “flying round” (circumvolare) to the rear of the enemy, he ascribes to her the power of flight, according to Jesch, indicating a kinship with the valkyries. The tale notably recalls that of Kára, the valkyrie lover of Helgi Haddingjaskati, who flies above Helgi in battle as a swan, casting spells in his support.

Davidson deems it possible, as Nora K. Chadwick considered very probable, that Lagertha is identical with Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr (Thorgerd), a goddess reflected in several stories.

Thorgerd was worshipped by, and sometimes said to be wed to, the Norwegian ruler Haakon (c. 937–995), who lived at Hlaðir (Lade). This may be the origin of the name Hlaðgerðr Gaulardal, the Gaular valley – where Lagertha lived according to Saxo – lies nearby and was the center of Thorgerd’s cult. It was also, according to Snorri, the abode of Haakon’s wife Thora.  Finally, the description of Lagertha coming to Ragnar’s aid with flying hair is similar to how the Flateyjarbók describes Thorgerd and her sister Irpa assisting Haakon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagertha

So, Ecbert was not misguided in his assumption of Lagertha being a Goddess!

lagertha is awestruck

All of the men in her life, as well as the rest of us, have seen her at her very worst but are still fascinated and drawn to her.  There is something about her inner spirit, and strength that draws people to her…. much like a Goddess to hold belief in.

The other thing that sets her apart from others is her sense of honor, her basic human goodness, which even in her mistakes, she never waivers from. She may be a shield maiden, a warrior killer when she needs to be, but she does not kill unjustly and she will fight for those being abused whether they are her people or not.  For her, there is a difference between killing in battle for what you believe in or a battle against other warriors and killing for other less honorable reasons. Lagertha is a woman with a conscience, trying to keep her battle side and her personal side separate. Sometimes, she achieves that, other times not so much. She is also a woman trying to succeed and achieve her own reputation, which is so important to the Vikings, in a male dominated career field.  She is not so much different than women today! She knows that she has to prove herself among the men in order to be taken seriously.

In this recent battle for the Gates of Paris, we saw her struggle with this physically and emotionally. We also saw her ongoing struggle for power with Kalf. Ever since Kalf usurped her title of Earl of Hedeby, the two have been in a personal battle of wills over this issue.  I know that Kalf is not a favorite of many people who see him as the evil conniving wrong doer to Lagertha… well that and his sudden friendship with the sleazy Erlandeur to whom he has vowed to bring down the entire Lothbrok clan.  That is a separate issue and even I can not take a venture as to what is really going on there?  In the situation of who should be Earl, Ragnar did tell Kalf it was a personal matter for him and Lagertha to work out… Kalf was willing to work something out with her because as he stated, even through all of it, he desired her… and he did state that he believes the matter is far from over, that their lives are fated to be twined together. Well, let’s just say that he made a good start at that twining together in the aftermath of this battle!

The battle went badly, we all know it. It was really no one’s fault and none of these fine warrior should blame themselves for their loss.  During the battle at the gates, Lagertha struggled to keep her leadership intact, but Kalf  stepped in when he saw problems arise. He could not help it, he is a warrior as well and sometimes people need to admit when their plan is not working so well… Lagertha must work on this!

Lagertha takes a moment to think things through

lagertha’s a little stressed this is taking too long is it time for a mead break yet

Kalf being patient letting Lagertha lead but….

at the gates Kalf has taken over much to lagertha’s annoyance

Once they did manage to get inside, it was Kalf who quickly realized it was a trap and their lives were in danger. Lagertha, being her stubborn self, did not want to listen to Kalf so he took matters into his own hands

Kalf saved her life during that battle. They both survived to deal with the aftermath of it.  Once they returned to camp, Lagertha had to deal with the fact that her son, Bjorn was nearly killed. Needless to say, she was not having a good day!

lagertha and Rollo hover over Bjorn

Instead of easing her worries or offering any comfort, Ragnar chides her and Rollo for their worries over Bjorn.

Lagertha asks what happened and ragnar answers he was proving that he is a leader of men without the title

Later that evening as she tries to recover and pull herself together, the one to seek her out and offer comfort is Kalf!

Of course, initially that just causes her more aggrevation and annoyance, but Kalf does not give in. He calmly lets her vent her frustration sets about comforting her anyway. Now, we begin to see how Lagertha truly feels about him… as much as she professes to hate him, she does not stop him or pull away as he continues.

kalf shows his concern and care for lagertha

Kalf says nothing but picks up the sponge to comfort lagertha in some way

Kalf: I know that I desire you with all my heart

 

Kalf: you want to hate me but you can not for you desire me as much as I desire you.

Kalf is honest and open with her about their feelings. Lagertha could have slapped him, or done any other violence to him and kicked him out of her room. She did none of that, she let him go on and asked him why she should trust or believe him. His answer is simply, “I could have just let you die.”  Lagertha goes on to put forth another question, “What if I accept what you have to say? What if I choose to be with you, go with you but…”

Kalf : I could have let you die Lagertha asks what if I accept what you have to say?

lagertha but I will never forgive you and one day I will kill you

but I will never forgive you and one day I will kill you

Lagertha’s words that while she might agree to be with him but one day she will kill him cause a moment of concern for Kalf.  He must decide whether she is deadly serious, and whether time spent enjoying her company is worth that future possibility?

 

Lagertha has put her threat out there for him, warned him of her deepest feeling and waits for his response.

if you accept that condition then let us be together and enjoy each other

Kalf has decided that what ever time he can spend in Lagertha’s embrace are worth any threat to his life in the future.  Now, that is the power of a Goddess!

Lagertha gives into her desire for Kalf

So, Kalf and Lagertha have made their own rather unique alliance, are on their way to working out their personal differences in some way… Only the Seer knows how this will all turn out!

 

One last thought on Lagertha’s Warrior Goddess status… if she is truly an incarnation of a Goddess, the question begging to be answered is, What form would she take in today’s world? Because as we know, the Goddess is eternal. She never dies, she lives on in all women. She simply takes different form…

Ahhhhh yes, Katheryn Winnick, you do indeed embody the spirit of Lagertha the Goddess!

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings: To the Gates from the French side

 

 

Before we head back to the gates of Paris, a few general items of interest!  First is an excellent interview with Clive Standen on his role as Rollo and his insights on the show in general! It’s a great interview and he points out some of the same things that I try to make clear here.

Clive Standen4

Rollo

 

Here is an excerpt from the interview where he discusses dealing with limited, sometimes boring historical facts and weaving them into an interesting story as it applies to Rollo’s history and story. 

The Vikings were very oral culture so much of the history of them was written by a lot of the cultures that they came into contact with and, in many cases, conquered, and was written long after that contact. So since they didn’t really document their society in the way we normally expect, any show or any kind of narrative that portrays them has to fill in some pretty big gaps, and I was just wondering if you give me some insight into how that happens on this series. Is that something that Hirst talks to you guys about, how he chooses to flesh the history out and how aware are you of when something is more strictly historical versus when he’s using narrative license?

Sometimes you get the best stories from the sagas. This is a time when there was no TV, and entertainment was based around stories and some of the sagas are larger-than-life. But you can base a story on a saga which gives you something that was written about the time or if not, very close to the time.

But the thing is that Michael–and we are all the same page with this—just as the Vikings didn’t really write much down, as you said, and the history was written by the invaded, there are a lot of historians that have got different agendas as well. Just looking at Rollo: there are four or five different people writing on Rollo. Dudo of St Quentin was one of the biggest writers of the history of Rollo. He was writing 400 years after the events; he was also writing for the (then) Duke of Normandy who he was trying to write a lineage for and protect that lineage and somehow conveniently talks—or glides over– certain aspects of Viking society. Dudo has an agenda to try to make Rollo an impressive historical figure.

So sometimes what we can take from history is we can take the actual events and the things that make this figure famous in history and the things they actually accomplished but the real person, for an actor and a script writer, you’ve got to dissect that and flesh it out. So you have to take some sort of artistic license in the character. But you know it is fascinating to think that we know where someone ended up and the big plot points of how they got there from the history books, but as an actor and writer–it’s very hard to explain—you have the A and the Z but you have to fill in the B and C and D, everything in between. It’s up to the actor to fill in the middle and to make it a full story where you can actually take everybody’s different accounts and try to build on that.

I don’t know if I making any sense at this point. I’m just trying to make the point that you can’t just read Wikipedia, read a little bit about Rollo, and then go “That’s not the Rollo history because I read it on Wikipedia. There’s a greater thing happening when you start to get all of the stories and documentation together and then you yourself have to pick apart what was the propaganda what someone’s agenda and look more deeply is. Which is what we should do on social media as well when people start reading people’s posts and likes and you assume something is true because someone has posted it without thinking what someone’s agenda was in posting it. It’s no different when you start researching history.

http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/vikings/245382/vikings-season-3-interview-clive-standen

If you follow along this theory and line of thinking, it would apply to the character of Gisla as well. When you looker further and deeper into the limited information about this Gisela, you have to think to yourself, Why is there not more information on this woman? Who made the decision way back in the past to basically erase her from history and leave doubt as to whether she even existed. Some have suggested that Michael Hirst should have went with the story of Poppa, Rollo’s concubine or Dane wife- that she would be more interesting and closer to historical facts. I disagree. I think the story of Gisla and what might have or could have happened with her makes for a far more interesting story. Gisla also gives Hirst the tie in to Paris and to Charles. I think we need to look at Gisla as a combination of Poppa and Gisela.  Personally, I can’t wait to see Hirst’s version of hers and Rollo’s story!

 

Our next bit of  interest is the preview for this week’s episode in which Ragnar makes his status clear to everyone. Also for those who might be concerned about Floki, he is still around! Obviously, a few people have pissed Ragnar off by possibly questioning his decisions or his authority. 

If you watch the beginning of the video, you see a group swimming under the bridge of Paris… in a historical account of Ragnar Lodbrok’s siege of Paris, there is mention of how they did eventually set a bridge on fire by burning boats underneath it!

If anyone thought that this siege would be simple or quick and that our Vikings would easily win, they will be sadly mistaken. The sieges of Paris were well documented and they were long drawn out battles with neither side truly being able to claim victory. Yes, Ragnar’s group did manage to get into the city and even occupy it for a time so I suppose you could consider that a victory of sorts. The Vikings eventually withdrew from the city after being paid off by the Franks. I have already covered much about the historical attacks on Paris and their results in a previous post on the Importance of Rollo. You can read that here:

https://timeslipsblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/vikings-the-importance-of-rollo/

Now on to our current topic, The gates of Paris and beyond. I say beyond because as usual, there is so much else going besides the truly epic battle! I did cover much of the lead up to this battle and the wall portion of it in the last post concerning Floki’s bout with hopefully temporary madness… https://timeslipsblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/vikings-the-madness-of-floki/

As I mentioned in the last post, you really need to watch the episode to truly appreciate the entire battle. My assorted pictures and recaps do not even begin do it the credit it so well deserves. It was a massive undertaking on all parts!

Let’s look at how the people of Paris reacted and survived,  from the lowliest of poor serfs to the one sitting at the top one his throne the entire time while his daughter fought his battle for him! First of all, when Count Odo and his minions announce closing time for the City, they are deadly serious! If you were out there milking your cow, weeding your garden, doing your laundry or what ever else you might have been so concerned about that you didn’t bother to pay attention and run like hell for those gates, so sorry for you…Cause no matter how hard you bang on that gate you’re not getting in! We’ll say some nice prayers in your name after the siege is over…

Closing time at the gates of Paris

The gates were firmly closed and we can only hope that maybe those poor stragglers found somewhere to hide out of the way. Because, really our main intent is to get into the city, not worry about poor defenseless serfs… unless they make the mistake of getting in our way! If any of them are left alive after the battle, we’ll pick them up on our way out- but only if they’re young women and children- sorry but those are who bring the most gold on the slave market.

the city of Paris behind it’s walls and gates where are those poor stragglers!

What was going on inside the city? As one could easily imagine, all out panic was taking over for most of the residents. They all gathered in the church for protection and prayer…

the masses have gathered in the church for protection and prayer

Where was their mighty ruler during the entire time of the raid? Ahhhh yes, that supreme ruler of all was in his great hall, sitting alone on his throne hiding behind that bizarre mask again. Those damn masks are beginning to bug me. They seem to be a recurring item of some importance but I can find no detail, description or explanation of such a ritual anywhere? If anyone figures it out, please let me know so it doesn’t end up driving me nuts! Anyway, this time I think he is literally hiding behind the mask so if anyone wanders in, they won’t see him shaking and crying like a baby!

The question has to be asked here. Is this man really as pathetic as he’s looking so far? Well, he does have the one thing going for him… he is the King, even if he is turning out to be a milk toast, puppet type King.  As far as who he is in history, he seems to be a combination of Charles the Fat, Charles the Bald and Charles the Simple. It should be pretty clear from their various nicknames, how their citizens felt about them by this point in history. This was towards the end of their particular dynasty, the Carolingian dynasty and frankly the people were a little tired of  all of them. I believe our King Charles is portraying some of the characteristics given to Charles the Fat who was described as spineless and incompetent. It really makes not much difference, by this time in history they were all similarly regarded and could have been interchangeable! As I said, he is the King and even if he is generally a puppet being used by others, if he should come up with his own lame idea in the future and decide to implement, no one can really stop him. And, he most likely will come up with his lame plan to pay the Vikings off to get rid of them.  For the moment though, he is sitting on his throne cowering while his daughter Gisla takes charge!

Gisla watched the Vikings arrive but would not stand by idly waiting for their destruction.

Gisla knows her people need a leader and they need inspiration. They’re certainly not going to get it from her Father, and I think she has a thought in her mind to show Odo up as well… She goes to the one place that she knows her people will take guidance and inspiration from. She goes to the church because her people are devoutly religious and they will be inspired by their faith. During this time, the Christians were devoted to their relics of faith. They firmly believed in the miraculous powers of such relics, despite the fact that most of said relics were fakes that the church approved of and even encouraged at times for the amounts of followers and wealth they brought to the church. Very rarely there might be some actual documented proof of a miracle or divine vision surrounding such articles, and really all it took was for one person to suddenly recover from illness, win a losing battle or such to inspire people to believe in the miracles of Christ and his Saints.

Gisla has one such relic close at hand… she has the Sacred Banner of St. Denis, the Oriflamme!

Just what is the Oriflamme, the Banner of St. Denis and why would her people be so willing and ready to fight for it?

Battle_of_Poitiers oriflamme

The Oriflamme (from Latin aurea flamma, “golden flame”) was the battle standard of the King of France in the Middle Ages. It was originally the sacred banner of the Abbey of St. Denis, a monastery near Paris.  In French, the term “oriflamme” has come to mean any banner with pointed ends; by association with the form of the original.

The Oriflamme was mentioned in the eleventh-century ballad the Chanson de Roland (vv. 3093-5) as a royal banner, first called Romaine and then Montjoie.  According to legend, Charlemagne carried it to the Holy Land in response to a prophecy regarding a knight possessing a golden lance, from which flames would burn and drive out the Saracens.  This suggests that the lance was originally the important object, with the banner simply a decoration, but this changed over time.

When the Oriflamme was displayed on the battlefield it indicated that no quarter was to be given, its red colour being symbolic of cruelty and ferocity.

Although the azure ground (from the blue cope of St. Martin of Tours) strewn with gold fleur-de-lis remained the symbol of royalty until the 15th century, the Oriflamme became the royal battle standard of the King of France, and it was carried at the head of the king’s forces when they met another army in battle. In the fifteenth century, the fleur-de-lis on the white flag of Joan of Arc became the new royal standard replacing both the symbol of royalty and the Oriflamme on the battle field.

Gisla heard the story of how the banner was sacred because it presumably had been dipped in the blood of St. Denis…

Paris Cathédrale_Notre-Dame Portail de la_Vierge. St. Denis

According to Christian tradition, Saint Denis  is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred, with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after 250 AD. Denis is said to have picked his head up after being decapitated, walked ten kilometres (six miles), while preaching a sermon of repentance the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France, and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis

The medieval Christians believed and practiced  mysticism and what they considered Holy magic or miracles just as firmly and as passionately as the Norse did with their Pagan religion. To them, yes there might be only one true God but there were any number of Holiest Saints whom they believed held almost as much power as their God. So, it really was not all that different from the Norse belief in many Gods for different purposes. If they all could have seen it in this way, things would have been so much easier!

Now, back to Gisla and her plan…

Gisla kind of backed the Bishop into a corner and forced him to bless her Banner in front of all of the citizens in the church so they would know the importance of it. Really, how was he going to say no to such a blessing with all of those people waiting?

Then she did the most courageous thing that proved her worthy of leading and eventually caught the attention of one Rollo… She took that blessed banner and marched to the top of the wall where the fighting was at it’s worst and bloodiest. She spoke to the men, encouraged them and raised the Banner of St. Denis over them to remind them of what they fought for and why. This young woman was not a milk toast whiny woman, in her own way she was a warrior! She believed in her people, in her country and she would stand with her men and face the battle whether others agreed or not, such as Count Odo…

When Gisla arrived on the wall, I have a feeling that Odo’s thoughts were probably, “Ohhhh Great, WTF is she doing up here! If she gets herself killed, it will be my fault and if she survives, she looks like the hero instead of me!”

Odo is shocked and pissed at the sight of gisla climbing up to the top of the walls

gisla raises the banner and reminds the men of what they fight for

these men are as inspired by her courage and her speech as the vikings are by speeches of Odin

Gisla did not back down and run to hide behind a mask. She stayed up there on that wall yelling her encouragement and watching the entire battle. She may not have fought with a weapon but she fought with what she had, her words! The men drew strength and courage from her  brave presence there.

Show no mercy fight on fight on for Paris

Fight to the Death

As I said, she stood up there and watched the whole battle, yelling her encouragement the whole time… her presence did not go un-noticed by the Vikings either. At least one Viking became so thoroughly distracted by the sight of her that he forgot to pay attention to the job at hand.

Yes, unfortunately our Rollo was the one completely distracted by the sight of Gisla on the wall…  Gisla was also watching him.

That momentary distraction almost cost Rollo his life… I am pretty sure he will be a little pissed at himself and her for it?

No need for anyone to worry… he did survive the fall and I am sure he will be having some words with Gisla about all of this at some later point!

As for the overall battle, we do have to give Count Odo credit. He was in charge and led a well organized and prepared defensive campaign whether we like him or not. He did his job and supervised both the battle at the gates and on the walls. While we are speaking of Odo, let us just have a very quick refresher on who he is in history?

Odo was the eldest son of Robert the Strong, Duke of the Franks and Marquis of Neustria, belonging to the branch known as the Robertians. After his father’s death in 866, Odo inherited his father’s title of Marquis of Neustria. Odo lost this title in 868 when King Charles the Bald appointed Hugh the Abbot to the title, but regained it following the death of Hugh in 886. After 882, he held the post of Count of Paris. Odo was also the lay abbot of St. Martin of Tours.

Odo married Théodrate of Troyes and had two known sons, Arnulf (born probably about 885) and Guy (born probably about 888), neither of whom lived past the age of fifteen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_France

Historically, Odo was in charge of the defense of Paris during the siege of Paris that took place in 885-886 and involved the Vikings, Sigfred, Sinric and Rollo.

With hundreds of ships, and possibly tens of thousands of men, the Vikings arrived outside Paris in late November 885, at first demanding tribute. This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact that he only could assemble a couple of hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines, but failed to break through the city walls after some days of intense attacks. The siege was upheld after the initial attacks, but without any significant offence for months thereafter. As the siege went on, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer, and in October, Charles the Fat arrived with his army.

To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought for a long time to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking besiegers, and instead allowed them to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt), as well as promising a payment of 700 livres (pounds; 257 kg). Odo, highly critical of this, tried his best to defy the promises of Charles, and when Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

 

We have not really discussed the charge of the gates yet but it went much like the battle at the wall. No blame or accusations here against Lagertha and her group. They fought exceptionally well considering the circumstances and had a good plan. They did succeed in getting through the gates with the help of some interesting inventions of slimey Erlandeur’s along with  the additional muscle and horse power of Sigfrid! They were just unprepared for the surprise counter attack planned by Odo’s forces inside the inner gate. There was a great slaughter there when the Viking group became trapped within the hall.

back at the gates why is this scum still standing

Sigfrid the giant initializes the next stage of drill bit operation

Sigfrid the extra horsepower

 

Ahhh I know we are talking about this mainly from the French perspective but I do feel a need here to point out that one Sigfred was indeed a real historical player in a siege of Paris.  I know I have included some of this information previously but it bears repeating as it does deal with Odo, as well as with Rollo!

Danish Vikings under Sigfred and Sinric  sailed towards West Francia again in 885, having raided the north-eastern parts of the country before. Sigfred demanded a bribe from Charles, but was refused, and promptly led 700 ships up the Seine, carrying perhaps as many as 30,000 or 40,000 men.  The number, the largest ever recorded for a Viking fleet in contemporary sources, originates from Abbo Cenuus. Although an eyewitness, there is general agreement among historians that Abbo’s numbers are “a gross exaggeration,”^[8] with Abbo being “in a class of his own as an exaggerator.” Historian C. W. Previté-Orton has instead put the number of ships at 300,  and John Norris at “some 300.”  Although the Franks tried to block the Vikings from sailing up the Seine, the Vikings eventually managed to reach Paris.  Paris at this time was a town on an island, known today as Île de la Cité. Its strategic importance came from the ability to block ships’ passage with its two low-lying foot bridges, one of wood and one of stone. Not even the shallow Viking ships could pass Paris because of the bridges.  Odo, Count of Paris prepared for the arrival of the Vikings by fortifying the bridgehead with two towers guarding each bridge. He was low on men, having no more than 200 men-at-arms available (also according to Abbo Cenuus),  but led a joint defence with Gozlin, Bishop of Paris  (the first “fighting bishop” in medieval literature), and had the aid of his brother, Robert, two counts and a marquis.

The Vikings arrived in Paris on 24 or 25 November 885, initially asking for tribute from the Franks. When this was denied, they began a siege. On 26 November the Danes attacked the northeast tower with ballistae, mangonels, and catapults. They were repulsed by a mixture of hot wax and pitch. All Viking attacks that day were repulsed, and during the night the Parisians constructed another storey on the tower.^[17][18] On 27 November the Viking attack included mining, battering rams, and fire, but to no avail. Bishop Gozlin entered the fray with a bow and an axe. He planted a cross on the outer defences and exhorted the people. His brother Ebles also joined the fighting.^[17] The Vikings withdrew after the failed initial attacks and built a camp on the right side of the river bank, using stone as construction material. While preparing for new attacks, the Vikings also started constructing additional siege engines.^[19] In a renewed assault, they shot a thousand grenades against the city, sent a ship for the bridge, and made a land attack with three groups. The forces surrounded the bridgehead tower, possibly mainly aiming to bring down the river obstacle. While they tried setting fire to the bridge, they also attacked the city itself with siege engines.

Map of Paris in the 9th century (on Île de la Cité)

For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, making trenches and provisioning themselves off the land. In January 886 they tried to fill the river shallows with debris, plant matter, and the bodies of dead animals and dead prisoners to try to get around the tower. They continued this for two days. On the third day they set three ships alight and guided them towards the wooden bridge. The burning ships sank before they could set the bridge on fire, but the wooden construction was nonetheless weakened.  On 6 February, rains caused the river (still filled with debris) to overflow and the bridge supports gave way. The bridge gone, the northeast tower was now isolated with only twelve defenders inside. The Vikings asked the twelve to surrender, but they refused, and were all subsequently killed.

The Vikings left a force around Paris, but many ventured further to pillage Le Mans, Chartres,  Evreux and into the Loire.  Odo successfully slipped some men through Norse lines to go to Italy and plead with Charles to come to their aid. Henry, Count of Saxony, Charles’ chief man in Germany, marched to Paris.  Weakened by marching during the winter, Henry’s soldiers made only one abortive attack in February before retreating. The besieged forces sallied forth and to obtain supplies. Morale of the besiegers was low and Sigfred asked for sixty pounds of silver. He left the siege in April. Another Viking leader, Rollo, stayed behind with his men.  In May, disease began to spread in the Parisian ranks and Gozlin died. Odo then slipped through Viking-controlled territory to petition Charles for support; Charles consented. Odo fought his way back into Paris and Charles and Henry of Saxony marched northward.  Henry died after he fell into the Viking ditches, where he was captured and killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(885%E2%80%9386)

As I mentioned, things went badly at the gates. The few who survived were lucky to have gotten out of there alive. Lagertha’s survival was due to Kalf’s quick thinking and realizing that it was a trap. He dragged her out of there, while sleazy Erlandeur made his own dash for the back of the crowd!

The Viking group eventually realized they were defeated and chose to retreat in order to fight another day. Inside the walls of Paris, Charles and Odo inspected the remaining carnage left behind. Charles showed his truest distain and his disgust…

King Charles finally leaves his throne after the battle is finished to view the results

Now that I see them up close they do not appear so threatening why they seem almost human.

Count Odo is pleased with himself and of course both he and the King consider this a great success…little do they realize that the Vikings are more determined now than ever-or at least two of them, Ragnar and Rollo are. Both men commented later that they were determined to conquer Paris! Rollo mentioned in discussion with Ragnar about what to do next. Rollo is determined to get back inside that city… perhaps his idea of plunder is flesh rather than gold, flesh as in that of one Gisla?  Ragnar mentioned it in his conversation with his beloved and departed Athelstan!  “I wish you were here.  Paris is every bit as beautiful as you said. I am determined to conquer it now!”

Ohhhhh Damn! I did just mention that Rollo is determined to get back inside that city, didn’t I? Here is new preview of the next episode!

http://www.tvguide.com/news/vikings-rollo-paris-raid/#ooid=RvZDRqdDqWZMk5QQ8Ilxlr_FveB9xvys

 

 

today we came so close next time we will not make the same mistakes!

ragnar to athelstan I wish you were here Paris is every bit as beautiful as you said. I am determined to conquer it now

 

For the moment though, the Parisians are celebrating their victory. Naturally, Charles and Odo take full credit for this defeat of the Pagans. Charles looks good in his people’s eyes even if he did nothing but hide for the entire duration of the battle. And, if Charles looks good then Odo should reap the benefits of this… or that is his plan anyway. 

charles and Odo take all of the credit for the defeat of the pagans

Gisla arrives at the celebration with her sacred banner, then proceeds to congratulate her Father on his great success. Though, when she is paying him such tribute, she seems a bit sarcastic about it… probably knowing full well that he was cowering in the corner while she was out there leading and encouraging his men!

gisla enters with her sacred banner

gisla is a bit sarcastic in her congratulations of her Father’s success

gisla encourages the people to give charles his due credit

Something else is going on here behind the scenes and I am thinking that Gisla should probably be a little concerned about her future or her fate? Realistically, Gisla is a princess, and  while she is strong willed and determined, she is not in complete control of her future. Her Father, as weak willed as he is, still has the final say in her destiny… Much like Ragnar Lothbrok states in the future, “I am King and I have the final say!”  Odo has already stated openly that he expects to marry Gisla as his reward for this defeat. Charles is wishy washy and now owes Odo big time for this success…

Odo is up to something. He has some other agenda and plan going on behind some backs. While Count Odo is paying lip service and adding his voice to the praise of his King, he seems focused on something or someone else.

odo adds his voice to the tribute but seems focused on something else

Who is this woman? And what does she have going on with Count Odo…

Odo’s attention is on this woman.

What ever their secret is, they seem to be in agreement on something!

Odo and the new mysterious woman seem to be in agreement on something

Ahhhhh if you think the Vikings or the Saxons  are full of intrigue, secret agendas, deceptions and sins, they have nothing on the French! These people may be devoutly holy on the surface but their devious plotting and exploits exceed anything that Ecbert or Ragnar could think of! Personally, I am looking forward to seeing a bit more of their less than holy behaviors in the future!  I know many of you are only concerned about the Viking side of things, but in order for the Viking groups to survive in the future, they will need to know how to maneuver their way through all of these other mazes of  ruling dynasties. Attack, plunder and run only work for so long… then you need to settle down someplace and defend yourself against those new raiders and pillagers who take your place.  As our Vikings have just discovered, they have a lot yet to learn about other places and people. And, as Ragnar says, “It is good to follow Odin but it is better with knowledge!”

 

Now, I have just one last thought for the night and it does not concern France at all. There is one other thing that has happened while we’ve all been in Paris. As most of us know, Porunn has been suffering great difficulties in adjusting to her injury and to her new Motherhood. She has been struggling, trying to hold things together in her mind and heart for some time now. My personal thought is that her struggle has been going for far longer than any of us may realize or comprehend. Perhaps it is due to her years a slave. We do not know what she may have endured during those years that would leave a mark on her mind. In fact, we know very little about her at all other than that she was a slave. Bjorn met her as a teen. Who really knows how long she was a slave, where she came from, who she was before? Does she have a hidden past that she remembers and it ever haunts her? All we know is that as a teen, Bjorn chose her, wanted her, thought he loved her. Maybe he did, but that was young untried love, they have both grown some and I think she knows he doesn’t love her. She may not even truly love him… We don’t really know, what we do know is that she is not coping well with Motherhood. She has finally reached her personal breaking point and left Kattegat without baby Siggy.  She left in the middle of the night with no word to anyone. Aslaug awoke in the morning to a crying Siggy and no Porunn.

Aslaug was puzzled at first and then realized what had happened.  Baby Siggy is now in the care of Aslaug. I think she will be safe and well cared for, and perhaps it is fitting for the child to now be raised by Aslaug. The baby was named after Siggy, who died trying to save the other children of Aslaug.  I hope that Aslaug will care for this little girl with love and realize the significance of this gift the Gods have suddenly given her.

I do worry and pray for the fate and the destiny of Porunn, who has now become a wanderer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings: The Madness of Floki

First of all, I want to give my appreciation and my complete praise to Michael Hirst and everyone involved in the production of the Vikings Saga for such an incredible enactment this past week of the initial battle for Paris! I can not even begin to describe how awesome it was! Of course as usual I have countless pictures of it but that in no way begins to describe the realness of this epic confrontation. If you have not watched last week’s episode, The Gates of Paris, you need to go do so now!  I will make my attempts to deal with all of it later.

In this post, I need to finally address the one person whom I have been putting off dealing with in more depth. That person is of course the eccentric, often extreme and easily agitated Floki.  In the past, I have commented on some of my feelings about him as a religious zealot in his own way. I have also touched on his states of agitation and over the top bouts of excitement and panic… much of which could be attributed to some extensive use of mild altering plants such as the mushrooms that he does seem to know a great deal about. We saw this in his earlier years when he used them to imitate death in Torstein and forced them down a barely conscious Rollo. We also saw an affect of them on him when he was asked to go retrieve a head for Princess Kwentirith.

 

my friend torstien has been murdered

floki calling the gods to rollo

floki go get the head

floki gets his head

 

We’ve all witnessed his extremes in behaviors, his over the top excitement that could border on manic in some ways. If we go back to his earliest years, we also saw a fascination with fire…  We have seen his devotion to the old ways, the old beliefs and the Gods. And, how many times have we heard him speak of his hatred for the new ways, the Christians and Athelstan? Floki has always been open and honest about his view that Christianity will be the death of their ways and he is adamant in his belief that Athelstan was a direct cause of this death because he influenced Ragnar so much in his thinking of new ways. None of this is new, this is all part of Floki’s character, his belief system that he is so immersed in. Over the years however, we have seen Floki progress further and further into some deeper belief in his Gods. His progression has bordered on that same zealotry that he condemns the Christians for. His rigid way of thinking causes him to cross from the boundaries of normal dissent and opposition to the darker corners of hatred, extremism and total intolerance for anything not within his narrow belief system.  Unfortunately, it all culminated in a complete mental breakdown for him at the walls of Paris.

floki1

I have not addressed his more recent extreme behaviors such as his outright killing of  Athelstan and claiming it as a sacrifice to the Gods because, frankly and honestly it was so disturbing to me that I found it difficult to delve into the subject.  Now, though with the most recent events concerning Floki, I think it is time to go back and look at all of it. What led to this break with reality, and were there other causes than just the voices in his head- his Gods speaking to him, telling him to do it?  I do not want this to turn into some lengthy, deep psycho-babble analysis of his character and his early flaws so I will try to keep this brief and basic.  Floki was not always this far off, this far over the edge in his thinking. Yes, he was always eccentric but in the early years, he was a good eccentric. He was a builder, a dreamer, a visionary of sorts, and he was a true friend to Ragnar and his family… until the arrival of Athelstan, the Christian.

He was a happy man, his face full of sheer joy in life and adventure.

floki flies

floki loves his boat

As I said, he was a true friend to Ragnar and his family.

floki and bjorn I joke about many things but never about ship building

When Ragnar was near death, it was Floki who took the family in, hid them and healed his friend.

I must speak with floki

desperately seeking floki bjorn meets Helga

 

hidden away at floki’s cabin ragnar heals.

Floki was ever loyal to Ragnar , Rollo nearly killed him for it in battle but he eventually forgave Rollo…

Floki showed his loyalty to Ragnar by putting his life on the line and playing a dangerous game with King Horik.

Over the years, Floki’s loyalties and friendship with Ragnar were unquestioned for the most part, other than his dislike for Athelstan and the Christian beliefs. He was however, questioning his own thoughts and beliefs more and fears were beginning to creep into his thoughts. His fears were of his Gods being angry with him, he also began to have serious fears about the Gods revenge on him, and on their people… These fears came as he began a married and settled life with Helga- a time that was at first filled with such happiness. After the birth of their daughter though, he  feared that the Gods would take notice or revenge for them being too happy and content with their lives.

Floki’s fears, distrust of the Christians and hatred of them became even worse after the battle in England to defend a Christian took so many of his friends lives, such as that of his good friend Torstein.

floki no you’re right it’s some one else’s fault it is that priest’s fault he is the cause for all of this

I want floki to do it

It was after Torstein’s death that Floki’s thoughts turned more toward the extreme hatred of all things Christian, and his fears for his friend Ragnar became even more pronounced. By the time they all returned to Kattegat, Floki’s extreme views became far more apparent and he was vocal in his hatred of Athelstan, whom he felt was responsible for everything wrong in their lives. His behaviors became more erratic as he sought his own guidance from his Gods. It was during this time as well that he became less able to control his emotional outbursts with even Helga, the one person who loved him without question. He turned on her in violence, then quickly realized the wrongness of his behavior and swore to her that he was sorry and it would never happen again.

It was after this incident when he made her swear not to tell anyone about his whereabouts, that he carried out his plan to make sacrifice to his Gods and killed Athelstan. It was not so much a sacrifice though as a secret assassination of the man. It was in no way a ritualized sort of killing or sacrifice, he snuck into Athelstan’s room and killed in cold blood. He planned to do it, he knew it was wrong and it would in a way be a betrayal of his friend Ragnar. Floki knew all of this, he threatened Helga not to tell anyone where he was or had been. He did not make some public statement of calling for Athelstan’s death but he had turned all of the men of Kattegat against Athelstan. Of course, it could be said that Athelstan did as much himself by announcing his renewal and rebirth to the Christian faith, by throwing away his arm ring… but, the men would not have known this fact had Floki not made them all aware of it.   Floki knew that he was setting Athelstan up for at least banishment from their community if nothing else.  Athelstan knew this and had already accepted his fate so I am not going to go more into the event here.  Floki reasoned that his action was warranted in order to save Ragnar from the perils of Athelstan and Christianity. In his erratic and irrational thinking, he truly believed at the time that he was saving Ragnar from the wrath of their Gods for turning away from them. The one other thing we need to consider in Floki’s killing of Athelstan is the fact that it may have had just as much to do with Ragnar’s deep friendship with Athelstan, with the fact as that friendship grew stronger, Ragnar sought out Floki’s company and advice less and less. So, Floki’s act may well have been spurred on by a more common sin or violation than any religious reason.. Floki was jealous of losing Ragnar’s friendship and attentions. He feared loss of his own notice by Ragnar and the Gods. He felt a desperate need to call attention once again to himself in the eyes of the Gods, and be looked on with favor again by his friend, his King, Ragnar.

What ever Floki’s reasons for killing Athelstan in secret are aside the point now because, as always, Ragnar was suspicious of who would have done the deed. Ragnar’s mind went immediately to Floki as the evil doer, and his thoughts turned to vengeance for his friend Athelstan.

This personal vendetta and vengeance is what brought about part of the disaster that was our first battle of Paris.  Rather than deal with Floki directly, Ragnar chose instead to set the man up and use him in his ongoing agenda for this raid of Paris. My personal thought is that this personal vendetta had no business being played out in such a way as to put everyone’s lives in such danger, sacrifice so many good warriors all in a ploy to bring Floki down because of a personal grudge against him. This was wrong of Ragnar and showed just how much more corrupt he has become.  Floki may have killed Athelstan, but he was not the only one guilty of a cold blooded murder done to save his faith, his reputation or what ever his reason was… Ragnar was just as guilty of such action when he killed the lone survivor of the English massacre so that the man would not tell of that disaster and cause anyone to question Ragnar’s actions!

ragnar kills the survivor and sends him to his family and the gods.

By the time they arrive in Paris, Floki’s fears had begun to take a firm hold of his thinking. He was not thinking clearly at all, otherwise he would have immediately questioned Ragnar’s suggestion to put him in charge of this all so important raid. Floki was well aware of Ragnar’s devious plots and plans… he had been a part of them before- such as in his deceptions with King Horik for Ragnar. All we have to go on is the reactions and behaviors of Floki during this time so we can not truly know what exactly was going through mind… and to give Floki some credit, I do not think even Floki was all that sure of everything racing in mind!  My thought is that Floki was so desperate to cover his murder of Athelstan and be in Ragnar’s good graces that he did not question Ragnar’s decision.  He was in fact, surprised and ecstatic about it. In his altered mind, it must have looked as though his sacrifice had been seen with favor by the Gods and they were now repaying him with greatness….

He says as much to Helga when he is in the process of building his towers. His elated excitement is such an extreme as to cause Helga more concern about his behavior. He is so excited that he tells Helga of his great sacrifice to the Gods.

I appeased them I delighted them I filled them with great joy do you know what I did Helga

it is the gods working through my poor hands and helping me do you know helga because I gave them great sacrifice

After Helga leaves, Floki delights in his joy and his favor from the Gods.

Floki believed that the Gods were speaking to him and were acting through him in his creation of the towers. Again to Floki’s credit and defense, the towers were a truly genius creation. Floki was a dreamer and a visionary with his creations- both of the boats he built earlier and in these new creations. It is sometimes said that in every creative genius, there lies some bit of madness that allows them to step outside themselves and see some greater vision of picture.  I think was true in Floki’s case. Having no other way to explain or describe his creative process, he assumed that it was the Gods speaking to him, that he must have some divine or direct connection to the Gods.

While Floki may have been a creative genius and visionary, there was one thing Floki was not… and that was a leader! Floki did not have that certain ability to so easily convince others to follow him. If he had that ability, everyone would have followed his preaching early on and he would have convinced all, including Ragnar to avoid the Christians at all costs. This did not happen because Floki did not have that instinctive and inborn quality to inspire others to his way of thinking. Very few people have that quality which is sometimes referred to as the Leadership gene. I will explain this gene more in a future post as some of our people do have this gene… Ragnar for instance has it, Athelstan had it, as well as Ecbert of Wessex.  Floki is not a born leader and most of those around him realize this. So, when Ragnar put Floki in charge, it caused some suspicions from the others immediately!

The only person not wary or suspicious of this action was Floki himself. This would be a fairly typical reaction from one who is not thinking so rationally, always the last to realize what is in front of them all along…

The discussion ended and Floki was left to go off and do what Floki did best, build a magnificent creation. And, his creation was indeed awe inspiring. Everyone was duly impressed with the towers and all assumed that they would work. There was no reason no to assume they wouldn’t. None of these people had experienced siege warfare before or battle with such entities as the Frankish Warriors. The only one might have had any knowledge regarding this would have been Ragnar, and that would have been based on what Athelstan may have shared with him. If he had any prior knowledge of such tactics he remained silent and allowed the group to ahead with their battle plans. Now, he did state later that he had some other plan or agenda in mind and this initial battle was part of his plot to set Floki up. If he had any knowledge or premonition of such devastation and still allowed it to go forward all in a plan to make Floki look bad, then he is far more corrupt and guiltier than Floki could ever think to be!

I am not going to go into all of the horrific details of this failed attempt to enter Paris right now. I will deal with the rest of it later. Right now I am only going to concern myself with Floki’s involvement in it and his resulting massive mental breakdown because of the failure. 

As I mentioned, in the beginning it appeared to be an awesome and excellent plan of attack, his siege engines built to scale the walls of Paris.

floki conducts the symphony of the towers

It all started well, if you discount the heightened emotions of Floki in his delirious excitement over this coming battle…

As the time drew near to actually implement the plan of the towers, Floki did seem a bit nervous… and Ragnar’s thought was most likely one of, “Thank the Gods Rollo is really in charge!”

Rollo and Bjorn quickly took charge of the wall scaling while Ragnar and Floki initially watched from the sidelines…

Aside from the initial expected first casualties, the towers seemed to work as promised?

There was some difficulty in getting from the boats to the towers while arrows rained down on them, but the warriors took that in stride and proceeded with their plan to climb the towers…

What the warriors had first assumed to be a doable feat suddenly became a nightmare when the wall archers took deadly precise aim at the climbers who could not defend themselves while climbing. The water filled with dead and wounded warriors and soon the men had to be convinced by what ever means possible to make the climb. Floki did his part in trying to inspire the warriors to climb for Odin, The Gods are with us.

Rollo, on the other hand used what ever means necessary to get men up the wall, including threats… which he carried out to convince them all that he was serious!

Bjorn proved his worth and his leaderships qualities in his attempts as well to convince them to get up the ladders.

one man tries to dodge the tower and Bjorn stops him

Bjorn pushes his men up the ladders saying Where are you going Vallhalla is that way

The fatal flaw to this plan came when the Frankish warriors brought forth their secret weapon….

Holy fuck moment when boiling oil rains over the men

In addition to the buckets of boiling oil, flaming arrows rained down on them. Despite this terror, warriors still made the climb up the ladders.

Rollo knew that he had to join his men on the wall and he made the climb…

While all of these brave warrior were facing death in the eyes, making the climb up the ladders knowing that Valhalla was most likely their destiny, Floki made a fateful and disgraceful choice… whether on purpose or not he chose to climb into the tower instead of up it.  What would probably seal his fate was the fact that Ragnar watched it all.

Ragnar was distracted then by the sight of his son Bjorn climbing the ladders… He must follow Bjorn and be by his side, but make no mistake, he would not forget this act that he had just witnessed.

While others faced their deaths and their destinies on the wall, Floki descended into a final hellish nightmare within the tower. His fear turned to terror, madness and insanity, which he admitted while talking to himself.

Hiding in the tower, Floki began to voice his madness and his fear…. His first reaction was to immediately put the blame for all of this on Athelstan personally. Then his mind wandered to the words of the Gods…

Floki’s first thought is to blame Athelstan for all of it

His thoughts go from the Gods back to Athelstan and to Ragnar…

One thing to remember in the middle of all of Floki’s madness is that in a way he was right all along. Their way of life, their beliefs and their Gods would all fall and be forsaken to the Christian God. What he was not able to differentiate between was the difference between one sole person such as Athelstan and the entire religion of Christianity.  What he was never able to grasp, understand or accept was the fact that Athelstan was not trying to convert any of them to his religion.  During his entire time with the group, he never sought to force his beliefs on anyone else.  Ragnar was the curious one, the one asking the questions and wanting to know more about everything. Floki could not separate Athelstan the man from Athelstan the religion. In his eyes it was one and the same thing so therefore Athelstan was the one he held personally accountable for all of their ill luck.

Somewhere during this mental breakdown, something did occur to Floki and he then questioned the Gods why, why have they turned on him when he performed such great sacrifice and loved them so much. Floki suddenly realizes that his actions, his ultimate sacrifice of Athelstan really made no difference.

floki begging the gods I have performed great sacrifices I have loved you

It’s then that Floki sinks to what looks to be his final despair, having given up on the Gods answering him, he first thinks to end his life here and now by slitting his throat. He is then distracted from that final act by his own voices in his head…

 

floki is trapped in an inferno of flames

Floki’s fear, his terror and his descent into the hellish  madness of the flames and his own mind was compelling and heart wrenching to view. Whether one is a fan of him or not, you would have to be somewhat cold hearted to not feel anything as you watched this man break and shatter so totally.  I myself have had no great fondness for the man over the years and considered him to be as bad at times as the Christian Priests that he so hated. Many have commented on how they feel he got what he deserved, that he was a coward at the very least and deserved the punishment of burning within those towers. Perhaps Floki felt the same way about himself, that he deserved this fiery death of flames as so many of the others had suffered. Did he go into the tower purposely to hide as a coward, or did he go- as some have mentioned- to pray to the Gods for deliverance and intervention? That fact is not, nor may never be,  fully clear to us… or to Floki as muddled as his mind was becoming in watching the terror unfold around him and feeling his own guilt for it.

The Gods were listening to him, whether to save him or to punish him more is not yet certain. He did survive the inferno of the tower and the next sight of him was some time after the battle. He was immersed in the water. For those who pay close attention to details and symbolism, the water has frequently come into play as death, rebirth or renewal. This event was almost as difficult or even more so to view as his previous break down in the fire. The fire was his breaking down and this water is what feels like the final result or finish to his life and fate with his family and his people.

He is found by Helga who asks, “What are you doing here?”

Helga confronts Floki What are you doing out here

 

As far as we know, no one has accused him of any cowardice, nor  any guilt or blame for the failures of the battle. But, Floki feels those things for himself. He is consumed with guilt and yes, perhaps shame for possibly being a coward…

floki admits I can’t bear to face the others

Helga as usual is confused by his ramblings but she has finally had enough and confronts him. “This is not about you Floki!” Floki’s response to her is “Yes, Yes it is about me, I am responsible, I am guilty.

because all of this disaster is my fault

When she accuses him of being selfish and not thinking of anyone but himself, he responds with, “No, No that is not true, I think of everyone, every person in Midgard!”

No that’s not true that’s not true Helga I think of everyone in Midgard

Helga as usual is confused by Floki’s ramblings

 

 

He begs Helga not be angry with him…

don’t be angry with me Helga

And, Helga’s final response to his pleas is “Why not? How am I suppose to live now knowing what I know about what you have done?”

why not How am I supposed to live knowing all I know about what you have done

As Helga turns her back on him and walks away, Floki is desperately pleading with her to come back… Floki is broken and shattered, the one person in his life that loved him unconditionally is turning her back on him. It is not as though she does not have good reason to do so, but is sad to watch him lose everything, including probably his faith in his Gods.

Floki is completely broken now as Helga walks away

In a way, Helga is the one constant, the one person who keeps him connected to reality and sanity right now. His pleas to Helga felt like those of a drowning, dying man is losing his last hope, his last connection to life.

 

Helga don’t go Don’t leave me Helga I need you

And, perhaps that is exactly what is happening to him… Later Ragnar is alone in the woods having his own rather odd conversation with his beloved and departed friend, Athelstan. Ragnar talks about his agenda and his having set  Floki up to take such a fall.

ragnar talks to athelstan What you think I went too far with Floki Imagine him thinking I would actually let him lead without my having an agenda to it

Ragnar If I was him I would worry less about the gods and more about the wrath of a patient man

Ragnar to athelstan And as well you know I can be very patient

Ragnar is determined to see Floki pay for the death of Athelstan in some most painful way possible. Whether he is killed or just banished from the group, it seems that either way, Floki’s time with our group is limited as it stands right now.

Some wish for Floki’s death, they insist that he deserves nothing less for having killed Athelstan and for being a coward.  My personal thought is that I do not wish him death, he will have to live with his conscience for the rest of his life. If one could wish Floki death for his killing of Athelstan, then why should Ragnar not pay in the same way for the secret death of an innocent survivor who did nothing more than return home to tell Ragnar of what happened in England…

No matter what, it does feel like Floki can not remain here with us, so where then will he go, what will become of him?

I mentioned in a previous post, information regarding a historical Floki who sailed to Iceland in the ninth century. There has been mention that our Floki is possibly based on this historical Floki in some way.

Flóki Vilgerðarson (b. 9th century) was the first Norseman to deliberately sail to Iceland. His story is documented in the Landnámabók manuscript. He heard good news of a new land to the west, then known as Garðarshólmi.

He wanted to settle in this new land and so he took his family and livestock with him. From Western Norway he set sail to the Shetland Islands where it is said his daughter drowned. He continued his journey and landed in the Faroe Islands where another of his daughters was wed. There he took three ravens to help him find his way to Iceland, and thus, he was nicknamed Raven-Floki (Norse and Icelandic; Hrafna-Flóki) and he is commonly remembered by that name.

A few of the people Floki was accompanied by on his journey were a farmer named Thorolf (Þórólfr) and two men named Herjolf and Faxe (Herjólfr and Faxi). After sailing for a while from the Faroes, Floki set one of the ravens free. The first raven flew back to the Faroes; later, the second flew up in the air and back on board, but the third flew northwest and did not return. Floki now knew they were close to land, and so they followed the third raven.

After sailing west past Reykjanes they spotted a large bay. A man named Faxe remarked: “This seems to be a great land that we have discovered here.” Since then, the bay has been called Faxaflói (—lit. Faxi’s bay) in his name.

Floki set up a winter camp in Vatnsfjörður at Barðaströnd. The summer was very good, so Floki was ill-prepared for the cold winter that followed. Waiting for the spring, Floki hiked up the highest mountain above his camp, now believed to be Nónfell. From there, he spotted a large fjord; Ísafjörður, then full of drift ice. Thus, he named the entire land Ísland (—Iceland).

When Floki and the other men returned to Norway, they were asked about the newly found land. Floki believed it to be worthless. Herjolf believed that the land had both good and bad qualities. Thorolf claimed that butter was smeared on every straw on the land that they had found. Thorolf was then nicknamed Thorolf Butter (Icelandic; Þórólfur smjör). Despite speaking ill of the land he later returned and settled to live there to his death. His wife was named Gró and his children Oddleifur and Þjóðgerður.

In order for this idea of Floki moving on to Iceland to make sense to you or be a valid guess as to what his future might hold, you need to understand a bit more about the early history of Iceland and why Floki might choose to head there. You also need to work from the premise that Michael Hirst will indeed take members of our group in different directions in the future. He has mentioned in interviews that he would like to explore more of the many contributions and events of the Viking age. He has already started with this invasion of Paris and Rollo’s probable future there with Gisla. Hirst has also mentioned that in the next season, there will be a progression to future generations of our group. While Mr. Hirst has begun this saga with Ragnar, I do think he intends for it to encompass much more than just the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok and family.

Please remember too that this idea of Iceland in Floki’s future is merely my personal guess. No one truly know what lies ahead for us except of course, Michael Hirst!

So, with all of this in mind, let us suppose that Floki does indeed choose to leave on his own before Ragnar can do him grave bodily harm. In a sense, he would be an outcast from his society. He would be in need of a new place in which to live his life according to his beliefs in his Gods. His search would be for a place that he thought safe from both Christian interference and the wrath of one Ragnar Lothbrok. This is where the history of early Iceland becomes of importance.

The settlement of Iceland is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the 9th century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration may be traced to a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia, and civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norwegian king Harald I of Norway. Unlike Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land, and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants.

The following excerpts from  Medieval Iceland: Societies, Sagas and Power by Jesse L. Byock give a basic idea and understanding why Floki might choose Iceland. It was remote, unsettled as yet and would remain un-converted by the Christians for some long length of time.

http://books.google.com/books?id=A4S6Bnw3HnkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Even as late as the year 1000 when most areas had been much completely converted to Christianity, Iceland remained a non-Christian bastion and was still maintaining the old Norse beliefs and laws.

King Olaf I of Norway sends the missionary priest Þangbrandr to Iceland to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. He has some success in baptizing chieftains but also meets opposition and ends up killing two or three men who had composed libellous poetry about him. He returns to Norway after one or two years with a litany of complaints and tells the king that he has little hope that the country can be converted. The king is furious at hearing the news and threatens to hurt or kill Icelanders in Norway. Two of the Icelandic chieftains previously converted by Þangbrandr meet with the king and pledge their aid in converting the country.

In the summer of 999 or 1000 the issue of religion reaches a crisis point at the Alþingi. The Christian faction and the pagan faction do not want to share the same laws and the Christians choose a new lawspeaker for themselves, Hallr á Síðu. He reaches an agreement with Þorgeirr Ljósvetningagoði, the pagan lawspeaker, that Þorgeirr will find a compromise acceptable to everyone.

Þorgeirr goes to his camp and stays under a skin for the remainder of the day and the following night. The day after he gives a speech at Lögberg. He says that the only way to maintain peace in the country is for everyone to keep to the same laws and the same religion.

Þat mon verða satt, es vér slítum í sundr lögin, at vér monum slíta ok friðinn.

“It will prove true that if we tear apart the laws we will also tear apart the peace.”

Before reciting the compromise he has come up with Þorgeirr gets his audience to pledge themselves to a solution with one set of laws for all the country. Þorgeirr then decrees that everyone not already baptized must convert to Christianity. Three concessions are made to the pagans.

1. The old laws allowing exposure of newborn children will remain in force.
2. The old laws on the eating of horsemeat will remain in force.
3. People can make pagan sacrifices in private.

Some years later those concessions are abolished.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Dslendingab%C3%B3k

 

As I have stated earlier, I do not know what the future holds for troubled Floki.  I do not want to see his death, I want him to find his peace of mind. My hope is for him to make this journey to Iceland where he can live his life with a somewhat calmer and clearer head and heart. I would hope too that he can find that part of him that became so lost, that part of him that found the true joy in life. Perhaps if he could manage this, he might be able to make amends and some fresh start with Helga and his daughter. I do not think he will find peace again while surrounded by constant reminders of his previous actions… or in constant fear of Ragnar Lothbrok turning on him. It is my hope that Mr. Hirst does send him and Helga off on this new adventure, and new life. I want Floki to be in some way, the man he used to be, the man that Helga loved so unconditionally no matter how quirky and eccentric he was. Ohhhh, and I would also like for him to kick any mind altering mushroom addiction that he may be suffering from as well!

Lastly, I just want to give my huge praise to Gustaf Skarsgård for his most awesome performance yet as Floki! He deserves our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for such an incredible portrayal of this unique character every episode, but he outdid himself this past week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings: The importance of Rollo!

Before we begin, I do want to give credit and thanks to two people who helped me with research and information! A huge thanks to Diane Duggan of our Vikings Aftermath group on facebook, and to Starfishlady, one of my followers here. I could not have put this all together without your help and input!  I also want to warn ahead of time that this article is lengthy and involves a great deal of historical information! It is a historical look at the people and events, as well as a look at how Michael Hirst has incorporated those events into the show.

 

Most of  my Vikings Saga followers are probably well aware that my heart and my allegiance is with Rollo. While I understand the  significance of  Ragnar Lodbrok’s story,  I feel that Rollo should be given his own well deserved credit in the overall history of the Vikings. Yes, Ragnar’s story and legacy is one of great glory, reputation, and fame as well as importance in the beginning of the Vikings era. I agree with Michael Hirst’s reasonings in using him as a starting point in this grand saga.

If we look at Ragnar in history, we see that he was at the beginning of the Viking conqests over other lands. His fame and his story is well known by everyone with any interest in this time period or in the Vikings. But, as our Rollo has stated, it’s always about Ragnar! Why does Ragnar always get the fame and the glory, the favor of the Gods? Well, today I am going to share with you the fame, the glory, the reputation of Rollo in history. I am also going to share my thoughts and reasons why I think that Rollo’s story and his connection to Ragnar in Hirst’s version of this epic saga is so important and actually makes some sense!

first of all, my thoughts on how Rollo’s connection to Ragnar in our Viking world makes sense in a way. After that, we will look at the history, the legacy of Rollo in history. You will then understand the importance of Rollo!  As I mentioned, Ragnar Lodbrok was the beginning of the Vikings conquests. Rollo appeared much later in history but was just as important to the Viking legacy. I am quite sure that as a historian, Mr. Hirst is well aware of Rollo’s significance and chose to introduce and present him as Ragnar’s brother for ease of storyline purposes and timelines. By connecting the two as brothers, Hirst has  provided for an interesting parallel between the two men and their very different paths to fame.  In my personal opinion, he has also provided another interesting long term story arc of their separate legacies one day coming full circle. I can only hope and pray that he gets the chance to show us this future! The full circle I am referencing is that in history, the descendants of Ragnar Lodbrok merge with descendants of Rollo to one day rule England.   I did touch on this in my previous post about the Seer’s prophecies. For now, I can only hope that Mr. Hirst devotes time and attention to Rollo’s destiny, his fame, his contributions and does not just gloss over it to once again reserve the attention for Ragnar!

Rollo pours his heart, his resentment and frustration out to the Seer. He speaks of how his brother Ragnar has always been favored by the Gods and has had all of the fame, the glory and favor of their people as well.

I love him he is my brother. He has forgiven me, taken me back and still I am filled with bitterness and resentment of him

https://timeslipsblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/vikings-paris-the-princess-will-crown-the-bear/

I did not travel all this way back in time and remain here for so long just to be a part of Ragnar’s  story. That was never my true intent or reason.  His story and his legacy are interesting but, as I’ve pointed out, he has already received his fair due of fame and reputation…and besides, in the end his story does not end well, at least for him personally. No, I came back to help ensure that Rollo achieves his greatness and receives his own due share of credit, reputation and fame! There was some doubt in the beginning whether this Rollo being presented to us was actually the same Rollo of history. Realistically, who could blame some time travelers who witnessed his early behaviors for their concern and their doubt as to this man’s ability to achieve such greatness. I admit that even I had my doubts in the beginning.

I have been with him since the beginning, watched him fall to his lowest depths of drunkness and betrayals, watched him continuously make mistakes along the way, and wondered to myself how this man could be the one who would go so far in the future? I have seen him at his very worst, and yet again at his very best… and those time at his best, I could see that glimmer of greatness within him. It is what kept me holding on to my faith in him, it is what Siggy saw in him as well and why she tried so hard to push him to his limits. Without Siggy pushing him, he probably would not be where he is today, standing at the gates of Paris waiting to meet his destiny and his new path!

Some of Rollo’s more difficult moments…

rollo barely alive

Rollo does not trust knut and confronts him

Rollo and Bjorn fight for life and for death

rollo tries to drink away his anguish

Some better moments that show the man Rollo really is

Rollo offers drink to dying old saxon man

rollo watches the others leave

rollo understands the need for friends and alliances in this new world

rollo is left with the task of attempting to help bjorn through this

lagertha to rollo about Bjorn… you’ve looked after him as if he was your own

All of Rollo’s difficulties and struggles have made him the man he is now. Now, he is a man ready to embark on a new life. The time will soon come for him choose this new path that will separate him from his past, from his family and his friends. Do I think he is ready now to embrace this destiny that lies ahead for him? Yes, I believe he is. Will it be easy, no of course it will not be an easy road. It will still be filled with obstacles to overcome but I think he is strong enough now to face those hurdles and make the most of his future.  The time is coming when we will all face choices on who to follow, what path to take… I have made my decision, I will remain with Rollo. I will swear my allegiance to him and to his new alliance because I believe in his destiny, and ummm ohhh yeah, I want to be comfortable for awhile! I also do not want to be in Saxon England during the next few years and I really have no ties to Kattegat now that Siggy is gone.  I hate to say this, but if any of you have the choice, you might want to stay clear of England for a while too… it gets pretty messy over there on both the Saxon and the Vikings side! There are after all so many other places you could choose to go with Vikings during this long time period. And, as I’ve mentioned, many members of this group will most likely soon head out towards their own destinies. Yes, some of them such as Bjorn and his brothers will eventually return to England to revenge their Father but will return to their homelands rich and famous. I believe that one of the group, Floki, might just head out towards his own destiny? We all know he is having some difficulties right now and perhaps needs some time to rethink his life’s purpose… As we know, Floki is not really a warrior, first and foremost he is a ship builder, a dreamer and perhaps an explorer?

floki’s floating towers unfortunately they burn quite easily

I only mention this because I did recently find an interesting small side note about an explorer named Floki! Mr. Hirst has already played so much with our timeline of events, that there is really no reason he could not incorporate this  fact into the story! We know that our Floki is not happy right now. He is devoted and dedicated to the old Gods and the old ways and Iceland would be a perfect place for him to head to!

In the year 815, Floki of Rogaland set out from the Faergoe Isles and discovered Iceland.

http://www.thevikingmuseum.com/timeline.html

The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and their slaves from the east, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late 9th century, since Iceland was uninhabited long after the rest of western Europe was settled. Recorded settlement has conventionally been dated back to 874 CE, although archaeological evidence indicates Gaelic monks had settled Iceland previously. The land was settled quickly, mainly by Norwegians who may have been fleeing conflict or seeking new land to farm. By 930, the chieftains had established a form of governance (Althing), making it one of the world’s oldest parliaments. Also towards the end of the tenth century Christianity came to Iceland due to the influence of the Norwegian king, Olaf Tryggvason. During this time Iceland remained independent, a period known as the Old Commonwealth and Icelandic historians began to document the nation’s history in books referred to as Sagas (Icelandic for story or history). In the early thirteenth century internal conflict (Age of the Sturlungs) weakened Iceland which eventually became subjugated to Norway through the Old Covenant (1262–4), effectively ending the Commonwealth. Norway in turn was united with Sweden (1319) and then Denmark (1376). Eventually, all of the Nordic states were united in one alliance, the Kalmar Union (1397–1523), but on its dissolution Iceland fell under Danish rule. Denmark then imposed a strict trade monopoly in the 17th and 18th centuries, much to the detriment of the Icelandic economy. Iceland’s subsequent poverty was aggravated by natural disasters. During this time the population declined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iceland

 

 

Now that my decision is made, I need to make some preparations. One of those preparations is forcing myself to commit to the Christian religion… well, at least on the surface anyway! Rollo is not yet ready for this conversion but he will eventually see the benefit and advantage of it for himself and his new kingdom. Yes, you heard me correctly, Rollo will soon be ruling his own little kingdom… Perhaps you’ve heard of it, it’s called Normandy! Normandy translates into land of Northmen!

Here is why Rollo will be swayed to convert, at least as I’ve mentioned, on the surface.  According to historical accounts, he converted enough to be acceptable but still held on to his old beliefs… shortly before his death, he was hedging his bets as to the after life.  He donated 100 lbs. of gold to the church for God, and he sacrificed 100 prisoners to Odin!

Before we look closer at Rollo’s real history, let’s look quickly at the attack on Paris that brings Rollo to his future.  For this we need to look at two different versions of the attack because Michael Hirst has combined the lives of Ragnar and Rollo. Both Ragnar Lodbrok and Rollo were involved in attacks on Paris so it’s difficult to surmise which version will be played out, or possibly it will be some combination of both events.

First of all a quick refresher on Paris!

The Romans occupied what would become known as Paris (after its first settlers) from AD 212 to the late 5th century. It was at this time that a second wave of Franks and other Germanic groups under Merovius from the north and northeast overran the territory. Merovius’ grandson, Clovis I, converted to Christianity, making Paris his seat in 508. Childeric II, Clovis’ son and successor, founded the Abbey of St-Germain des Prés a half-century later, and the dynasty’s most productive ruler, Dagobert, established an abbey at St-Denis. This abbey soon became the richest, most important monastery in France and became the final resting place of its kings.

The militaristic rulers of the Carolingian dynasty, beginning with Charles ‘the Hammer’ Martel (688–741) were almost permanently away fighting wars in the east, and Paris languished, controlled mostly by the counts of Paris. When Charles Martel’s grandson, Charlemagne (768–814), moved his capital to Aix-la-Chapelle (today’s Aachen in Germany), Paris’ fate was sealed. Basically a group of separate villages with its centre on the island, Paris was badly defended throughout the second half of the 9th century and suffered a succession of raids by the ‘Norsemen’ (Vikings).

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris/history#48328

In the 9th century, the city was repeatedly attacked by the Vikings, who sailed up the Seine on great fleets of ships. They demanded a ransom and ravaged the fields. In 885-886, they laid siege to Paris for a year, and tried again in 887 and 889, but they were unable to conquer the city, protected by the Seine and the walls on the Île de la Cité.  The two bridges, vital to the city, were additionally protected by two massive stone fortresses, the Grand Châtelet on the right bank, and the Petit Châtelet on the left bank, which were built on the initiative of Gauzlin, the bishop of Paris. The Grand Châtelet gave its name to the modern Place du Châtelet, on the same site.

At the end of the 10th century, a new dynasty of kings, the Capetians, begun by Hugh Capet in 987, came to power. Though they spent little time in the city, they restored the royal palace on the Île de la Cité, and built a church where the Sainte-Chapelle stands today. Prosperity returned gradually to the city, and the right bank began to be populated. On the left bank, they founded an important monastery, the Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The Kings of the Merovingian dynasty were buried inside the church of Saint-Germain-des Prés, which was rebuilt in the 11th century. The monastery next to it became famous for its scholarship and illuminated manuscripts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Paris

 

 

Ragnar Lodbrok’s attack on Paris

Here is a basic version of Ragnar’s attack on the city.  Just so you are not too confused, Ragnar’s attack involved King Charles the Bald, while Rollo’s later attacks would involve Charles the Fat and Charles the Simple! Also remember that this the historical account of Ragnar’s activities not Hirst’s version of it.

In March 845,  a fleet of 120 Danish Viking ships containing more than 5,000 men entered the Seine under the command of a Danish chieftain named “Reginherus”, or Ragnar. This Ragnar has often been tentatively identified with the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok, but the historicity of the latter remains a disputed issue among historians.  In or around 841, Ragnar had been awarded land in Turholt, Frisia by Charles the Bald, but he eventually lost the land as well as the favour of the king. Ragnar’s Vikings raided Rouen on their way up the Seine in 845,  and in response to the invasion, determined not to let the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis (near Paris) be destroyed,  Charles assembled an army which he divided into two parts, one for each side of the river. Ragnar attacked and defeated one of the divisions of the smaller Frankish army, and took 111 of their men as prisoners and hanged them on an island on the Seine.  This was done to honor the Norse god Odin, as well as to incite terror in the remaining Frankish forces.

Map of Paris in the 9th century. The city was concentrated on Île de la Cité, an island on the Seine.

The Vikings finally arrived in Paris on either Easter Sunday, 28 March, or Easter Day, 29 March, entered the city and plundered it. During the siege, a plague broke out in their camp. The Norse had been exposed to the Christian religion, and after first praying to the Norse gods, they undertook a fast, acting on the advice of one of their Christian prisoners, and the plague subsided. The Franks could not assemble any effective defence against the invaders, and the Vikings withdrew only after being paid a ransom of 7,000 livres (French pounds) of silver and gold by Charles the Bald, amounting to approximately 2,570 kilograms (5,670 lb). Considering Ragnar’s earlier loss of land by Charles, the substantial payment may also have been regarded as some form of compensation for Ragnar’s loss, and the invasion itself as an attack of revenge. In any case, this would be the first of a total of thirteen payments of so-called Danegeld to Viking raiders by the Franks (although the term itself is not expressly known to have been used at this particular point). While agreeing to withdraw from Paris, Ragnar pillaged several sites along the coast on the return voyage, including the Abbey of Saint Bertin.

What is interesting to note with Ragnar’s attack is the aftermath and how it could relate to our version of the events? Ragnar supposedly admitted that he saw a vision or appearance of a dead Saint or Christian? Just a thought, but could a vision of Athelstan possibly play a part in all of this… and not the living but the dead conquer Paris? Hmmm might Floki see this apparition as well and be scared out of his senses?

Although many Vikings had died in the plague during the siege of Paris, Ragnar lived to return home to King Horik. According to a story originating from a member of Cobbo’s embassy, Ragnar, having attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, then in the outskirts of medieval Paris, and which Cobbo later visited, attributed the plague to the power of Saint Germain of Paris. While Ragnar showed the gold and silver he had acquired to Horik and boasted about how easy he thought the conquest of Paris had been, he reportedly collapsed crying while relating that the only resistance he had met was by the long deceased saint. As Ragnar and several of his men died not long after, the king was so frightened that he ordered the execution of all the survivors, and the release of all his Christian captives. This event, in part, led Horik to receive Archbishop Ansgar, “Apostle of the North”, on friendly terms in his own kingdom.

floki conducts the symphony of the towers

Rollo’s attack on Paris

Rollo’s involvement in an attack on Paris came some 40 years later than Ragnar’s. His attack does however include the history that Hirst is presenting us with as far as the attack and Rollo’s future outcome from the attack. This attack involved Charles the Simple, Count Odo, and ultimately the Princess Gisela. Another thing to keep in mind here is that this attack was the first of two that Rollo would be involved in. This attack took place in 885-886 with King Charles the Fat. Charles the Fat died in 888 and Count Odo was elected King…

The Siege of Paris of 885–86 was part of a Viking raid on the Seine, in the Kingdom of the West Franks. The siege was the most important event of the reign of Charles the Fat, and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty and the history of France. It also proved to the Franks the strategic importance of Paris, at the time only a small island town. The siege is the subject of an eyewitness account in the Latin poem Bella Parisiacae urbis of Abbo Cernuus.

With hundreds of ships, and possibly tens of thousands of men, the Vikings arrived outside Paris in late November 885, at first demanding tribute. This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact that he only could assemble a couple of hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines, but failed to break through the city walls after some days of intense attacks. The siege was upheld after the initial attacks, but without any significant offence for months thereafter. As the siege went on, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer, and in October, Charles the Fat arrived with his army.

To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought for a long time to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking besiegers, and instead allowed them to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt), as well as promising a payment of 700 livres (pounds; 257 kg). Odo, highly critical of this, tried his best to defy the promises of Charles, and when Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Paris_(885%E2%80%9386)

Later on in 911, Rollo decided to make another attempt at the city… he was determined and possibly felt he had learned from earlier mistakes. By this time, Charles the Simple had taken control of the throne.

In 911, a group of Vikings led by Rollo besieged Paris and Chartres. After a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided to negotiate with Rollo, resulting in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. For the Vikings’ loyalty, they were granted all the land between the river Epte and the sea, as well as Brittany, which at the time was an independent country which France had unsuccessfully tried to conquer. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles’ daughter, Gisela.

One last bit of clarification on Hirst’s version of history as opposed to actual history… This concerns our fellow, Count Odo.

In Hirst’s version he appears as counselor and defender of Paris, as well as hopeful would be suitor to the Princess Gisela. In our world, Odo is dealing with King Charles the Simple as his ruler…

Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin Carolus Simplex), was the King of Western Francia from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–23. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty.

Charles was the third and posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer by his second wife, Adelaide of Paris.  As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother Carloman. The nobles of the realm instead asked his cousin, Charles the Fat, to rule them.  He was also prevented from succeeding the unpopular Charles, who was deposed in November 887 and died in January 888, although it is unknown if his deposition was accepted or even made known in West Francia before his death. The nobility elected as king Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris, though there was a faction that supported Guy III of Spoleto. Charles was put under the protection of Ranulf II, the Duke of Aquitaine, who may have tried to claim the throne for him and in the end used the royal title himself until making peace with Odo.

In 911, a group of Vikings led by Rollo besieged Paris and Chartres. After a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided to negotiate with Rollo, resulting in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. For the Vikings’ loyalty, they were granted all the land between the river Epte and the sea, as well as Brittany, which at the time was an independent country which France had unsuccessfully tried to conquer. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles’ daughter, Gisela.

Also in 911, Louis the Child, the King of Germany, died, and the nobles of Lotharingia, who had been loyal to him, under the leadership of Reginar Longneck declared Charles their new king, breaking from Germans who had elected Conrad of Franconia king.  Charles had tried to win their support for years, for instance by marrying in April 907 a Lotharingian woman named Frederuna, and in 909, his niece Cunigunda married Wigeric of Lotharingia. He also defended the country against two attacks by Conrad, King of the Germans. Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons.  so the succession was uncertain. On 7 October 919 Charles married again to Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, who bore his son, the future King Louis IV of France.

A quirky side note to the history and marriage of Charles the Simple. He married Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder King of England…Edward the Elder was the son of our baby Alfred who is still in the arms of his Grandfather Ecbert! It just shows what happens when one plays with the timeline of history!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Simple

Odo places the blame on others

you once refused my offer of marriage my hope is that once I have successfully managed this defense of Paris you will reconsider.

In actual history, Odo of France dealt with the earlier King, Charles the Fat and was eventually elected King for a time.

For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of the Vikings at the Siege of Paris, Odo was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat. He was crowned at Compiègne in February 888 by Walter, Archbishop of Sens.

 

Denier of Odo of France

Odo continued to battle against the Vikings and defeated them at Montfaucon, but he was soon involved in a struggle with powerful nobles who supported the claim of Charles the Simple to the Frankish throne.

In 889 and 890 Odo granted special privileges to the County of Manresa in Osona. Because of its position on the front line against Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as manresanas or manresanes. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, for the next two centuries.

To gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to the Eastern Frankish King Arnulf of Carinthia. But in 894 Arnulf declared his support for Charles, and after a conflict which lasted three years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival and surrender a district north of the Seine to him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_France

Siege_of_Paris_(885–886)

Odo did play a part in one of Rollo’s earlier attempts to conquer Paris.

With hundreds of ships, and possibly tens of thousands of men, the Vikings arrived outside Paris in late November 885, at first demanding tribute. This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact that he only could assemble a couple of hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines, but failed to break through the city walls after some days of intense attacks. The siege was upheld after the initial attacks, but without any significant offence for months thereafter. As the siege went on, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer, and in October, Charles the Fat arrived with his army.

To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought for a long time to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking besiegers, and instead allowed them to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt), as well as promising a payment of 700 livres (pounds; 257 kg). Odo, highly critical of this, tried his best to defy the promises of Charles, and when Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

What Hirst has done is combine Charles the Fat and Charles the Simple into one character and put Count Odo in a position of  villain type against Charles the Simple. Odo seems to be in disagreement with Charles over the handling of this attack and he wants Gisela’s hand in marriage. How it all plays out remains to be seen. In our world, Charles does not look well and perhaps in the version that Hirst presents to us, Odo will become King now rather than at the earlier point of after Charles the Fat.

 

Are you totally confused yet? Yes, you are… I can see your eyes crossing now! Well, we’re finished with that confusion for now!  We will just content ourselves with the fact that Rollo has arrived in Paris and will play out his destiny. And, just what is his real history, his destiny, his future? Now we will find this out.

 

 

Portrait of Rollo’s destiny. Credit to Ines Jagger of Vikings Aftermath group and to lindamarieanson of deviant art.

 

For our purposes, I am going to go with the more traditional and accepted version of his history because there are a number of variations and versions of his early beginnings. According to the many versions, our Rollo has been everywhere from Norway, Scotland, France and Iceland!

History and Legacy of Rollo

Rollo (c. 846 – c. 932), baptised Robert and so sometimes numbered Robert I to distinguish him from his descendants, was a Norse Viking who was founder and first ruler of the Viking principality which soon became known as Normandy. His descendants were the Dukes of Normandy, and following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, kings of England.

Rollo was a powerful Viking leader of contested origin. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, in his De moribus et actis primorum Normannorum ducum,^[4] tells of a powerful Danish nobleman at loggerheads with the king of Denmark, who had two sons, Gurim and Rollo; upon his death, Rollo was expelled and Gurim killed. Dudo’s chronicle, commissioned for Richard I, was finished, sometime after 1015,  for Richard II, whose sister, Emma, married the Danish King Cnut, in 1017. William of Jumièges also mentions Rollo’s prehistory in his continuation of Dudo’s work, Gesta Normannorum Ducum, but states that he came from the Danish town of Fakse.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo

What we know is that after the attack of Paris in 911, which he again failed at… he decided instead to try his luck with Chartres.

The following is an excerpt from   The Normans From Raiders to Kings by Lars Brownworth. Rollo’s destiny actually begins here with his success at Chartres.

 

In the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) with King Charles, Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert.  In return, King Charles granted Rollo land between the Epte and the sea as well as parts of Brittany  and according to Dudo of St. Quentin, the hand of the King’s daughter, Gisela, although this marriage and Gisela herself are unknown to Frankish sources. He was also the titular ruler of Normandy, centered around the city of Rouen. There exists some argument among historians as to whether Rollo was a “duke” (dux) or whether his position was equivalent to that of a “count” under Charles.

Rollo with Gisela and Charles of France

According to legend, when required to kiss the foot of King Charles, as a condition of the treaty, he refused to perform so great a humiliation, and when Charles extended his foot to Rollo, Rollo ordered one of his warriors to do so in his place. His warrior then lifted Charles’ foot up to his mouth causing the king to fall to the ground.

After 911, Rollo stayed true to his word of defending the shores of the Seine river in accordance to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. However, he also continued attacks on Flanders.

After Charles was deposed by Robert I in 922, Rollo considered his oath to the King of France at an end. It started a period of expansion westwards. Negotiations with French barons ended with Rollo being given Le Mans and Bayeux and continued with the seizure of Bessin in 924. The following year the Normans attacked Picardy.

Rollo began to divide the land between the Epte and Risle rivers among his chieftains and settled there with a de facto capital in Rouen. Over time, Rollo’s men intermarried with the local women, and became more settled into French Catholic culture as Normans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo

 

rollo understands the need for friends and alliances in this new world

rollo comes to better understanding of Ragnar’s thoughts

In our world, our version of Rollo’s history, we’ve seen Rollo as he comes to understand the things that will prove to be his genius later on in building his new legacy.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, the relationship between Rollo and Gisela is debatable and doubtful but for the story purpose it does provide for his entrance and adaption to French society. In the other histories I’ve read of him, his wife is not mentioned , or she is referred to as Poppa who was a concubine or Dane-wife. Some history cites Poppa as a captured wife, so she might not have provided him with the connections or respect that he needed in order to navigate this Frankish domain.  Given his accomplishments in building this new empire, I think that someone such as this Gisla or Gisela must have had some hand in guiding him and easing his way in this new and unfamiliar to him new world. In history, because  Gisela did not remain a part of the Royal dynasty in any way, and she did not bear any children to Rollo, she would most likely have been easy to forget and overlook in future tellings of both histories.

I did speak in my previous post about Gisela, her doubtful history and some possible reasons why she might have chosen to marry Rollo. I do just want to add here that in history, she would never have been in line for the crown of her Father. All monarchs in Frankish history were required by law and tradition to be male. So, even if she were an only child of Charles, she would not have succeeded him on the throne.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Frankish_queens

Rollo meets his destiny. Photo credit to Ines Jagger of Vikings Aftermath group on facebook

In this excerpt from The Normans from Raiders to Kings, it only mentions that he took a local wife and he along with his fellow Northmen that followed him all adapted to the French culture.

 

Rollo had two children who would continue his legacy far into the future.

His son, William Longsword would eventually put the newfound empire in jeapordy by rubbing everyone around him the wrong way! Fortunately, his son Richard the fearless did much better!

William I Longsword (French: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Old Norse: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót), (c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination.

He is sometimes anachronistically dubbed “Duke of Normandy“, even though the title duke (dux) did not come into common usage until the 11th century.^[2] William was known at the time by the title count (Latin comes) of Rouen. Flodoard—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as principes (chieftains) of the Norse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Normandy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I,_Duke_of_Normandy

When his father died, Louis IV of France seized Normandy, installed the boy Richard in his father’s office, then placed him in the care of the count of Ponthieu. The king then split the lands, giving lands in lower Normandy to Hugh the Great. Louis kept Richard in confinement at Lâon, but he escaped with the assistance of Osmond de Centville, Bernard de Senlis (who had been a companion of Rollo of Normandy), Ivo de Bellèsme, and Bernard the Dane (ancestor of families of Harcourt and Beaumont).

In 946, Richard agreed to “commend” himself to Hugh, Count of Paris. He then allied himself with the Norman and Viking leaders, drove Louis out of Rouen, and took back Normandy by 947.

In 962 Theobald I, Count of Blois, attacked Rouen, Richard’s stronghold, but his army was defeated by the Normans and retreated never having crossed the Seine.^[12][13] Lothair king of the West Franks stepped in to prevent any further war between the two.

Afterwards, and until his death in 996, Richard concentrated on Normandy itself, and participated less in Frankish politics and petty wars. In lieu of building up the Norman Empire by expansion, he stabilized the realm, and united his followers into a cohesive and formidable principality.

Richard used marriage to build strong alliances . His marriage to Emma connected him to the Capet family. His wife Gunnor, from a rival Viking group in the Cotentin, formed an alliance to that group, while her sisters form the core group that was to provide loyal followers to him and his successors. His daughters provided valuable marriage alliances with powerful neighboring counts as well as to the king of England.

He also built on his relationship with the church, restoring their lands and ensured the great monasteries flourished. His reign was marked by an extended period of peace and tranquility.

 

Rollo’s daughter, Gerloc (Norse name) or Adele did well for herself and the House of Normandy. Any Father would be proud of her.

Gerloc (or Geirlaug), baptised in Rouen as Adela (or Adèle) in 912, was the daughter of Rollo, first duke of Normandy, and his wife, Poppa. She was the sister of Duke William Longsword.

In 935, she married William Towhead, the future count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine. They had two children together before she died on 14 October 962:

• William IV of Aquitaine
• Adelaide of Aquitaine, wife of Hugh Capet

Gerloc’s daughter went on to be a Queen of France!

Adbelahide or Adele or Adelaide of Aquitaine (or Adelaide of Poitiers) (c. 945 or 952 – 1004)  was the daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine and Adele of Normandy, daughter of Rollo of Normandy.

Her father used her as security for a truce with Hugh Capet, whom she married in 969. In 987, after the death of Louis V, the last Carolingian king of France, Hugh was elected the new king with Adelaide as queen. They were proclaimed at Senlis and blessed at Noyon. They were the founders of the Capetian dynasty of France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_of_Aquitaine

This is just the very beginning of the dynasty that our Rollo would be the founder of. Eventually, his descendants would be found in Royal houses stretching from France, England, and Spain on to the Holy Roman Empire!

 

I know that this has been rather a massive overload of historical information at one time and I do apologize for that! I do hope though that if you have stuck it out and read it all, you have come to realize just how important Rollo was.  Perhaps you now agree with me in that he deserves his share of recognition and credit! I believe I have stated my case and proved my point that Rollo deserves just as much credit, recognition and story time as Ragnar Lodbrok does!

For a better understanding of Normandy, I would highly suggest you read the book, The Normans From Raiders to Kings by Lars Brownworth. It gives a detailed account how those earliest founders of Normandy carved out a dynasty that spanned the continent!

There is much more to the Norman story than the Battle of Hastings. These descendants of the Vikings who settled in France, England, and Italy – but were not strictly French, English, or Italian – played a large role in creating the modern world. They were the success story of the Middle Ages; a footloose band of individual adventurers who transformed the face of medieval Europe. During the course of two centuries they launched a series of extraordinary conquests, carving out kingdoms from the North Sea to the North African coast.

In The Normans, author Lars Brownworth follows their story, from the first shock of a Viking raid on an Irish monastery to the exile of the last Norman Prince of Antioch. In the process he brings to vivid life the Norman tapestry’s rich cast of characters: figures like Rollo the Walker, William Iron-Arm, Tancred the Monkey King, and Robert Guiscard. It presents a fascinating glimpse of a time when a group of restless adventurers had the world at their fingertips.

 

Rollo_statue_in_falaise

Grave_of_Rollo_of_Normandy

 

portrait of Rollo in history

My last thoughts on all of this is on the views and comments that many have made regarding the possible eventual demise of Ragnar Lothbrok. A great number of people insist that if Ragnar dies, they would no longer be interested in the continuation of the show. Their belief is that Ragnar/Travis Fimmel is the heart of the story and the show, that his death would be an end of the saga.  My personal thought… In any long running series, as in history, people will leave, rulers will die or be replaced. It is up to the creator, the writers, the performers and the followers to ensure a continuation of such an epic saga. I stated in the beginning of this article that Ragnar is just the beginning of a long line of Vikings that contributed so much to overall history. I think that given the opportunity and the story time, many others are fully capable of grabbing our attention, our hearts and our loyalties to continue following their adventures through time.  Eventually, Ragnar must die and Travis Fimmel must depart but I firmly believe that others such as Bjorn/Alexander Ludwig, Rollo/Clive Standen, Floki/Gustaf Skarsgard, Lagertha/Katheryn Winnick have already proven that they can give excellent performances and hold our interest in their character’s futures.  This is an ensemble series full of a variety of stories that goes much further than just the story of Ragnar Lodbrok.  If and when Ragnar meets his death, do you still not want to know what becomes of all those others in the story and in history? For me, I want to know what does happen to Floki, what his destiny is, I want to see Lagertha’s future play out, I want to see Ragnar’s sons grow up and carve their own legacies. I even want to see baby Alfred grow up into the greatness that Ecbert envisions for him. And, yes most of all I want to see Rollo’s path to fame and his own future power!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings Paris: The Princess will crown the Bear

 

Ahhhh finally, we put the previous tragedies and terrors of late behind us for now and head for the city of Paris. That city which the Seer refers to in his prophecies…

If you remember, the Seer gave prophecies of this city as well as a few other insights that we must consider at this time.  He told Ragnar, “Not the living but the dead will conquer Paris, and the Princess shall crown the Bear, which does not bode well for you Ragnar Lothbrok.”  His message to Rollo was quite similar, “The Princess will crown the Bear and you shall be there to see it.”  These were as usual cryptic unclear messages which caused   everyone much thought and debate.  Obviously, something good is going to happen to someone during this time because the Seer also assured Rollo that if he knew what the Gods had in store for him, he would dance naked with joy on the beach!  Just on a personal thought, I should like very much to be dancing with Rollo on that beach…

 

The puzzling question comes to mind of who the “Bear” is? I have mentioned previously that Bjorn might be a possibility as his name literally translates in Norse to Bear, and he does eventually become a King of Sweden in history. We know little else about his history so it’s possible that he will meet his princess… I do not think his destiny lies with Porunn. I have stated this before. His affair with Porunn was that of two young people experiencing their first tastes of lust and mistaking it for love.  I think Porunn realizes this and she keeps insisting that Bjorn will be happier without her. Many assume that this is just her overwrought emotions and irrational thoughts coming out… but, I think perhaps in this one aspect, she is thinking clearly. She knows in her heart that she and Bjorn do not belong together despite sharing a child. Perhaps she is being more honest than we credit her for? Her fate and her destiny are not with Bjorn and she knows it, as much as it hurts her to face it.

While the rest of us headed toward Paris, Porunn was left at home in Kattegat with Aslaug. She struggled with Motherhood and possibly, the thought of raising a child on her own, if as she was so insistent upon, Bjorn would leave her. She did not voice this fear but it could have been part of what caused her rash attempt to give her daughter to Aslaug.  Now, I have made it clear from the beginning that I am not a fan of Aslaug, but in this instance Aslaug spoke with clear determination and lectured Porunn on Motherhood. She gave wise words of advice to the girl.

Aslaug tried to be patient but reminded Porunn that she was the child’s Mother and needed to be there for her. She told Porunn that her thinking was selfish, that her daughter needs her! She also tried to remind Porunn to think of Bjorn, Bjorn loves you.

Aslaug spoke of a woman’s harsh and difficult burden in life. “But, you must remember that the Gods determine our fate. Pray to Freya to bring you comfort as she does for me.”

No, I do not believe Bjorn’s destiny is with Porunn, though he will always care about her. His destiny may lie with Torvi, who has herself suffered the bitter and difficult burdens of a woman’s life. Torvi who was once married to much older Jarl Borg, had to share him with his dead wife’s skull, then watch as he was executed for his betrayal of Ragnar. Torvi who bore a child on her own after her husband’s death and then was most probably married to young Erlandeur against her will. Torvi, who is in a unhappy and dangerous marriage now and most likely suffers abuse at Erlandeur’s hand… But, as Torvi states, “I will not be left behind, I am Viking!”  Torvi endures her burden with completely different mindset than Porunn. Torvi enters willingly into a relationship with Bjorn, knowing that it will have dangerous and injuring consequences for her.

Later when Bjorn attempts to make amends for his behavior, Torvi sets him straight telling him, “It does not matter, I am not with child nor am I a child!”

bjorn tries to make ammends for previous behavior. torvi’s comment it does not matter I am not with child neither am I a child.

The relationship between Bjorn and Torvi is of two adults who are able to have a serious discussion, understand each other and agree upon it without yelling or tears.

torvi’s response so did I we used each other

bjorn and torvi are able to have a serious adult conversation and laugh about it

Bjorn gave Torvi a heartfelt gift which she kept and appreciated for a few moments before her husband Erlandeur grabbed it from her and told her it was too good for her, a whore.

bjorn gives torvi a gift of a brooch

Torvi reacts to erlandeur No you’re hurting me

It was rather apparent that Torvi has suffered and endured abuse from Erlandeur but kept quiet counsel and maintains her inner dignity through it.

Torvi has the inner strength, fortitude and grace of one who knows her worth and value despite her burdens. I only bring all of this up now because there is another such woman on the horizon… A young woman who has inner courage, strength and fortitude to endure and know her worth as a woman, as a princess. I also bring it up to show that Bjorn’s destiny does lie in Paris with a woman who has the inner makings of a Princess or a Queen.

Now, before we go on with Rollo’s destiny, let us look one more time at the Seer’s prophecies. This prophecy was an older one which he made to Ragnar about his sons. He told Ragnar that his sons would do great things, in fact be more famous than him?  One son would marry the daughter of a King, and one son would sail seas  that have no waves… The seer was actually correct in this message according to history.

 

 In 860, Björn led a large Viking raid into the Mediterranean. After raiding down the Spanish coast and fighting their way through Gibraltar, Björn and Hastein pillaged the south of France, where his fleet over-wintered, before landing in Italy where they captured the coastal city of Pisa. They proceeded inland to the town of Luna, which they believed to be Rome at the time, but Björn found himself unable to breach the town walls. To gain entry, he sent messengers to the bishop to say that he had died, had a deathbed conversion, and wished to be buried on consecrated ground within their church. He was brought into the chapel with a small honor guard, then amazed the dismayed Italian clerics by leaping from his coffin and hacking his way to the town gates, which he promptly opened, letting his army in. Flush with this victory and others around the Mediterranean (including in Sicily and North Africa) he returned to the Straits of Gibraltar only to find the Saracen navy from Al-Andalus waiting for him. In the desperate battle that followed, Björn lost 40 ships, largely to a form of Greek fire launched from Saracen catapults. The remainder of his fleet managed to return to Scandinavia, however, where he lived out his life as a rich man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rn_Ironside

Another son did indeed marry the daughter of a King…granted, a King that he killed but still, a King. Sigurd Snake in the eye married the daughter of a King and in fact, his descendants went on to gain the throne of England for a short time!

In 865 King Ella of Northumbria killed Ragnar Lodbrok in a pit of serpents. When Ragnar was suffering in the pit he is reputed to have exclaimed: “How the young pigs would squeal if they knew what the old boar suffers!”   And soon his sons did know, as King Ella was foolish enough to send an embassy to acquaint them of the fact. When the brothers heard of their father’s death Sigurd is said to have cut himself to the bone with a knife he held in his hand and his brother Björn Ironside gripped his spear so tightly that the imprint of his fingers was left in the wood.  Sigurd and his brothers swore they would avenge his killing in time-honoured Viking tradition. The legend says that their first attempt failed, but through the treachery of the oldest brother, the notoriously cruel and cunning Ivar the Boneless, Ella was duped into a battle he could not win. In 866 they crossed the North Sea with a large army. This Great Heathen Army sacked York, met King Ella in battle and captured him. They sentenced him to die according to the custom of the Blood Eagle), an exceedingly painful death. It consisted of cutting away the ribs from the spine and pulling the lungs backward through the cavities formed to form the shape of an eagle.

Ragnarssona þáttr informs that when his father died, he inherited Zealand, Scania, Halland, the Danish islands, and Viken. He married Blaeja, the daughter of king Ælla of Northumbria and they had the children Harthacanute and Aslaug, who was named after her grandmother Aslaug.

Harthacanute succeeded Sigurd as the king of Zealand, Scania and Halland, but he lost Viken. He was the father of Gorm the Old, the king of Denmark. Gorm succeeded his father as king and married Thyra, the daughter of the Jutish chieftain Harald Klak. When Harald died, Gorm took his kingdom too and united Denmark.

Harald succeeded his father as king and married Gyrid of Sweden. They had a son named Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn succeeded his father as king and married Gunhild. They had a son named Cnut the Great. Sweyn also ruled England in his lifetime and established the Danish Empire. When Sweyn died, his elder son Harald Svendsen became King Denmark as England’s former king Ethelred reclaimed it. However as Harald did not marry, his brother Cnut the great became king, re-established the Danish Empire and married Emma of Normandy. They had a son named Harthacnut. When Cnut died, Harthacnut became king of the Danish Empire, however, he lost England to Edward the confessor in 1042.

In his way, Sigurd was probably the son who achieved the most eventual fame and reputation. The interesting part of Sigurd’s story and his descendants is the fact that his most famous descendant, Cnut the Great married a descendant of Rollo. Cnut married Emma of Normandy, who was previously married to Aethelred the unready of  England.  Now, let us add another factor into this equasion… Aethelred the unready was the descendant of  King Ecbert of Wessex and his grandson, Alfred.  What is a bit ironic about Emma’s marriage to Aethelred is the fact that she was descended from Vikings and then married to Aethelred as means of uniting the countries against Viking threats. She brought her Viking bloodline to the throne of England and bore Athelred two sons- one of whom would eventually be King. Then after Aethelred died, she went so far as to willingly marry Cnut the Great. With this marriage she held the title of Queen Consort of England, Denmark and Norway. 

Under his reign, Cnut brought together the English and Danish kingdoms, and the people saw a golden age of dominance across Scandinavia, as well as within the British Isles. His campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of the English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw,  and for the activity of Scandinavians at large. He also reinstituted the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention, including: On Inheritance in case of Intestacy, and On Heriots and Reliefs.  He also strengthened the currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_of_Normandy

You can read more of Emma’s story in a book by Helen Hollick titled, The Forever Queen.

What kind of woman becomes the wife of two kings, and the mother of two more?

Saxon England, 1002. Not only is Æthelred a failure as King, but his young bride, Emma of Normandy, soon discovers he is even worse as a husband. When the Danish Vikings, led by Swein Forkbeard and his son, Cnut, cause a maelstrom of chaos, Emma, as Queen, must take control if the Kingdom-and her crown-are to be salvaged. Smarter than history remembers, and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores, Emma risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely.

Emma, the Queen of Saxon England, comes to life through the exquisite writing of Helen Hollick, who shows in this epic tale how one of the most compelling and vivid heroines in English history stood tall through a turbulent fifty-year reign of proud determination, tragic despair, and triumph over treachery.

The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick

With Emma of Normandy and Cnut the Great, the Viking dream of a Daneland rather than an England became very close to a reality. Emma also brought the Normans to England with her Norman/Viking ancestry and the mistake that she made of leaving her son Edward by Aethelred to be raised in exile in Normandy. He thereby had a closer relationship and ties with Normandy than with his own English people when he eventually came to the throne of England.

 

This all gives much credence to the Seer’s prophecies about Ragnar’s sons. That leaves of course, the prophecy regarding the Princess crowning the Bear. Because if it is not Bjorn, then we would assume it must be Rollo himself.  What is Rollo’s connection or reference to “Bear”  other than his presumed size which was mentioned previously. Well, we need to look at the term Bear in the Norse language, mythology and legend, as well as look at Rollo himself in how he might fit into this.

The connection can be found in the word Berserker! If we look back at Rollo’s fighting behaviors, there are certainly time when he could be described as Berserker.

Rollo does not trust knut and confronts him

The mention of Ragnar sends Rollo into a rage

Today, the word ‘berserk’  describes one with an irrational, agitated state of mind who cannot or does not control his or her actions. The meaning of the word originates with the Viking berserkers, the fierce warriors who were known for battling in an uncontrollable, trance-like fury, and were alleged to be able to perform seemingly impossible super-human feats of strength.  In medieval Norse and Germanic history and folklore, the berserkers were described as members of an unruly warrior gang that worshipped Odin, the supreme Norse deity, and were commissioned to royal and noble courts as bodyguards and ‘shock troops’, who would strike fear into all who encountered them. Adding to their ferocity, and in order to intimidate the enemy, they would wear bear and wolf pelts when they fought, giving them the name Berserker, meaning “bear coat” in Old Norse.

While some researchers believe the Berserkers simply worked themselves up into a self-induced hysteria before fighting, others maintain that it was sorcery, the consumption of drugs or alcohol, or even mental illness, that accounted for their behaviour. Some botanists have claimed that berserker behaviour could have been caused by the ingestion of the plant known as bog myrtle, one of the main spices in Scandinavian alcoholic beverages. Yet another theory is the consumption of hallucinating properties of such plants as certain types of mushrooms.  Well, both Floki and Rollo have consumed their share of mushrooms!
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/viking-berserkers-fierce-warriors-or-drug-fuelled-madmen-001472

 

And, we are all well aware of Rollo’s drinking habits!

With this explanation we can reasonably assume that yes, Rollo could be considered a  Berserker or “Bear” in the context that the Seer is speaking of.

So, Rollo can be considered a Bear, and he arrives in Paris where, as far as we know- there is only one Princess currently in residence! At first glance this young girl would appear far too meek and unassuming to do anything more than simply place a crown on Rollo’s head for some reason?

This initially unassuming young woman is Princess Gisla, daughter of Frankish King Charles. If you are thinking to find out more about her in actual history, you will have little luck. There is some debate and doubt as to whether she actually existed or was errantly confused with another Princess Gisela of the same time period. She does get mention in some traditional, older accounts of Rollo’s history but there is little or no evidence or proof of her true existence.

In our world, she does exist and we can assume that she is the Princess that the Seer is referring to. As to the crown part of the prophecy, this could be a more metaphorical reference than a literal one. In history, Rollo was never a prince or king. What he did supposedly gain with his marriage to Gisela was land. Or rather, with the treaty and the land, he also gained Gisela. I say it this way because the way it was written, there would have been no real reason for Rollo to be offered Gisela? He signed a treaty pledging his allegiance, complied with all of the terms of the treaty and was awarded the land and then for some reason he was also rewarded with Gisela. This is important because it puts the marriage in a different light than one of a peace offering or arrangement. Gisela was not being used as a peace weaver or peace cow as was common for many young women in that time period. An example would be the Lady Judith of our saga, who was in a sense traded for peace between kingdoms. 

So, if Gisela was not being used in this sense, then it was an arrangement that Rollo wanted for some reason, and Charles went along with it. As we see in this young woman, Gisla, she is not one to be put into a marriage not of her acceptance or choosing.  Another thought on this situation that might explain why this Gisla or Gisela gets such little historical reference.  If Gisela chose to enter into such a marriage or partnership with Rollo on her own, perhaps she was willing to give up her more Royal status and forge a life with Rollo instead. If she did that, she would no longer be of any importance or consequence in the history of this Royal lineage. No one would write any further account of her because in their minds she would cease to exist in that Royal line. In history, she supposedly did not bear Rollo any children so she would be of little real importance in the future documentation of his lineage either. It would be quite easy for those early historians to set her aside and let her fade away into unknown history.   In history, our King Charles III or Charles the Simple had a number of daughters by his first wife, then by his second wife, he finally had a son who would eventually become Louis IV of France.  As one of many daughters, Gisela’s marriage choice may have been of less consequence or importance once this son was born to the family. She may have had more freedom to choose her own marriage because of this. 

Charles the Simple:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Simple

In the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte (911) with King Charles, Rollo pledged feudal allegiance to the king, changed his name to the Frankish version, and converted to Christianity, probably with the baptismal name Robert.  In return, King Charles granted Rollo land between the Epte and the sea as well as parts of Brittany  and according to Dudo of St. Quentin, the hand of the King’s daughter, Gisela, although this marriage and Gisela herself are unknown to Frankish sources. He was also the titular ruler of Normandy, centered around the city of Rouen. There exists some argument among historians as to whether Rollo was a “duke” (dux) or whether his position was equivalent to that of a “count” under Charles.

As I mentioned this young woman is not the timid, unassuming mouse that her initial appearance would suggest. No, we come to see that Gisla is very much in control of her own life and it would seem that she is in a way, the hidden power behind the crown of her Father. She has a close relationship with him and acts as his counsel and advisor.

gisla: you must tell odo that you will not leave your people

There is mention made that she has turned down a number of marriage proposals, among them, the Count Odo’s proposal. This is clearly not a woman who will be pushed into a marriage of convenience or even political reasons. Odo is hopeful though that once he saves Paris, she will rethink his proposal and agree to the marriage.

I will admit that my first impression of Gisla was that this little mouse of a girl would be somehow forced into a marriage with Rollo and would have great difficulty in holding her own with him… Now, my impression is that she has enough inner strength and determination for both herself and Rollo!  I do believe that she could easily be guiding force behind Rollo’s transition from wild Berserker Viking warrior to founder of a well run and disciplined kingdom that becomes a force to be reckoned with throughout the medieval world! While she may not place a literal crown on him, she will  guide him and shape him into a leader that will enable crowns to placed upon many of his descendants!

This Princess Gisla will teach Rollo how to rule a kingdom… as we will see in a future article about Rollo, someone obviously influences, molds and turns him into a ruler and it just might have been one such as Gisla.

So, in final answer to the puzzle of the Seer’s prophecy, Yes the Princess does crown the Bear and it is Rollo!

Our puzzle has been answered to the best of my knowledge and predictions. But, before I end this tonight, I just want to take one closer look at this Princess Gisla. As I said, there is little evidence of her actual existence or her relationship with Rollo other than some fragmented historical references to her. Most current and more documented evidence gives his wife or concubine as Poppa as the Mother of his children. There is little information on her either other than that she might have been captured by Rollo during his attack on Bayeux.  I believe that from Michael Hirst’s perspective and thought, it may have been easier and more expedient to the story line to use Gisla rather than Poppa.  Gisla gives an excellent parallel and represents the difference between the Noblewomen of Europe and those of a fledgling Britain during this time period.

I think that Gisla is a representation of the women of the Carolingian dynasty. The Carolingian empire and dynasty was the one of which King Charles and West Francia were a part of. It  was the final stage in the history of the early medieval realm of the Franks, ruled by the Carolingian dynasty. The size of the empire at its zenith around 800 was 1,112,000 km, with a population of between 10 and 20 million people.  With its division in 843, it also represents the earliest stage in the history of the kingdom of France and the kingdom of Germany, which in the High Middle Ages would emerge as the powerful monarchies of continental Europe, Capetian France and the Holy Roman Empire, and by extension the predecessor of the modern nations of France and Germany. The beginning of the Carolingian era is marked by the coronation of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great by Pope Leo III at Christmas of the year 800, and its end with the death of Charles the Fat.Because Charlemagne and his ancestors had been rulers of the Frankish realm earlier (his grandfather Charles Martel had essentially founded the empire during his lifetime, and his father, Pepin the Short, was the first King of the Franks), the coronation did not actually constitute a new empire. Most historians prefer to use the term “Frankish Kingdoms” or “Frankish Realm” to refer to the area covering parts of today’s Germany and France from the 5th to the 9th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_Empire

I do not want to get too lost or bogged down in the massive amount of history concerning this empire. I just want to point out that it had an extensive long history already before the small Isle of Britain began their slow climb towards a so called civilized nation.  King Charles and his daughter were a part of this empire and were descendants of one of it’s great rulers, Charlemagne. King Charles mentions this during his discussion with Count Odo…

I will not go to my brothers for help in this I will prove I am worthy of my Grandfather Charlamagne.

Charlemagne (/ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/; 2 April 742/747/748 – 28 January 814), also known as Charles the Great (Latin: Carolus or Karolus Magnus, French: Charles Le Grand or Charlemagne, German: Karl der Große, Italian: Carlo Magno or Carlomagno) or Charles I, was King of the Franks who united most of Western Europe during the Middle Ages and laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. He took the Frankish throne from 768 and became King of Italy from 774. From 800 he became the first Holy Roman Emperor – the first recognized Roman emperor in Western Europe since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state he founded is called the Carolingian Empire.

The oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, Charlemagne became king in 768 following the death of his father. He was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman’s sudden death in 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. Charlemagne continued his father’s policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy, and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He also campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death, at times leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peter’s Basilica.

Called the “Father of Europe” (pater Europae), Charlemagne united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of cultural and intellectual activity within the Catholic Church. Both the French and German monarchies considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagne’s empire.

Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for just over thirteen years. He was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. His son Louis the Pious succeeded him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne

The kingdoms of England were in their infancy and just learning how to survive let alone reach any form of greatness… A few such as Ecbert of Wessex had been exposed to the greatness and the power of  Charlemagne’s empire. And, to give Ecbert his credit, this is the form of greatness that he was striving for after having spent time at Charlemagne’s court.

One only has to look at the various places of both countries and see the blatent differences….

Paris

Wessex

Court/ Great Hall of Paris

Great hall of Wessex

There was really no equitable comparison between the places, the people or the cultures. This includes the status of women in each place. 

In the Carolingian Empire, women held positions vital to the sustainability of Carolingian culture and society. Not only did they support men in traditional roles as virtuous mothers, nurturers, and models of beauty and morality, but they also controlled massive amounts wealth, protected against armed revolts, and preserved family lineages. Although the majority of Carolingian texts are authored by men and concern masculine activities, brief glimpses of the lives of aristocratic women can be deciphered through careful examination. In addition, history has a tendency to view women through a modern feminist lens, which leaves pre-modern women subject to assumptions of vulnerability, subjugation, and passivity. But these assumptions are not necessarily true. Although they lived in the constraints of a patriarchal society, Carolingian aristocratic women held a high status and role achieved through law and politics, economic and managerial pursuits, religious ties and family bonds, as well as education and domestic leadership.

women in the vast  Carolingian Empire differed in their ethnic backgrounds, roles in religious or lay settings, and responsibilities. Even the simple idea of marriage during this time had different definitions as Muntehe, Friedelehe, and concubines existed simultaneously. It is therefore important to take these differences into consideration and further define the differing statuses of women in order to better understand them.

You can read more about women in the Carolingian Empire here:

http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/28/powerful-women-in-a-patriarchal-society-examining-the-social-status-and-roles-of-aristocratic-carolingian-women/

The Carolingian Noblewomen did still live within a world of constraints and domination of men but they were more highly valued than the women of Saxon England. They also knew better how to maneuver themselves within those constraints and maintain their value and self worth.  Gisla is one of these women. She was most likely raised to know the importance of her worth in society. And while she would have understood the importance of a political marriage or alliance with regard to her family and her country, she would have been well educated in the politics of the time to know what was advantageous and what would bring her family and country nothing in return. While Saxon England was struggling to find it’s place and learn what was considered acceptable, civilized behavior in regards to nobility, Gisla’s world was already well versed in what was deemed appropriate and civilized for Nobility and Royalty. Gisla was raised as a Royal Princess, and it shows.  Compare her for instance to our infamous now Queen Kwentirith… I am quite sure that Gisla would be completely disgusted and horrified at Kweni’s behaviors as both Princess and Queen? Not that the rest of us aren’t as well, but comparing these two women clearly shows that Kwenitirith is way out her league when it comes to Royal demeanor and social skills!

Gisla’s conduct and carriage

verses some of Kwenitirith’s various inappropriate actions…

Just a hint here Kwentirith when everyone throws empty cups at you you may have a few friend problems!

The prophecy of the Princess crowning the Bear is much clearer now.

This leaves us two last messages to decipher… The Dead not the Living will conquer Paris, and this does not bode well for you Ragnar Lothbrok. 

Let’s address the message of this all not boding well for Ragnar first because it’s really the easiest to figure out!  First of all, Ragnar has always been the favored one of the Gods. Rollo makes much of this fact when he speaks to the Seer of his pain and his anger. In the relationship between these two brothers, Rollo has spent his life in Ragnar’s shadow fighting for his own identity, his own reputation. It is a constant battle for him to find his own way yet remain loyal to a brother he loves. Because despite all of Rollo’s bitterness and resentment over Ragnar’s favor with the Gods and everyone on earth, he does love his brother and continues to stand behind him no matter what. Ragnar has come to take this for granted. He assumes that Rollo will continue in on this path of following him and remaining in his shadow. I believe that Ragnar thinks all of their sibling difficulties and rivalry are now in the past. He believes that Rollo has accepted his fate and will remain ever loyal and faithful to him now. The coming events in Paris will test this relationship again. This time Rollo will be given opportunity and reason to once more question his allegiance and loyalties to Ragnar’s mission, Ragnar’s goals. Rollo will find his own path, his own destiny in Paris and it will eventually lead to far greater fame, glory and reputation that Ragnar could ever think to achieve. Rollo’s time for greatness is coming and Ragnar will most likely not be expecting it or so happy about it.  

Portrait of Rollo’s destiny. Credit to Ines Jagger of Vikings Aftermath group and to lindamarieanson of deviant art.

 

portrait of Rollo by Lindamarieanson of Deviant Art

 

The message of “Not the Living but the Dead shall conquer Paris”  far more difficult to sort out. In looking at the history of Paris, it has actually only been conquered a few times in it’s long history. The Romans did conquer it and gave the city it’s name. The new city was called Lutetia or Lutetia Parisiorum (Lutece of the Parisii). The name probably came from the Latin word luta, meaning mud or swam.  Caesar had described the great marsh, or marais, along the right bank of the Seine. 

The gradual collapse of the Roman empire, due to the increasing Germanic invasions of the 5th century, sent the city into a period of decline. In 451 AD, the city was threatened by the army of Attila the Hun, which had pillaged Treves, Metz and Reims The Parisians were planning to abandon the city, but they were persuaded to resist by Saint Genevieve (422-502). Attila bypassed Paris and attacked Orléans. In 461, the city was threatened again by the Salian Franks, led by Childeric I (436-481). The siege of the city lasted ten years. Once again Genevieve organized the defense. She rescued the city by bringing wheat to the hungry city from Brie and Champagne on a flotilla of eleven barges. She became the patron saint of Paris.

In 481, the son of Childeric, Clovis I, just sixteen years old, became the new ruler of the Franks. In 486, he defeated the last Roman armies, and became the ruler of all of Gaul north of the Loire River. With the consent of Genevieve, he entered Paris. He was converted to Christianity by his wife Clothilde, was baptised at Reims in 496, and made Paris his capital.

During the Viking era, No Vikings ever conquered Paris. In future generations, Paris would suffer great devastations and catastrophes from the Plague and from various wars but it would not be conquered again until World War II when Hitler invaded and conquered the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Paris

Knowing the history and the future of Paris causes one to wonder just what the Seer is referring to with this foretelling.  As we’ve come to see, the Seer is usually fairly correct in connecting his prophecies to some sort of real historical events. So, what exactly is he alluding to with this reference?  He is speaking of this to Ragnar so one would assume that it has to do with Viking attempts to conquer the city and not later devastations which would almost decimate the city but not bring about it’s downfall. One event was the Plague which nearly wiped out the population but not the city itself.

When the Seer speaks of the Dead conquering the City, perhaps he is referring to the fact that at this time, the only people to have ever conquered the city were the long dead Romans! Perhaps he is warning Ragnar  in his usual cryptic way that this attempt is futile and only filled with death for the Vikings. It could also refer to the fact that aside from the long dead Romans, there is only one other force which has already conquered Paris. Paris has already been conquered and won by Christianity and their dead Christ who will rise again to defeat their enemies. Paris is a stronghold fortress of the deeply religious Christians. Their beliefs are so strong that they will defend their city and their religion at all costs. These are not wishy washy half believers like many of the only recently converted Saxons. Many of the Saxons were only pious believers as long as it was to their benefit. No, Christianity was so deeply engrained in the people of Paris and other parts of Francia that they firmly believed that their righteous God would carry them through any adversity. This area was the beginning of the Warriors of God, Defenders of Faith.

Their faith and their determination were every bit as strong as the Vikings belief in Odin. In a sense this could be looked at as a battle between God and Odin. Gisla understands this clearly and becomes a driving force and inspiration to the people of Paris as she leads them in a disturbing yet riveting prayer to God for victory over these Pagan forces intent on destroying their city and their faith.

you may rely upon me to do everything possible to persuade our people to hold firm and remain calm.

Perhaps she is entreating God, calling him to send the courage and strength of the Dead such as their Holy Saints to the aid of this city?

What ever her intent or her specific prayer, she has indeed inspired their people. She has put fear into them, and given them that God inspired courage to stand up and face this attack, to fight and win for God.

 

On the other side of the River the Vikings are calling upon their own Gods for victory

viking prayer for victory

It will be a battle  beliefs as much as a battle for wealth and reputation. It will be a battle not easily won, filled with death and in the end most likely no side will actually claim victory.  Both sides will tire of the long siege and will eventually give into compromise.  In history, the Francians continued with a long held practice of paying the Viking raiders to leave. The Viking raiders were not well trained, skilled or patient with such long drawn out and life costly battles. They would grow weary as well.  They would accede to far less rewards than they originally wished for, take their payments and leave only to return again when they were in need of more wealth. We will talk more of the various battles and non- victories when we learn more about Rollo’s true history and destiny.

For now, who conquers Paris- the dead or the living… Well, in a way the Seer is again right because in the Vikings view the death of so many warriors is never really acceptable unless they are certain of victory. They are well known to be greatly cautious and careful with their battles so as not to risk the lives of their Warriors needlessly.  If they see the loss of lives becoming too great with no clear victory in sight, they will retreat and live to fight another day!