Vikings (2013– )

Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of ... See full summary »

Creator:

Michael Hirst

Stars:

Travis Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick, Clive Standen

Cast

Series cast summary:
Travis Fimmel	...	Ragnar Lothbrok (9 episodes, 2013)
Katheryn Winnick	...	Lagertha Lothbrok (9 episodes, 2013)
Clive Standen	...	Rollo (9 episodes, 2013)
Jessalyn Gilsig	...	Siggy Haraldson (9 episodes, 2013)
Gustaf Skarsgård	...	Floki (9 episodes, 2013)
George Blagden	...	Athelstan (8 episodes, 2013)
Nathan O'Toole	...	Bjorn Lothbrok (8 episodes, 2013)
Gabriel Byrne	...	Earl Haraldson (7 episodes, 2013)
Tadhg Murphy	...	Arne (7 episodes, 2013)
Jefferson Hall	...	Torstein (7 episodes, 2013)
Ruby O'Leary	...	Gyda (7 episodes, 2013)
David Pearse	...	Svein (6 episodes, 2013)
Diarmaid Murtagh	...	Leif (6 episodes, 2013)
Elinor Crawley	...	Thyri (6 episodes, 2013)
John Kavanagh	...	The Seer (4 episodes, 2013)
Vladimir Kulich	...	Eric (4 episodes, 2013)
Maude Hirst	...	Helga (4 episodes, 2013)
Eric Higgins	...	Knut (4 episodes, 2013)

Storyline

Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods, legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | monastery | saxon | monk | norse mythology | 

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Taglines:

The Storm Is Coming

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Ireland Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viikingid

Filming Locations:

Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irish Film Board, Take 5 Productions, World 2000 Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Loðbrók" is not a family name but a nickname meaning "hairy-breeches", presumably from a habit of wearing fur leggings. Vikings often acquired colorful nicknames derived from personal habits, characteristics or traits. The sagas and histories of Vikings are populated with such figures as Helgi the Leant, Ketil Trout and King Harald Finehair (formerly Harald Shag-hair). One can only speculate as to how difficult it was to be the follower of a man known as Eystein the Foul-Farted (a name recorded in the Icelandic Book of Settlements).

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Goofs

Throughout the series, people refer to Gabriel Byrne's character as "Earl (or Lord) Haraldson". The Vikings used a system of naming known as "patronymic" in which one's personal name was modified by the given name of one's father followed by "son" (for a male) or "dottir" (for a female). These modifiers were not in anyway considered family names and people were commonly referred to by their personal names regardless of their rank. Occasionally, "matronymics" were used, which are derived from the name of the mother. This custom has fallen into disuse in all the Nordic countries except Iceland, where the patronymic/matronymic system is still in use and the custom is to address people by what people in most other countries would consider their given names. For similar reasons, the Earl's wife, Siggy, would never be referred to as "Siggy Haraldson"; she would retain the patronymic inherited from her father. If, for example, her father's name had been Eirik, she would remain Siggy Eiriksdottir even after marrying. Bjorn, the son of Ragnar, would not be known as "Bjorn Loðbrók" but as "Bjorn Ragnarsson". Ragnar's wife, similarly to Siggy, would not be known as "Lagertha Loðbrók". "Loðbrók" is not a family name but a nickname meaning "hairy-breeches", presumably from a habit of wearing fur leggings. See also trivia.

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #17.196 (2012)
Clip shown to introduce today's guest panelist Neil Oliver!

User Reviews

Thanks, History Channel!

I've watched the two first episodes of the series and I can say that I'm POSITIVELY surprised.

I didn't know if this would be any good but I'm most certainly intrigued. It's well written, exciting and charming. The show is very enjoyable, especially if you're interested in Scandinavian/European history.

I love Norse Mythology and I am very happy that this show aired, I just hope it continues going in a good direction. :)

All in all I can't wait for the remaining episodes and if you're considering picking this show up I'd definitely recommend it.