Vikings tv show -- what is the appeal?

[Kyriakos]

Doesn't your avatar have a beard, oh Lordly One?

I am sure you know it does not. Alexios II probably had a very subtle beard, but i replaced him with my illustrious self. And i am not a pogonatos* ^_^

*bearded; and another byzantine emperor had that as a nickname, Constantine B'.

 

[Arakhor]

The use of a Anglo-Latin name for a Byzantine emperor, coupled with his Greek numeral? You appear to be in a state of inconsistency, sir!

 

[Kyriakos]

^I was just throwing the less familiar with greek names people a bone

 

[Lohrenswald]

I spell it the way I was taught

you were thaught wrong tho

 

[Arakhor]

Sod's Law rears its ugly head most reliably in Internet posts when you are correcting someone else's spelling (and then realise that you have at least one in your own post).

 

[Traitorfish]

Meh ^_^ Many women have a tallness and long-hair fetish
Though - and i mean no offense to you, TF, though i know i am treading in treacherous waters here... - i never can identify beards as positive

And you call yourself a Greek!

 

[Kyriakos]

And you call yourself a Greek!

Going by greek statues, beards are given to symbols of power (eg Zeus and his brothers), while non-bearded are the symbols of beauty (Apollo, Hyacinthus, iirc Adonis too). Hephaistos (Vulcan) also has a beard, so i suppose it connotes craftmanship as well

Another couple with beards are the non-mortal medusas (Gorgona's sisters)...

 

[civvver]

It's not the greatest show but I just like it. It's easy to watch, full of action and I like period pieces even if it's not historically accurate. It usually gets me going to wikipedia to look at real history. Isn't ragnar fictitious anyway? Like possibly a real person but maybe a few people combined into legend through the years?

As far as being a slow timeline, the seasons jump quite a few years down the line. Actually the lastest season jumps like 10 years from the second to last episode to the finale.

 

[Arakhor]

Ragnar is what they call legendary, so yes, probably based on someone real at some point before extensive elaboration.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

you were thaught wrong tho

You might want to consult a dictionary and grammar book and correct this post.

Some historical figures have had their names spelled in various ways, depending on the time and culture and linguistic tradition of the speller. My own middle name is Swedish and I spell it the English way, since one of the letters used doesn't exist in the English alphabet.

(Not that I'm claiming to be a historical figure, although someone at a science fiction convention did hail me as "infamous" one year, just before presenting me with a raffle prize I'd won - a board game based on the California gold rush)

 

[Lohrenswald]

yea, and when it comes to vikings I sort of innately have more authority than you

 

[Valka D'Ur]

yea, and when it comes to vikings I sort of innately have more authority than you

Oh, I can't wait for your explanation for this.

 

[Arakhor]

Well, I can. Please let's not get distracted.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Well, I can. Please let's not get distracted.

No, I'm honestly curious as to what Lohrenswald is getting at. However the name is spelled, we're talking about a historical figure who is normally considered to be a Viking.

If he's going to trot out a degree in linguistics, emphasis on Norse languages, fine. I never had the opportunity to learn Norwegian. My RL name is 2/3 Swedish, but necessarily spelled in the English way, since I live in a country that uses Canadian English.

If he's going to trot out lineage, my grandfather was born in Norway, and the family tree goes back centuries... to the time of the Vikings.

Neither of which should matter that much when everyone knows exactly which person to whom we're both referring. I just want to know why Lohrenswald is "innately" more qualified to speak on a matter of spelling of a Viking name.

 

[Traitorfish]

According to Wiki, the Old Norse spelling is "Leifr Eiríksson", so it looks like you're both wrong?

 

[Kyriakos]

Sven Sven Sven Goran Eiríksson

 

[Leifmk]

According to Wiki, the Old Norse spelling is "Leifr Eiríksson", so it looks like you're both wrong?

Orthography was kinda not invented yet so it's a moot point.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

My girlfriend also chimed on behalf of the female viewership, proposing that the question is best answered with a picture:



So, there's that too.

Bodybuilding old-times guys is always such an immersion-destroyer for me. Nice round bodybuilding muscles are just so to the opposite of lifestyle and (survival-depending!) need.
Like the Iceland guy who took over the Mountain role in GoT (a whole nother league muscle-wise than that guy, but to illustrate) literally said in an interview that he his always tired due to his enormous muscles. In any actual battle he would die while gasping for air.
Of course a mighty warrior can spot some nice muscle texture. But it would be very lean and natural-looking. Not scream fitness-studio, power-sets and protein shakes. Only misses the solarium tan in the mix for complete immersion destruction.
/rant

 

[Leifmk]

Bodybuilding old-times guys is always such an immersion-destroyer for me.
/rant

You want some bounds for what's plausible, look at old Greek statues of athletes, or bodybuilders from the pre-steroid era. You could conceivably have some dude running around built like Eugen Sandow or at the outside early-1950s George Eiferman; not so much a latter-day competitive strongman or prize-winning bodybuilder (all of them are on drugs).

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Naha

Normal dude


Professional athlete:


Freaking Zeus




Plus those statues were likely idealized.