Vikings

Neil Oliver serves as host and narrator for this three-part BBC-aired documentary series that attempts to shine some realistic light on the often exaggerated reputation that history has bestowed on the Vikings. Oliver travels across Scandinavia to visit archeological sites that offer clues to the transformative rise of the Vikings from farmers to aggressive warriors whose power reached as far as the Middle East. While the image of the Vikings as sword-swinging ruffians remains popular, historical evidence suggests a somewhat more sophisticated reality that included a shrewd understanding of foreign trade, a highly flexible ability to colonize distant lands, and an early embrace of the Christian faith. Alas, the one thing the Vikings failed to do was to firmly establish their own historical record. After the death of the last great Viking monarch, King Canute, in 1035, the story of the Vikings was either mostly forgotten or rewritten by future non-Scandinavian historians with little regard to the facts—most egregiously in the image of Vikings wearing horned helmets (there is no evidence to support that fashion statement). Offering a fascinating deconstruction of a much-mythologized group in early European history, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)