Bavarian Raven Posted April 15, 2013 Author #101 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Te uncoordinated cavalry charge was perfect. My thoughts exactly. You are going to take horse soldiers against a fortified position and charge??? Great way to die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted April 15, 2013 #102 Share Posted April 15, 2013 My thoughts exactly. You are going to take horse soldiers against a fortified position and charge??? Great way to die. Thugs. That is pretty much what 7th century Britannia was full of. They weren't the perfectly tuned army under Wellington or the greatest Navy in history under Nelson, they were mobsters and thugs and the Vikings were better fighters. I think that Britain would never have been as great as it was if not for the pressure of the Norseman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 16, 2013 #103 Share Posted April 16, 2013 The Vikings taught people, who were little more than mobsters, how to fight as an army. Some of the most interesting history to read. Regardless, this series is AWESOME. The scene of the three long boats coming up the river is the best image of that western nightmare that I have ever seen. Te uncoordinated cavalry charge was perfect. The were mobsters protecting territory, like mobsters, and the vikings were having a different fight. I'm descended from gallowglass. They were mercenaries, some of whom were hybrids of Gaels and Vikings (for people who don't know). The Normans had Viking roots too. There must have been something in the genes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 16, 2013 #104 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Thugs. That is pretty much what 7th century Britannia was full of. They weren't the perfectly tuned army under Wellington or the greatest Navy in history under Nelson, they were mobsters and thugs and the Vikings were better fighters. I think that Britain would never have been as great as it was if not for the pressure of the Norseman. There were exceptions to the rule. The English likely would have beaten both the Normans *and* the Danish if they had fought them separately. All three groups descended from Germanic tribes with warrior traditions, so they weren't much different at the start. The first wave of Germanic invaders were anything but wimps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted April 16, 2013 #105 Share Posted April 16, 2013 There were exceptions to the rule. The English likely would have beaten both the Normans *and* the Danish if they had fought them separately. All three groups descended from Germanic tribes with warrior traditions, so they weren't much different at the start. The first wave of Germanic invaders were anything but wimps. Concur, I should have been clearer. The Vikings fought better as a team and a striking force. They sailed up the countless rivers and tributaries and hit quick and hard and left. The early Brits had a damn near impossible task of defending a huge swath of shoreline while simultaneously defending against the thugs across the valley who would take advantage of the temporary weakness. Eventually they joined forces for mutual protection from the outside threat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 17, 2013 #106 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Concur, I should have been clearer. The Vikings fought better as a team and a striking force. They sailed up the countless rivers and tributaries and hit quick and hard and left. The early Brits had a damn near impossible task of defending a huge swath of shoreline while simultaneously defending against the thugs across the valley who would take advantage of the temporary weakness. Eventually they joined forces for mutual protection from the outside threat. We could expand your definition of gangsters to include Vikings. Businessmen paid protection to the Mafia. Leaders, of Church and State, paid tribute to Vikings. It's just a matter of scale. It's also interesting to see how roles changed over the years. Germanic and Goidelic groups terrorized the Christianized and Romanized Brythonic villages with acts of invasion and piracy. Pagan Vikings then did the same thing to both groups after the groups became settled Christians. The same pattern held in other parts of Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 19, 2013 #107 Share Posted April 19, 2013 I read that the Vikings were shorter than modern European men. They were between 5'6 and 5'8. Yet, contemporary chroniclers from Mediterranean areas wrote that they were beautiful physical specimens as tall as trees. People, in the rest of the known world, must have been incredibly short! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted April 24, 2013 Author #108 Share Posted April 24, 2013 What did you all think of last nights episode? Sure was a change from the usual pace... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted April 24, 2013 Author #109 Share Posted April 24, 2013 People, in the rest of the known world, must have been incredibly short! Around five feet on average is memory serves me right. Hence a 5'6 or 5'8 "germanic person" was a giant lol. Heck, the Norse of Greenland (who during the first 200 years of the colony's existance had one of the best diets on earth at the time) grew to basically modern heights. o.O Ironic really... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 24, 2013 #110 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Around five feet on average is memory serves me right. Hence a 5'6 or 5'8 "germanic person" was a giant lol. Heck, the Norse of Greenland (who during the first 200 years of the colony's existance had one of the best diets on earth at the time) grew to basically modern heights. o.O Ironic really... I read that men were around 5'6 while women were around 5'2. There was a time in the Dark Ages when men were as tall or taller than modern men. Sunday night's show surprised me for two reasons. First I was surprised that there were human sacrifices, and, second, I was surprised that the priest escaped that fate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #111 Share Posted April 24, 2013 What did you all think of last nights episode? Sure was a change from the usual pace... Good stuff. The sacrifice was some deep shlt. Imagine volunteering for that?! Crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted April 24, 2013 #112 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I had no idea the Vikings practiced human sacrifice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 24, 2013 #113 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I had no idea the Vikings practiced human sacrifice. That made two of us. I knew that some Celtic groups practiced it. Convicted criminals and enemy combatants were sacrificed in druidic rituals. It was not all that comparatively barbaric when juxtaposed with the worst practices of civilized Rome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silver Thong Posted April 24, 2013 #114 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Good stuff. The sacrifice was some deep shlt. Imagine volunteering for that?! Crazy. She was a slave and not really given a choice but an option plu raped how many times, damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #115 Share Posted April 24, 2013 She was a slave and not really given a choice but an option plu raped how many times, damn. That too but I meant the member of Ragnor's click. He jumped all over that when the priest couldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 24, 2013 #116 Share Posted April 24, 2013 That too but I meant the member of Ragnor's click. He jumped all over that when the priest couldn't. He saw it as an honor. The priest should return to the fold after that close shave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #117 Share Posted April 24, 2013 This is my earliest memory of Thor. All that sacrifice for this guy lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted April 24, 2013 #118 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Wasn't there a couple of academics that were posting here that could enlighten us? One of teh best things about UM is teh level of discourse you can learn from at times. Check out the Stichen thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #119 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Wasn't there a couple of academics that were posting here that could enlighten us? One of teh best things about UM is teh level of discourse you can learn from at times. Check out the Stichen thread. I thought you were one of them Merc. That guy you're talking about was schooling everybody on Vikings I think told me last week he was buying a bunch of new Viking books to read. Bet that's what he's up to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Censorship Posted April 24, 2013 #120 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Wasn't there a couple of academics that were posting here that could enlighten us? One of teh best things about UM is teh level of discourse you can learn from at times. Check out the Stichen thread. I just remembered that individuals were sacrificed at some Scandinavian funerals in which the dead were cremated. I never heard about other kinds of sacrifices in Viking society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted April 24, 2013 #121 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I thought you were one of them Merc. That guy you're talking about was schooling everybody on Vikings I think told me last week he was buying a bunch of new Viking books to read. Bet that's what he's up to. Oh absolutely not and I never meant to project that. If I did so, I apologize. I am learning from you guys and maybe we can draw a true pro in. I read a great deal about them from the books I have about England and teh effect they had on how it developed and have some theories that have already been pretty much beat up (why we call them theories) and want to learn more. We need a pro in here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #122 Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) Oh absolutely not and I never meant to project that. If I did so, I apologize. I am learning from you guys and maybe we can draw a true pro in. I read a great deal about them from the books I have about England and teh effect they had on how it developed and have some theories that have already been pretty much beat up (why we call them theories) and want to learn more. We need a pro in here. You're definitely way ahead of me. This TV show and thread is absolutely the most effort I've ever put into Vikings, ever. B.Jenkins was our go to guy here. Just went back to look. Edited April 24, 2013 by -Mr_Fess- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #123 Share Posted April 24, 2013 They do have the coolest gods though and I like how they all scream ODIN!!! in battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckskin scout Posted April 24, 2013 #124 Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) You're definitely way ahead of me. This TV show and thread is absolutely the most effort I've ever put into Vikings, ever. B.Jenkins was our go to guy here. Just went back to look. Nah, I am basically just a layman with a few viking books lying around. Heh. I already once attempted to read the Gwyn Jones book (which is touted to be one of the very best single volumes written on vikings) and large parts of it were too advanced for me - information overload (loads of it). So I shelved it a year or two ago. Edited April 24, 2013 by B Jenkins 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted April 24, 2013 #125 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Nah, I am basically just a layman with a few viking books lying around. Heh. I already once attempted to read the Gwyn Jones book (which is touted to be one of the very best single volumes written on vikings) and large parts of it were too advanced for me - information overload (loads of it). So I shelved it a year or two ago. Well hey, for now you are our go to guy... Hail to Jenkins!!! So now you must tell us of Viking sacrifices. What do you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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