Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Vikings: The Most Religious Show on TV?
Earlier this week, Bishop Robert Barron wrote a short essay 
about the History Channel’s drama series Vikings, arguing that it’s the most explicitly religious show he can remember watching. On this advice, my husband and I watched the first episode last night and our 14-year-old son was immediately sucked in. His parting words for the night were “Don’t watch it without me!” (The 19-year-old came home in the middle of it and, scandalized, asked why we were letting him watch Game of Thrones? Um, no dear.) From a spoiler-free portion of the bishop’s piece:
[E]veryone in Vikings is religious: the Northmen (and women) themselves, the English, the French, and visitors from distant lands. To be sure, they are religious in very different ways, but there is no one who does not take with utter seriousness a connection to a higher, spiritual realm. Moreover, their spirituality is not an abstraction, but rather is regularly embodied in ritual, prayer, procession, liturgy, and mystical experience. The ubiquity and intensity of faith in these various peoples and tribes calls to mind philosopher Charles Taylor’s observation that, prior to 1500 or so, it was practically unthinkable not to be religious. That God exists, that spiritual powers impinge upon the world, that we live on after we die, that a higher authority judges our deeds—all of this was simply the default of the overwhelming majority of the human race prior to very recent times in certain pockets of Western civilization. Taylor speaks of the “buffered self” that has come to dominate today. He means the identity that is closed in upon itself, oblivious to a transcendent dimension, committed unquestioningly to a naturalist or materialist view of reality. I must confess that it was enormously refreshing to watch a program in which every single self was unbuffered!
I’ve read that, as a piece of historical fiction, it’s fairly accurate. Any opinions, Ricochet?
Published in Entertainment, Religion & Philosophy
My son has, on occasion, looked at the winsome Ms. Winnick and could be heard calling out the name of the Lord.
It’s a cool show especially since I too, found Rollo Duke of Normandy in my family tree as well as young king to be Alfred. I do think it slips into gratuitous sex and violence to fill time. But it’s cool how they weave a story from historic and mythical figures from the viking sagas written down some 600 years after the characters had passed. Right down to Ivor the Boneless (which may have referred to sexual prowess and not deformed limbs as in the show). So it takes a lot of liberties, as I’m sure the monk who wrote down the sagas in the 1400s did, mixing deeds and characters in and out. Did Ragnar make is to Paris, or Bjorn or Ivor etc?
Can’t help but compare that it Makes me grateful the gospels got taken down within 30-60 years. (maybe sooner, but that’s another thread) of the resurrection.
The Scandinavian religion has always fascinated me. What other mythology proposes endless war as paradise? They were predatory peoples.
As a Christian, I take pride in my religion’s history of seeking the good in every culture, uprooting its evils, and adapting customs to universal truth. There is truth in many myths.
Modern Christians could use some of that warrior spirit. Let’s not forget that the first saint was St Michael, general of the heavenly host.
I appreciate any uncynical portrayal of religion. I like Vikings for the most part, although I’m not completely caught up. I just finished reading The Vikings by Frank Donovan, which is a very old book but was $0.99 on Kindle, so I grabbed it. It’s an easy-to-read survey of the Viking era. Fans of the Vikings and The Last Kingdom my find it interesting. I especially enjoyed the sections on the Viking conversions to Christianity. I’ve only watched the first episode of Kingdom, but I thought it was whiz-bang. I mean, c’mon, Rutger Hauer! What’s not to like?
I have always liked the show Vikings but I am nearly always rooting for the Saxons as the Vikings were a dead end as far as civilization building went. They were marauders and and killers for no other reason then they could be. So I am a bigger fan of the Last Kingdom that at least let’s us follow the good guys.
Religion on the show is interesting and is portrayed in an interesting way and the viking’s relentless pursuit of visions is accurate and interesting. Christianity is taken seriously but not too seriously and Athelstan in the show was truly a noble stone who seems to possess supernatural powers equal to that of deformed Nordic prophet back in Norway.
The show makes material assumptions about the world and while there are a host of examples of religious beliefs being used to manipulate people there are few if any decision that are seen as wise coming from religious motivations.
When a Christian character decides to stay true to his beliefs his decision is presented with a certain nobility but that it was inherently foolish. The same when a pagan acts on a vision to martyr the Christian, the decision is shown to be foolish. Over and over again religious people in the show are shown to be making foolish religious decisions when simple pragmatic solutions are available.
Two of the most rational and towering characters on the show Lothbrok and the King of Wessex are both religious men and become obsessed with a man that both the Christian King of Wessex and the pagan Lothbrok consider to be holy but it seems to me the show portrays them as the most wise when they manipulating their religions for their own ends. So far in the show has anyone been called out for being immoral by religious authorities? Have Christians made any stands on principle? Some pagans led by Floki have claimed that Lothbrok has not been sufficiently brutal and murderous enough but that is about it?
My over all impression is that the show is basically saying that the people of the time, took religion very seriously, it was a real force in their lives and they believed it, but that was sad for them.
However in our current culture just having a show take religion seriously can be considered a big win, I suppose but we are setting the bar pretty low I think.
Yes, on Ivor the Boneless I have read books and the historical “record” for the Sons of Loftbrok are very confused indeed but we take the fact that they existed and fought it does seem a certainty that Ivar fought and fought well and in fact was quite terrifying and killed a lot of Christians. But in the show they have chosen to say that he can’t even walk (which was a possibility). I find it interesting that they made that choice. I wonder if they will “heal” him somehow so he can walk and fight like his brothers.
Looking forward to the rest of this season.
The temple scene in Season 1, Episode 8 can be a useful lesson for Christians. The sacrificial ceremony is basically similar to the sacrifice of animals in the Jewish custom, and can illuminate the significance of Jesus as the Paschal Lamb.
First, with the Jews, God was merciful in allowing them to pay for justice with the blood of lesser creatures, though precious and beautiful animals. Then, with Christians, God’s own Son became the sacrifice to end all living sacrifices, so that today the tithe is mere money and acts of charity or adoration.
Modern Westerners are so very far removed from those ancient practices that the imagery is shocking. But it is important to remember that still today we go to church to remember a blood sacrifice. It is only by God’s mercy that we do not still bleed animals on the altar.
Still today, Abraham’s obedience even to the point of offering his own son (in anticipation of Christ) is not mere symbolism. It is an example of right priorities: God first.
I’m no scholar, but I’m not sure that’s true, based on my admittedly limited reading. The Normans who invaded England in 1066 were Vikings, although I guess they were Frenchified by that point. Maybe that’s your point, that they overran a more advanced society.
An interesting thing about the Temple they based it on the first Christians churches in the area. The Pagan temple they went too was open air area of stones with crude shelters. The producers did not like the look of that so they built a Pagan Temple in the shape of the early nordic churches. Fun.
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son comes across, I suspect, very differently for modern Western people who think in terms of individual rights. In that context Abraham might seem downright evil for thinking he has the right to kill his son. I wonder if this story has been contextualized well enough.
It seems to me that the story of Abraham and Isaac is the story of rebellion against the religion of Ba’al, which required occasional child sacrifice. The Jews were declaring that their god no longer would ask for such a monstrous act, though he demanded the same loyalty. It was their way of breaking free of ba’al and rejecting henotheism and insisting they would only obey one god.
Very interesting, I had not heard that before. Nice symbolism.
As far as I know, I am the only one to come up with that idea, though it’s likely I heard it somewhere.