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The Vikings Series


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Vikings (Travis Fimmel)Vikings is a historical drama television series created and written by Michael Hirst for the History channel. It was filmed in Ireland and is inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France.

The story

The show portrays Ragnar as a farmer who rises to fame by successful raids into England and eventually becomes a Scandinavian King, with the support of his family and fellow warriors. In the later seasons, the series follows the fortunes of his sons and their adventures in England, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

The series is inspired by the tales of the Norsemen of early medieval Scandinavia, as notably laid down in the 13th-century sagas Ragnars saga Loðbrókar and Ragnarssona þáttr, as well as in Saxo Grammaticus's 12th-century work Gesta Danorum. It is worthwhile mentioning that Norse legendary sagas were partially fictional tales based in the Norse oral tradition, written down about 200 to 400 years after the events they describe. Further inspiration is taken from historical sources of the period, such as records of the Viking raid on Lindisfarne depicted in the second episode, or Ahmad ibn Fadlan's 10th-century account of the Varangians. The series begins at the start of the Viking Age, marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793.

The cast

The cast includes, among others, Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok (seasons 1–4), Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, Clive Standen as Rollo (seasons 1–4; recurring season 5), Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy (seasons 1–3), Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki.

Reception

Although the series was criticized for a lack of historical accuracy in some scenes, it received favorable reviews. According to Nielsen, the series premiere drew six million viewers in the US, topping all broadcast networks among viewers aged 18 to 49. It also premiered on March 3, 2013, in Canada and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

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