'Top Medieval Historian Rates Vikings in Movies'

Dr Cat Jarman, a historian and archaeologist specialising in the Viking Age, reviews scenes from famous movies set in the Viking era. Cat is also the author of River Kings and host of the Gone Medieval podcast from History Hit, which you can listen to here: https://play.acast.com/s/gone-medieval

First, Cat reviews Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of Thor and the depiction of Asgard, home of the Norse gods, in the 2011 Marvel movie 'Thor'. She then takes a look at a classic Hollywood film from 1958, 'The Vikings', starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, which recreates the death of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok.

Next up, it's 'The 13th Warrior' starring Antonio Banderas and Vladimir Kulich, which shows the interaction between the Viking and Islamic worlds, as well as featuring a Viking prayer which closely resembles the one described by the Muslim traveller Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Then she rates a brief scene from the 2009 film 'Valhalla Rising', which recreates a meeting between the Viking One-Eye and North American tribesmen.

The animated movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' is next, which leans into popular tropes about the Viking world - including horned helmets - but does hint at the important societal role played by Viking women. Finally, it's the 2022 Viking blockbuster 'The Northman' starring Alexander Skarsgård. Although the film is rated highly by Cat for its depiction of Vikings ships, she suggests that the portrayals of berserker warriors is more a 21st century Viking fantasy than reality.

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