I'll never know what it is that makes Vikings so indisputably cool. I suppose the freedom, success and strength associated with the term are all valid reasons; but there's something deeper, essentially ingrained into us, that makes them such a point of interest. So when Paradox Interactive announced that they'd be bringing a Pagan themed expansion to their fantastic grand strategy title Crusader Kings II, I, and many other fans, jumped with joy. With The Old Gods now available on Steam; I dusted off the crown, stretched my mouse hand, and jumped back into the whimsical world of CK2.
Of course, not all of your time spent with The Old Gods will be focused on this early start time. The later dates, from 1066 all the way up to the end of the medieval era, offer a selection of new factions and characters to lead. The Eastern pagans offer a slightly different experience. Fighting against the Rurikovich dynasty provides a change of pace which strikes a nice balance between their group power and your pagan attacking strength. Although for many this expansion is most enticing for the ability to play as the Mongol hordes. Their dominance during this time period is actually a hard feat to match, but as with the Vikings you're given the attacking-focused tools to bring an onslaught on to the western world. Playing as these powers is more similar to the base game, largely due to the fact that most CK2 players will have played each time period to death already and therefore know the nuances associated with them. The excitement of playing in what is essentially an entire new world is removed, making it somewhat less appealing than playing from 867 AD.
Crusader Kings 2 Vikingl
With these extras in place, the 876 AD time period really takes on a life of its own and, as mentioned, feels very distinct to the other start times available. Personally, as a big fan of Bernard Cornwell's Norse novels as well as the History Channel's Vikings, I loved being able to play as the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, or as King Æthelred and Alfred the Great after him. There's a lot of famous history during this point in time, so for a lot of players the familiar characters and events will only increase the sense of immersion. In fact, it all links back to the fact that almost every history nut out there loves the Vikings. So to play as them, in their relatively realistic form, is a joy for any CK2 player.
Sure enough, adventures and battles feature prominently in Norse stories such as the 13th century Icelandic Njáls Saga. Time and again, its characters engage in Viking raids and revenge killings, lopping off heads and limbs left and right, winning both renown and infamy in the process. So far, this mirrors our usual experiences as virtual Vikings. What we rarely have to deal with, however, are the repercussions of that violence. Killings in the Sagas are often punctuated by detailed legal proceedings which determine compensation; that is, how much money the kin of the slain are owed by their killer(s). It was a system designed to prevent a vicious cycle of revenge killings. Needless to say, it rarely worked (in the Sagas, at least). Still, coming out on top in a case judged at the Althing could win as much renown as engaging in valiant bloodshed. This aspect is lost in games like, for example, Skryim. If you had to enter arbitration every time you killed anyone it would slow everything down a bit.
On the way back to the Loire, he stopped off in North Africa where he bought several African slaves (known to the Vikings as 'blámenn', blue men, possibly Soussians or Tuaregs) whom he later sold in Ireland. They were presumed to have lost 40 ships in a storm, and lost 2 more at the Straits of Gibraltar on their way home, near Medina-Sidonia, but still managed to ravage Pamplona before returning home to the Loire with 20 ships.
Hastein remained in the Loire country until 882, when he was finally expelled by Charles and then relocated his army north to the Seine. There he stayed until the Franks besieged Paris and his territory in the Picardy was threatened. It was at this point he became one of many experienced Vikings to look to England for riches and plunder.[3]
..after many weeks had passed, some of the heathen [Vikings] died of hunger, but some, having by then eaten their horses, broke out of the fortress, and joined battle with those who were on the east bank of the river. But, when many thousands of pagans had been slain, and all the others had been put to flight, the Christians [English] were masters of the place of death. In that battle the most noble Ordheah and many of the king's thegns were killed ...[12]
Hastein disappeared from history in around 896, by then an old man having already been described as "the lusty and terrifying old warrior of the Loire and the Somme",[6] when he arrived in England several years earlier. He was one of the most notorious and successful Vikings of all time, having raided dozens of cities across many kingdoms in Europe and North Africa.
This volume consists of fourteen papers given by international scholars at the "Rediscovering the Vikings Conference" on November 25 and 26, 2016, at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. The authors explore the modern reception, image, and use of Vikings in history, literature, digital games, television, historical re-enactment, tourism, and branding. The book features an introduction by Tom Birkett and afterword by Kevin Crossley-Holland, and includes fifteen black-and-white and color illustrations and an index.
In his paper, "Vikings!," M. J. Driscoll refers to the 1980 BBC series and book by Magnus Magnusson of the same title, which encapsulates the widespread public appeal of Vikings as wild and exciting barbarians from the north. He first discusses the disputed origins of the term "Viking" and the different suggestions deriving from the Old Norse noun vik (bay, creek, inlet), the verb vikja (to turn away or move), and the Old English verb wician (to camp) or noun wic (harbor, trading place, town; camp, temporary settlement). Driscoll then turns to the origin and definitions of the term "Viking Age," as well as the tendency of all inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries during the period to be referred to as "Vikings" rather than just those who engaged in pillaging and raiding. He concludes that it is a futile effort to protest such shorthand usage of the term due to its pervasiveness throughout modern discourse.
Neil Price's contribution discusses the difference between the historical Vikings as we know them and their portrayal in the Vikings TV series. While the series contains many small and large inaccuracies, some of which he finds concerning or problematic, he counts other aspects as successes, such as depictions of daily life at home, the complexity of paganism and its interactions with Christianity, and realistic female characters. Price's overall verdict is positive because the series paints a picture of a believable, living society from its own perspective, rather than through the lens of foreign sources. Ultimately, Price holds, the representation of Vikings in entertainment is shaped by the sensibilities of the time. 2ff7e9595c
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