These great warriors and navigators, merchants and pirates, poets and slave traders, it was they who a little more than a thousand years ago created their own, special version, united by the power of their weapons of Europe. from the Roman legions then remained a vague memory, the descendants of Charles Martel somewhat relaxed, and then another “scourge of God” fell on the cities, castles and monasteries of Western Europe. Only this time the invaders did not go through the steppes of Pannonia, but sailed by sea, climbed rivers ... and even if they did not wear horned helmets invented by romantic artists, they were experienced, cruel, strong people.
This film is a walk through the newest exposition of the British Museum, as well as museums in Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. A panorama of showcases passes before the viewer, he is shown and told about the latest archaeological discoveries, about the life and customs of that distant era.
The Vikings played a huge role in the history of England. Before Knut the Great, they were not so widely united under the rule of one leader, but the end of the 8th-mid-11th centuries can rightfully rush the time of the Vikings, Normans, Varangians. Their ships sailed the seas from Svalbard in the north to Derbent and Palermo in the south, they visited North America, were their own in Constantinople and especially in Russia, they were able to conquer Normandy, Sicily, northern England, for a time to conquer Ireland. Their remains are still found in mounds on a vast territory from Old Ladoga and Novgorod to York and Dublin. Their names and place names sometimes live to this day, as if a thread of memory stretching through the abyss of history.
While watching this documentary, the viewer will be shown the remains and reconstruction of the largest warship of the ancient Scandinavians found to date. beautiful works of jewelry and applied art, both looted and / or bought by glorious sailors, and the offspring of their own original and rich in beautiful culture, will also be shown. Statuettes, brooches, hryvnias, ornate swords... Shields, axes, knives ... and in the center of everything - a warship. from a children's toy to a combat ship with a crew of a hundred warriors.
Reconstructions of ships are replaced by reconstruction of weapons, clearly showing how people of that distant era looked and fought. Among the lecturers are leading British and Scandinavian experts on that era, including, incidentally, the recent discoverers of the stops of Richard III. The music is moderately epic, it does not interfere with the assimilation of the material. The lecturers themselves sometimes overplay, as if they tell teenagers about the whirlwinds of history. But in general, this film makes a very pleasant impression. From sea routes, clothing, stories about the customs and beliefs of that distant era, through the display of artifacts and reconstructions, to the final show of the fire burial scene.
Summary:
A good example of a good documentary. A good non-fiction film, giving the modern mass audience a good basic idea of who they were, these Vikings.