Lines In Vikings That Mean More Than You Realized

As Ragnar Lothbrok rallies his warriors into battle against an unknown enemy on a strange land, he sums up being a Viking with one simple line: "We fight. That is how we win, and that is how we die." Strong words like this, from Ragnar and the people around him, hammer home the History Channel's historical fiction series, Vikings. In classic Viking fashion, these characters we romanticize do little more than fight, love, and die. But this quote captures the essence of being a Viking: Above all, their lives hinge upon pride in one's abilities and courage on the battlefield. 

Vikings has a wide and loyal following, in part because of its epic battles, Machiavellian power struggles, and as much sexual intrigue as can be shown on basic cable. But alongside these vivid scenes runs great wisdom. Moreover, references to real history are buried in many lines, which often speak to the important role the Vikings played in forming the modern world. Let's dig a little deeper into those quotes and explore what they really mean.

Uncle Rollo trains Bjorn almost as much as his father, Ragnar, does — which is notable, as Rollo might even be his father. Parentage aside, Rollo is probably easier for him to relate to, and certainly easier to understand. One of the last lessons he gives Bjorn as the boy approaches manhood is, "Always remember to finish off your opponent, if you can. No man ever ran away with his entrails hanging to his knees, or his head cut off."

This advice sticks: Years later, Bjorn, having subdued the berserker assassin sent after him, makes sure to eviscerate the man. Similarly, Rollo, defending his new Frankish kingdom, tries to kill his brother, Ragnar. Rollo's reason? He says his brother is not defeated if he is still alive. 

Throughout the series, nearly every enemy spared comes back to bite the hand of the merciful. And many, including Bjorn, come back from what should have been certain death. The Vikings really were tough — if the show is to be believed, they survived arrows to the chest and massive wounds!

Ragnar kidnaps Athelstan from his British monastery. In time, the monk becomes a Viking, even embracing their gods. Yet on a raid back in England, Athelstan rediscovers his original faith after barely escaping crucifixion for apostasy. The conflict between Christians and pagans fuels much of the hatred and war in Vikings. Athelstan is a Rosetta stone between the two religions: He shows Ragnar virtue in Christianity, and King Ecbert of Wessex value in the Norse ways. He also shows fans the similarities between the two religions. 

When Ragnar returns to Wessex and discovers that Athelstan is still alive, he strikes up a conversation with his old friend. "In the gentle fall of rain from heaven, I hear my God. But in the thunder, I still hear Thor. That is my agony," Athelstan says, as Ragnar escorts him through assassins set up by the Viking king Horik. Ragnar replies, "I hope someday our gods can become friends." 

This conflict takes root in Ragnar's head. By the end of his life, he and Ecbert declare, in a drunken sharing of wisdoms, that both ideas of the afterlife are ridiculous — and, by extension, so are their religions. But that doesn't stop everybody else from fighting over belief.

At one point, Floki says Rollo may be more famous than all of them. He might be right: The real Duke Rollo's great-great-great-grandson was William the Conqueror. William's great-grandson, in turn, established the Plantagenets as the first family to rule all Britain. They remained in power until the Tudors took over. 

French was once the language of nobility in England — a sign of the French and British tradition of cooperation that exists to this day. Vikings captures when this tradition began, when King Charles III of the Franks marries his daughter Gisla to Rollo, to stave off Viking attacks. After an initially cold reception, Gisla warms up to her husband and announces her pregnancy. Charles toasts this news: "Let me drink to the first child. To our Frankish-Viking alliance, long may it continue."

Of course, the French and British have also fought many battles. But in the process, they became two of the most powerful nations in the Western world, with a Viking-esque thirst for exploration and conquest that led to nearly unrivaled colonization. From this simple Frankish-Viking alliance came a key point in the evolution of the modern world.

Kwenthrith is a princess, a queen in exile, a co-queen, a queen outright, and an usurped queen, depending on the point in the show. She has, as is clear, a tenuous grip on power, made all the more fragile by the fact that she's a woman. Flaws that would be accepted in a man — irascibility, promiscuity, inconsistency — lead others to view her as weak. King Ecbert usurps the kingdom he had won "for her" with a sign-off from her cousin, Prince Wigstan. She attempts to kill Ecbert, but fails. Her last words have long-lasting relevance: "Do you know what would have been better for me? Can you even imagine?" she asks Ecbert. "To have been born a man."

It is ironic that "civilized" Europeans treat their women so poorly, while "savage" Vikings see women as leaders and equals (when compared to the Westerners, anyway). Consider adultery: Kings regularly cheat, but when Princess Judith does, she has her ears and nose cut off.

Ragnar hungers for exploration. By the story's end, it is clear that Bjorn Ironside and Ubbe have inherited their father's wanderlust. When Bjorn hatches the half-baked scheme of exploring the Mediterranean, Floki points out that nobody knows if anything exists there. "The only way to tell if something is real is to sail there," replies Bjorn. It was, of course, Bjorn's own father who partnered with Floki on the first great ocean voyage beyond Scandinavia.

While Floki's interest in exploration comes from a desire to see what the gods want, Bjorn wants to explore for the sake of it. Halfdan "the Black" admits to this desire to explore and aligns with Bjorn. If there is anything central to this era of Viking history as captured by the show, it's this sentiment. When Ubbe lands in America, he does so almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Ragnar Lothbrok does not seek power: He takes up leadership because the powerful don't want to let him do what he likes. He spends more time away from Kattegat than in it, despite being king, and when he's within it, he hides behind the walls. After his failure in Paris, he disappears for a decade. Ragnar sees his own corruption as a result of power. When he thinks of the people he has led to their deaths, it's too much for him to bear. Early on, there's even an exchange between Ragnar and Ecbert, in which they both admit they're corrupt. 

When Bjorn becomes king of Kattegat, he finds that by meditating on a high point, he can still hear his father, Ragnar. Ragnar says, "Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best." This prevents Bjorn from succumbing to the hunger for power that destroys so many others.

Ivar the Boneless was a baby who, by Viking custom, should have been killed for his physical deformities. Yet he grows to be a great military strategist, leading to a rethinking of tactics throughout Vikings. In time, he finds new allies in Rus: Oleg and the child ruler Igor, Oleg's ward. Ivar tries to impart what he has learned over his life to Igor, especially as Igor laments the tyranny of his uncle, Oleg. On their army's way to Kattegat, which they seek to retake, Ivar tells the young Igor, "Nothing is ever permanent. Everything is always changing. Shifting. What is real today might not be real tomorrow." But, he adds, "Sometimes, we have to help it to shift."

The Western world was divided in the time of Vikings. The Vikings, with their seafaring and courage, left their mark everywhere from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. European growth was made possible by this increased connection, which had world-shaping consequences. On the show, this all begins with Ragnar's own act of "shifting," when he first sails across the North Sea.