Vikings...and isn't there a German word for a nostalgic longing not rooted in your own past?
The weekend came and went pretty fast, and now it’s back to the weekly grind. Janine and I grafted ourselves to the couch, and spent ten hours engrossed in the blu-ray version of Third Season of Vikings, the show on The History Channel. It is difficult for us to find a series that we can both enjoy, and it is not often that I will sit down for a marathon watching of anything, but Vikings has my heart and my attention. The adventures of the 9th Century Viking legendary figure, Ragnar, and his friends and family, is something that I can identify with on so many levels. The show, of course, plays loose and fast with the historical narrative, and wonderfully takes into account the spiritual lives of its characters. Indeed, it is one of the things about the show that makes it stand out above, say, Game of Thrones. Spirituality, religion, and mysticism are integral to the drama and adventure.
Although I understand that the show romanticizes Viking life to some extent, I find myself longing for a tightly-knit group of people, a tribe, a clan that are bound by ideas about honor and family and culture in such a way that their identity and place in the cosmos is deeply understood by its members on a spiritual level. Their lives were rough and short, and the scope of their lives was narrowly confined by a brutal environment, internecine conflicts, and a lack of dependence upon a sophisticated writing system. And yet, there something that appeals to me on a masculine level that is embarrassing to admit in the comfort of our technologically rich modern condition.
It’s not about swords and axes, shields and awesome multi-purpose sailing ships. But, the idea of a gang of men, a group of guys who are ritually and emotionally bound to each other. A tribe of like-minded guys who have your back, share in your triumphs and failures, and are there to make sure you stay on track and don’t fuck up. Friends, brothers, men who adhere to a shared code of behavior, and to hell with everybody and everything else.
Ah, who am I kidding, anyway?
Although I understand that the show romanticizes Viking life to some extent, I find myself longing for a tightly-knit group of people, a tribe, a clan that are bound by ideas about honor and family and culture in such a way that their identity and place in the cosmos is deeply understood by its members on a spiritual level. Their lives were rough and short, and the scope of their lives was narrowly confined by a brutal environment, internecine conflicts, and a lack of dependence upon a sophisticated writing system. And yet, there something that appeals to me on a masculine level that is embarrassing to admit in the comfort of our technologically rich modern condition.
It’s not about swords and axes, shields and awesome multi-purpose sailing ships. But, the idea of a gang of men, a group of guys who are ritually and emotionally bound to each other. A tribe of like-minded guys who have your back, share in your triumphs and failures, and are there to make sure you stay on track and don’t fuck up. Friends, brothers, men who adhere to a shared code of behavior, and to hell with everybody and everything else.
Ah, who am I kidding, anyway?