So sorry I lagged behind with this post. With the Valentine Weekend promotional stuff, I felt rather overwhelmed!
All Vikings images herein are the property of the History Channel. Click here to go there.
But THIS WEEK, my favorite show VIKINGS is back. Thursday night! So excited! If you aren’t following me on twitter but are interested in reading my live-tweeting comments with Lissa Bryan, come find me on twitter – the link is on my sidebar.
Today, I wanted to share with you my favorite episode from Season One of VIKINGS. The first season was fantastic for so many reasons. First, for me, was that it was the INVASION story. Ragnar went to Lindisfarne in episode two. [Link goes to my post where Lissa and I discussed this episode.]
In this episode, we see how Ragnar the adventurer and navigator leads his men to England, where they hit Lindisfarne Monastery at the end of the 8th Century. Ragnar had definite goals in mind, but one he did not have was to find Athelstan, a young monk, whom he took as a captive.
This episode began a strange friendship between two disparate men that has continued thus far throughout the show.
In my Éire’s Viking Trilogy, I also tried to develop friendships and kinship between the Northmen and those whom they captured. In Éire’s Captive Moon, Tuirgeis (a Viking leader) captures Cowan (a prince of Ireland) and the two men have rational discussions, even about Cowan’s Christian faith. Tuirgeis eventually adopts Cowan as a brother. Through the course of my trilogy, the interrelationships between men of Ireland and the men of Norway are very important as the plot spins out.
My friends who have read my work for years know I have lain heavy hands on violence and/or death in many of my stories. But my real obsession, I think, is to find relationships between those for whom friendship (or romance, in some cases), is not a likely prospect. The challenge is to bend a story to my will, to bring characters through places that compel mutual understanding and appreciation, to show their best sides to one another as they learn to work together toward a common goal or purpose.
THAT is the delight of my craft, and I so enjoy seeing others—like the VIKINGS creators, writer, and producers—do so as well.
Filed under: Discussion, History, Writing Tagged: Athelstan, Éire's Captive Moon, Éire's Viking, Cowan, History Channel, Lindisfarne, monk, Ragnar, slave, Tuirgeis, Vikings
