{"id":2048,"date":"2019-11-18T22:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=2048"},"modified":"2019-11-06T13:08:52","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T04:08:52","slug":"the-real-world-history-behind-vinland-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/18\/the-real-world-history-behind-vinland-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real World History Behind Vinland Saga<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vinland Saga<\/span><\/i> is the tale of the Viking conquest of England in the early 1000s as seen through the eyes of a young boy on a quest for revenge. And while the story is obviously historical fiction, you might be surprised at just how much of the tale comes straight out of the history books–especially when it comes to the people involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spoiler warning: By learning the history behind <\/b>Vinland Saga<\/i><\/b>, you will at the same time be learning about upcoming events in the manga and anime.<\/b><\/p>\n

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The Vinland Sagas<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Vinland Saga<\/span><\/i> itself is based on two histories known as the \u201cVinland Sagas\u201d: <\/span>The Saga of the Greenlanders<\/span><\/i><\/a> and <\/span>The Saga of Eric the Red<\/span><\/i><\/a>. They detail the story of Viking exploration and attempts to settle in the New World–first Greenland and later Canada–as told through the expeditions of <\/span>Eric the Red<\/span><\/a>, his son, Leif Eiriksson, and the young merchant Thorfinn Karlsefni (among others).<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more interesting is the proof supporting these tales. It\u2019s speculated that the Viking ruins found in Newfoundland Canada at the <\/span>L’Anse aux Meadows<\/span><\/a> are, in fact, <\/span>one of the settlements<\/span><\/a> used by Leif and Thorfinn in their travels.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Leif Eirikson<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Leif Eirikson is widely known as the first European to set foot in the Americas (excluding Greenland). Son of <\/span>Eric the Red<\/span><\/a> (who himself founded the first colony in Greenland), he was a trader and explorer who accidentally discovered the Americas (Canada) when his ship was blown off course in or around the year 1000. He also founded the first settlement there (albeit a temporary one) and named the new land \u201cVinland\u201d for the plentiful wild grapevines he found there.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Thorfinn Karlsefni<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Thorfinn is known for attempting to make the first permanent European settlement in the Americas (excluding Greenland)–though little is known about his life before that beyond that he was a successful merchant. Following Leif\u2019s route, Thorfinn and his wife <\/span>Gudrid Thorbjarnard\u00f3ttir<\/span><\/a> gathered between 65 and 140 settlers and set course for Vinland. Things went well for the first year and they were able to establish trade with the Native Americans they found. However, after a misunderstanding with the natives, a battle commenced but the Vikings managed to drive the natives back. Finally, after weathering the winter and welcoming their son into the world, Thorfinn and Gudrid returned to Iceland and began a new life on Thorfinn\u2019s family farm.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thorfinn\u2019s son, <\/span>Snorri Karlsefnisson<\/span><\/a> is known for being the first white child born in the Americas (excluding Greenland). Today, many Icelanders trace their genealogy back to him and Thorfinn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Canute the Great<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Following the death of his father, <\/span>Sweyn Forkbeard<\/span><\/a> the King of Denmark, Canute defeated <\/span>\u00c6thelred the Unready<\/span><\/a> and his son, <\/span>Edmund Ironside<\/span><\/a>, to become the King of England in 1016. Two years later, his brother, <\/span>Harald II of Denmark<\/span><\/a>, died and Canute gained the throne of Denmark as well. In 1028, his armies conquered Norway and parts of Sweden, making him the King of Norway as well. During this time, Canute was second in power only to the Holy Roman Emperor. Unfortunately, Canute\u2019s <\/span>North Sea Empire<\/span><\/a> collapsed partially with his death in 1035 and completely with the death of his son <\/span>Harthacnut<\/span><\/a> in 1042.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Thorkell the Tall<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Thorkell was a member of the legendary <\/span>Jomsvikings<\/span><\/a>. He was also a powerful warrior and a brilliant commander. He reportedly took the young Prince Canute under his wing–even taking him along on raids. He fought both for and against <\/span>Sweyn Forkbeard<\/span><\/a> in the laters invasion of England. However, despite this, with Canute\u2019s ascension to the English throne, Throkell was made the Earl of East Anglia. In 1021 the two had a falling out but by 1023 the two made up–with Thorkell taking Canute\u2019s son, <\/span>Harthacnut<\/span><\/a>, as his ward and being made the Earl of Denmark (though only for a year). From that point on, however, he disappears from the history books completely with scholars arguing that he either died or simply spent the rest of his life retired on his estates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Askeladd<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Askeladd is a Norse folk hero, the youngest of three brothers, who are often called upon to deal with one crisis or another. In the typical framework, his older brothers attempt to solve the problem at hand but fail spectacularly due to their conventional thinking. Using creativity and sly cunning, Askeladd always succeeds where his brothers fail–gaining the reward for himself. Always the underdog and viewed as a loner or an eccentric, he comes out on top in the end–no matter the odds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, <\/span>Vinland Saga<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Askeladd is actually a composite character, with Askeladd having a similar backstory to <\/span>Olaf the Peacock<\/span><\/a>. Olaf\u2019s mother was a slave, reported to be the Irish Princess <\/span>Melkorka<\/span><\/a> who had been carried off years before in a Viking raid. Eventually, Olaf became one of the most rich and powerful landowners in Iceland during the late 900s–known as \u201cthe peacock\u201d for his overproud demeanor and magnificent wardrobe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vinland Saga<\/span><\/i> can be viewed on <\/span>Amazon Prime Video<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Top image source: TV\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\u30f4\u30a3\u30f3\u30e9\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30b5\u30ac\u300d\u516c\u5f0f@\u7b2c18\u8a71\u306f11\/17\u653e\u9001\u3068\u306a\u308a\u307e\u3059<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click to ReadThe Real World History Behind <i>Vinland Saga<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[143],"class_list":["post-2048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-vinland-saga","excerpt","zoom","full-without-featured","even","excerpt-0"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/EHiM1WSVUAIL9k7.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2048"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2057,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048\/revisions\/2057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}