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The Real Vinland Saga

Discuss the real history Vinland Saga is based on. What events are historically accurate? What are based on the real legends? What has Yukimura changed? And, of course, feel free to discuss anything having to do with legends and historical characters themselves.

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

For me, the most interesting thing Vinland Saga is based off of in a way is the real Vinland Sagas, at least the legend of Vinland in the manga is.

Vinland was what the Norse called the Americas. The two sagas recorded about Vinland were called The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Erik the Red. The latter is about Lief Erikson's journey to Vinland. Anyone remember a certain character by that name mentioning something about Vinland?

Of course, both sagas were written well over 200 years after the events were supposed to have taken place, but most historians take this as evidence that the Vikings at least traveled to the Americas.

The Real Vinland Saga

I think it is going to be interesting how stuff happens and there are some crucial points in history, like Knut winning against Edmund Ironside - a character that I'd like to see very much.
Also it's going to be interesting how the big politics of the vikings is going to influence Thorfinns journey. I guess we all agree that in some way or another he'll end up going westward, but there are some problems if the mangaka sticks to historic dates.
Leif Ericsonfor example died around 1020, that's not too far away from the point the story is at now. It surely is possible that he'S left out of the story later on, but should at least take Thorfinn to Greenland imo.

The Real Vinland Saga

I didn't read Vinland Saga very far yet, but at least the most fundamental basic dates are correct about the England invasion and Thorkell did exist as a famous Jomsviking, though he did not side with England.
Wikipedia names him:
Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles (Old Norse: Þorke(ti)ll inn hávi; Norwegian: Torkjell Høge; Swedish; Torkel Höge: Danish: Torkild den Høje)
At least the Danish name I can understand as a German since "den Høje" is pretty equal to a German dialect form of "Der Hohe", which is "the high" in a literal sense but mostly refers to the physical size, so "the tall" is an accurate translation.

I don't know much about those Jomsviking yet. Vinland Saga front map says they're living at the mouth of the river Oder. I didn't even know that people who could be called Vikings lived there - after all that's between north-east Germany and Poland - , gonna check that tomorrow.

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

Originally Posted by Roflkopt3r

I didn't read Vinland Saga very far yet, but at least the most fundamental basic dates are correct about the England invasion and Thorkell did exist as a famous Jomsviking, though he did not side with England.
Wikipedia names him:
Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles (Old Norse: Þorke(ti)ll inn hávi; Norwegian: Torkjell Høge; Swedish; Torkel Höge: Danish: Torkild den Høje)
At least the Danish name I can understand as a German since "den Høje" is pretty equal to a German dialect form of "Der Hohe", which is "the high" in a literal sense but mostly refers to the physical size, so "the tall" is an accurate translation.

I don't know much about those Jomsviking yet. Vinland Saga front map says they're living at the mouth of the river Oder. I didn't even know that people who could be called Vikings lived there - after all that's between north-east Germany and Poland - , gonna check that tomorrow.

The Jomsvikings' history is entirely apocryphal, and most historians believe it was just a folktale. Some of the people involved with the legends were real, like Thorkell, but there doesn't seem to be much evidence that the society itself actually existed.

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

Originally Posted by CaptFamous

The Jomsvikings' history is entirely apocryphal, and most historians believe it was just a folktale. Some of the people involved with the legends were real, like Thorkell, but there doesn't seem to be much evidence that the society itself actually existed.

Ok, German wikipedia is quite close to it as it states that it's been a legendary viking mercanary group, which most likely actually did exist, while most of the stories about it are legends and myths. In case that they did exist, they were beaten and destroyed in 994, which means they couldn't have played a role in most of the Vinland Saga time frame. The geographic location shown in Vinland Saga is pretty much where the seat of the Jomsviking is beeing assumed, but there is not much evidence for it.

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

Originally Posted by Roflkopt3r

[...]

I don't know much about those Jomsviking yet. Vinland Saga front map says they're living at the mouth of the river Oder. I didn't even know that people who could be called Vikings lived there - after all that's between north-east Germany and Poland - , gonna check that tomorrow.

that they settled directly in germany was also news to me, on the other hand .. why not? after all there are all these vikings in the east that played a role in founding the kievan rus (sp?) which is the core of what later developed to be Russia, they were also guards in Constantinople (Varäger) and not to forget the other side of the continent where their descendants, the Normans, had a huge influence on both France and England (1066), but also on the mediterranean sea ~> vikings everywhere

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

How will Thorfinn feel when he actually reach Vinland, though? From Leif story when he's a boy, Thorfinn may imagine that Vinland is an utopia where the land always fertile and in peace with no need of war.
But, isn't in the real history he have war with the native people and forced to sail back in the end? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Re: The Real Vinland Saga

Originally Posted by Akainu

that they settled directly in germany was also news to me, on the other hand .. why not? after all there are all these vikings in the east that played a role in founding the kievan rus (sp?) which is the core of what later developed to be Russia, they were also guards in Constantinople (Varäger) and not to forget the other side of the continent where their descendants, the Normans, had a huge influence on both France and England (1066), but also on the mediterranean sea ~> vikings everywhere

I recently noticed that one of the lords who are rewarded by King Sweyn (when he announces which areas he gives to his son) is the lord of Schleswig, which also is German these days (at the border to denmark though)

Originally Posted by Sama_al_Azraq

How will Thorfinn feel when he actually reach Vinland, though? From Leif story when he's a boy, Thorfinn may imagine that Vinland is an utopia where the land always fertile and in peace with no need of war.
But, isn't in the real history he have war with the native people and forced to sail back in the end? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah it was definitly a violent story in original, several people died in conflicts with indians, one or more directly at the first meeting.
This might become an element of the later Vinland saga