Started watching vikings with my wife but she did the cardinal sin and binge watched without me, not got back around to it, but it did seem good. Think I’ve seen adverts for the last kingdom, similar style and genre of TV?
The internecine wars between the various groups comprising modern Scotland from the Roman withdrawal were bitter. Many Scots today are still under the illusion they were always a proud unified people. They are a mix of invaders into the original people of Celtic tribal stock that settled after the last Ice Age. Michael Olivers A History of Scotland and his recent series Blood of the Clans are excellent. The conflict between Dalriada and Pictland, the fluid border demarcated originally by Hadrians Wall and battles like Dun Nechtain, the Norse kingdoms and the eventual expansion of Alba.
The modern narrative over simplifies history and projects modern identities onto peoples who had no such thing. It's all imperial English invading, when it was more a battle between nobility who really didn't have a modern concept of a 'national' identity as such.
Aside from some of the battle tactics and defensive equipment, Uthred's sword I found it far more realistic and grounded in the actual realities of the time with the Danelaw and Wessex standing alone, historic figures like Aethelflaed. Even the recreation and reoccupation of Mercian London for example were very well done.
Indeed. When you pick apart history and the complex relationships, throw in economics, technology, the weather nothing is black and white which is how demagogues and many film makers like to portray it as for their own reasons. Often not the right ones. The sad thing is film makers cannot even get historic details correct in modern films usually those that come out of Hollywood. And often the public believe these to be fact. From the recent Midway to Enemy at The Gates. Great recreation of equipment and setting including the Barmaley Fountain but misinformation rampant. Such as killing retreating Soviet soldiers. The orders given to specific units to stop desertion were different far less vicious and such punishment units using order 227 were widely scattered.
Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers I found to be very good Hacksaw Ridge ? Why didn't the Japanese just cut the ropes on the cliff ?
Some interesting archaeological work being done in north east Scotland at present that suggests Pictish power, centred on Fortriu and Ce, may well have been further north than has generally been thought. Rather than being centred only around Fife and Tayside there is growing evidence that Aberdeenshire & the Inverness region were also major centres of power. It is also probable that the establishment of the kingdom of Alba involved a high degree of absorption of these long-standing Pictish power centres by the king of the Scotti, Kenneth McAlpin. Even by the time of Edward I & William Wallace (which is where this diversion jumped off from), there is little evidence that England north of the Humber ever considered itself part of any unified kingdom of "England", with the attitudes of the local nobility being strongly influenced by the strength, or otherwise, of the kings of both England & Scotland. Indeed, the biggest danger faced by Henry VIII 250 years later was the Pilgrimage Of Grace that erupted in that area.
The quality of history in this thread is outstanding ! Unlike the quality of certain aspects of our play. Excellent post though I believe the pilgrimage of Grace started in Lincolnshire (perhaps ancestors of GT?). It certainly spread north to Yorkshire. One can only hope Walace is reading this thread he will see Watford as the kind of erudite and civilised location any footballer dreams of.
Better not take him to the town centre then or quickly whip up a facade of the walled medieval centre of Bergamo!
Yes, it’s true the first show of unrest was seen in Louth, but that fizzled out in a few days and the real uprising took off in Yorkshire under Aske.
If it was ever a starter. The window is closing slowly but surely. We may get in one more loanee. That is it.
Close thread and wait for Adam Levanthal to Google the next central midfielder who isn't playing that much at Udinese so we can open a new one.
Just went off injured for Udinese (after being subbed on). In before 'now that he is injured we'll definitely want him' jokes.
To be fair he was never coming to the championship anyway, Leventhal just made it up because he has been a bit part player at Udinese but he has featured regularly for them recently. Apparently "he hasn't ruled a move to Watford out" yet we haven't even enquired so why would he feel the need to rule joining Watford out?! It is a bit like saying Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't ruled a move to Watford out.
I've heard this too from my sources. Ronaldo's denial of any move to Hertfordshire has been conspicuous by its absence. Clearly one to watch.
Gino playing 5D chess right now. I'm guessing the classic "you've signed for Watford even though you know nothing about it" move.
Nearly finished series 3, excellent show (I appreciate this isn't on topic but Walace isn't coming anyway so who cares).
The music for the series is composed by John Lunn and available on CD. The singer on the title track is the amazing Eivor Palsdottir a Faroese lady. And descendant of the Viking settlers.
I assume his post in the suggestions thread was a tease. I’ll be disappointed if it was purely a suggestion!
Loved it, I've read all the Uthred books and I think there's something about the honesty and boneheadedness of uthred that I admire (I want to be him)! BC writes great books. The first Last Kingdom series was poorly made (I suspect on the very cheap) and I struggled with the 5 foot 7 version of Uthred, but it did improve. They totally rushed the final end film but overall great. I put off watching Vikings thinking it would be rubbish but wow that was the best.!
If you like Bernard Cornwall I would recommend Simon Scarrow. A bit of a nutter on social media, but his historical Roman fiction is excellent.
