Viking
The Vikings were Scandinavian seafarers, warriors and traders who plundered Europe from the late 8th to late 11th centuries. They also explored and colonised, reaching as far as Iceland, Greenland and even Canada. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)","A History of Humankind"]) Strictly speaking, "Viking" was a profession, not a cultural affiliation. (GAME: The Legions of Death [+]Loading...["The Legions of Death (game)"])
Culture[[edit] | [edit source]]
Viking culture was predominantly focussed on the concept of honour - the Twelfth Doctor said that dying with honour, as opposed to without, made "all the difference in the world" to Vikings. In a similar vein, a typical Viking would rather die fighting than live as a coward. (TV: The Girl Who Died [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Died (TV story)","The Girl Who Died"]) There existed a Viking code, which held that the captain of a ship could never be disobeyed under any circumstances. (COMIC: Dr. Who's Time Tales [+]Loading...["Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 37 comic story)","Dr. Who's Time Tales"])
Being the only widely known representatives of their people, the Viking moniker became synonymous with Nordic culture as a whole. (TV: The Curse of Fenric [+]Loading...["The Curse of Fenric (TV story)","The Curse of Fenric"]) Vikings spoke Old Norse. (PROSE: The Spear of Destiny [+]Loading...["The Spear of Destiny (short story)","The Spear of Destiny"]) The TARDIS wardrobe included Viking clothing. A Viking outfit was among the choices considered by the Fourth Doctor for his new outfit just after his regeneration. (TV: Robot [+]Loading...["Robot (TV story)","Robot"])
The Vikings worshipped many gods and goddesses. The three most important gods were Odin, Freyr and Thor. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)","A History of Humankind"])
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
During the 9th century, a group of Vikings stole the flask containing Fenric, taking it to Northumberland and Maiden's Point. They buried the flask beneath St Jude's Church, leaving a runic inscription warning that the flask was cursed. Their descendants settled the area. Among the Vikings were Asmund, Rognvald, Torkel and Halfdan. (TV: The Curse of Fenric [+]Loading...["The Curse of Fenric (TV story)"])
Also during this century,[nb 1] the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald were captured by a Viking raiding party and taken to their village. Shortly afterwards, the village was visited by the Mire, whose leader appeared in the form of Odin to invite the Vikings to dine with him in Valhalla. In reality, the warriors of the village were captured and taken to the Mire's ship, where they were liquefied for sustenance. (TV: The Girl Who Died [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Died (TV story)","The Girl Who Died"])
On 22 January 871, a battle was fought between King Æthelred I's Saxon army and a group of Vikings in Hampshire, ending in Æthelred's defeat. Before the battle, a mysterious figure dressed as a monk attempted to sell Æthelred stun blasters. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Loading...["Time Traveller's Diary (novel)","Time Traveller's Diary"])
At an unknown point, Gundar's crew rebelled against him. In retaliation, he cursed them before committing suicide. The cursed crew were shipwrecked on an "unknown isle" and frozen at their current ages, unable to escape even through death, until a descendant of Gundar was shipwrecked there as well and wished them free. As the curse dissipated, they were returned to the era they originally came from. (COMIC: Dr. Who's Time Tales 37 [+]Loading...["Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 37 comic story)","''Dr. Who's Time Tales'' 37"])
The crew of a Viking ship were among the people who glimpsed Von Richter's time machine as it hurtled through historical eras, visible as a streak of light in the sky. They thought it an "omen" that their gods "view[ed their] voyage with favour". (COMIC: Dr. Who's Time Tales 43 [+]Loading...["Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 43 comic story)","''Dr. Who's Time Tales'' 43"])
A Talessh was defeated and buried in Arizona by Vikings. (AUDIO: Shield of the Jötunn [+]Loading...["Shield of the Jötunn (audio story)"])
The Varangians were 9th century Russian Vikings. Kate Wilson believed that they sounded like something out of Star Trek [+]Loading...["Star Trek"]. (AUDIO: The Conspiracy [+]Loading...["The Conspiracy (audio story)"])
[[File:Sven Langbard.png|thumb|left|Sven Langbard, a Viking and companion to the Colonel. (GAME: The Legions of Death [+]Loading...["The Legions of Death (game)"])In the early 11th century, a Sontaran scout-ship crashed at sea on Earth off the coast of Norway. The Sontaran officer onboard survived and came aboard a Viking longship. Single-handedly taking command of the vessel, he set himself up as a local warlord, planning to gradually take over the entire country and ultimately the whole planet in the name of the Sontaran Empire. This plan would later be foiled by the Colonel on behalf of the Celestial Intervention Agency with help from one of the Sontaran's reluctant Viking underlings, Sven Langbard, who went on to become a companion to the Time Lord. (GAME: The Legions of Death [+]Loading...["The Legions of Death (game)"])
In 1006, there was a Viking presence in Ireland, with the Norseman King Sitric Silkbeard ruling over Dublin. (AUDIO: The Book of Kells [+]Loading...["The Book of Kells (audio story)"])
In 1066, the Monk planned to sabotage a Viking raid in order to ensure King Harold Godwinson's victory at the Battle of Hastings, but was prevented from doing so when a group of Saxons ran the Monk out of his monastery. (TV: The Time Meddler [+]Loading...["The Time Meddler (TV story)"])
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- ↑ In the television story The Woman Who Lived [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Lived (TV story)","The Woman Who Lived"], which is set in the year 1651, Ashildr mentions having had 800 years of adventure.
