I use one scene from this film, in the introductory class to my medieval
history survey. What I do is ask the class what images come to mind when I
say "Middle Ages" or "medieval"; as they tell me I write them on the board
in two groups. One group contains romanticized images like knights in
shining armor; the other is the "Dark Ages" set of associations like savage,
barbaric, and ignorant. Then, after they have noted the principle of
division, I show two scenes from movies: one, from "The Vikings," is a
feast scene where, as I remember, Ernest Borgnine gnaws on a drumstick and
Kirk Douglas is accused of adultery and proven innocent by meamns of the
"ordeal by braid"--the woman involved is pinned to a board and he throws
knives at her; all the knives do is cut off her blond plaits. Scene 2 comes
from "Camelot"; it's the wedding scene of Arthur and Guinevere--very courtly
and polite. The two scenes nicely illustrate the two strands of
interpretation of the Middle Ages. Then, I explain that the Dark Ages
strand is the legacy of the Renaissance, and the romantic strand the legacy
(not surprisingly) of the Romantics. Then I hand out the syllabus and
explain that we're going to figure it out for ourselves.
So yes, I do use "The Vikings" in class.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill East
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 7/14/2000 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: Interim Saints - July 13th
There was a
> later King
> Ella ("tyrannus" a usurper) of Northumbria (862-867), killed at York
> by the
> Danes (Florence of Worcester, Chronicle, s.a. 867).
By the united efforts of Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas, as I remember,
in the film "The Vikings". Have members ever used the fild to enthuse
their undergraduates?
Humidus.
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