There will be no scenes like this, filmed on the Hardangerfjord in Norway, in the History Channel’s miniseries.
If I had cable TV I’d be all excited about the miniseries on the Vikings they’re filming for broadcast on The History Channel next year.
I trust it’ll show up on Netflix eventually.
Of course, if the final product follows the hallowed tradition of previous Viking movies, it’ll probably stink like a Saxon in summer in any case.
This article tells us that Gabriel Byrne, the Irish actor, has signed to play a character named “Earl Haraldsson” in the series.
The casting part is fine. Byrne is a good actor, and generally elevates any project he participates in.
The name “Earl Haraldsson” bothers me, though.
The news item doesn’t make clear whether this guy is supposed to be a Viking or not. One assumes he is, because Haraldsson is a Viking name.
The problem is that it’s not a Viking first name. “Haraldsson” is a patronymic. Not exactly a last name, but it serves the same function, differentiating a particular person from all the other guys who share his first name.
And we’re not given the first name. This makes no sense. “Earl” is a title, and ought to be followed by a first name. We don’t say “Queen Windsor.” We say “Queen Elizabeth.” If you have an earl, you’d call him “Earl Sigurd” or “Earl Olaf” or some other first name. And then, if you needed to, you’d add the patronymic, “Haraldsson.”
This choice of name (unless it’s just a case of bad reporting) bodes ill for the historical accuracy of the miniseries. If the writers are naming characters this way, then they just don’t get it, and aren’t listening to the technical advisors (note to Hollywood: I’m available for that gig).
As a sidelight, I also saw an article recently on a Norwegian news site (can’t find it, and you couldn’t read it if I could), which complained that the History Channel people had wanted to film at least part of the miniseries in the fjords of Norway (as Kirk Douglas did with his The Vikings movie [see clip above], back in the fifties). But production costs were just too high, so they’ll do the whole thing in Ireland.
Do you understand this, liberals? Big government is the enemy of art!