Wait, you study 9th century England yet consider Vikings, which treats accuracy how Guthrum treats priests, superior over this show? Your assertion doesn't pass the smell test.

I'm also hoping for that, if only to lol at the morans who will complain she's not a realistic character.

An ealdorman (translates to "elder man") is basically a high-ranking official in charge of a shire. They're a kind of precursor to earls (the term earl came from the Scandanavian jarl). The term survives today in the position of alderman, though the modern version has nothing to do with with the Anglo Saxon one.

I wish he'd say the names of his sword Serpent-Breath and his seax Wasp Sting. Naming blades was important for the Vikings, dangit.

Some historical background stuff (no real spoilers this time):

St. Olga "Kill all the Drevlians!" of Kiev is a fun one too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…

Oh, Leofric, you had me at "earsling".

Yeah, cuz all the cool kids just keep on fucking without ever checking that their partner's ok.

I'm not a parent unless if cats count, but I don't see why she loves that kid so much. Maybe he was delightful before but now he's a creepy soulless zombie* with zero personality. Granted, she might be thinking he's traumatized and shit, but that's not her kid anymore.

He definitely has the intellect of the average zombie.

Without spoiling much either, one thing I like about that plot is that there's no talk of she's just a woman, who cares, or she's probably been raped a thousand times and is therefore ruined so why bother. She's Uhtred and Ragnar's sister, they love her, and they want to rescue her. They see her as having intrinsic…

I can't remember, how did the disease go from where Buscemi was to her so she could infect Daltrey?

Father Beocca? I'm a woman. I have tits.

Remember Kjartan, and by extension, Sven, have gotten a good deal of power since the murder and Ubba believes the story that Uhtred was the killer. So it'll take a while to get enough of an army to go after them.

Asser's biography is definitely bordering on hagiography, but if you look at the basic facts of Alfred's reign—pushing the Danes back, building the English navy, creating burhs to help fortify the land, preserving education (and even translating some works from Latin into Old English himself), and creating a united…

I like to call him Aethelweenie.

I've only read the Saxon stories, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cornwell used that pattern to help the reader understand these time periods and cultures that would seem alien to modern people. The outsider character works as an expy for the audience.

Also the history that inspired the novels predates Vikings by more than 1000 years. I love Vikings, but I'm not going to pit it against this show because they're different enough and why would any true nerd complain about there being too many shows about the early middle ages?

The parts where he's around Leofric are among my faves. I love how he's constantly busting Uhtred's arse and that Uhtred loves him for it.

More historical stuffs, for those who want some: