dinsdag 28 juni 2016

VIKINGS: Vikings adventure in The Netherlands

VIKINGS: Vikings adventure in The Netherlands: ©Tamara Bakx Hail Vikings, Last Sunday I was at an exhibition about dragons. I know you might wonder what happened to you? Dragon...

VIKINGS: The Dutch story of Mariken of Nieumeghen (Dutch My...

VIKINGS: The Dutch story of Mariken of Nieumeghen (Dutch My...: http://www.huisvandenijmeegsegeschiedenis.nl/info/Mariken_van_Nieumeghen Hail Vikings, In Nijmegen where I was last Saturday, t...

Vikings adventure in The Netherlands

©Tamara Bakx


Hail Vikings,

Last Sunday I was at an exhibition about dragons. I know you might wonder what happened to you? Dragons and not Vikings. The funny fact the dragon is in a few myths from Vikings there are dragons. The dad of Aslaug (Sigurd) killed a dragon (Fafnir). There are three dragons known  NíðhöggrJörmungandr, and Fafnir and a dragon killed by Frotho 1 (this myth used by Tolkien and Peter Jackson in The Hobbit).  In this exhibition, they told a few things about the dragon in Europe. Did you know that the dragon head (Dragonhead) placed on boats to please the gods, to expel evil during their journeys and scare the other boats.

In this museum, they also had the history of Limburg and surely they had a few Viking items. I will post a link to the pictures I took from both the dragon exhibition and the history of Limburg pictures.

©Tamara Bakx


In Nijmegen, I went to see the house of history of Nijmegen. They have found lots of treasures from the roman emperor and doubt that Vikings have been there. Although the last decade, they came back from it because they needed to be there because surrounded by a river that ends in Germany.

As I said before in the Netherlands they have denied a long time that there were no Vikings at all because we couldn’t proof it. We have several findings now that they indeed lived, worked, and raid here.

Pictures

Dragon:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jinkskr7i01ughg/AACSdvBuuoV1MaRtVz65Rs0Fa?dl=0
Vikings inLimburg: 
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zqy92lag9ruw47o/AAA2UcedDVMppZ70jakPN9rpa?dl=0

Other links

Nidhogg

http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/nidhogg/
http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/nidhogg/gifts.html

Jorgumand

http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/jormungand/
http://mythical-and-paranormal-blog.blogspot.nl/2012/03/jormungandr-world-serpent.html

Fafnir

http://journal.finfar.org/
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Fafnir

The Dutch story of Mariken of Nieumeghen (Dutch Mythology Viking style)

http://www.huisvandenijmeegsegeschiedenis.nl/info/Mariken_van_Nieumeghen


Hail Vikings,

In Nijmegen where I was last Saturday, they told me a Middle Ages story. (Dutch mythology, Christian believe story) and I would love to rewrite and give it another dimension of characters and changing in the original texts to make it a kind of Viking story. I am so sorry in advance if you don't like it. I couldn't resist doing this. Before I start I will tell you a bit about the name Nijmegen.

The city Nijmegen called Nymegen, Nieumeghen or Numegen at that time (Vikings) it meant New megen (for megen is no translation known) it is possible that this was what the Vikings called Nyon but that could also be in Frankia now better known as France.

The Dutch story of Mariken of Nieumeghen (told the ©TamaraBakx way)

Mariken of Nieumeghen a foster child lived with her old uncle Gijsbrecht a priest. Mariken is the housekeeper of her uncle. She lived in the countryside somewhere in Limburg The Netherlands.

One day Gijsbrecht asked Mariken to go to the market. Three long hours walking from her home to Nijmegen  this through silent heathland. If she leaves Nijmegen again the three hours of heathlands wait for her.
Her uncle summoned her to be back home before the evening falls. Nobody should walk after the dark is falling in especially not for a girl her age. If it is not possible to return on time she needs to visit her aunt to stay there overnight and then come back home.

Mariken in Nijmegen

Mariken comes into the city after her three-hour walk and is very fascinated by the city. It is very busy and merchants and farmers are shouting to get costumers their way. Musicians and people in arts wanted to get visitors as well. Tavern and bars where so full of visitors that no one could come in anymore.

Mariken is to fascinate by everything that she lost the idea of time. She is in shock when she realises it starts to become dark. She walks to her aunt to seek a sleeping place in Nijmegen. While her aunt is still angry at the neighbours about a political argument and is not in the mood to help her niece, she refuses to let her niece sleep at her home. A moment she doesn’t know what to do but by the sound of the evening clock, she decides to leave the city Nijmegen.

Ubbe Jarl of the Vikings her saviour in need

When she is walking in the dark, grimy heathland she is trembling with fear, while begging help from higher powers, but god didn’t answer her. Instead, she finds herself Ubbe a Viking Jarl from Frisia. He is the one who 'accidentally' finds her. What she didn’t know that it wasn’t that accidentally at all. He had waited for a chance to meet her when he first saw her at the market.

He introduced himself as ‘Ubbe Jarl of the Vikings of Frisia’. Ubbe promises Mariken to learn her everything  astrology, mythology, music, languages of the world. In return, she needs to become a heathen, and she needs to sleep with him and love him. She isn’t allowed to make crosses and she needs to change her name.

Mariken liked him he was good-looking, strong, and looked reliable. At that moment she should have said no but as he came as a rescue she said yes. She chooses her new name to be Emmeken. At least a few letters of her old name are in there.

A lawless live in Walacra

In the middle of the night, they leave to walk to the ship and then leave for Walacra (Walcheren Zealand). In the meantime, Ubbe learns her everything she needs to know and, about the seven free skills. 

The only thing he doesn’t learn her is how she could kill him. Walacra is a big city on a island in the North Sea. Stranger or no stranger to this city is a city where you lose gods laws because it is known as a pirate city everything is permitted. It is all about pleasure and profit.

Ubbe and Mariken living in a Viking Jarl base which concurred by Ubbe in a duel of the old Jarl. In that base, there was drinking, gambling,and  women for man's pleasure. Mariken needed to do everything Ubbe said. When they went on a raid they killed, took riches and had a sinful life together.

After a while, Mariken started to doubt if this is the life she really wants and when they are back in Walacra she started to see what kind of man Ubbe really is. After seven years of sins and fornication because she was often used by Ubbe to give his own sons her to lose their virginity and just for fun.

Homesick towards Nijmegen

Mariken got homesick to Nijmegen. She wants to see the city and her old Uncle again. Ubbe who knew her uncle gave her permission to go so he could kill her uncle. Her uncle survived the Viking attacks from ten years ago when Ubbe saw Mariken first. He fell in love with her that very first time.

When Mariken arrives back in Nijmegen she saw a play about how Ubbe once destroyed the village she lived in. She started to realise she needs to get back to her uncle and need to get mercy from god for what she did with Ubbe.

God believes he needs to give sinners the right punishment but his mother the Virgin Mary pointed out to him that he was born a human. Mariken learns that god could forgive your sins if you really regret it. Mariken gets a boost from this play. When she says to Ubbe she wants to break with him, He throws her high up in the air and let her drop down in an attempted murder. By gods miracle, she stays alive.

Mariken becomes a sister

Now Mariken has one goal left. She doesn’t want to burn in Hell forever for what she did. She seeks mercy. Together with her uncle, she goes to the Pope in Rome. The Pope gives her a punishment she needs to wear three heavy iron rings. On their way back her uncle finds her a spot in a nunnery in Maastricht. After twenty-four years being a nun an angel arrives at Mariken suddenly the rings fell off. God has gifted her mercy. When Mariken passes away she gets, after all, a place in heaven.

In the real story:

  1. Ubbe is called Moenen and is the devil himself and not a Viking Jarl called Ubbe.
  2. Mariken and Moenen walked to Antwerp not walked to a ship and went to Walacra (Walcheren Zealand).
  3. The play (Wagenspel) Mariken saw called “Masscheroen” or better known as the Devil’s (advocates) lawyer.
  4. Mariken of Nieumeghen her name really excist and she was called this way because she was born in Nijmegen.
The story I used is written by De meesters van Katherina van Kleef en de gebroeders van Limburg. The original story of the play is from a writer unknown.

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariken_van_Nieumeghen
https://www.academia.edu/3103462/The_verses_of_Mariken_van_Nieumeghen_Anonymous_C1515
http://what-when-how.com/writers/marieke-van-nimwegen-mariken-van-nieumeghen-mary-of-nemmegen-writer/
https://www.english-subtitles.club/movies/1974-mariken-van-nieumeghen.html#subs


dinsdag 21 juni 2016

SPOILERS Rollo season 4 part 1 recap

http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/cast/rollo

Hail Vikings,

When we left season 3 behind Rollo stayed in Paris. Due to a prophecy by the seer he needs to stay there. He is going to marry Gisla. At the wedding, we see a proud Rollo. When they have the wedding night we see the first transformation in Rollo. Gisla is afraid of him. The wedding night turns out as a disaster.

After the wedding, Rollo, count Oddo, and Roland make a battle strategy he shows them because he can't speak any French. While Gisla filled for divorce, Rollo starts to learn French. In this moment, we see that he is still a Viking but when he butchered the Viking camp cause he knows it was them or he that got killed when he arrived at the camp, he betrayed Ragnar for the first time this season.

Gisla, The Emperor, and the bishop want Rollo to sign the divorce papers because the marriage is not yet conceived, but when Rollo starts to speak French and beg Gisla to try, Gisla decided to stay with Rollo. Afterwards, Gisla changed but Rollo too. When they conceive their marriage in the next room. While the rest is having dinner because it is Christmas.

After these events, Rollo starts to plan his big battle against his brother Ragnar. When Ragnar shows up for the first attack he defends Paris against Ragnar. He and Gisla are pregnant from their first child. Rollo tries to have sex with Gisla but she thinks it will cost the baby's live so she refuses. Rollo hates the way the Franks live. This is the first time we see Rollo doubt the change he made is any good.

When Ragnar comes for the second time he got a little defeat but we all know Rollo he will attack again. This time, he attacked and wins the battle but with the deadly injured Lagertha the fight between the brothers stopped. Rollo got crowned as Duke and got a "hail Caesar" from the Emperor.   

dinsdag 14 juni 2016

SPOILERS Floki season 4 part 1 recap

http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/cast/floki

Hail Vikings,

When Floki got back to Kattegat he can feel his freedom until he got arrested by Bjorn. The arrest follows for the dead of Athelstan. When he gets help to get away from the centre square in Kattegat bullied by children there is a two-part story. One that Bjorn takes away the children and one that Helga defend Floki in front of the children. He got soon arrested again this time by Ubbe one of the children of Ragnar.

With his second arrest, he got chained in a cave. Helga who puts a bowl above his head tries to let Floki sleep but when the bowl is full and she is getting tired and tries to fall asleep, Floki wakes and start screaming. After a while when Ragnar ask Helga if she told him Floki wants to know what had happened. When Helga tells him that his daughter passed away, he starts screaming again.

We see Ragnar back in the cave with an axe but he frees Floki because Helga doesn't need another burden according to Ragnar. Floki's place in the society is known as outlaw especially when he arrives to celebrate Yol in the great hall. When King Finehair and Halfdan asks why the great boat builder that changed the life of every Viking is in disregard by King Ragnar Floki tells them I killed his Christian pet.

Floki went to the Seer who already expected him a long time ago. We see a lot of change in the character Floki. especially when Aslaug asks him to teach Ivar about the Viking ways and the gods.

Floki is going  to sail with King Finehair and Halfdan to Paris. When they set camp the first time there is a part we see him make love to Aslaug. Aslaug at the same time is making love with Harbard.

Ragnar asks him a favour and advice when he wants the boats to lift the boats on the mountain and rolled or carried after the towers of Paris. It is great to see that Floki is building great things again. He almost lost Helga because the base camp attacked by Roland.
During the second attack of Rollo, he got injured but managed to sail away back to Kattegat. We see him with Bjorn to talk about the imaginary land of the Mediterranean sea. Bjorn and Floki go together with Helga.

donderdag 9 juni 2016

VIKINGS: My journey: Vikings in The Netherlands

VIKINGS: My journey: Vikings in The Netherlands: Tamara Bakx ® Hail Vikings, If you were wondering why I did recaps and didn’t announce them on social media here will be the answ...

My journey: Vikings in The Netherlands

Tamara Bakx ®


Hail Vikings,

If you were wondering why I did recaps and didn’t announce them on social media here will be the answer to that. I have been to many places in The Netherlands lately and have discovered and learned a lot of things.

I have been to Middelburg city on Walcheren (Walcria) to read some old books about Vikings, and do research about Walcria and the Vikings in The Netherlands, I went to Texel twice (Texla) to find out more about what they did there and in Friesland (Frisia) amazed as I was what they did.

Then I went to Den Oever (in the Viking time this was also Texla) to the Dutch Viking Information Centre (VIC) I suggested my theory about Rorik and Ragnar and he told me it could be the same person because they couldn’t write at that time. So my theory still could be right. I will post a lot of things and pictures in links later. In Den Oever, they have a good collection of Vikings coins, swords, a boat, clothing. In Den Oever, they told me to do my next stop in Leiden.

Tamara Bakx ®


So I went to Leiden to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (http://www.rmo.nl/english) the next stop in my journey to find what we know about the Vikings. They had also a good collection of interesting objects. The treasure of Den Oever is also there, but they have also a fibula from Wijk bij Duurstede (Dorestadum).

Next, stop Groningen, where I went to the Strip museum, translated Comic book museum (http://www.stripmuseum.nl/index_english.html). You might wonder what has this to do with your Viking journey funny fact is that they have a small piece replica tapestry of the battle of Hastings made by Bayeux. It is the battle between William the second and King Harald beginning of the Norman conquest 1066. They have also a large collection about Eric the Northman a comic book.

Tamara Bakx ®


Today I went to Eindhoven (Betua) PreHistorisch Dorp, The Prehistoric Village while there is no real evidence that they were there they found out Woensel nearby Eindhoven named after Wodan another name for Odin.  There they found a talisman in a grave of a child they think it is from the Vikings. I learned a lot today in this village. I learned how to write with a feather like the monks did, I learned about different herbs in a garden, to make a fire with stones, arrows with a wet stone, cups from clay, how loam could be used for making a blade or axe, to make wooden dowel pins for boats, braid, swirl a bracelet, rope making. I have learned a lot of things today.

What they did to keep old things in Eindhoven is that if you want to break a house down the law tells you to do archaeological research on the space before you are going to build again. So if anything is found they have proof once they found something Viking related.
The Viking house they have built is found in the border between Eindhoven, Helmond, and Den Bosch. The house dated from 950 AD. It has a great hall and you can see it in a boat figure. They think it is a forerunner for a castle they built later on that ground.

dinsdag 7 juni 2016

SPOILERS Lagertha season 4 part 1 recap

 (Photo credit: Jonathan Hession)


Hail Vikings,

While leaving Paris Lagertha and Kalf are going back to Hedeby. Here we see a lot of betray. Kalf and Einar betray each other while Erlundur and Kalf make plans to kill Bjorn. Einar got castrated by Lagertha after almost killing every men in Hedeby because the people don't want the shared Earldom between Lagertha and Kalf.

When Lagertha and Kalf talk about the future Kalf tells her he want children with her. Lagertha immediately thinks she can't have children because the seer told her so a long time ago. Lagertha got pregnant by Kalf and they marry but before they do Lagertha kills Kalf as she promised to him. Revenge for her because Kalf took her earldom away.

If she joins the raiding party to Paris we see a fully pregnant Lagertha. When Ragnar starts to get involved what Lagertha can and can't do she get mad at him because he is not her husband anymore. While working like the men she loses the child due to the hard work. While losing the child she told Ragnar she wanted to change the prophecy but couldn't after all. She seeks comfort with Ragnar and Bjorn. 

We see a vulnerable Lagertha in Paris when they meet Rollo it only gets worse she want to defend Ragnar but got stabbed trying to get to Ragnar. This stops the fight between brothers and left us wondering if Lagertha will make it to Kattegat or Hedeby.