Is the St. Brice's Day Massacre a True Story? 'Vikings: Valhalla' Is Scarily Accurate

Is the St. Brice’s Day massacre according to a true story? In ‘Vikings: Valhalla,’ the sequence kicks off with a brutal massacre of the Vikings in England.

The 2nd season of Vikings: Valhalla premiered on Jan. 12, 2023, and we had been ecstatic to as soon as again see our new favorite Vikings in motion. The History Channel spin-off series is in accordance with the original Vikings series, which was supposed to be a one-season miniseries, however lasted for 6 seasons due to its recognition. Although Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons’ stories ended, Vikings: Valhalla debuted on Netflix in 2022 to tell the tales of extra Vikings.

The collection is according to historic occasions, but it also takes many liberties when portraying the many characters and personalities of the Viking technology. Vikings: Valhalla kicks off with the St. Brice’s Day massacre, which gave the look of a brutal massacre against the Vikings in the series. But did that massacre in reality occur? What’s the true story behind it?

Is the St. Brice's Day massacre in accordance with a true story?

Now that Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 is right here, we’re able to see how the events of the St. Brice’s Day massacre affected the rest of the series (and the rest of actual Viking historical past). The massacre happened on Nov. 13, 1002, which happens to be St. Brice’s Day, and is how the massacre will get its name.

According to various ancient accounts, King Æthelred the Unready (portrayed in the sequence via Bosco Hogan), who used to be the King of the English from 978 to 1013, ordered a mass killing of all Danes within his territory (modern-day Oxford).

As Vikings fans know, many of the Vikings got here from the Nordic countries, including Denmark — and although Vikings and Danes lived peacefully for years, this began to change in the overdue 900s when Æthelred was once the king. Danish raids returned to English territory in the 980s, and by way of the 990s, they become very critical. Not handiest did Æthelred grow tired of these, but he won threats to his lifestyles that inspired him to take action.

Between 997 and 1001, his Kingdom was ravaged by means of Danish raids annually, and in 1002, Æthelred was once advised that the Danish men in his territory “would faithlessly take his existence, and then all his councilors, and possess his kingdom afterwards.” So, Æthelred made a decree: “all the Danes who had sprung up in this island, sprouting like cockle amongst the wheat, were to be destroyed through a most simply extermination, and thus this decree was once to be put into effect even so far as demise.” Not even George R.R. Martin could make that up.

Archaeologists later found the remains of 37 males, more or less, all with Viking DNA, believed to have died all the way through the massacre, even supposing the actual choice of deaths is unknown as of late. An analysis of these remains show blade wounds, puncture wounds, dying via fire, and more, to males who were most likely unarmed and operating from the attack. This lines up neatly with Vikings: Valhalla’s portrayal of the events and the historic retelling the collection is in response to.

While little is recognized about the tournament, it was once a particularly vital match in the history of the Vikings. It’s believed that Gunhilde, who appears in the unique Vikings series portrayed by Ragga Ragners, perished throughout these massacres. Gunhilde was once actually married to Pallig Tokesen, a Dane who served and betrayed Æthelred, whose betrayal led, partly, to the massacre.

It’s also believed that Gunhilde was once the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, who’s played via Søren Pilmark in Vikings: Valhalla, and who happens to be the father of Canute (Bradley Freegard). All of these family members come in combination to result in Sweyn’s 1003 English invasion and the resulting events of Vikings: Valhalla.

Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 is now to be had to move on Netflix.

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