Thursday 20 December 2012

More Viking Rowing

More hilarious rowing from historical re-enactors trying to be Vikings, this time on Waldemar Januszczak's series The Dark Ages: an Age of Light on the Beeb.
Kudos to the portly presenter, however, as he wasn't under any delusions about the cowhorn helmet he is wearing. He explained that it was invented by a Victorian costume designer for a production of Wagner.
But the rowers really need to sharpen their act - the timing was truly awful and everyone looks at their blade instead of behind the steersman as they should. At one point, one guy completely loses it and has to miss a stroke. Real Vikings would have chopped him in half with an axe where he sat.
The boat doesn't seem very authentic either. In fact it looks suspiciously as if it might be fibreglass....
The rest of the series is excellent, well up to the standard of the rash of programmes we have been getting lately on the 'Dark Ages weren't dark at all' theme. UK readers can watch it on BBC iPlayer.

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