National Geographic's six-part documentary series “Vikings: The Rise and Fall” represented by Abacus Media Rights premiering on National Geographic at 9 pm on Tuesday 21st June 2022. The title, narrated by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, was crafted by documentary producers amid a collaboration between 20 of the world’s foremost Viking experts, including Stefan Brink, Terry Gunnell, Anders Winroth, Cat Jarman, Søren Michael Sindbæk, Dr. Clare Downham, among many others.
For more than 300 years the Vikings waged war from the seas with a significant effect. The network's new series showcases the Vikings’ first voyages beyond the Scandinavian coast, the sacking of York, and sieges of Paris, and findings of trade routes the Vikings developed as far east as Baghdad and West, to discover America. Throughout history, Vikings waged war from the seas, notoriously ruthless and with their own set of rules. The Viking expansion was unprecedented in the veracity of its spread. Known for merciless bloodshed, the Norsemen became the most feared people in history. However, their story has always been told from a one-sided, Christian point of view, and only now, after rigorous research through mythical sagas and bioarchaeological finds, can we uncover the truth about who the Vikings really were.
Throughout history, tales of the dreaded Vikings evoke images of slaughter and terror, wanton pillage, and savage bloodletting, but beneath the infamy of sordid violence lies a fascinating true story. The Vikings were fierce warriors, but they were also seasoned navigators, intrepid explorers, craftspeople, merchants, politicians, and poets. Between the years 700 and 1100, these Norse warriors conquered Britain and Ireland, laid siege to Paris, built complex trade networks as far east as Constantinople and Baghdad, and were the first Europeans to set foot on the wild plains of America before fading into obscurity. Tracing their rise and fall in this incredible new series involves an epic journey across the globe, starting with the 8th Century, and a detailed look at who the Vikings were and why they first sailed beyond their own fair shores to raid monasteries up and down the coasts of Britain and Ireland.