Ragnar’s Sons Were Real. Was Their Father?
History can find the army, the invasion, and the dead kings. Ragnar is where the trail disappears. It can find the kingdoms the army invaded, the cities it captured, and the kings it killed. It can even find several of the warriors later remembered as Ragnar Lothbrok’s sons. What history cannot find, at least not […]
Ragnar Lothbrok: The Viking King History Couldn’t Hold
Every culture has a king waiting somewhere in the fog. Britain has Arthur. Scandinavia has Ragnar Lothbrok. Arthur has Excalibur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table. Ragnar has shaggy trousers, a slain serpent, legendary wives, sons with names carved from iron, and a final appointment with a pit of venomous snakes. He is […]
Vinland Saga: What Makes a True Warrior?
Warriors. Longships. Kings. Raids. Duels. Blood feuds. Revenge. Men trying to make their names immortal because their bodies certainly won’t be. At first glance, Vinland Saga looks exactly like the kind of story centuries of heroic tradition trained us to recognize. There it is. There’s our saga. Except Vinland Saga starts asking an uncomfortable question […]
Madden NFL: How One Man’s Name Became Football
The NFL is back. Across the country, fantasy lineups are being finalized. Predictions are being made. Jerseys are coming out of closets. Every fan has convinced themselves that this could finally be their team’s year. But for generations of football fans, the season begins before the opening kickoff. It begins when the new Madden arrives. […]
Blue Ribbons and Bright Lights: How the Fair Became an American Tradition
You know the scene before you ever reach the gate. The Ferris wheel turns against the evening sky. Music collides with the roar of tractor pulls and demolition derbies. Somewhere nearby, a child is negotiating for an animal that absolutely cannot come home. The air smells like livestock, dust, funnel cake, and at least one […]