Ep. 31 - VIKINGS: VALHALLA Beyond the Known Viking World
VIKINGS: VALHALLA Season 2: on the boat - Eleana (Sofya Lebedeva), Mariam (Hayat Kamille), Brigtoc (Ailbhe Cowley). Outside the boat Kaysan (Kayode Akinyemi), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter). Photo credit: Netflix
“When you have a lot of people that have different beliefs, and are different from each other, it’s messy….But that’s my favorite part. I thrive on messy because that is the spaces where we all come together. And so Vikings were part of that, and they were changed by these interactions.”
Nahir Otaño Gracia, Medievalist and assistant professor of English, University of New Mexico
Our conversation about VIKINGS VALHALLA continues with NAHIR OTAÑO GRACIA, a medieval scholar whose “Global North Atlantic” extends the Viking story from the North Sea to the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean, and the tip of North Africa. We talk about how the Vikings’s travels and encounters changed their culture and destinies as seen in the second season of VIKINGS: VALHALLA.
Guest: NAHIR OTAÑO GRACIA
Nahir Otaño Gracia, is Assistant Professor of English at the University of New Mexico and a Member of the Institute for Advanced Studies located in Princeton, NJ (IAS). Her theoretical frameworks include Critical Race Studies, Translation Theory and Practice, and the Global North Atlantic—extending the North Atlantic to include the Iberian Peninsula and Africa.
She has published several articles on literatures written in Middle English, Old Castilian, Old Catalan, Old Irish, and Old Norse-Icelandic, and they have appeared in journals such as Arthuriana, Comitatus , Enarratio, English Language Notes, and Viator. Her essay, “Towards a Decentered Global North Atlantic,” won the 2022 Medieval Academy of America Article Prize in Critical Race Studies.
Other writings by Nahir Otaño Gracia:
Connect with Nahir Otaño Gracia: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | University of New Mexico
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VIKINGS: VALHALLA
VIKINGS: VALHALLA Season 2 Trailer (Netflix)
Set over a thousand years ago in the early 11th century, VIKINGS: VALHALLA (2022- ) chronicles the exploits of some of the most famous Vikings from history — the legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his courageous warrior sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).
Season Two begins after the tragic fall of Kattegat; an event that has shattered the main characters’ dreams and altered their destinies. Finding themselves suddenly fugitives in Scandinavia Leif , Harald, and Freydis are forced to test their ambitions and courage in worlds beyond the fjords of Kattegat. The three go their separate ways. Freydis dedicates her life to be the keeper of the Faith and protector of the faithful in Johnsburg. Leif and Harald travel to Kyivan Rus where Harald seeks his uncle Yaroslav the Wise’s (Marcin Dorocinski) help to defeat Olaf (Harald’s brother) and become King of Norway as the rightful heir to the throne. New characters include Mariam (Hayak Kamille), a brilliant Muslim scholar who joins Leif and Harald on their perilous journey to Constantinople where Harald plans to finance his army.
VIKINGS: VALHALLA is a sequel to the HIstory Channel’s VIKINGS series created by Michael Hirst. Created by Jeb Stuart (DIE HARD, THE FUGITIVE), VIKINGS VALHALLA is set 100 years later towards the end of the Viking era 1066. Available on Netflix