Nice Vikings!

[Malthus]

Would some of the Brits 'round here care to comment on the acusation of the dumbing-down and sanitizing of history education?

"Nice Vikings

British children are being taught a sanitized version of European history, in which Napoleon is depicted as primarily a reformer and Vikings are portrayed as peace-loving traders, contends Dr. Yasemin Soysal of the European Sociological Association. "Children are not being given the full picture of their history," she said. For instance, in early editions of the textbook From Cavemen to Vikings, the Vikings are referred to "fierce raiders [who] began to attack our coasts." But in the 1994 edition, they are described as "Danes [who] besides being farmers, were much better at trading than Saxons. The Danes and Saxons settled down together and Saxon England became one rich and peaceful kingdom."

Source: The London Observer"

 

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"Nice Vikings."

 

[The Danish King]

Yeah, the Vikings were nice untill they smacked a Dane-Axe in yer face!

 

[Arilou]

Stupidity abounds.

 

[unmerged(301)]

I'm sure some of the Vikings were very nice guys.

 

[unmerged(2980)]

I think the young one's should be treated to the fun story of the "blood eagle" wherein a semi-friendly viking cracks the chest open of said monk/peasent, and grabs the lungs and flops them over the back to look like wings. The hilarity!

 

[unmerged(10764)]

Originally posted by Paul Atreides
I think the young one's should be treated to the fun story of the "blood eagle" wherein a semi-friendly viking cracks the chest open of said monk/peasent, and grabs the lungs and flops them over the back to look like wings. The hilarity!

Yeah it's a common party-trick over here.

 

[unmerged(2980)]

Originally posted by Camper
I'm sure some of the Vikings were very nice guys.

Yep, but they were pretty much all killed and their lands confiscated by 500 B.C. or so.

 

[unmerged(2980)]

Originally posted by Von Fersen
Yeah it's a common party-trick over here.

 

[unmerged(14078)]

The era of nationalism is going to it's end, new "truths" are needed.

"Napoleon primarily a reformer". I know a few others: Stalin, Hitler, Mao.

The Vikings were farmers, traders AND raiders/warriors.

Regards/
Klaus

 

[Norgesvenn]

I think they should be persecuted for slandering our reputation this way. We're a fearsome lot! *waves featherduster*

 

[Arilou]

Napoleon WAS an important reformer... We didn't get to read that paragraph but his reforms were very important.

Comparing him to Hitler or Mao is a bit uncalled for....

 

[Crazy_Ivan80]

The Incredible Histories of the Vikings from Lala-Land!

 

[Crazy_Ivan80]

nice vikings

 

[Malthus]

I'm waiting for Top Cat to see this little news item - the concept of "nice Vikings" being taught as history, to the exclusion of thier more fearsome aspects, might just make his head explode, as an example of revisionism at its worst... not to mention Nappy as a "reformer" rather than a military dictator ...

 

[unmerged(5678)]

http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,935845,00.html

Full story above.

I'm not convinced. Only one person, and one person with an axe to grind (as it were) is complaining. And complaining about a couple text books that are nine years old and may, or may not, be in actual use in schools (I imagine they make their own choices).

If you look at what the national curriculum says about the topic, it doesn't seem like a sanitised version:

Effects of Anglo-Saxon settlement: the arrival and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons; the conversion to Christianity, the lives of monks and nuns, for example Bede and Hilda; religious beliefs and customs, including the Sutton Hoo and other ship burials, and myths and legends; Anglo-Saxon settlement in the local area.

Effects of Viking settlement: Viking raids and settlement; King Alfred and Anglo-Saxon resistance to the Vikings; King Cnut and the Danes; Jorvik and other Viking settlements; heroic poems and sagas; Viking settlement in the local area

I'm fariad the article says more about the problems modern journalists face in filling acres of print for Sunday newspapers then it does about history teaching.

 

[unmerged(11920)]

Originally posted by Camper
I'm sure some of the Vikings were very nice guys.

Being evil and bloodthirsthy doesnt give you juciy trade deals with constaniople, so I guess they where sort of nice when the customs didnt state othewrise.

 

[unmerged(10764)]

Originally posted by Norgesvenn
I think they should be persecuted for slandering our reputation this way. We're a fearsome lot! *waves featherduster*

They did not ruin "your" reputation. You did not sack Paris like the Danes and you did not fight and defeat Arab armies like us Swedes. All you did was colonise some uninhabited islands and you were not even able to defeat the Indians.

 

[Styrbiorn]

Originally posted by Pergite
Being evil and bloodthirsthy doesnt give you juciy trade deals with constaniople, so I guess they where sort of nice when the customs didnt state othewrise.

Err, yes. The trade deal was a result of an attack.

 

[Malthus]

Originally posted by Emperor Gupta
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,935845,00.html

Full story above.

I'm not convinced. Only one person, and one person with an axe to grind (as it were) is complaining. And complaining about a couple text books that are nine years old and may, or may not, be in actual use in schools (I imagine they make their own choices).

If you look at what the national curriculum says about the topic, it doesn't seem like a sanitised version:

Effects of Anglo-Saxon settlement: the arrival and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons; the conversion to Christianity, the lives of monks and nuns, for example Bede and Hilda; religious beliefs and customs, including the Sutton Hoo and other ship burials, and myths and legends; Anglo-Saxon settlement in the local area.

Effects of Viking settlement: Viking raids and settlement; King Alfred and Anglo-Saxon resistance to the Vikings; King Cnut and the Danes; Jorvik and other Viking settlements; heroic poems and sagas; Viking settlement in the local area

I'm fariad the article says more about the problems modern journalists face in filling acres of print for Sunday newspapers then it does about history teaching.

Spoil my fun rant with *facts*, will you?

Ah well - maybe I will not get to see Top Cat's head explode.