what history can tell us

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2005)

I found 13th warrior to be both entertaining and broadly accurate, especially in its depiction of codes of personal honor and the portrayal of pre-materialist views of reality. I even use parts of the movie for a college-level course on Medieval Europe.Some comments:the memoirs of Ibn Faldn - a real person- is the source only for the burial scene at the first of the movie; the "Wendol" were evidently extreme berserkers (bear+sark or skin) There are documented cases in the 1100's-1200's, but most were wolves not bears;the mixture of ethnic groups was quite common - warriors went where they could win fame and gold. "Cattle die, women die, men die. Only the deeds they do live on in the memory." An unknown Viking warrior