Thread by @MikeStuchbery_

Okay, so here's my deep dive into the #AssassinsCreedValhalla trailer, with all the stuff I discovered to geek over. THREAD. /1

The opening scenes take place in Norway, depicting the landscape that forced the Norse to take to raiding - mountainous fjords.

Relatively few 'Vikings' were raiders. However, agricultural space was at a premium and a growing population meant that some had to take to the sea. /2

The statue the hero, Eivor approaches is Tyr. He can be equated to the deity of war, victory, and an honourable warrior lifestyle. The Norse pantheon isn't always as binary as others. Existing depictions of him aren't the most common. /3

The prow of the show features an ornately carved head, depicting a fierce creature. These were detachable for certain situations - don't want to create the wrong impression, do we?

This one has similarities to that discovered with the Oseberg ship in Norway in 1904. /4

We know quite a bit about Viking ships, due to the fact that they were buried with high-status owners under mounds.

The Oseberg ship, displayed in its own museum, was the final resting place of two important women - the ship was full of luxury items. /5 khm.uio.no/english/visit-…

Now, obviously artistic license has to be taken with video games, but I can't help but think that the cliffs resemble those in Whitby, Yorkshire.

I also think the use of a cove like we see here suggests a prolonged stay, not a smash and dash - something borne out later. /6

The scene of burning settlements along a river speaks to the raiding preferences of the Vikings - their shallow, smooth-bottomed vessels could easily navigate most rivers they encountered.

With many towns established at river crossings, Norse raiders had their pick. /7

You can take your pick of towns raiders attacked, but I used to live near Bedford. It was attacked in 917, albeit unsuccessfully - the Mercians had fortified it well.

The River Great Ouse was used to access the town, alongside others sacked by the new arrivals. /8

I'm a big fan of the scene showing the Norse raiders establishing a settlement. After initial waves of pinpoint raids, subsequent arrivals wanted to settle. This they did, particularly in areas like Yorkshire, Cumbria & the Norfolk coast.

Their namjng of places is a legacy. /9

The villain of the piece is revealed, and it's King Alfred 'The Great'. We know this because, well, @Ubisoft told us, and also his appearance. Contemporary accounts say the guy was Ill and drawn.

This tells us the game takes place in the 9th century. /10 medievalists.net/2012/04/alfred…

Again, artistic license is being taken here, but to me, that castle looks like the one at Bamburgh, in Northumberland.

This is significant - raiders destroyed it in the 10th century. Before, it was passed between Saxon kings and nobles, and was highly regarded as a prize. /11

I kind of appreciated the battle scene being shown with relatively few combatants. There just wasn't the manpower and fights were picked strategically and between relatively small armies - sometimes 20 or 30 a 'side'.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles love exaggerating though. /12

While different Saxon kingdoms had pretty different styles of helmet at various times, I'm pretty sure our mate here has one with a nod to the Sutton Hoo helmet, discovered in 1939. /13

Sutton Hoo in Suffolk was a Saxon cemetery famous for the undisturbed ship burial found just before WW2. Much of the grave goods - including the helmet - are in the @BritishMuseum. /14

Finally, the Saxons appear to be wearing lamellar armour - small pieces of metal or leather sewn together. Chainmail already existed, I guess this is being used to demonstrate status and distinguish them as a threat. It's not inaccurate though - pieces keep turning up. /15

Undoubtedly there's more to come, and I must have missed some stuff, but I hope you enjoyed that. I'm enjoying discovering and explaining history again. Odin, grant me knowledge! /FIN