Vikings Page #3

Season #1 Episode #1
Synopsis: The adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok: the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the saga of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods: legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.
  Nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys. Another 24 wins & 71 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.6
TV-MA
Year:
2013
44 min
6,186 Views


5.

LAGERTHA (CONT’D)

Sit by the fire, warm yourself.

The stranger nods again, and sits, Ragnar and Lagertha doing

likewise.

RAGNAR:

This man is a wanderer. He has been

on a boat that travelled to the

west.

This is clearly a shock to Lagertha. She stares at the man.

LAGERTHA:

Is it true?

Once more the stranger nods, but does not reply. Lagertha

suddenly realizes that he is glancing towards his cup, and

she quickly re-fills it.

And once more he empties it, then belches, and wipes his hand

over his mouth.

WANDERER:

We sailed north up the coast, to

the rock formation which looks like

a skull. And then, when we were out

in the open sea, we turned due

west. And I was frightened.

LAGERTHA:

What happened to you? Where did you

get to?

Behind her, we see Bjorn and Gyda peeking into the room, and

listening.

WANDERER:

After two days and nights we saw

land. Someone said it was a land

called England, for they had been

there before. But I don’t know if

it’s true. I was only told that in

this land there was great treasure.

We went ashore, found a big house

there, and took some things from

it.

From his bundle of discarded furs he retrieves an object: a

small but very beautiful ivory crucifix.

6.

WANDERER (CONT’D)

In England, they worship a strange

god called Jesus Christ. They say

he died in a tree.

RAGNAR:

Like Odin. Only Odin came back to

life.

Lagertha examines the glittering prize.

RAGNAR (CONT’D)

Tell us how you crossed the open

ocean - once you lost sight of

land? How did you know you were

sailing west, not north or south?

WANDERER:

We had a board. It belonged to a

Swede.

LAGERTHA:

A board? What kind of board...?

WANDERER:

A sun-shadow board. Here is one.

Again he reaches into the thick pile of animal furs and this

time produces a “solskuggerfol” board. It is a smallish

wooden board with a pin or gnomon in the centre (which can be

adjusted up or down) and with circles drawn around the pin.

WANDERER (CONT’D)

To show you how it works, I need to

float it in a tub of water.

Ragnar goes off to fetch one.

Once more the wanderer looks at his empty cup, and once more

Lagertha re-fills it.

And once more he empties the cup in one gulp. Outside the

wind blasts against the house and makes the candles inside

flutter and almost gutter.

Ragnar returns with the tub of water and the wanderer places

the board in the water, where it floats.

Then he takes a candle.

WANDERER (CONT’D)

This candle is the sun.

7.

He holds the candle over the board.

WANDERER (CONT’D)

Each day the sun rises, and climbs

in the sky until noon.

(he arcs the candle across

the board - the shadow

shortens)

See how the shadow shortens. At

noon it will be at its shortest as

the sun is at its zenith.

RAGNAR:

But this only tells me how far

south I have travelled -

WANDERER:

Now listen. The day before you

sail, mark a circle around the

pointer on the board at the place

where the shadow is shortest at

noon. The next day at sea, place

the board in water again around

noon and watch for the shadow. If

it only touches the circle, your

course remains true. If the shadow

passes outside the circle, like

this, you have drifted and must

steer further south. If the shadow

never reaches the circle you are to

the south and must steer more

north. Keep the noon shadow on the

circle and your course will be

true.

Ragnar and Lagertha stare at the board and the shadow as it

moves across it.

LAGERTHA:

Is it really true, wanderer, that

you crossed the ocean using only

this...this children’s toy?

WANDERER:

Yes, I swear to you. I swear on my

sacred ring. Of course, we also

used ravens to show how far we

might be from land, but the board

took us across the open sea.

LAGERTHA:

I cannot believe it.

Rate this script:4.7 / 6 votes

Michael Hirst

Michael Hirst is an English screenwriter and producer, best known for his films Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, as well as the Emmy Award-winning television series The Tudors and Vikings. more…

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