In honor of my bride who is a descendant of King Harald Hardrada.
I cannot mention the Last of the Vikings, albeit a Christian one, as King Harald has been called, without playing this brilliant intro to the 1958 film The Vikings with Orson Welles as the narrator:
This superb scene from the same movie, Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine being at the top of their acting game that day, demonstrates why the Vikings were such fearsome warriors, as were their Christianized variant, the Normans:
King Harald Hardrada? That is documented?! WOW
History is neat when there is such a personal touch. My daughter’s godmother is a descendant of both Henry VII (through one of Jane Grey’s sisters) and Revolutionary War general Nathaniel Greene.