Just Watched… The 13th Warrior

Poster. Fair use

 I have just watched The 13th Warrior on Disney+. I have to admit, I only watched it because I read about it in a book on the effect of Norse myths on our way of life, but thoroughly enjoyed it. It was based on a novel, Eaters Of The Dead, by Michael Crichton, of Jurassic Park fame. He was also involved with this film.

Some years ago, when teaching Year 8 history, I discovered the story of Arab traveller Ibn Fahdlan, who described a Norse funeral in Russia. That involved a slave girl being sacrificed and sent off with the dead chieftain. She was a volunteer, though, and just before she was killed she spoke a sort of prayer about seeing her family and friends and so on. The warriors made a lot of noise to cover her screams as an old woman killed her, so as not to discourage volunteers next time around. 

The second thing he saw was the Norsemen’s disgusting wash habits in the morning - sharing a bowl of water, rinsing the mouth and spitting the water back into the bowl. He said they were horribly dirty, but he still admired them as being handsome people.

I mention both of these because they happen in the film, of which Ibn Fadhlan(played by Antonio Banderas) is the hero. In the film, he is a young man who has been sent off to be an ambassador far, far away from Baghdad after the matter of a married woman, whose husband complained to the Caliph. He is accompanied by an older man who acts as his interpreter for a while(Omar Sharif, still acting in his older years). While they are with this friendly bunch of Vikings, a ship arrives with a young boy who pleads for help, as his kingdom is being attacked by scary beings. It is declared by a shaman woman that thirteen men must go to help, including one who isn’t Norse.

 This is where it turns into a sort of cross between The Hobbit and Beowulf. Twelve warriors volunteer and poor Ibn Fahdlan, very much Bilbo Baggins, finds himself having to go with them. His interpreter cheerfully waves him off, but it doesn’t take long for him to learn their language. I suspect it was to make the rest of the film easier, with everyone speaking English, as Hunt For Red October in which a Russian character says, “Let’s talk English.”

The Norsemen eventually like and respect Ibn Fahdlan and he comes to like them too. 

The quest finds them in a country where there are regular attacks by bearlike beings, who turn out not to be bears. They are cannibals, though. Our hero throws up when he first sees evidence of that, and the others also feel sick. But they fight anyway. 

At one point, where they think they might die, they chant the words of the sacrificed slave girl, and Ibn Fahdlan joins them. 

     Although there is not just one “Grendel”, I couldn’t help thinking of Beowulf. I’m quite sure the name “Hrothgar” is mentioned, though the King here is called Wolfgar. 

I don’t know if I would have enjoyed this at the cinema, but it was nice to lie in bed and watch it on my iPad before dozing off. It was good fun. If you have Disney+, it’s worth watching.