Vikings, Season 2

Floki:
Who needs a reason for betrayal? One must always think the worst, Ragnar, even of your own kin. That way you avoid too much disappointment in life.

Bjorn:
She brings unhappiness and difficulty.

Ragnar:
I know it is hard for you to accept.

Bjorn:
But unhappiness is more common than happiness.

Ragnar:
Who told you you should be happy?

Ragnar:
Gyda, I have come to say goodbye to you properly. I have been thinking about you, about when you were small. You were so lively, you could run as swiftly as the wind. You were like quick-silver. But then, before I knew it, you stopped running here and there and everywhere and you became still. At 12-years-old, you had the stillness and the calm of a fine woman. What children you would have produced! What joy that would have brought to all of us. Dear child, Gyda, you are not gone because you are always in my heart. They say that a man must love his sons more, but a man can be jealous of his sons, and his daughter can always be the light in his life. I know very well that you are with the gods, but I will wait here awhile, and if you want to come and talk to me, then come and talk, and I will gently stroke your long and beautiful hair once again with my peasant hands.

Rollo:
I wanted to step out of your shadow... but when I stepped out of the doors, there was no sunlight.

Ragnar:
We should not wash our dirty clothes in front of others.

Rollo:
It would have been better for me, for you, for everyone if I had been executed.

Siggy:
So you take not account of the gods? What is it that the gods have offered you?

Rollo:
A lifetime of humiliation!

Siggy:
No that is not it. The goes have offered you a chance to be reborn, to be redeemed, to gain Valhalla. That is what they have offered you.

Siggy:
It is always a strength to know the weaknesses of your friends. Is it not?

Jarl Borg:
So, when do we set sail?

Ragnar:
Forgive me, Jarl Borg. But we have decided not to seek your help.

Jarl Borg:
I thought we had an agreement.

Ragnar:
It is not my desire to break that agreement. Believe me I wish it to remain intact. But on this occasion...

Jarl Borg:
On this occasion?

Ragnar:
On this occasion, the silver thread is slit, the golden cup breaks, and the pail is smashed at the spring.

King Horik:
Whether you live or die today is already in the hands of the gods. They already know if we sup with them tonight, so fear not. Fight well, and if you fall, surely Odin will take you to Valhalla!

All:
ODIN!

Ragnar:
[On his son's eye defect] It is not a curse. It is blessing.

Bjorn:
Who can guess the ways and the plans of the gods?

The Seer:
The eagle is your destiny, Jarl Borg.

King Ecbert:
Tell me honestly: What do you think of these works?

Athelstan:
I find them indescribably beautiful.

King Ecbert:
But they are clearly pagan! [laughs] You are only a monk, Athelstan, and yet, somehow, I begin to trust you. I feel you... You are a kindred spirit. Who? Who painted these images? What race of man was ever so glorious that they filled our world with such, as you say, indescribable beauty?

Athelstan:
I have been told, sire, that you served at the court of the emperor Charlemagne, which I have also visited. I cannot imagine, therefore, that you do not know what I know. That these images were painted by the Romans. They conquered these lands a long time ago. They conquered the whole world. But they were pagans. They worshiped false gods.

King Ecbert:
Never speak of our conversation to any other man here. Nobody else would understand it; they would fear it! They accept an interpretation that a race of giants once lived here... [chuckles] And that we have nothing to do with them.

[both chuckle]

King Ecbert:
The fact is, Athelstan, we have lost more knowledge than we ever had! These Romans knew things that we will never know. Their pagan gods allowed them to rule the world. And what is the lesson that we can learn from that?

King Ecbert:
Come and see. Look around. You thought those paintings were all that there was. But of all Roman things, these are the most precious. Tales of the Caesars. The fall and ruin of Roman Britain. Tales of emperors and empires... It's the stuff of dreams, Athelstan. It's the very fabric of dreams. You can read them, of course.

Athelstan:
Yes. Yes, I can read them.

King Ecbert:
Good. That is why I've chosen you.

Athelstan:
What do you mean?

King Ecbert:
Well, I've chosen you to be the guardian of these books and their secrets. I want you to copy them. You speak Latin; not many do. Your job will be to preserve these works and these... fragments, for all eternity. But if you ever tell anyone about them, I will let them crucify you.

Floki:
But warriors don't show their heart, until the axe reveals it.

Bjorn:
You are so wise, Floki.

Floki:
I'm not wise at all. I'm just a joker.

King Horik:
Floki, you have betrayed the gods.

Floki:
No, King Horik. I only betrayed you.