In the Kolomna park on the Dyakovo site of ancient settlement on July 16 the festival of historical reconstruction "Battle of the Thousand Swords. Ragnarok ". There adults and children will be able to plunge into the life of the Middle Ages. To touch the real living Vikings and Slavs, Hungarians and Bulgarians, Irish, Germans and representatives of other tribes and peoples. See how they lived, worked, traded and fought. And in the evening, at the end of the festival, for you will play the Norwegian band Wardruna, whose songs became the musical accompaniment of the series "Vikings".

We live in an interesting time. So say Zhvanetsky, Fursov, the Chinese. Pencils on my desk jump out of the glass, curtains sway from interest, the cat puzzles behind my ear. And I say to them: my brothers are smaller, all this has already been a hundred times and a hundred times will be. Well, let not one hundred, two or three times. But it was.

Look, the suntanned citizens from the Near East have run in and sunk in Europe. They became uncomfortable in their homeland, because politics, provocations, petrodollars, info-wars and so on. On the autobahn of international business under the wheels of tanks and cars of the executive class with the sound of delicious waffles, the huts and small houses of the locals crackle. Yes, and the climate in Europe is better, a lot of fresh water, a lot of work, soft legislation, when there is something to compare. And most importantly - now they can not be expelled.

We'll rewind the time counter. The invasion of the tribes of the Huns (Huns), for example, the 4th century AD. Sources say that the resettlement of this either Turkic or Mongolian people was due to some ethnic perturbations. Obviously, someone pushed one dominochnuyu bone, she fell, pushed the next - and rolled.

In Europe, the Huns encountered the Germans, with the Romans and everyone who pleased them, of course, was not. Gradually they disappeared somewhere in the Caucasian ethnic groups and in the peoples who began to come after them from the East. Thus began the era of the great migration of peoples. What drove them to the West? Maybe it was not borne off. Or came to power the leader, who loved seals, who forbade the castration of pets, and the bred cats ate all the swallows, and the mosquitoes were well, just too much.

There are no reasons for causeless displacements. I'm not even going to the store if the refrigerator is full of food. Well, maybe, if only over pay back another refrigerator. In the same way, the "Viking Age".

What is so attractive about the image of the Vikings? Valkyrie, Valhalla, Einheria, Drakkary, One with one eye, Thor with a magic hammer, Ragnarok, in the end. Writers exploit heroes and images from Scandinavian folklore and the pantheon of the gods. Directors make films and serials. Mass media and politicians borrow images for advertising and propaganda. You probably need to make a small dictionary for readers who are not aware of this topic.

One (Wotan) - the supreme god of the German-Scandinavian pantheon. Gave one eye to the giant in exchange for the opportunity to drink from the source of wisdom.

Tor (Donar) - the god of thunder. He has a battle hammer named Mjolnir (lightning), which returns to his hand like a boomerang. In honor of Thor is called the day of the week Thursday (Thursday - eng. , Donnerstag - germ.

Einherii - fallen in battle with weapons in the hands of soldiers.

Valhalla - literally "the palace of the fallen," the heavenly chamber, where the fallen warriors feast and fight until the last days.

Valkyrie - warrior-maidens escorting the Einherians from the battlefield to Valhalla.

Drakkar - literally "ship-dragon", Scandinavian ship.

Photo: Agency of historical projects "Ratobortsy" Ragnarok - the last battle of the gods with monsters, the end of the world, roughly speaking.

Now you can sometimes insert in the speech these beautiful non-Russian words, like the croaking of Hugin and Munin. And who are they? Ho-ho, let there remain a little mystery between us.

At some point these unhappy people lived on not very fertile lands and in a not very positive climate. Obviously, they did not have the vitamins and calories too, if one of the classic Norwegian dishes is still rotten in the land of the shark meat, which from time to time it was necessary to cope with a small need. The action of urea neutralized the toxins contained in the meat, but people received essential micronutrients for food, which was an obvious drawback. But this is by the way.

One hundred percent that the Scandinavians are people with insane endurance. But the water grinds the stone, and the nerves are not iron. And someone has lost patience. He gathered his friends into a boat, and they sailed along the shore to seek a better life. And found. But their new acquaintances did not want to part with either food or property, so they had to kill.

As you know, not the very first, but the most popular victim of the Vikings was a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne. Actually, the very word "Viking" meant simply "armed robber, pirate", the romance here is appropriate. So, the Age of Vikings (EV) began. Behind the window stood the VIII century.

Then the Vikings intensified the onslaught, more and more naval detachments went into raids over the fat, oozing wine, fruits and greasy partridge Europe. Their victims were the British Isles and neighboring France. But gradually on the shoulders of warlike (from hunger and wretchedness) Vikings in the sphere of international communication, bright businessmen with financial interests. It turned out to be more interesting to trade than to rob. Maybe not so profitable, but much safer.

Photo: agency of historical projects "Ratobortsy" As a result, people from the north (Normans) were recognized throughout the medieval Eukumene. Traded, fought and served the Scandinavian warriors in Russia, which they called Gardariki (the country of cities); Noted in Constantinople, which was called Miklagard. The Arab chroniclers and Spanish historians wrote about them. "Vikings" settled Iceland, swam to the neighboring mainland, where they met with the Indians of Canada and America.

Trade carried objects of Scandinavian culture across the continent and collected things from all over the world in the North. For example, in the Swedish city of Birka, the remains of eastern armor, Ural jewelry and. Buddha figure.

In 1066 g. On September 25, the Battle of Stamford Bridge took place, when the troops of the Norwegian king (king) Harald Surovoy were defeated by the Anglo-Saxons under the leadership of King Harold Godwinsohn. This battle ends the era of dashing robbers, sea robbers, as well as talented gunsmiths, jewelers and successful traders. It lasted almost 300 years.