History’s ‘Vikings’ Unsheathes a Bloody New Poster

We're less than a month from History's hotly anticipated premiere of 'Vikings,' a nine-part fictional series that looks at the Viking culture and heroes never-before presented on TV. The ever new trailer and commercial for the outing makes 'Vikings' seem all the more a bloody-good show, but just how accurate will the history be? You might be surprised what you can learn from 'Vikings' bloody new poster, so get the historical scoop inside!

Just because the History Channel is boldly venturing into scripted TV with historical epic 'Vikings' doesn't mean it forgets its namesake. The Michael Hirst-written drama has today released a bloody new poster for the series of its hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) that contains a surprising bit of history on its own.

Highlighting the "V" of the show's official title car, the designs on the left side of the character represent from top to bottom craftsmanship and technological advances, brotherhood and unbreakable bonds, and finally growth and life. As for the bloody sword that makes up the right half, well, you can probably guess what that represents.

'Vikings’ follows actual historical figure Ragnar Lothbrok, considered to be the greatest hero of his age. The nine-episode 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. According to the show’s initial descriptions, “legend has it that he was a direct descendent of Odin, the god of war and warriors.”

Having previously cast veteran actor Gabriel Byrne for the series, ‘Vikings’ features Travis Fimmel in the central role of Ragnar Lothbrok, while joining him are Jessalyn Gilsig (‘Glee‘) as Siggy, the wife of Earl Haraldson (Byrne), Gustaf Skarsgard as Ragnar’s friend Floki, Clive Standen as his devious cousin Rollo, and Katheryn Winnick as first wife, and warrior Lagertha.

Check out the hi-res poster for 'Vikings' below, and tell us in the comments if you'll tune in for the new series beginning March 3 on the History Channel!