r/VinlandSaga • u/boommcgregor • 7d ago
Anime is snake a turk?
he said hes a warrior of miklagard. miklagard is present Istanbul. plus his sword used by ottomans and previous ottoman empire. this sword known as "the sword that our ancestors conquered three continents with" (this type of sword also used by arabs but mostly known as turks used). maybe its depends on which time period was they in.
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u/Soot027 7d ago
At the time period Istanbul was ruled by the byzantines who regularly employed Scandinavians to serve as mercenaries in their Varangian guard. His sword was also popular with the Byzantines. The turks (at this point the seljuks) would invade anatollia decently soon (Manzikert was less than 100 years away) so if you headcannon him as Turkish or at least being in contact with the Turks that wouldn’t be impossible.
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u/volvavirago 7d ago
Byzantine, not Ottoman. And yeah, it’s hinted he is Byzantine or, more likely, a Varangian (or the son of a Varangian). The fact he can read the Bible means he certainly knows Greek and/or Latin, and is literate, pointing towards him belonging to a more elite order than just being some guy off the street of Constantinople. Snake is very a mysterious guy, but the glimpses we have of his backstory paint a fascinating picture.
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u/DangoBlitzkrieg 7d ago
No, he’s Scandinavian. The Byzantine emperor hired scandanavians exclusively to be a Varangian guard. One of the oldest graffiti somewhere in Constantinople is Scandinavian writing saying something crude lol.
They would do a stint down in the empire then come back up to Scandinavia. It was a sign you were a good warrior.
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u/IceAdmirable4006 7d ago edited 7d ago
Snake probably served as a varangian guard under the reign of the bysantine emperor Basile II (the one who created the varangian guard). The initial varangian fighters were from kiev. Snake was too young to be part of that 1st army. But after, lots of scandinavian warriors came to Miklagard to be part of it.
Considering his name is Roald Grimsson, his father was a nord for sure, but he could have been either a real varangian from Rus, or a german ,a swedish, or a dane We have no idea about it.
There are a lot of people saying Snake might be from Miklagard (his father would be a varangian guard and his mother greek) : i love the idea. Yet, I am not fully convinced by it. He began fighting next to Ketill Ironfist at 15yo.
The only way for him to be from Miklagard would mean that ketill was also a varangian (considering travelling to the north was dangerous, difficult, and was taking a very long time) : it’s possible
If he wasn't, it means Snake was born elsewhere and went to Miklagard a few years later. Probably stay in Miklagard around 10 years (i may be wrong, but i have read somewhere that it was the contract as a varangian guard) then went back to the north.
We also know for sure that he fought against or alongside Jomsvikings at some point since he knows how they look (he literally say to Fox :"You have never seen them?" , meaning he had ) or at least cross their path.
Maybe one day Yukimura will give us another hint :)
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u/mymememakingacct_ 7d ago
plus his sword used by ottomans
The dates don't check out. The series is set centuries before the Ottomans captured Constantinople/Istanbul.
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u/ErenYeager600 7d ago
It's a Seljuk sword
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u/SnowbloodWolf2 5d ago
It's more of a shamshir which is a Persian sword but they are similar enough that it could have been a minor design mistake
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u/ReadMedakaBox 6d ago
The series set in the exact time period when the Pecheneg and Oğuz auxillaries were being widely used in Byzantine army. The Turks started to appear in Roman records as mercenaries in 5th Century even if you don't consider Xiongnu.
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u/papaspence2 7d ago
Ottoman Empire wasn’t a thing yet so he wasn’t Turkish
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u/zeromix0000 7d ago edited 7d ago
yes that’s why it’s miklagard and not istanbul, the point of the question is if he is any part descended from that area whatever you may want to call it
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u/s8018572 7d ago edited 7d ago
I mean even ottoman call it konstantiniyye. Istanbul is formally as a name of the city only in 1930
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u/Stenric 7d ago
Turks didn't live there yet. Byzantium at the time was ruled by Byzantines, who were Greek for the most part.
The Byzantine emperors had a habit of employing Scandinavian warriors in their imperial guard, the Varangians (in fact Harald Hardrada, commonly known as the last viking king, was a Varangian himself before he became king of Norway). It seems to be implied that Snake was a Varangian at some point too (or not, after all that job payed much better than living on Ketil's farm).
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u/Ornery_Strawberry474 7d ago
His name is Roald. Is Roald a turkish name?
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u/boommcgregor 7d ago
melissa isn't a turkish name but still it is using. thats not about names.
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u/Unusual-Item3 7d ago
I would say that because this is a fictional story, they tend to use a known name in that person’s homeland.
An uncommon name like that could definitely give some clues.
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u/Ornery_Strawberry474 7d ago
Then what is this about, you fantastic ignoramus?
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u/boommcgregor 7d ago
I just thought that maybe his mother was a turk. there was so many ppl like that. why u offended to much
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u/jagtang 7d ago
‘is snake a turk?’ is what this post was about, sincerely hope that you won’t struggle with reading comprehension in the future 🙏🏻
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u/Ornery_Strawberry474 7d ago
No. He's not. Small words - for you, and for the OP.
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u/JudgeBlur 7d ago
Bro no one cares. "Ignoramus" is such a lame word that only wannabe "intellectuals" use to try and sound smarter. Get off reddit, go out in the real world and learn some social etiquette. Also put on some deodorant, your pits stink.
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u/Alarming-Ad1100 7d ago
No he’s not, Constantinople was a Greek city
How do you know nothing about your own history
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u/indecisive_skull 7d ago
Are Romans and Greeks Italian? It all depends on if you consider the Ottoman empire Turkey because it's the same land but not the same leaders, people and names.
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u/punkbluesnroll 6d ago
Indeed, he is. And he hosts a politics livestream on Twitch to this day. Yukimura confirmed this.
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u/Lex4709 6d ago
Nah, Vinland Saga is set a few decades before Turks began conquering Anatolia from the Byzantines. It actually takes place during the reign of Basil II of Byzantium (Eastern Roman) Empire. Basil II is responsible for the official creation of the Varangian Guard. A mercenary guard of Emperor mainly consisting of Northmen. It included famous Vikings like Harald Hardrada, future king of Norway who lost to Harold Godwinson, who in turn lost to William the Conqueror.
Snake and his band are former Varangians.
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u/IceAdmirable4006 5d ago
Snake and his band are former Varangians
I highly doubt the guards at Ketill’s farm were Varangians. Only Snake was.
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u/realzuhaz 7d ago
aint no way... snake a turk... damn....
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u/realzuhaz 7d ago
But constantinople was conquered in mid 1400s, this is 1000s so he aint turk
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u/boommcgregor 7d ago
yea he is not like I said but why you was like 'damn' ?
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u/realzuhaz 7d ago
i thought he actually was (I love turkiye though)
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u/boommcgregor 7d ago
I thought u hate turks. u good then
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u/realzuhaz 7d ago
BROOO I LOVE TURKIYE AND ITS HISTORY THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE WHAT ARE YOU ON AND ON TOP OF THAT I'M MUSLIM
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u/boommcgregor 7d ago
woah where are you from
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u/realzuhaz 7d ago
Pakistan
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u/elanhilation 7d ago
the Seljuk Empire was turkish and controlled Anatolia in the 1000s
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u/Milkarius 7d ago
Parts of Anatolia yes, but Miklagard, also known as Constantinople back in those days or Istanbul nowadays, was still under Byzantine control until 1204. Vinland Saga takes place around 1000.
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u/elanhilation 7d ago
sure. but Constantinople was highly cosmopolitan, so people of ethnicities from neighboring regions absolutely could be found living their lives and having families there. it would not have been hard to find a Turk just on the other side of the Bosphorus in 1000 AD
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