A lot of period dramas have come and gone on TV, but none have gone to great lengths to be as historically accurate as possible as History's "Vikings." While most shows have tried to romanticize or dramatize their stories, "Vikings" has tried to stay as raw and true to the material as best as they can.
Michael Hirst revealed in an interview that the story of "Vikings" is based on actual history, and that the adaptation he built was based on his own research and consultation with historical advisers and experts.
"Even though I'm not writing a documentary everything is based on historical fact and I would only say that Vikings is the second biggest show across Scandinavia and they think that it is pretty authentic and pretty real," CinemaBlend quoted Hirst as saying. He added that "Vikings" portrayal of Scandinavian history has also earned praise from experts and curators of historical artifacts.
"Vikings" is primarily based on "The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok," a Scandinavian tale that follows the life and adventures of the titular hero and his family. Like most sagas in history, Ragnar's was only recorded hundreds of years after the events actually happened. Hirst admitted that it was a challenge to patch up the loopholes and create a cohesive story and make a compelling drama
Case in point, Hirst explained that there could have been different interpretations for "Boneless" in Ivar's name. He chose to depict Ivar as the cripple son, since having a cripple become one of the most feared warriors in history makes for a more dramatic story. Moreover, there were more historical evidence that Ivar was often carried on a shelf during battles.
However, it is inevitable to add and remove characters for the purpose of telling a story that may not really exist in history. For one, Dr. Shannon Godlove of the Columbus State University's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Certificate Program said that some aspects of the show are unlikely to have happened. Pop Sugar reported that it is highly unlikely that one of Ragnar's closest, most trusted friends is an apostate Anglo-Saxon monk. It is also unlikely that this monk, named Athelstan in the series, had a bastard child with an Anglo-Saxon princess and that this son would later become King Alfred of Wessex.
"Vikings" Season 4 is currently airing in History.