Comparing Eaters Of The Dead And The 13th Warrior

The 13th Warrior is a 1999 film adaptation of Michael Crichton’s book “Eaters of the Dead”. The film follows Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (played by the arguably well-casted Antonio Banderas) during his legendary travels with the Vikings, and combines elements of his manuscripts with a retelling of the epic 8th-11th century Scandinavian poem “Beowulf”. The film begins with Ibn Fahdlan describing a romantic affair between him and an important Baghdadi official’s wife. He is banished from the kingdom and eventually meets a group of Vikings. He is drafted as the thirteenth man in a group of warriors that are venturing North to help rid a King of “monsters” known as Wendol that are plaguing his kingdom.

Keeping true to history, Fahdlan meets the Vikings

along the Volga River, so it can be inferred that they are the Rus Vikings of the East traveling south for trade or slavery. Some of the early scenes in the film draw pretty heavily on Ibn Fahdlan’s travels, including one of the known instances of human sacrifice done by the Vikings. When he first enters the Vikings’ camp, he witnesses a woman, likely on significant amounts of drugs, offering herself to be burned along with the recently deceased Viking chieftain. This funerary ritual is mentioned in Fahdlan’s Risala. In Robert Ferguson’s book “The Vikings: A History”, in the same passage that mentions the funeral, there is described Fahdlan’s struggle with admiration of the Rus’ physical form, and disgust of their supposed lack of hygiene. (Ferguson, Kindle Location 4413) In the film, there is a scene in which the Vikings in the Volga camp are taking turns washing their faces, blowing their noses, and rinsing their mouths out in a water basin, which is then offered to Fahdlan. The occurrence in the film could provide the viewer with an example of the Vikings’ lack of hygiene as observed by Fahdlan. Also in the Risala, Fahdlan mentions a sort of wisewoman who has shaman-like powers for the group of Vikings he met along the Volga. She is present in the film, as well, though the screenwriters use her as a plot device to declare that 13 warriors must go, and the 13th must not be a Northman, naturally volunteering Fahdlan against his will.
As previously mentioned, the film draws somewhat on Beowulf.

The leader of the 13 warriors is named Buliwyf (Beowulf), and he is played by Vladimir Kulich, who later played Leif in the History Channel “Vikings” program, and could certainly be typecast as a stereotypical Viking hero. The monstrous enemy faction is called the Wendol – a name much like Beowulf’s troll-like adversary Grendel. The King who enlists the warriors is named Hrothgar, which is also the name of the King that Beowulf assists in his legend. Buliwyf even fights the Wendol’s matriarch and beheads her, just as Beowulf did to Grendel’s mother, though the outcome is slightly different and Buliwyf gets dealt a fatal poison blow. Clearly, there are parallels between the film’s plot and the plot of

Beowulf.
The costume department certainly should have done better research. Much of the garb was anachronistic or otherwise historically inaccurate. One of the characters wore a helmet that looked like it came straight from Imperial Rome or the “Spartacus” series on the Starz channel. Another character wore a helmet that would fit right in during Cortez’s conquest of the Aztecs. There was also a Celt among the 13 warriors, complete with a kilt, which hadn’t been invented yet and wouldn’t be invented for another 600-700 years. Associating kilts with Vikings is an error not to be taken lightly, and should probably be a pet peeve of any medieval historian – they are, in my opinion, almost as bad as the stereotypical horned helmets. (Larsen)
As far as weaponry goes, there is a scene in particular where, after Ibn Fahdlan is ridiculed for being unable to lift the sword he is given, goes to the armorer and files it down to an Arabian Scimitar. Even if Fahdlan had metalworking ability of that degree, it likely wouldn’t be possible to alter the weapon in such a way without seriously compromising its integrity or durability. Still, if one looks past that particular offense, it leads to an entertaining sequence in which Fahdlan shows off to the hulking Vikings that the swords of his people are also effective even though they are the size of a knife (according to one of the warriors).
There are a few uses of poetic kennings in the film. Buliwyf asks Fahdlan if he can “draw sounds” (or write). Fahdlan, who in reality was sent as a religious emissary, writes in the sand that “there is only one god, and Muhammad is his prophet”, seemingly in a failed, yet humorous attempt to open a conversion dialogue with Buliwyf. The people in the village also refer to the Wendol’s line of torch-wielding men as a “Fire Worm”. Fahdlan, likely not being versed in the use of kennings, thinks they are talking about a dragon. Of course, a dragon is one of Beowulf’s final adversaries, so perhaps the screenwriter wanted to mislead the audience into thinking there would be a dragon. The leader of the Wendol, and the head of the Fire Worm is Buliwyf’s last kill before he dies, so perhaps that is where the parallel lies.
There is a Viking duel towards the middle of the film. Known as “holmgang”, Vikings would challenge each other to fights to the death in order to settle a dispute. In the case of the film, the character Herger the Joyous (arguably the deuteragonist or tritagonist) challenges and kills a much younger warrior from the village in order to make a statement to the arrogant son of Hrothgar, whose character is remarkably underdeveloped. Traditionally, accompanying the duel would be a weregild, or man-price, which would be paid to the associates of the losing side to financially recoup the loss of the man felled in battle. Herger, after beheading his opponent, throws the prince a bag of coins to pay for the death. (Holmgang and Einvigi)
It’s certainly an action film with elements of horror. In the beginning, there is a sense of unease as the viewer is unsure if the antagonist will be man, beast, or a combination of the two. The atmosphere is cold, and the scene where the warriors are trying to find land through the mist makes the unknown shores to which they travel that much more mysterious. It could be a metaphor for Fahdlan’s entire journey – traveling blind to the unknown, lacking the ability to speak the Norse language (until an unrealistic, but still poignant montage where he learns Norse by listening in).
Since the viewer sees through the eyes of Ibn Fahdlan, the Vikings are portrayed as a foreign, unfamiliar force.

Scenes like Buliwyf’s introduction, in which, during the funeral party, he quickly dispatches an attempted assassin and moments later, the party resumes as if nothing had happened serve to highlight the Vikings’ brutality – a brutality, judging by Fahdlan’s amazement, unlike any he had encountered previously. Other presumably normal events in Scandinavian culture leave Fahdlan in either exasperation or surprise. When he witnesses the holmgang, he tries to stop it, and goes so far as to call it “madness”. He is introduced to mead, which he initially declines due to his Muslim faith, until he finds out it is based on honey, not wheat. This leads to another humorous moment when the Fahdlan and the Vikings are fortifying the village in preparation for the Wendol’s attack – he is offered a refreshment from a village girl, and questions if it’s mead, showing his naivety in belief that the Vikings would drink mead during laborious affairs rather than

water.
Whether for dramatic purpose, or to serve as a metaphor for the actual historical relationship between Muslims and Vikings, the Vikings and Fahdlan seem to learn from each other and overcome misconceptions about each other’s culture. Fahdlan acquires a minor injury during the Wendol’s first attack on the meadhall, and the woman that treats it uses an ointment made of cow urine, which he initially dismisses as a ridiculous primitive remedy until she describes what will happen if he does not let her treat him. Then there is a scene where they make fun of his horse, and he uses his skill at riding to showcase how nimble the smaller Arabic horses can be. Of course, that is used to dramatic effect later when he has to save a small child from the Fire Worm.
The architecture in this film is also intriguing – the village ruled over by Hrothgar is on the crown of a hill - an easily defensible position. There is a meadhall at the center of the town, and farms in the surrounding area. Though one character refers to a farm in a “glen” a distance away from the village. I thought the term “glen” was mostly used to refer to Scottish locales. The buildings used by the Vikings were a stark contrast to the Caliph’s palace seen at the beginning of the film – highlighting the fact that the Arabs were very advanced at the time period. This fact also helps the viewer understand Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan’s arrogant attitude – the settlements seen of the Vikings in the film are significantly meeker than the giant palace belonging to the Arabs.
Though through all of its inaccuracies, it’s still an enjoyable film. The soundtrack is appropriately composed, highlights dramatic moments, and compliments the atmosphere when it needs to be tense. The acting is quality, as is the dialogue, and there is even a short-lived role by Omar Sharif of “Lawrence of Arabia” fame. Arguably the most dramatic scene in the film is at the end when the Vikings say their pre-final-battle prayer calling to their ancestors in Valhalla, and Ibn Fahdlan completes the prayer, showing that he has come to respect the culture. His character arc is complete at that moment, and he is now the 13th warrior.
The Vikings in the film are not romanticized – they are initially portrayed as dirty and savage as per the scenes with Buliwyf’s attempted assassin and the wash basin ritual. Over the course of the film, however, their seemingly unsophisticated ways are explained and turn out to be quite utilitarian and functional, even if they are still mildly uncivilized by Ibn Fahdlan’s standards.
Of course, it is highly unlikely that there is some lost manuscript from Ibn Fahdlan that he traveled with a Beowulf-like hero to slay a Grendel-like beast, but it still makes for entertaining fiction. The film’s target audience is clearly not medieval historians since it is pretty historically inaccurate or anachronistic except for some elements borrowed from Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan’s Risala and some parts of the culture (such as the holmgang). Still, if one is a history fanatic, and able to overlook some inaccuracies in favor of artistic license or lack of funding, the film is worth watching. Though it could certainly be frustrating if individuals took the content of the film as historically accurate. It has its share of epic moments, as well as quiet contemplative ones, and could entertain many comers for its duration.