Viking Vs Samurai?!?

If a Buddha statue can be found in a Swedish Vendel Era grave, the implications for even further East-West travel becomes an open question. Field archaeologist Cat Jarman explores this expansive thought in her recent book River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads (2021 CE, which is in our TBR pile). So if a late-period Norse trader/raider went East on the Silk Road to Beijing & then further, or say an early-period ronin/diplomat Samurai went West into China or further on those same roads, or maybe an intrepid Viking raiding ship made an arctic passage down to Japan, then just maybe this cross-cultural Viking vs. Samurai duel from Deadliest Warrior might've actually gone down:

Watch the duel here:

            

[(wellllll, the video got deleted since I first posted this. If you find it reposted up somewhere, do let us know.) Episode aired April 14th, 2009 CE]

I was impressed with the efficacy of chainmail versus the much-vaunted katana, compared to the Viking sword easily cutting through the 2" x 4". While the computer simulated best-of-1,000-battles came up with the dramatized result, I have to question the action/reaction order of events in the encounter, especially not using one's shield when being shot at by a bow (or even attempting to dodge!), plus the choice of a Dane axe omitting the additional use of a regular axe that might've been thrown before closing in. The lack of the Viking's leg protection's a real attested issue though. Just ask Onund Treefoot from Grettir's Saga:

[Despite his distinctive descriptive name, Onund was a bad arse!]

Give the episode a watch and comment what you thought below, NorsePlayers!

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.