Vicke Viking is a series of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

by Swedish author Runer Jonsson, first published in 1963. The series, set in the

Viking era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, was inspired by the

Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

and the Swedish novel ''

The Long Ships ''The Long Ships'' or ''Red Orm'' (original Swedish: ''Röde Orm'' meaning ''Red Serpent'' or ''Red Snake'') is an adventure novel by the Swedish writer Frans G. Bengtsson. The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the adventu ...

''. They were originally illustrated by Ewert Karlsson. The books have been widely translated, with the German version being particularly successful. An animated television series, ''

Vicky the Viking ''Vicky the Viking'', known as ''Wickie und die starken Männer'' () in Germany and Austria and in Japan, is an animated television series which tells the adventures of Vicky, a young Viking boy who uses his wits to help his Viking fellows. It ...

'', and two films have been based on the series.

Plot overview

The books' main character is Vicke (''Vicky'' in English, ''Wickie'' in Dutch and German), son of Halvar, chief of the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

village of Flake. Unlike his village fellows – including most of the other boys of his age – Vicke is blessed with a sharp and imaginative mind which helps him and his fellow Vikings out of many tight situations.

Characters

*Vicke, the series' titular character, a boy of about 10 years of age. He is very timid and has a special fear of wolves, but his brains eventually help him solve any problem he's confronted with. *Halvar, Vicke's father and chief of Flake. A rather boastful character who prefers to solve problems with brawn, but who eventually learns to listen to and value Vicke's ideas. *Tjure and Snorre, two Vikings in Halvar's crew who constantly quarrel about anything despite (or maybe because of) the fact that they really care deeply about each other. *Urobe, the oldest Viking in Halvar's crew. While he is rather old and not as imaginative as Vicke, he is quite knowledgeable in sagas and legend lore, and he is respected as a fair judge and mediator. *Faxe is the biggest and strongest, but also the slowest, of Flake's Vikings. He enjoys a close big-brother relationship with Vicke. *Gorm, a rather over-excited fellow among the Flake Vikings who occupies the position of the lookout on Halvar's ship. *Ulme, a rather neat person who considers himself a poetic soul and even carries a harp to play on joyous occasions. *Ylva, Vicke's mother, who is far more supportive of her son's intelligence than his father is. *Ylvie, a young girl in Flake who is Vicke's neighbour and most ardent supporter. In the German movie adaptation this adoration is portrayed as a childhood crush. *Gilby, the strongest boy in Flake and Vicke's prime rival, though intellectually he is clearly Vicke's inferior. *Sven the Terrible, a vicious Viking pirate who does not hesitate robbing even his fellow Vikings of their hard-earned plunder. *Pokka, Sven's devious second-in-command.

Books

*''Vicke Viking'' (1963) *''Vicke Viking lurar de rödögda'' (1965) *''Vicke Viking Hederskung'' (1966) *''Vicke Viking i Vinland'' (1967) *''Vicke Viking hos burduserna'' (1969) *''Vicke Viking störtar tyrannerna'' (1975) *''Vicke tar över'' (1994)

Other media

*There is a Japanese animated cartoon based on the story called ''

'', which enjoyed a tremendous success in the European children TV networks. A video game, ''Vicky the Viking: The Big Trial'', was based on the cartoon. A ride at the Plopsa Coo

Studio 100 Studio 100 is a Belgian production company with four television channels, four animation studios and 8 theme parks around the world. The headquarters of the group is based in Schelle, with offices in Breda, Munich, Paris, New York, Sydney and Lo ...

theme park in Liège reflects the show's popularity in Belgium.Vicky the Ride, Coasterforce
Retrieved 11 March 2015 *A German live-action movie adaptation of the stories by

Michael Herbig Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, titled ''

'' was released in summer 2009. A sequel to that adaptation was released in 2011 as ''

Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods ''Vicky and the Treasure of the Gods'' (german: Wickie auf großer Fahrt) is a 2011 German 3D adventure film directed by Christian Ditter. It is the sequel to the 2009 film ''Vicky the Viking''. Plot During a raid on an English encampment by t ...

''.

References

{{reflist Swedish children's literature Series of children's books Children's historical novels Novels set in the Viking Age Fictional Vikings Literary characters introduced in 1963 1963 children's books Male characters in literature Child characters in literature Swedish novels adapted into television shows Works based on sagas 1963 Swedish novels ja:小さなバイキング