Vikings in Iberia
The first incursion of the Vikings in Iberia has been characterised as 'probably the most significant episode of the whole period of Viking activity in the South'. It is mentioned in "Annales Bertiniani", and dated August 844, when a group from a plundering expedition entered the Garonne and reached Galicia. Despite storm damage, some proceeded to South-West Spain. This account is consistent with several later, but independent sources in Latin and Arabic. In particular, the late ninth- or early tenth-century "Chronicle of Alfonso III" adds that after plundering a number of coastal villages they were ultimately repulsed in the vicinity of "Farum Brecantium" (i.e. the Tower of Hercules). Ramiro I of Asturias gathered troops in Galicia and Asturia for the counter-attack. After the Asturian victory, the Vikings continued their voyage in direction of Lisbon. While some authors consider that the reliability of this chronicle is open to doubt, others consider that other local chronicles confirm the arrival of the Norsemen.
Vikings
Led by the operas of German composer Richard Wagner, such as "Der Ring des Nibelungen", Vikings and the Romanticist Viking Revival have inspired many creative works. These have included novels directly based on historical events, such as Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's "The Long Ships" (which was also released as a 1963 film), and historical fantasies such as the film "The Vikings", Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead" (movie version called "The 13th Warrior"), and the comedy film "Erik the Viking". The vampire Eric Northman, in the HBO TV series "True Blood", was a Viking prince before being turned into a vampire. Vikings appear in several books by the Danish American writer Poul Anderson, while British explorer, historian, and writer Tim Severin authored a trilogy of novels in 2005 about a young Viking adventurer Thorgils Leifsson, who travels around the world.