I’ve gotten into History’s “Vikings” series lately. It weaves together the stories of Ragnar Lodbrok and the Viking excursions of the dark ages. It’s held together with a particularly strong performance by Travis Fimmel, who portrays Ragnar.

I screenshot the village scene above because it was so beautiful. It’s from a Yule celebration wherein the entire village of Kattegat has turned out. I describe this as beautiful because it is. Look at it.

This is what most of human experience has been. Village life. It feels strange and foreign, but it also feels so familiar.

Imagine waking up and knowing everyone in the village. Knowing more or less every thing in the village. Knowing the king or earl. Fighting and farming and hunting and living and dying together.