[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#3594) viking.ruleset

["esr@xxxxxxxxxxx" <esr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Arnstein Lindgard <arnstein.lindgard@xxxxxxx>:
>   The ideal flag, I think, would be a simple iconified horned helmet,
> as portrayed on the American-authored comic strip Hagar the Horrible,
> or whatever they call H�rek den Harbalne in English. Archeologists
> tell us that vikings never actually wore helmets, but who cares as
> long as this symbol has a strong grip on peoples minds everywhere? I
> won't be the artist, I just have an opinion as a Norwegian.

May I suggest an alternative?  A black raven on a white background.
For those with even a little knowledge of period history it will
be quite evocative, it is nearly as recognizable as the horned helmet,
and it is not a historical error.  

See http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-raven.html:

 "... in every battle wherever the flag went before them, if they were
to gain the victory a live raven would appear flying in the middle of
the flag, but if they were doomed to be defeated it would hang down
motionless..."

> I always thought the greatest viking achievement was to conquer and
> rule large portions of Britannia. That was done by a dane, Knud den
> Store, who's in the Danish ruleset. In a historical Viking ruleset, he
> could/should be referred to as Canute, I believe.

No.  Knud or Knut.  Good practice is to use native spellings, not
Anglicized ones.

> I also think Kaupang should be the default capital. Oslo is just a
> Norwegian city. Both because Kaupang sounds the most oldish, even in
> Norwegian, and because Kaupang AFAIK is the biggest excavation site.

I agree.
-- 
                <a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/";>Eric S. Raymond</a>