Asterix and the Normans

Asterix and the Normans (French original title: Astérix et les Normands ) is the ninth volume in the Asterix series. The drawings are by Albert Uderzo , the text by René Goscinny . In this adventure, the heroes Asterix and Obelix face an invasion of Normans ( Vikings ) who have come to Gaul to discover the secret of fear . The comic was the inspiration for the 2006 released animated film Asterix and the Vikings and published for the 2012 live-action Asterix and Obelix - On behalf of Her Majesty , in which elements of Asterix in Britain occur.

action

Majestix, the chief of the small Gallic village where the heroes of the Asterix stories live, receives a letter from his brother Ozeanix in Lutetia ( Paris ). He wants to send his son Grautvornix to the village to toughen up. No sooner has Majestix read the message than Grautvornix appears in a sports car from Mediolanum ( Milan ). Even at this first appearance he is loudmouthed and snooty. Asterix tries to win him over to the villagers by organizing a ball in his honor, but this leads to Grautvornix giving those involved an introduction to beat music . As a result, the bard Troubadix feels stimulated to sing, which ends the festival abruptly, which Grautvornix is enthusiastic about and says that he would be successful in Lutetia.

Now a second storyline begins: The Normans live far in the north, who are known to have no fear and therefore cannot cure the hiccups. The chief Olaf Maulaf is dissatisfied with this state of affairs, because he interprets the saying fear gives wings to the fact that frightened people can actually fly like birds. He would like this ability for his people as well. So starts an expedition to Gaul to learn how to fear. The Normans' ship appears on the horizon as Asterix and Obelix are on the beach with Grautvornix. He reacts in a panic, while the villagers remain unmoved. The admission of his fear is overheard by a Norman scout named Dompfaf, whereupon the Normans decide to use precisely this "world champion" in being afraid for their own purposes. When Grautvornix managed to get home early at Majestix, Obelix gave him a menhir as a souvenir. His car promptly breaks under this load and the Normans can take him prisoner.

A little later, Asterix and Obelix find the abandoned car in the forest and report their observation to Majestix. He sends them to the Norman camp, where a fight ensues. The Normans do not have a magic drink, but they fortify themselves with their national drink Calva and are therefore quite resilient. A Roman patrol, who noticed the fight, initially withdrew carefully to their camp. When a newcomer tells the commandant that there is fighting on the beach, he sends the patrol back. The Romans are now being beaten up by both the Gauls and the Normans, which finally calls to Olaf Maulaf, who is eating his wild boar à la crème in the tent. He explains to Asterix and Obelix the purpose for which he had Grautvornix kidnapped. Asterix agrees to remain hostage with the Normans until Obelix has brought something that will definitely frighten the Normans.

Maulaf agrees, and Obelix sets off to bring Troubadix to the Norman camp. But Troubadix, encouraged by Grautvornix 'praise, made his way to Lutetia to start a great career there. Obelix can easily follow his trail because his chants have wreaked panic and havoc everywhere. Finally, he catches up with the bard and can persuade him to return to Grautvornix's rescue.

However, this has cost so much time that the Normans have become impatient. Grautvornix is already standing on the edge of the cliff and receiving flight instructions when he finally understands that he only needs to scare the Normans in order to get free. But his attempts to scare them with grimaces only trigger laughter. The moment they want to push him off the cliff, Asterix frees himself from his bonds and attacks the Normans. At that moment, Obelix and Troubadix also arrive. Grautvornix suddenly draws courage and takes part in the fight - but the Normans did not come to fight. They interrupt the fight to finally be instructed in the art of being afraid. So Troubadix comes to his performance in front of the Normans - he has been persuaded that they have come to hear old Gaulish songs - and is looking forward to his One Man Show. Indeed, through his singing, he succeeds in triggering all the symptoms of fear in the Normans. Believing that they can now fly, they throw themselves from the cliff into the sea, flapping their arms wildly, and swim to their ship. There the lookout Ganzbaf is supposed to give a flight demonstration later, but simply falls from the masthead onto the deck. The Normans refrain from going back to Gaul to check if they have been tricked and set out on their way home. On the way they manage to tame the newly learned fear, which the pirates who get in their way on the sea are the first to feel.

The departure of the Normans and Grautvornix's courage are celebrated in the village with a banquet.

Remarks

References within the series

With the Normans, another Germanic people appears for the first time in the Asterix comics, after previously only generally "Germanic" (tribes close to the border) and the Goths appeared. The marcomanni are added later .

As is well known, Obelix's dog Idefix loves trees more than anything and starts to howl every time a specimen is uprooted. Obelix pays little attention to this in this volume and tears or kicks two trees. Idefix has another appearance in this volume when Obelix puts him on the trail of the missing Troubadix. However, since he has only been trained on menhirs, Idefix leads his master to the quarry instead of the road to Lutetia.

As a rule, the bard Troubadix is gagged and tied up to hold the final banquet. This time there is a role reversal. Troubadix is allowed to celebrate and his archenemy Automatix, who otherwise usually prevents his singing, hangs tied up and with parsley bouquets in his ears on a branch.

Modern covers

The depiction of the landing of the Normans on the Gallic coast is reminiscent of recordings of the landing in Normandy on D-Day during the Second World War . They prefer to drink calva, which apparently means calvados , from the skulls of their victims. When Grautvornix is to be moored on the beach, Maulaf orders that “beautiful Norman holes” be digged in the sand. He is quoting the French phrase “faire le trou normand” for the custom of drinking a calvados between courses of a sumptuous meal. In addition to calvados, another food habit of French Normandy is jokingly treated, namely the preparation of dishes à la crème.

Rohrpostix, the postman, carries the messages carved in stone like a modern postman in his shoulder bag and also wears a kind of postal uniform.

Grautvornix wears a kind of blue jeans and introduces the villagers to the zeitgeist of the youth of the 1960s. His sports car is an allusion to the Italian auto industry based in Milan and the sometimes dubious quality of some products. The red paint is no coincidence. Troubadix he gives hope for a career at the Olympix in Lutetia, a reference to the Olympia Hall .

In the Roman camp a report carved in marble is drawn up in triplicate about every action, an allusion to the great administrative effort in many institutions.

Anachronisms

An anachronism is a traffic sign that indicates the unevenness of the road to Lutetia ( Paris ).

Historical background

Maulaf declares that he did not come to conquer Gaul; his descendants would do this. This alludes to the medieval raids of the Vikings up to the founding of Normandy by Rollo , perhaps also to the English King Edward III. and the Hundred Years War between England and France in the 14th century.

The portrayal of the Normans corresponds to common ideas of Vikings , for example through the well-known horned helmets, but has little to do with the actual appearance. Actual wore warrior Viking times Spangen- and goggles helmets , more affluent people also had chain mail .

When the Normans are introduced, Thor is referred to as "the god of war, who only pleases arson and murder". This does not correspond to the nature of the god, who was worshiped especially by the rural population of Scandinavia as a storm god and protector of the people of the giants. Rather, it is the god Odin , who was considered the god of war and was worshiped above all by warriors, although this is only one of his many aspects, mainly Odin is the god of magic and wisdom.

publication

This comic was first printed in booklets 340–361 of the Pilote in 1966, first appeared as a book in 1967 by Dargaud and represented the ninth volume in the series. New editions of the French original edition have been published by Hachette since 1999. The German-language book edition was first published by Ehapa in 1971 ; previously, Asterix was published by the Normans in issues 9-16 of MV Comix in 1968. In 2002 the band got a new cover picture.

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