Vikings

Vikings are big brawny guys with bushy beards and big clubs who ride around in boats with groovy looking dragons carved on the maidenheads. A seafaring culture, Vikings hailed from Scandinavian stock and were prominent in central Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries.

On the HBO television series True Blood, a dominant vampire figure living in Louisiana named Eric Northman was of Viking stock and was originally born in Sweden more than a thousand years ago. Sometime in the 9th century, a vampire named Russell Edgington attacked Eric's home and murdered his father, the chieftain, Ulfrik, as well as the rest of his family. Before dying, Ulfrik made Eric swear to avenge him.