“Vikings” is a term that defines a profession, similar to those who call themselves farmers, merchants, etc. Those who were called “Vikings” were from Scandinavia. Vikings could easily be compared to pirates, but they didn’t limit themselves to just attacking ships. They plundered and raided Europe in the 8th to 10th centuries, seeking wealth, power or revenge, similar to the characters represented in TV shows and movies.
RELATED:11 Movies Like ‘The Northman’ To Watch Next For More Dark Revenge Stories
From Ragnar Lodbrok fromVikings(2013 - 2020) to Harald Hardrada (or Harald Sigurdsson) fromVikings: Valhalla(2022 -), some TV shows depict authentic figures from history, while other shows only base their characters on a combination of real historical figures. Though some of these Vikings from both movies and TV shows demonstrated their clever planning, impeccable strength, and brilliance, where their enemies didn’t stand a chance at conquering them in battle.
Freydís Eiríksdóttír - ‘Vikings: Valhalla’
InVikings: Valhalla,Frida Gustavssonplayed Freydís Eiríksdóttír, Leif’s sister. When viewers first met her, Freydís’s only motive was to seek revenge on the Christian man who assaulted her and branded her with a cross on her back. During the Vikings' feast, she slit the throat of her guilty man at the Vikings' feast but was soon met with consequences that forced her brother to join the Vikings in the battle for England.
To figure out her destiny, Freydís and her pilgrimage traveled to Uppsala before it was burned to the ground by Jarl Kåre (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen). While attacked by one of Jarl’s men, she escaped free by choking him with a string. From then on, Frida trained her sword-fighting skills to defend Kattegat from Jarl Kåre and his men who vowed to convert the rest of the people to Christianity. Fans will see whetherFreydís will continue to be a skilled fighter showing no remorse for her enemies in season 2 ofVikings: Valhalla. Vikings: Valhallais currently streaming on Netflix.
Harald Sigurdsson - ‘Vikings: Valhalla’
Harald Sigurdsson or Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter) first appeared inVikings: Valhallaas a Viking, and the Prince of Norway, who desired peace among the Christians and the Non-Christian believers. His older half-brother, Olaf Haraldsson (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), refused to accept that Leif and his crew (who identified as Pagans) could be trusted. More importantly, Olaf refused to believe that they could fight on the same side.
Harald was a natural leader who was respected among the Vikings. The other Vikings trusted him when Harald decided to have Leif lead one of the ships to England. He accompanied Leif on missions including scouting out the territory within the marshes. Besides being a natural leader and skilled warrior, he was seen as an adept spy. When trying to gather intel on what Olaf was planning, he pledged his allegiance to his army, but still smuggled key information to Leif during one of their meetings. Unfortunately, some of Olaf’s men questioned Harald’s loyalty, and Harald couldn’t stop theattack on Kattegat that concluded season 1 ofVikings: Valhalla.
Leif Erikson - ‘Vikings: Valhalla’
Sam Corlettplayed Leif Erikson in the Netflix original series,Vikings: Valhalla(2022-). Immediately from the beginning of the series, viewers were introduced to Leif and his crew as they navigate through a massive storm and docked his ship in Kattegat, Norway among the Vikings. His authority and credibility were often dismissed by Vikings, yet a few saw his potential and convinced him to join the Vikings in their battle for London, England.
RELATED:‘Vikings: Valhalla’ Revives The Violent Glory Of The Original Series With Added Religious Nuance | Review
While reluctant at first, “The Greenlander” had no choice but to agree to the terms if he didn’t want his sister, Freydís, killed. Leif led a crew of Vikings and Greenlanders and was the first ship to arrive in England. Yet his navigational abilities were just as impressive as his strategic ideas. He demonstrated his strategic ideas by suggesting that the Vikings should weaken London’s Bridge to trap the King and his army. By trapping them, the Vikings had a stronger advantage of winning the battle. This became a turning point as the Vikings finally accepted Leif as one of their own.
Uhtred - ‘The Last Kingdom’
An heir to the throne in England, (Northumbrian lands of Bebbanburg), Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) was raised as a fighter when he was 12 years old. After his father’s death, he was raised by the Vikings until his new guardian, Earl Ragnar, was killed. Often mistrusted by individuals, villagers saw Uhtred as either a Saxon or a Dane.
Uhtred used this to his advantage, but he also introduced himself by a different name to hide his identity from the enemies. Throughout the five seasons ofThe Last Kingdom(2015 - 2022), Uhtred fought to claim his birthright to his land but was committed to upholding his oaths, making him a worthy fighter to team up with.The Last Kingdomis currently on Netflix, and there is an upcoming film titledSeven Kings Must Diethat could focus on one of the King’s sons fromThe Last Kingdom’sseason five.
Amleth - ‘The Northman’
Seeing the death of a father or father figure is a common theme across Vikings movies and TV series, andThe Northman(2022)is no exception. Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) last saw his father as his uncle slit his throat. As the young Amleth escapes the scene of his father’s death, it kicks off his path or hero’s journey to find out what his destiny is.The Northman’sstoryline can be compared to the narrative of the classic 1994 film,The Lion King.
While several years passed since Amleth left, in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn’t move on and let his uncle get away with murder. This reason became the driving force or goal for Amleth. He wasn’t the hero that wanted to negotiate or worried about the faith of other people. Yet he knew that in order to get close enough to kill his uncle, he needed to blend in with the Slavs that were traveling by ship.The Northmanis exclusively in theaters.
Björn Lothbrok - ‘Vikings’
BeforeVikings: Valhalla,Vikingsrose to the ranks in popularity on the History Channelwith its ruthless characters and the sieges across Western Europe. Björn Lothbrok or Brok Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) was the son of Ragnar Lothbrok. Even though he was pressured to live up to his father’s reputation, Björn made a name for himself and proved to everyone that he was just as worthy of a warrior as his father was.
RELATED:Every ‘Vikings’ Season Ranked (By The Power Of Odin!)
He remained loyal to his father and assisted him in sieges. Yet one of the impressive traits that make Björn a skillful warrior was that he could survive in the worse conditions alone. When he was trekking through the brutal weather conditions, his enemy was wildlife. Rather than forgetting about the bear that freed itself from his traps, Björn hunted it down and killed it with the minimal equipment that was available to him.Vikingsis currently available on Hulu, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.
Ragnar Lothbrok - ‘Vikings’
One of the main protagonists of the TV seriesVikingwas Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel). Viewers were first introduced to Ragnar as a fighter who doesn’t seem to worry about enemies that may be stronger than he. He’s proud of being a Viking and devoted to this faith.
Ragnar was unpredictable and didn’t hold back when it came to combat. However, there were moments when his calculated plans appeared as defeats, but that was exactly what Ragnar intended for the situation to look like. For instance, in the attack on Paris, Ragnar faked his death and he laid inside a coffin that was carried by his men into the cathedral. Similar to how the Greeks hid inside a Trojan Horse and attacked once they entered Troy in 1184 BC, Ragnar emerged from the coffin and attacked those inside the cathedral. Ragnar attacked Paris from the inside and weakened the forces of Paris' army before the other Vikings entered.
NEXT:7 Shows Like ‘Viking’ To Watch Next For More Stories Of Kingdoms And Conquests
