History Characters / VikingsNorsemen

* AmbiguousDisorder: He definitely has ''some'' sort of undiagnosed mental illness -- on some level he's aware of it, at one point fearing that any children he fathers will be like him.

* AnAxeToGrind: His WeaponOfChoice.

* WeaponOfChoice: His modified Frankish crossbow, using a bird skull as a viewfinder.

->'''Played By:''' [[Wrestling/{{Edge}} Adam Copeland]]

* KnifeNut: Wields a dagger to lethal effective alongside his axe in battle. He upgrades to a sword after he gets married.

* AxCrazy: More so than his brother, who also invokes this trope. In the first river battle, they smile and giggle as they hide under their sheild while Frankish arrows rain down on them. [[spoiler: When Ellisif firmly rejects Harald]], Halfdan pulls a knife and later tells Harald they should kill her.
** [[spoiler: When he kills Ellisif to save his brother, he has a psychotic SlasherSmile on his face while his brother is left speechless]].

* HiddenDepths: In Season 5, he splits away from Harald to travel with Bjorn to the Mediterranean. He explains his reasoning in surprisingly self-aware and philosophical terms when Bjorn asks about why he would leave Harald when they had been completely inseparable before.
** Later when Bjorn opens up about his insecurity regarding Torvi, Halfdan shows again to be much more thoughtful than he appears.

* MemeticHair: With that hair, Halfdan look like he is going to drop the darkest album of the Dark Ages.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Halfdan ''the black''! (On the other hand, "halvdan" means something like "half-done"/"mediocre" in Swedish.)

[[folder:Harald Finehair]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vikings_season4_cast_harald.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Peter Franzén


->''"I decided that I had to make myself worthy of her by becoming king of all of Norway! Then she would marry me for sure!"''

An ambitious petty king who wishes to swallow up all of Norway, which means he will have to annex Kattegat.

* AbductionIsLove: [[spoiler: Towards Astrid]].
* ActorAllusion: This is not the first time Peter Franzén played a Viking that was a good friend to a Skarsgård. He previously appeared as [[Series/TrueBlood Eric Northman]]'s fellow Viking and trusted friend.
** More importantly he played the older brother of Jasper Pääkkönen in ''The Lionheart'', where they both played heavily tattooed racists.
* AgeLift: Harald Fairhair's date of birth was circa 850. Historically, he would have been fifteen when Ragnar was executed and seventeen when Aella died two years later. The portrayal in the show is that of an older man.
* AxCrazy: More so than his brother, who also invokes this trope. In the first river battle, they smile and giggle as they hide under their shield while Frankish arrows rain down on them.
* AffablyEvil: Harald smiles and is friendly to new people he meets and appears to be good with kids. On the other hand, he's also a sadistic warlord who rapes and kills Christians.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Has toppled multiple kingdoms on his path to become king of all of Norway.
* AntiVillain: His goal is to unify Norway, which like England at the time, is just a collection of kingdoms with each being the bitter rival of the next.
* BadassBoast: See quote at the top.
* BadassCape: Often sporting a cape fit for a king, contrasting the more modest Ragnar.
* BashBrothers: With Halfdan. Perhaps best illustrated when they're sheltering from a hail of arrows behind a shield wall, yet still take a moment to grin gleefully at each other like a pair of little boys in the middle of a game having the time of their lives.
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler: With Halfdan after he choses to side with Bjorn]].
* ClothesMakeTheLegend: Usually dresses in red, which makes him stand out from the other Vikings. This is TruthInTelevision as Norsemen, and especially their chiefs and kings, dressed very extravagantly.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In season 4A he is the TokenEvilTeammate, but from season 4B onwards his more unsavory aspects are toned down and he comes off as a very flawed but likable character. It certainly helps that [[YMMV some viewers might find it hard]] to buy into the [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality]] of the later season were Harald is seemingly doing the same thing everybody else is doing. Which can make it jarring for some viewers when [[spoiler: Harald rapes Ingrid]] in season 6A even tho he did things like that in season 4A.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Played with. Harald forms and breaks alliances on a regular basis but he does so openly and will not actually backstab a current ally. If he is your ally, you can trust him to have your back. However, once the goal of the alliance has been achieved, Harald will not hesitate to form a new alliance with his former enemies to attack his former allies.
* CoolCrown: Rocks a crown made out of gold and shark teeth.
* CradlingYourKill: [[spoiler: After he kills Halfdan]].
* DecompositeCharacter: "The Life of Gruffudd ap Cynan", one of many pieces of work that attempts to give some origins to the historical Rollo, portrayed him as the brother of Harald. Here Harald is unrelated to Rollo and Ragnar Lothbrok takes the role of Rollo's brother.
* [[DevilInPlainSight Villain In Plain Sight]]: Aslaug [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] that his plans would involve conquering Ragnar’s lands.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He loves his brother and his princess. [[spoiler: Too bad it's a one-sided romance]].
** He seems to have become genuinely protective of [[spoiler: Astrid,]] particularly now that [[spoiler: she's pregnant.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: When Ivar attempts [[spoiler: to have Bjorn killed during the parlay]], Harald steps down and declares it to be against their ways.
* ExactWords: Harald assures Bjorn that he would never fight against Ragnar. [[spoiler: As soon as Ragnar is dead, he moves to overthrow his family.]]
* FriendToAllChildren: He's shown to get along with the Ragnarssons quite easily when he first meets them as children.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: What he intends to accomplish.
* TheFundamentalist: The kind that sets fire to Christians for fun.
* TheGoodKing: He does seem to be well-liked by his people and when [[spoiler: Olaf takes over his kingdom]] he points out he will never be able to make himself a popular ruler.
* GreenEyedMonster: First with earl Vik when he finds out Ellisif married him instead. Later [[spoiler: when both Ellisif and Astrid are dead, he get's interested in Gunnhild, but Bjorn gets togheter with her when she becomes avalible and Harald is obviously not pleased]].
* HatesBeingAlone: His primary driving force besides his ambition.
* HeroicLineage: He is descended from the Ynglings and by extension a decendant of Freyr.
** Through arguably, it's a [[InvertedTrope villainous lineage]]. YMMV on Freyr, but Harald decended from [[NobleFugitive Olof Wood-Carver]], the son of [[TheCaligula Ingjald]] [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Ill-Ruler]]. To put a long saga short: he was the kind of guy who [[FounderOfTheKingdom made himself king of all the Swedes]] by [[NastyParty getting the other kings drunk]] and [[KillItWithFire burning down the hall they where in]]. One story even had him rape Ragnar Lothbrok's grandmother. And from what we have seen, Harald reproaches his forefather...
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Since his appearence, Harald has been on every Viking-faction [[spoiler: except Lagertha's, but not for lack of trying]].
* HiddenDepths: In Season 5, he is on the verge of breaking into tears when Halfdan leaves to join Bjorn on another adventure. Later, he is also barely able to hold back his tears when [[spoiler: Astrid says "yes" during their wedding ceremony]]. Both their [[spoiler:subsequent deaths, the earlier at his hand, in battle haunts him]].
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The semi-historical first king of Norway.
* HopelessSuitor: He was rejected by princess Ellisif for not being important enough. [[spoiler: It turns out she was just not interested and Harald got the idea to conquer Norway and has almost completed the task, all for nothing]].
* ImportantHairCut: He won't cut his hair until he has married his dream woman. [[spoiler: When he asks Astrid to cut it, it only fuels her shame about betraying him and her worry about what will happen when he finds out her child is not his]].
* LoveMakesYouDumb: [[spoiler: He is so blinded by his obsessive love for Ellisif that he is flat out [[GenreBlind blind]] to Ellisif's obvious intention to murder him after he killed her husband]]. Luckily for him (and unluckily for everybody else), Halfdan is not so blind.
* TheMourningAfter: Harald forgets [[spoiler: Ellisif quite quickly, but is quite upset about the death of Astrid and wears her earing constantly after her death as a TragicKeepsake]].
* TheNapoleon: Harald is shorter than most of the Norsemen and seems to suffer from an inferiority complex.
* NotGoodWithRejection: [[spoiler: Sort of averted. Through obviously upset, his brother expects him to kill Ellisef, but Harald firmly rejects this because he loves her.]] This does not stop him from [[spoiler: [[MurderTheHypotenuse murdering the hypotenuse]]]].
** Played straight with Ingrid.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He usually dresses in black and red.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red Oni to Halfdan's blue. And as stated above he likes to dress in a red tunic.
* [[spoiler: SelfProclaimedLoveInterest]]: It's heavily suggested that he is this actually. He even invokes it himself.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: In Season 6, after [[spoiler: saving Bjorn's life while overthrowing Ivar,]] his wounds are so great that Bjorn and company in Kattegat were led to believe he'd died until he sends his men to tell them otherwise.
* TattooedCrook
* TokenEvilTeammate: Played straight in Season 4, but he is much more nuanced in the last two seasons. He is never supposed to be seen as a hero but his many (and often pretty nasty) negative sides are somewhat balanced by loyalty, honor and genuine love for his family.
* TheRival: To Bjorn.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: In Season 4, Harald is meant to come off as a big jerk, originally conceived as a "[[ANaziByAnyOtherName ultra-right Viking]]". But a lot of viewers found his ultimate goal to be with the love of his life [[spoiler: and constant failure to do so]] sympathetic. Even Micheal Hirst admitted that it became hard for him to paint Harald as a straight villain and in Season 5, he becomes right-up likable.
* VillainSong: No, really. He and Halfdan has a theme song (ironicly based on a poem written by the grandson of one of the historical Harald's enemies) which they sing when they are out and raiding.
-->''My mother told me''
-->''Someday I would buy''
-->''Galley with good oars''
-->''Sail to distant shores''
-->''Stand up by the prow''
-->''Noble barq I steer''
-->''Steady course for the haven''
-->''Hew many foemen, hew many foe men!''
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Harald's true nature comes out when [[spoiler: he rescues a fallen Bjorn and takes an arrow for him, despite being his rival in love and power]]. If he just stood back and did nothing for a minute, all his dreams could have been fulfilled but doing so is not in Harald's nature.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:King Horik Gøtriksson]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/horik79798_1660.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/DonalLogue

->''"I share your appetite for adventure, Ragnar Lodbrok, and I will gladly join forces with you. Since as King, I'm naturally not in favour of individual enterprise!"''

The people of Denmark benefit from his just rule, and Skalds are well favoured at his court. When his family was killed by his treacherous uncles, Horik rose up to challenge them to battle and drive them away from his land. Enamored of Ragnar's legend, he is quick to join his strength to that of the rising Earl in order to gain the upper hand against his adversary, Jarl Borg of Götaland. And yet, though a Norseman born and at one with their ways, Horik's true agenda remains as double-edged as the sword by his side. Knowing that Ragnar's strength has already undone two kings, the son of Gøtrik awaits the time to reveal his true cunning.
----
* ActorAllusion: Donal Logue once again plays an a-hole whose name rhymes with [[SonsOfAnarcy Toric]].
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In order to become King, he defeated his six uncles in combat one by one.
* BackstabBackfire: His scheme to betray Ragnar and slaughter his family hinges on the aid of Floki and Siggy. [[spoiler: They were actually loyal to Ragnar all along, which ultimately costs Horik and most of his family their lives]].

* BadassInCharge: Of all of Denmark (historically, he was the sole King of Denmark).
* BarbarianLonghair: Long hair was a sign of manliness in Old Germanic societies.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo[=/=]YouCantFightFate: When Ragnar, who had suspected a trap and wanted to wait, challenges him on this, Horrik declares that the outcome of the battle was fated and that he cannot be held responsible for their defeat, as it was the will of the gods.
* BerserkButton: Christianity is a big one for him. He hates the idea of being amongst Christians and will simply murder them in cold blood or even torture them before killing them.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He tends to come off as rather jovial and carefree, and the first time we see him, he's playing a prank on the local priests. Beneath that he is shown to be a very ruthless and cruel man, who does more harm than help to his allies.
* BigGood: He's the King of Denmark and Ragnar pledges his loyalty to him. [[DownplayedTrope Thus, he's the highest authority among marauding warriors.]]
* ColdBloodedTorture: Has the bishop of Winchester tortured to death by tying him down and shooting him full of arrows. TruthInTelevision to an extent, as the Vikings allegedly did this to King Edmund of East Anglia.
* CompositeCharacter: With Harald Greycloak and Sigurd Hring, as Ragnar's predecessor as King of Denmark. Some historians and academic minded audiences have pointed out Horik and Ragnar are possibly the same person in the same place, with Ragnar being a more badass identity invented by Horik's descendants.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: In real life, he outlived Ragnar by a decade. Specifically, he outlived someone called "Reginherus", who is believed by historians to possibly have been one of the candidates for the historical Ragnar. There are even some historians who posit that Horik I and Ragnar might have even been the same person.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: When Ragnar and his men have him surrounded, Horik calmly resigns himself to his fate, and only asks Ragnar to spare his son, before serenely walking up to Ragnar and embracing death]].
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He truly loved his son.
* GeneralFailure: Horik's lack of attentiveness at his camp in the first raid of Wessex (As in his men freely going hunting and him drinking and feasting in camp) and his LeeroyJenkins attitude in the second raid leads him to being squashed by Ecbert twice. Especially irking, for both Ragnar and the viewers, is that on account of his fatalist attitude, Horik refuses to take responsibility for any of his fuckups. According to him, his men lost not because of his terrible tactics, but because the gods had fated them to lose.
* TheGoodKing: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Ragnar remarks on how his people appreciate his just rule. However, this is likely because he pays skalds to make sure his reputation ''stays'' good; the man himself isn't exactly everything the songs portray him as.
* HeroicLineage: Horik I was a Scylding, and a descendant of motherfucking Harald Wartooth -- the ultimate Viking badass (aside from Ragnar and Egil Skallagrimsson).
* HiddenDepths: Exhibits knowledge enough of Norse legends to impress even Floki.
-->'''Horik:''' Of course, I do. These things interest me.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horik_I Yeah, that Horik]]. Loosely.
* HistoricalInJoke: Of course, he would know about Christians! Historically, Horik I's predecessor converted to Christianity and Horik himself historically resisted attempts to proselytize the Danes by Ansgar of Hamburg-Bremen.
* KillEmAll: Tries to pull this on Ragnar's family. [[spoiler: It backfires. ''Hard'']].
* LargeHam: Shows himself to be a bit theatrical.
-->'''Horik:''' I have heard about Christians! And their god! And... are you ''still'' Christian?\\
'''Athelstan:''' No.\\
'''Horik:''' OF COURSE NOT! How could you be a Christian and walk among our gods?!
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Believes that Floki and Siggy can be trusted to help him bring down Ragnar. [[spoiler: They can't]].
* LeeroyJenkins: His approach to battle is essentially to say "To [[{{Pun}} Hel]] with planning, [[AttackAttackAttack let's just charge straight at the enemy]]!"
* PapaWolf: He gets ''pissed'' when one of his sons die in the raid on Wessex.
* PetTheDog: Any intereactions with his sons show the kinder side of his personality. [[spoiler: He even dies begging for his son to be spared]].
* PoisonousFriend: He has a highly negative influence on Floki, attempting to convince him to murder Bjorn.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Viking.
-->"Do not despair. Meet everything head on. Whether we live or die this day is already in the hands of the gods! They know whether we sup with tonight so fear not! Fight well. And should you die, surely Odin will take you to Valhalla!"
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Unless he sees you as a potential threat to his power, he's fair and affable.
* RousingSpeech: See Proud Warrior Race Guy above.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: In addition to his exploits that won him the throne, Horik also fights in the shieldwall alongside his men.
* SupportingLeader: Ragnar is TheProtagonist and pledges loyalty to him at the end of first season.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Plays hnefatafl with Ragnar to pass the time. They both use it as an opportunity to suss each other out.
* WhatTheHellHero: Ragnar gives both him and Borg one of these after their battle, chiding them for wasting lives against each other when they could be conquering new lands in the West.
* WouldHurtAChild: Sensing that Ragnar has a weakness for his family, he tries to get Floki and Siggy to murder Ragnar's children.
* YouKilledMyFather: Towards his uncles. His mother and siblings were also thrown into the mix.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Earl Haraldson]]
[[quoteright:216:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earl-normal_vikings-promo-13_1051.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/GabrielByrne

->''"A man lives or dies by his honour"''

Once he was as Ragnar is now -- Restless, ambitious, and eager for battle. Now the years of grief since the death of his sons has made a ruin of a once mighty man. Stern and patriarchal, he sees daggers drawn in the shadows around every corner, true or otherwise. Holding only dwindling faith in the gods, he claws and struggles to retain his temporal power, yet deep down he is a dead man who desires only peace from the world.

When his struggle with Ragnar's rising power comes to head, the two face each other in holmgang, the preferred protocol for such rivalries. Ragnar defeats the Earl in single combat, thus allowing him to at last enter Valhalla and be reunited with his sons, and also takes the fallen warrior's role as chieftain of Kattegat.
----
* ArchEnemy: To Ragnar, and vice versa. Ragnar was even described as his nemesis by Gabriel Byrne.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Downplayed. We don't see him fight until his duel with Ragnar (who was injured at the time).
* BadBoss: Due to Earl Haraldson's greed and paranoia, it can be just as dangerous to be one of his loyal followers as being one of his enemies. He goes as far as to give one of his men the permission to sleep with the Earl's wife and then have the man executed when he takes the Earl up on the offer. This gradually reduces his powerbase until by his fight with Ragnar he has only one man loyal to him personally and not the office.
%% Putting a trope into a secondary bullet of another trope is against the Examples Indentation rules. Leave Badass tropes at first level, please.

[[folder:Gunnhild]]

->'''Played By:''' Creator/RaggaRagnars
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gunnhilds_fight_vikings_s6e10_7.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
->''"My heart is unmoored"''

Once the wife of jarl Olavsson, she is now competed over by both king Björn and king Harald. A living giantess, Gunnhild is one of the fiercest sheildmaidens to walk Midgard.

* ActionGirl / LadyOfWar: A tall, sinewy woman who screams at her men on the battle field for not being brave enough.
* BillingDisplacement: Starting in season 6, Gunnhild is a main character but is only credited as a supporting character until episode 6.10.
* CrusadingWidower: After her husband [[SacrificialLamb Olavsson]] is killed by an arrow in the eye she goes after the Saxon leaders on the battle field despite the viking army being routed.
* EleventhHourRanger: Gunnhild appears in second half of season 5B and by and by season 6A she is for all intents a main character even if she is [[BillingDisplacement not credited as one]].
* HeroKiller: In her second appearance she kills off [[spoiler: Heahmund]] after he has been wounded by arrows.
* OneManArmy: During the siege of Kattegat she manages to scale the wall and fight her way to Björn to save him when he gets trapped behind the gate.
** During the first battle with the Rus she mows straight through the causeway to climb aboard Oleg's flagship to clear the deck and is only stoped when she meets her match in [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Prince Oleg the Prophet]].
* SlapSlapKiss: Björn falls in love with her after she almost cuts out his eye in battle.
* StatuesqueStunner: At 6.1 former olympic swimmer Ragga Ragnars is the third tallest actor on the show, only beaten by a centimeter by her onscreen love interest Alexander Ludwig.
* SuperSwimmingSkills: In a obvious ActorAllusion, Gunnhild is a great swimmer.
* [[spoiler: TogetherInDeath]]: Invokes this when she [[spoiler: drowns herself]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jarl Borg]]
[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jarl_c164466_3750.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/ThorbjornHarr

->''At the moment, my price is the King's head.''

A fearsome warrior, cunning tactician, and powerful Jarl, Borg is a force to be reckoned with. Rival to King Horik for the lands of Götaland. Jarl Borg intensely hates King Horik (a feeling that is reciprocrated) and seeks to better his kingdom's position, whatever the cost.
----
* AffablyEvil: Perhaps closer to "affably morally ambiguous". He is a rather civil guy, overall. Prior to his SanitySlip and decent into a CloudCuckoolander, he would probably be a pretty good guy to have as a friend. He insists on tasting Torvi's wine in case the wine was poisoned.
* AlasPoorVillain: His death scene is shot very emotionally and respectfully to the character, and he even gets to go out with a grin. Come Season 5, decades have passed and he's still remembered by Torvi and Bjorn as a great warrior worthy of respect, and they speak positively of him to his son, born after his death.
* AnAxeToGrind: His WeaponOfChoice.
* AnimalMotifs: He takes the eagle as his symbol.
* AntiVillain: Borg is only a villain in that he opposes the protagonists. Also, his invasion of Kattegat was caused by Horik's last-minute breaking of their agreement.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Jarl and fearsome warrior.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "What is it that you ''want'', Rollo? What is it that you ''want''?"
* ASinisterClue: Jarl Borg sometimes fights left-handed.
* TheAtoner: After Ragnar "forgives" him he realizes his mistakes and sets to make amends. [[spoiler: Sadly it does not end well for him.]]

* BadassBoast: "His vanity will destroy him (Ragnar)...No, not his vanity. [[SuddenlyShouting I WILL DESTROY HIM]]!"
* BerserkButton: Oath-breaking is a big one for him. As shown when he asks Rollo to fight against Ragnar which he doesn't do for very long time and the he surrenders. Also the alliance between him, Horik, and Ragnar was broken as King Horik couldn't trust him so he tells Ragnar to tell Borg that the pact was broken and as usual Jarl Borg didn't react well.
* BreakingSpeech: Efficiently breaks Rollo's mind with one.
* BrutalHonesty: With himself. He freely admits that Ragnar is a better man than him, and that he doesn't deserve a second chance. [[ReformedButRejected Little does he know]]...
* CanonForeigner: Jarl Borg is neither historical nor mythical, being created specially for the show.
* CharacterDevelopment: After being defeated (and subsequently forgiven), Borg tries to rekindle his friendship with Ragnar and forgets the crimes of the past.
* CharacterFilibuster: His long speech about brothers (quoted below) in "FreudianExcuse".
* CloudCuckoolander: He is slowly losing his mind through out the series.
* ConsultingMisterPuppet: He speaks to the skull of his first wife.
* DeadpanSnarker: Very much so.
-->'''Ragnar:''' You continue to humiliate him.\\
'''Borg:''' If I invade and conquer, will he not be humiliated more? (''his friends chuckle'')
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Averted. While he agrees to join forces with Ragnar and Horik after an unsuccessful battle against them, it's clear that there is still a great deal of mutual dislike, particularly between him and Horik. Ultimately, the differences between the two men cause the fragile truce to fall apart, and the violence resumes.
* DefiantToTheEnd: He never asks to be spared or tries to make his captors sympathize with him. Jarl Borg pretty much faces his execution ''headfront''.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Literally goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge because a simple oath wad broken.
* DualWielding: Dual-wieldes axes.
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: It's hinted he did not scream in his execution, meaning he went to Valhalla for his bravery in the face of death.
* DyingSmirk: As he takes his last breath, Jarl Borg grins as he stares into a nearby eagle (with the [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane implication]] he may have become one with the eagle).
* [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Even Morally Ambiguous Has Loved Ones]]: He seems to love his second wife pretty dearly, and if his speeches are any indication, he loved his first one even more.
* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler: His face when he sees Ragnar has betrayed him for a second time is of genuine betrayal, and he can only repeat futilely "[[LittleNo No]]". This may be as much because of what Ragnar was telling him his eventual fate would be: [[FateWorseThanDeath Blood Eagle.]]]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He does ''not'' look kindly upon oath-breaking.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Despite the absolutely horrific manner of his death, he rises to the occasion when the time for his execution finally comes. It's ambiguous whether or not he screamed at the end, but he still took it one hell of a lot better than most would. It could even be interpreted that when he and Ragnar saw the eagle, he ''laughed.''
* FieryRedhead: Prone to going on a rampage for a simple oath being broken. Also he is a Viking so it's natural and his hair his red.
* FoeTossingCharge: When he raids Kattergat, Borg sees Rollo in the other side of the battlefield. Then he does a UnflinchingWalk as he cuts down some twelve people in his path.
** When Ragnar and his warband ambush he and his men, he has his men do a literal version of this by ordering a flank of his men to fall back, then suddenly charge forward again.
* FreudianExcuse: His brother murdered his wife and most of his guests, making him a lot less trustful of people. He even has a ''long'' CharacterFilibuster on it:
-->'''Borg:''' ''Not all brothers get along so well, I know that by personal experience. I too had a brother, and I loved him. We were very close, as befit of all brothers, we fought together in the shield walls, shared the same women. When my father was killed there was fierce competition to replace him as Jarl, and although I was the eldest son, I was not sure I was going to succeed. However, I was elected, and we had a feast to celebrate... My wife was there, my young beautiful wife. We'd just gotten married. And all the others who stood in the election against me. My brother poisoned them...[[KillEmAll all]]. I only survived because my wife took the cup I was about to drink in celebration. I will never forget the screams. It's my wife's screams that will haunt me for the rest of my life. My brother denied responsibility, but his guilt was too obvious, so I blinded him with my own hands and then I burned him alive. That is what I know of the love between brothers.''
* GeniusBruiser: He is a fine warrior, but also a great tactician and politician.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: He gladly accepts Ragnar's forgiveness, and appears to be wholeheartedly committed to joining forces with him. However, this merciful act was only a ruse to draw Borg back to Kattegat, where Ragnar plans to carve ''the blood-eagle'' on him.
* HeelRealization: Remorse hits him after his defeat at Ragnar's hands.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: As he dies, a suspiciously apropos eagle appears (given The Seer told Borg he'd become an eagle) and the way the scene proceeds indicates a hint of supernatural link between the eagle and Borg, but it's never really shown either way.
* NotAfraidToDie: On the contrary, he seems quite eager to see how a Blood Eagle works. Even if he's the subject of it.
* OptOut: In the battle with Ragnar, he realizes his army is going to lose, so he orders a tactical retreat and flees to fight another day.
* ProphecyTwist: [[spoiler: He learns a little too late the Eagle the Seer spoke of is a Blood Eagle, a nordic method of execution.]]
* ReformedButRejected: He tries becoming an ally of Ragnar once again. Ragnar is on a very unforgiving mood, however.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After Rollo, Ragnar, and Horik have broken their oaths twice he's had enough and takes his anger out on Ragnar's home Kattegat.
* SanitySlippage: Jarl Borg starts consulting with his first wife's skull and starts having hallucinations.
* ShirtlessScene: He fights the battle against Horik's forces bare-chested, much like Rollo.
* TragicVillain: His wife's death and his brother's betrayal make him quite a tragic figure.

[[folder:Torvi]]
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2016_04_15_at_54949_pm_edited_5.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Georgia Hirst

->''"I'm Viking."''

Torvi is the widow of Jarl Borg and the mother of his son Guthrum. After leaving her abusive husband, Erlendur. Torvi becomes the wife of Bjorn and a shieldmaiden.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Given that she show does not obviously "age" the female characters through make up, Georgia Hirst looks like a mid-20's mother of a boy in his mid-teens. Hirst was 20 when she joined the show and still looks like that despite her character being atleast a decade older.
* ActionMom: At the end of Episode 9 of Season 4, [[spoiler: Torvi becomes a shieldmaiden]].
* AwfulWeddedLife: Jarl Borg is not abusive to Torvi (if any, protective), but completely ignores her pleas that they leave Kattegat and he is more in love with the skull of his dead wife than with her. Played straight during her second marriage to Erlendur. Her marrige with Bjorn starts off fine, but becomes cold through the years. Torvi simply has bad luck with her men.
* MyBelovedSmother: Towards Guthrum.
* BattleCouple: Torvi becomes this with Bjorn, when she joins him on the attack against Paris.
* CharacterDevelopment: Torvi goes from being a wallflower in Season 2 to becoming [[spoiler:a shieldmaiden in Season 4.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: When Borg wonders how he will be received in Kattegat, Torvi asks why he did not ask the skull of his wife.
* FantasyForbiddingMother: Forbids Guthrum from joining Floki's expedition to Iceland, arguing that Floki is insane.
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: As a shieldmaiden, Torvi uses [[spoiler: a crossbow.]]
* InformedAttribute: Bjorn says he's drawn to her wildness and free spirit. While this might be true after some CharacterDevelopment, the point at which he says it, Torvi is still basically a ShrinkingViolet and doormat whose been trod on by both her husbands.
* MeaningfulName: Torvi which was derived from the name of the Norse god Thor.
* MamaBear: After Erlendur threatened her son's life [[spoiler: Torvi killed him.]]
** Torvi keeps two of Ragnar's sons safe after [[spoiler:Frankish soldiers attack the Viking camp while all the warriors are away fighting.]]
* RemarryingForYourKids: Why she ended up with Erlendur.
* SerialSpouse: Borg, Erlendeur, Bjorn, Ubbe. Girl can't seem to find a long-lasting stable relationship.
* TheDogBitesBack: Shoots Erlendur once she has the chance and the nerve to fight back.
* WomanScorned: With Jarl Borg, who causally ignores her; and the abusive Erlendur, [[spoiler: who she kills]].

[[folder:Earl Kalf]]
->'''Played By:''' Ben Robson
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kalf.png]]
Lagertha’s second-in-command at Hedeby, he is left in charge when she goes to England in Season 3.

* AssholeVictim: While he seems to really love Lagertha, he ultimately betrays her trust and takes her Earldom from her, and then later on [[spoiler: plots with Erlendur to kill Bjorn. Lagertha makes good on her promise to kill him.]]
* AThreesomeIsManly: He is seen sleeping with two beautiful women.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He pretends to be loyal and supportive of Lagertha, while planning to usurp her all along.
* DeadlyHug: [[spoiler: Lagertha kills him like this on their wedding day after a servant told her about him trying to assasinate Björn]].
* GenreSavvy: When [[spoiler:the outer gates of Paris are breached and there's nobody in the corridor leading to the inner gates]], he is the only one to realize it's a trap.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In comparison to Borg, Horik, Ragnar, and Lagertha, each of whom while good rulers are often blinded by vengeance, pride, jealousy, ambition, and anger, Kalf seems to be the only ruler who truly has his role in perspective with the bigger picture (well, aside from Ragnar) and his logic on his being a better claim to the earldom due to actually being a son of Hedeby is pretty much unassailable. [[spoiler:He also cold-cocks Lagertha in order to save her during one of her LeeroyJenkins modes, having correctly anticipated the Franks leading them into a trap.]]
-->"Title is only an excuse to do good things for the people here. I want to do that."
* UngratefulBastard: Lagertha raised him to a position of authority over Hedeby. He repays her by stealing her fief. [[SubvertedTrope That being said, he does emphasise that he shares the world's admiration for her and does save her life during the siege of Paris]].
* TheUsurper: He takes over Hebedy while Lagertha is away, crowning himself Earl.

[[folder:Halfdan the Black]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vikings_season4_cast_halfdan.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Jasper Pääkkönen

->''It appears, the Gods are not much interested in fairness.''

The younger brother of King Harald.

* AxCrazy: More so than his brother, who also invokes this trope. In the first river battle, they smile and giggle as they hide under their sheild while Frankish arrows rain down on them. [[spoiler: When Ellisif firmly rejects Harald]], Halfdan pulls a knife and later tells Harald they should kill her.
** [[spoiler: When he kills Ellisif to save his brother, he has a psychotic SlasherSmile on his face while his brother is left speechless]].
* BashBrothers: With Harald.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Between [[spoiler: Bjorn, his new best friend and his brother Harald]].
* TheDragon: To Harald.
* TheFundamentalist: His main reason for joining Ragnar's second raid on Paris is to kill Christians. Unlike Floki or Aslaug, who hate Christians but also don't mind them so long as they're kept out of Scandinavia, Halfdan wants to go to their homes and kill them.
* HiddenDepths: In Season 5, he splits away from Harald to travel with Bjorn to the Mediterranean. He explains his reasoning in surprisingly self-aware and philosophical terms when Bjorn asks about why he would leave Harald when they had been completely inseparable before.
** Later when Bjorn opens up about his insecurity regarding Torvi, Halfdan shows again to be much more thoughtful than he appears.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Loosely based on Halfdanr Svarti, the ''father'' of Harald Hairfair.
* MemeticHair: With that hair, Halfdan look like he is going to drop the darkest album of the Dark Ages.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Halfdan ''the black''! (On the other hand, "halvdan" means something like "half-done"/"mediocre" in Swedish.)
* IronicNickname: Is called the black, but is blonde.
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue Oni to Harolds's red. Fittingly, Halfdan likes to dress in blue.
* {{Sadist}}: While his brother cheerfully burns Christians, he says he will put out the fire. And proceeds to pee on one of the burning Christians.
* ShellshockedVeteran: [[spoiler: His final moments suggest he has PTSD, as he believes he is back in the desert only to snap back to reality and realize he is still on the battlefield.]]
* TattooedCrook: He has a prominent one on his head and face.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Erlendur]]
->'''Played By:''' Edvin Endre
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erlendr.jpg]]

The [[spoiler: last surviving]] child of King Horik. He is married to Torvi, the widow of Jarl Borg.

* AristocratsAreEvil: A wife-beater, who is not above murdering children and enjoys watching people get killed in sadistic manners.
* BloodKnight: He's pretty ruthless and bloodthirsty, even by Viking standards.
* CanonForeigner: We know nothing about the possible children of King Horik I. Erlendur is completely invented for the show.
* DomesticAbuse: He has no qualms about beating Torvi to make her do what he wants.
* TheDragon: To his father, King Horik. Later, to Earl Kalf.
* EvilMakesYouUgly: An interesting variation. Erlendur starts out as a attractive youngster in his mid-teens. As the story progresses his beard starts to grow, but is uneven and not impressive at all compared to the other Norsemen and is scared in battle. This coincides with his increasingly jerkass behaviour
* TheDragon: To King Horik, especially after his older brother's death.
* {{Jerkass}}: He is literally a mix between [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire King Joffrey and Viserys]]. But unlike those two, he can actually fight.
* TheQuietOne: Save one line, Erlendur never spoke in Season 2. This was because all his dialogue got cut, although he speaks occasionally in the extended cuts.
* TooDumbToLive
* UnknownRival: Erlendur is obsessed with killing Bjorn. Bjorn, frankly, doesn't care about him to the point he even lets [[spoiler: Torvi]] kill him instead of himself.
* WeaponOfChoice: His modified Frankish crossbow, using a bird skull as a viewfinder.
* WouldHurtAChild: Threatens to murder Guthurm if Torvi doesn't do his bidding.
* [[spoiler: YouKilledMyFather]]

[[folder:Siggy]]
[[quoteright:242:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/siggy_c1_7208.png]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JessalynGilsig

->''"You are all power. All authority."''

Once the gods had favoured her well, but now with the death of her husband, Earl Haraldson, Siggy has found herself cast from the light. With the ascension of Ragnar, she finds her only path back to comfort lies with the brutal and impulsive Rollo. Yet nonetheless, despite her love for the late Earl and now for the great warrior, Siggy is driven alone by her desire to reclaim that which she once had, and will go to any lengths to escape the darkness and make her way back to the light.

* GoodParents: Implied to be to her late sons and currently to her daughter, Thyri. All the more tragic when Thyri dies of the plague in the finale.
* GracefulLoser: Though she is shattered after Haraldson's death, she is nonetheless the first resident of Kattegat to hail Ragnar as the new Earl.
* HappilyMarried: She loved Haraldson deeply, but his depression and cruelty often drove her away. She ''tries'' to make something like this possible with Rollo, but his unfaithfulness makes it difficult.
* LadyMacBeth: [[DownplayedTrope Somewhat.]] She encouraged Haraldson's paranoia and cruelty, but mostly as a result of her efforts to give him confidence and make him feel positive. Though once she gets together with Rollo, she starts playing on his envy and insecurity to manipulate him, showing maybe she hasn't changed that much after all, though she also genuinely loves and comforts Rollo, and when he is brought back to Kattegat in chains, she convinces him to stay and continue his rise to power. After Rollo's disgrace, she ingratiates herself with none other than King Horik. [[spoiler: And in the Season 2 finale, she turns against Horik when he asks her to kill Ragnar's young sons and the rest of his family. It turns out that she was on Ragnar's side the entire time while also setting up Horik and his family for capture/murder.]]
* MamaBear: To rival Lagertha. As soon as Haraldson is dead, she stabs the Earl he married their daughter off to in the stomach, killing him. This also extends to children that aren't hers. Asking her to [[spoiler: kill Ragnar's young sons was a stupid move, Horik.]] Siggy also saves Hvitserk and Ubbe from drowning when they fall into a frozen lake, [[spoiler: which ultimately costs her her life]].
* TheMole: As part of Horik's covert efforts to check Ragnar's growing power, he has Siggy feed him secrets and information about his supposed ally. [[spoiler: And she's secretly feeding it right back to Ragnar the whole time.]]
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one of these to Rollo after he blatantly cheats on her several times at a festival, telling him that Ragnar's meeting with the king while he's nursing a hangover.
* UndyingLoyalty: Like Floki and Rollo, she's not always 100% happy with Ragnar. Nevertheless, like they, she is unwaveringly loyal to him. [[spoiler: To the point that she only pretends to defect to Horik so she can be TheMole for Ragnar. In Season 3, she gives her life saving his sons from drowning in a frozen lake.]]

[[folder:Thyri]]
->'''Played by:''' Elinor Crawley
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thyri.png]]
Thyri is a young daughter of Earl Haraldsson and Siggy. Married against her will to Earl Bjarni.

* AltarDiplomacy: Her father arranged a marriage for her. She's forced to marry old Earl Bjarni to increase her father's wealth and to get him an ally.
* DivorceRequiresDeath: After Haraldson is defeated by Ragnar Lothbrok, Thyri is saved from her horrible marriage by her mother Siggy who kills Earl Bjarni in front of everyone. Thyri looks beyond grateful.
* MalMariee: Earl Haraldson's young daughter Thyri is married off to an old man, Earl Bjarni. Both Thyri and her mother Siggy are dissatisfied with this decision and Thyri is visibly repulsed. During their wedding night, the fat, old and drunk earl passes out before he can consummate the marriage. In "Burial of the Dead", he complains about Thyri's lack of enthusiasm in bed and threatens to beat her for disobeying.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Earl Siegfried]]
->'''Played By:''' Greg Orvis
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seigfrid_1.png]]
A earl who joins Ragnar in his raid on Paris.

* BarbarianLonghair: Which becomes a plot point.
* TheBigGuy: He is even bigger than Rollo.
* DecapitationPresentation: [[spoiler: He is last seen as a head on a spike]].
* DefiantToTheEnd: Riffing on the Long Ships, [[spoiler: he asks for someone to pull his hair out of the way so the executioner can make a clean cut. Emperor Charles accepts and a mook pulls his hair. But as soon as the axe falls, Siegfried pulls his head back, causing the mook to get his hands cut off]].
* DieLaughing: [[spoiler: He laughs his belly out after embarrassing the emperor at his execution]].
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Loosely based on the historical Norse warlord Sigfred who along with Sinric and Rollo attacked Paris in 886.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: He is one of the Viking-leaders and the only non-extra to die during the siege of Paris. His death scene is his only large scene and what he is remembered for]].

[[folder:Earl Bjarni]]
->'''Played By:''' Trevor Cooper
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bjarni_s1.png]]
An earl from Svealand who Earl Haraldsson sold his daughter Thyri into marrige to for 20 pounds of silver. He is a cousin of King Horik.

* AltarDiplomacy: Earl Haraldsson married his daughter Thyri off to him to increase his money chest and get an ally.
* DivorceRequiresDeath: A recurring theme in ''Vikings''.
* DomesticAbuse: Threatens to beat Thyri when she does not want him to eat in bed.
* FatBastard: He holds the distinction of being the fattest Norseman to ever appear on the show.
* ScaryTeeth: His teeth are rotten black stumps.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Even though he didn't get a chance to enjoy it that much, the woman he married was young and gorgeous.

[[folder:Earl Sigvard]]
->'''Played By:''' Morten Sasse Suurballe
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sigvard_s2.png]]

The earl of Hedeby and Lagertha's second husband. He really dislikes hearing about Ragnar.

* TheAlcoholic: Can't handle his drinking at all.
* AlwaysSecondBest: Probably why he hates Ragnar so much. He knows that he is the number 2 option and his jerkass behaviour partly stems from his trying to assert his dominance.
* AssholeVictim: [[TheAlcoholic An Alcoholic]] who [[DomesticAbuse abuses Lagertha]], [[MaritalRapeLicense attempts to rape her]] and tries to rip her dress in front of a large crowd to show her breasts. Both among audience and in-universe, no one sheds a tear when Lagertha stabs him in the [[EyeScream eye]] and Einar, his own nephew, [[OffWithHisHead decapitates him]].
* BullyingADragon: Did he ever consider what a bad idea it was to abuse and humiliate Lagertha?
* DomesticAbuse: Slaps around Lagertha when he is angry with her.
* EyeScream: To further humiliate Lagertha, he publicly boasts about her breasts and tries to rip her dress off to show them. She just has enough of him and stabs him in his eye with a knife.
* MaritalRapeLicense: Tries to enforce this on Lagertha.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While his domestic abuse is completely uncalled for, he has the right to be angry with Lagertha for running away with his warriors and leaving his heir in Kattegat without even asking him.
* NeverSayThatAgain: His general reaction to Ragnar.
* OffWithHisHead: After getting stabbed in the eye by Lagertha, his nephew Einar comes over apparently to punish her. He decides instead to decapitate him.

[[folder:Guthrum]]
->'''Played By:''' Ben Roe
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guthrum_vikingss5.jpg]]
The son of Jarl Borg and Torvi.

* BloodKnight: Rejects Floki's colony in Iceland because it's land without war. Then how can he get to Valhalla?
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: He is built up as a future important character, akin to Ragnar's son and shares the name of a historical Viking leader. [[spoiler:He is killed as [[SacrificialLamb canon fodder]] during the battle at the midpoint of Season 5]].
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Averted. He is initially teased that he is the same Guthrum who will go up against Alfred of the Anglo-Saxons. His death in Season 5 shows he is just some other individual with the same name.
* LastOfHisKind: He is the last of his father's house being a posthumous son. With his death Jarl Borg's dynasty is completely extinguished.

[[folder:King Olaf the Stout]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/StevenBerkoff
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olaf_the_stout.jpg]]
An old, crazy king of a mountainous region of Norway.

* AdiposeRex: Stout is a kind way to put it.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Like most Vikings. As soon as Harald is too weak to fight him off, he takes his kingdom in Season 6, despite having just fought alongside him not too long ago.
* EleventhHourRanger: Becomes a instrumental character very late in season 5B, having major effect on the plot.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: He shares the name of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_II_of_Norway Olaf II of Norway]] a notoriously a deeply devout Christian, who (often brutally) converted a huge part of Norway during his rule. The Olaf in the show shares no characteristics other than his name. A character actually based on Olaf II appears in the spin-off ''Vikings: Valhalla''.
* MistakenIdentity: When Hvitserk first meets him, he mistakes Olaf for the Buddha. Adding to it is that his appearance is clearly based on Budai.
* OldMaster: Of the Norse kings, he is by far the oldest. This means he has been able to keep his kingdom much better and longer than any of the other Norse kings in the show, or at least kept himself alive long enough to reach the top while others fell.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: When questioning Hvitserk about Ivar's style of rule he ask very leading questions about Ivar being a monster. [[spoiler:When Hvitserk reveals his true opinion about Ivar as a tyrant and asks for Olaf's help in overthrowing him, Olaf has him seized and tortured by Canute. After Hvitserk refuses to give up on his wish to overthrow Ivar, Olaf agrees to fight him.]]
* TooImportantToWalk: He is carried into battle by several servants.
* TricksterMentor: Olaf toys mercilessly with Hvitserk to get the measure of him.

!!Commoners (Karls)

[[folder:Floki]]
[[quoteright:232:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/floki79769898_138.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/GustafSkarsgard

->''"I can tell which trees are going to make the best planks just by looking at them. I can look ''inside'' the trees!"''

Thought by some as a madman, Floki sees more clearly than most. He is the adviser and confidant to Ragnar, freely offering his knowledge and skills to the warrior. His loyalty to the Ynglinga is unquestioned, but even the Trickster shall be buffeted by the coming storm. For just as Heimdall is foreseen to be the first to witness Ragnarok, the great battle upon the plain of Vigrid that marks the end of the world, Floki must bear the weight of alone knowing a vision so dark, it threatens to ruin Ragnar.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: ''Norse'' raiders.
* RatedMForManly: Par the course for Norsemen.

%%* PitySex: Why she slept with Hvitserk.
%%* SexForSolace: Why she slept with Hvitserk.

* PitySex: Why she slept with Hvitserk.
* SexForSolace: Also why she slept with Hvitserk.

* BashBrothers: With Halfdan. Perhaps best illustrated when they're sheltering from a hail of arrows behind a shield wall, yet still take a moment to grin gleefully at each other like little boys in the middle of a game having the time of their lives.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: [[spoiler: Let's Siggy drown when he could have easily saved her. It's implied he's letting her reunite with her dead family.]]

* IHaveNoDaughter: [[spoiler: In a really jerky way, as he states that he felt Aud was more Floki's child than his and does not even bother digging her grave leaving Floki to do it so Aud's mother will have somewhere to greave]].

* [[FantasyForbiddingFather Fantasy Forbidding Parent]]: Forbids Guthrum from joining Floki's expedition to Iceland, arguing that Floki is insane.

* [[IHaveNoSon I Have No Daughter]]: [[spoiler: In a really jerky way, as he states that he felt Aud was more Floki's child than his and does not even bother digging her grave leaving Floki to do it so Aud's mother will have somewhere to greave]].

* [[LikeASonToMe Like A Daughter To Me]]: She is this to Floki.

* [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Get A Hold Of Yourself Woman]]: Aslaug pulls one on her.

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Big Sister Instict]]: Despite her few interactions with Ragnar's children, she always seem to show this sort of behaviour towards them. At the journey to Frankia, she lulls them to sleep with a Chinese song and when the Franks attack the camp she immediately gets Ubbe and Hvitserk to safety and stays with them until the threat is over.

** More importantly he played the older brother of Jasper Pääkkönen in the ''The Lionheart'', where they both played heavily tattooed racists.

* AmbiguousSituation: It's not made clear if he's [[spoiler: dead or just unconscious after the volcanic eruption that occurs while he's underground in Iceland.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: An example in-universe and out. After he [[spoiler: goes missing in the Icelandic colony, the last we see of him is falling unconscious underground after a volcanic eruption.]] Both his friends and viewers have been wondering where he's been ever since.

* BaldOfAwesome: A sly, old trickster of a king with a shiny chrome dome on top.

* BaldOfAwesome: The first thing a viewer will notice is his lack of hair. The next is his blood thirst.

->'''Played By:''' George Blagden

[[folder:King Horik Gøtriksson]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/horik79798_1660.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/DonalLogue

->''"I share your appetite for adventure, Ragnar Lodbrok, and I will gladly join forces with you. Since as King, I'm naturally not in favour of individual enterprise!"''

The people of Denmark benefit from his just rule, and Skalds are well favoured at his court. When his family was killed by his treacherous uncles, Horik rose up to challenge them to battle and drive them away from his land. Enamored of Ragnar's legend, he is quick to join his strength to that of the rising Earl in order to gain the upper hand against his adversary, Jarl Borg of Götaland. And yet, though a Norseman born and at one with their ways, Horik's true agenda remains as double-edged as the sword by his side. Knowing that Ragnar's strength has already undone two kings, the son of Gøtrik awaits the time to reveal his true cunning.

* ActorAllusion: Donal Logue once again plays an a-hole whose name rhymes with [[SonsOfAnarcy Toric]].
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In order to become King, he defeated his six uncles in combat one by one.
* BackstabBackfire: His scheme to betray Ragnar and slaughter his family hinges on the aid of Floki and Siggy. [[spoiler: They were actually loyal to Ragnar all along, which ultimately costs Horik and most of his family their lives]].
%% Putting a trope into a secondary bullet of another trope is against the Examples Indentation rules. Leave Badass tropes at first level, please.
* BadassInCharge: Of all of Denmark (historically, he was the sole King of Denmark).
* BarbarianLonghair: Long hair was a sign of manliness in Old Germanic societies.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo[=/=]YouCantFightFate: When Ragnar, who had suspected a trap and wanted to wait, challenges him on this, Horrik declares that the outcome of the battle was fated and that he cannot be held responsible for their defeat, as it was the will of the gods.
* BerserkButton: Christianity is a big one for him. He hates the idea of being amongst Christians and will simply murder them in cold blood or even torture them before killing them.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He tends to come off as rather jovial and carefree, and the first time we see him, he's playing a prank on the local priests. Beneath that he is shown to be a very ruthless and cruel man, who does more harm than help to his allies.
* BigGood: He's the King of Denmark and Ragnar pledges his loyalty to him. [[DownplayedTrope Thus, he's the highest authority among marauding warriors.]]
* ColdBloodedTorture: Has the bishop of Winchester tortured to death by tying him down and shooting him full of arrows. TruthInTelevision to an extent, as the Vikings allegedly did this to King Edmund of East Anglia.
* CompositeCharacter: With Harald Greycloak and Sigurd Hring, as Ragnar's predecessor as King of Denmark. Some historians and academic minded audiences have pointed out Horik and Ragnar are possibly the same person in the same place, with Ragnar being a more badass identity invented by Horik's descendants.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: In real life, he outlived Ragnar by a decade. Specifically, he outlived someone called "Reginherus", who is believed by historians to possibly have been one of the candidates for the historical Ragnar. There are even some historians who posit that Horik I and Ragnar might have even been the same person.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: When Ragnar and his men have him surrounded, Horik calmly resigns himself to his fate, and only asks Ragnar to spare his son, before serenely walking up to Ragnar and embracing death]].
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He truly loved his son.
* GeneralFailure: Horik's lack of attentiveness at his camp in the first raid of Wessex (As in his men freely going hunting and him drinking and feasting in camp) and his LeeroyJenkins attitude in the second raid leads him to being squashed by Ecbert twice. Especially irking, for both Ragnar and the viewers, is that on account of his fatalist attitude, Horik refuses to take responsibility for any of his fuckups. According to him, his men lost not because of his terrible tactics, but because the gods had fated them to lose.
* TheGoodKing: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Ragnar remarks on how his people appreciate his just rule. However, this is likely because he pays skalds to make sure his reputation ''stays'' good; the man himself isn't exactly everything the songs portray him as.
* HeroicLineage: Horik I was a Scylding, and a descendant of motherfucking Harald Wartooth -- the ultimate Viking badass (aside from Ragnar and Egil Skallagrimsson).
* HiddenDepths: Exhibits knowledge enough of Norse legends to impress even Floki.
-->'''Horik:''' Of course, I do. These things interest me.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horik_I Yeah, that Horik]]. Loosely.
* HistoricalInJoke: Of course, he would know about Christians! Historically, Horik I's predecessor converted to Christianity and Horik himself historically resisted attempts to proselytize the Danes by Ansgar of Hamburg-Bremen.
* KillEmAll: Tries to pull this on Ragnar's family. [[spoiler: It backfires. ''Hard'']].
* LargeHam: Shows himself to be a bit theatrical.
-->'''Horik:''' I have heard about Christians! And their god! And... are you ''still'' Christian?\\
'''Athelstan:''' No.\\
'''Horik:''' OF COURSE NOT! How could you be a Christian and walk among our gods?!
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Believes that Floki and Siggy can be trusted to help him bring down Ragnar. [[spoiler: They can't]].
* LeeroyJenkins: His approach to battle is essentially to say "To [[{{Pun}} Hel]] with planning, [[AttackAttackAttack let's just charge straight at the enemy]]!"
* PapaWolf: He gets ''pissed'' when one of his sons die in the raid on Wessex.
* PetTheDog: Any intereactions with his sons show the kinder side of his personality. [[spoiler: He even dies begging for his son to be spared]].
* PoisonousFriend: He has a highly negative influence on Floki, attempting to convince him to murder Bjorn.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Viking.
-->"Do not despair. Meet everything head on. Whether we live or die this day is already in the hands of the gods! They know whether we sup with tonight so fear not! Fight well. And should you die, surely Odin will take you to Valhalla!"
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Unless he sees you as a potential threat to his power, he's fair and affable.
* RousingSpeech: See Proud Warrior Race Guy above.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: In addition to his exploits that won him the throne, Horik also fights in the shieldwall alongside his men.
* SupportingLeader: Ragnar is TheProtagonist and pledges loyalty to him at the end of first season.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Plays hnefatafl with Ragnar to pass the time. They both use it as an opportunity to suss each other out.
* WhatTheHellHero: Ragnar gives both him and Borg one of these after their battle, chiding them for wasting lives against each other when they could be conquering new lands in the West.
* WouldHurtAChild: Sensing that Ragnar has a weakness for his family, he tries to get Floki and Siggy to murder Ragnar's children.
* YouKilledMyFather: Towards his uncles. His mother and siblings were also thrown into the mix.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Harald Finehair]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vikings_season4_cast_harald.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Peter Franzén


->''"I decided that I had to make myself worthy of her by becoming king of all of Norway! Then she would marry me for sure!"''

An ambitious and petty king who wishes to swallow up all of Norway, which means he will have to annex Kattegat.
----

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Played with. Harald forms and breaks alliances on a regular basis but he does so openly and will not actually backstab a current ally. If he is your ally, you can trust him to have your back. However, once the goal of the alliance has been achieved, Harald will not hesitate to form a new alliance with his former enemies to attack his former allies.

* TheRival: To Bjorn.

* [[DevilInPlainSight Villain In Plain Sight]]: Aslaug [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] that his plans would involve conquering Ragnar’s lands.

[[folder:Earl Haraldson]]
[[quoteright:216:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earl-normal_vikings-promo-13_1051.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/GabrielByrne

->''"A man lives or dies by his honour"''

Once he was as Ragnar is now -- Restless, ambitious, and eager for battle. Now the years of grief since the death of his sons has made a ruin of a once mighty man. Stern and patriarchal, he sees daggers drawn in the shadows around every corner, true or otherwise. Holding only dwindling faith in the gods, he claws and struggles to retain his temporal power, yet deep down he is a dead man who desires only peace from the world.

When his struggle with Ragnar's rising power comes to head, the two face each other in holmgang, the preferred protocol for such rivalries. Ragnar defeats the Earl in single combat, thus allowing him to at last enter Valhalla and be reunited with his sons, and also takes the fallen warrior's role as chieftain of Kattegat.

* ArchEnemy: To Ragnar, and vice versa. Ragnar was even described as his nemesis by Gabriel Byrne.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Downplayed. We don't see him fight until his duel with Ragnar (who was injured at the time).
* BadBoss: Due to Earl Haraldson's greed and paranoia, it can be just as dangerous to be one of his loyal followers as being one of his enemies. He goes as far as to give one of his men the permission to sleep with the Earl's wife and then have the man executed when he takes the Earl up on the offer. This gradually reduces his powerbase until by his fight with Ragnar he has only one man loyal to him personally and not the office.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: He's loosely based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_II_of_Norway Olaf II of Norway]]. The real king Olaf, however, lived almost a century and half after the historical period of the series. He was notoriously a deeply devout Christian, who (often brutally) converted a huge part of Norway during his rule, and because of his canonisation he went down in history more famously as Saint Olaf. This is not the case of king Olaf in the series, who's a pagan just as the overwhelming majority of Norse characters.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: He tends to come off as rather jovial and carefree, and the first time we see him, he's playing a prank on the local priests. Beneath that he is shown to be a very ruthless and cruel man, who does more harm than help to his allies.

* BadassBeard: There's no shortage of epic beardage in this show because they're Norsemen.

* BadassBeard: Viking.

* BadassBeard: Kind of a theme by now, don't you think?

* BadassBeard: Truly so! His is tied into two separate plaits!

* BadassBeard: It's so big, he has to tie it into a massive braid.

* BadassBeard: Notable even amongst his fellow Northmen for its length and girth.

* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: His initial appearance in season 5A is a lot less dramatic than his reappearance in season 5B were he has a white eye, huge scars and a BadassBeard.

* BadassBeard: Has grown one in "Sacrifice" as a sign of how close he is to GoingNative.

* BadassMustache: His distinctive trait is the fact his moustache is thicker and longer than his beard (and also braided), unlike most Vikings.

* CreepyAwesome: He appears first in terrifying visions of Ragnar's. Then, [[spoiler: when he appears to the Ragnarssons, his coming is heralded by swarms of ravens, he walks through a crowded Kattegat apparently unseen by any others, and his appearance [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness terrifies or disturbs the usually unflappable Ivar]].]]

* FanNickname: Earl Siegfried ''the Troll''

* AssholeVictim: [[TheAlcoholic An Alcoholic]] who [[DomesticAbuse abuses Lagertha]], [[MaritalRapeLicense attempts to rape her]] and tries to rip her dress in front of a large crowd to show her breasts. No one sheds a tear when Lagertha stabs him in the [[EyeScream eye]] and Einar, his own nephew, [[OffWithHisHead decapitates him]]. Both among audience and in-universe.

* AltarDiplomacy: Earl Haraldsson married his daughter Thyri off to him to increase his money chest and get an ally.

* [[spoiler: DroppedABridgeOnHim]]: He is built up as a future important character, akin to Ragnar's son and shares the name of a historical Viking leader. [[spoiler: He is killed as [[SacrificialLamb canon fodder]] during the battle at the midpoint of Season 5]].

* MaritalRapeLicense: Tries to enforce this on Lagertha.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While his domestic abuse is completely uncalled for, he has the right to be angry with Lagertha for running away with his warriors and leaving his heir in Kattegat without even asking him.
* NeverSayThatAgain: His general reaction to Ragnar.

* NotSoDifferent:
** He essentially is to Floki what Jarl Borg was to Rollo.
** He is also very similar to Haraldson, in his occasionally petty decision making, and in that he's an established ruler who grows paranoid of the upstart Ragnar's growing fame and power, [[spoiler: a paranoia that drives him to actions which lead to his death at Ragnar's hand.]]

* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler: Kjetill is not so different from Eyvind in the end, protecting his family through extreme violence and rejecting one of his children for not siding with him]]

* NotSoDifferent: Ragnar establishes in the beginning of "Yol" that despite having an opposite social standing with Yidu, they are both entrapped by their positions.
-->'''Ragnar''': In my world, I am constantly torn between killing myself or everyone around me.\\
'''Yidu''': I am a slave. So I have the same feelings.\\
'''Ragnar''': ''[chuckles]'' A king and a slave. It is both our duties to serve others, whether we like it or not.

[[folder: Earl Haraldson]]

[[folder: Jarl Borg]]

[[folder: Torvi]]

[[folder: Earl Kalf]]

[[folder: Halfdan the Black]]

[[folder: Earl Siegfried]]

[[folder: Earl Bjarni]]

[[folder: Earl Sigvard]]

[[folder: Guthrum]]

[[folder: King Olaf the Stout]]

[[folder: The Seer]]

[[folder: Astrid]]

!! Foreign Slaves (Thrals)

[[folder:Thorunn]]

* ActionGirl: After being given her freedom, Thorunn wants to become a shieldmaiden so Björn will respect her as a warrior rather than like her for her looks.

* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: After being maimed by a Saxon, she loses confidence in herself as a warrior and having lost her looks, believes herself to be completely worthless. Aslaug tells her to woman up and pray to Freyja, but instead Thorunn abandons her infant daughter and husband]].

* MeaningfulName: Thorunn means ''Thor's wave''. Both the women Björn is involved with have names relating to Thor.

** Harald's actor Peter Franzén even parodied this on his instagram when he meet with Weiss by chance and made a post featuring a selfie of the two saying he had found Thorunn and that she was alright.
* [[spoiler: RomanticFalseLead]]: She is built up as [[spoiler: Bjorn's love interest, but is replaced by Torvi.]]
* SlapSlapKiss

[[folder: Tanaruz]]

[[folder: Freydis]]

!![[spoiler: Gods]]
[[folder: Odin]]