Characters / The Last Kingdom Mercia

The Kingdom of Mercia

Royalty

Aethelflaed

Queen Æthelflæd

Portrayed By: Millie Brady

Alfred and Aelswith’s beloved daughter. Aethelflaed is strong, brave and intelligent; she has a mind as thoughtful as her father’s and a will as strong as her mother’s. Ever grateful towards Uhtred for protecting her family in the dark days before the battle of Ethandun, the two share a kinship that will be put to the test in a time of great need.

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• Action Girl: She was trained in combat by Steapa, and puts his lessons to good use. It's noted that the Mercian warriors see her as their true leader, not Aethelred. She leads the Mercian charge against the Danes in the Season 3 finale.
• Arranged Marriage: To Aethelred, who has the gall to lowball the marriage price.
• Awful Wedded Life: Being married to Aethelred is no picnic, although she eventually manages to avoid his abuse by gaining the loyalty of the Mercian people.
• Big Damn Heroes: Her charge leading Mercian cavalry into the Danes in the finale of Season 3 saves her brother Edward and Uhtred's army from being overrun.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Or rather, mom. Threatens to send Cynlaef on a suicide mission against Danish raiders when she catches him kissing her daughter.
• Brother–Sister Team: She and her brother Edward are determined to continue their father's work to build England.
• The Chains of Commanding: In Season 4. She loves Uhtred, but a requirement of her ascendancy to the throne of Mercia is that she take an oath of celibacy and thus forsake her own desires for the good of her kingdom. Within an episode of taking the throne, she has adjusted to her role enough that she responds to the news that Uhtred is likely dead with only a brief show of pain before accepting that there are greater matters to deal with.
• Daddy's Girl: Adores her father and clearly enjoys his company. Alfred in turn recognises her as intelligent enough to make her a part of his plans.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: She dies while taking a final walk with Uhtred, allowing the two to reconcile over their earlier arguments and reflect on how much they love each other.
• English Rose: A Saxon princess, the beloved daughter of King Alfred who dreams of uniting the separate kingdoms of England. She's beautiful, brave and intelligent with a keen sense of authority. She has dark hair and very fair skin with pink undertones and she's growing into the warrior queen archetype.
• Likes Older Men: The two men she ever actually loved, Erik and Uhtred himself, are both substantially older than her. Uhtred in particular is old enough to have been serving her father when she was just a little girl hiding with her family in the marshes of Somerset.
• Marital Rape Licence: Aethelred believes that as his wife, Aethelflaed is his property. In turn he brutally rapes her on their wedding night.
• Nice Girl: She's a very sweet woman.
• Pet the Dog: She's far kinder, more generous and nicer to Uhtred than her parents.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has dark hair and very fair skin with pink undertones. Admired for her beauty by most, and the more worthy people also appreciate her inner beauty and kindness.
• Save the Princess: She is briefly held captive by Siegfried and Erik in Season 2, forcing her parents, her husband and Uhtred to negotiate her freedom, and then for Uhtred to launch a rescue mission.
• Star-Crossed Lovers:
  • With Erik, her Dane kidnapper, who shows her far more love and care than her own husband.
  • Later, with Uhtred himself, after she takes an oath of celibacy in exchange for the Mercian throne.
• Your Days Are Numbered: She's informed her terminal breast cancer will kill her before the spring early in Season 5, and focuses on ensuring a peaceful transition of power in Mercia in what time she has left.

Aethelred

King Aethelred

Portrayed By: Toby Regbo

Arrogant lord of Mercia. Aethelred appears to be both the perfect match for Aethelflaed and a good ally for Alfred as he strives to extend his influence outside Wessex. But in moments of weakness Aethelred is plagued by insecurity, and is rarely seen without his advisor Aldhelm by whom he is easily influenced in matters both personal and political.

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• Alas, Poor Villain: He becomes oddly pitiable in his last days, in part because the head trauma means that half the time he can barely remember what bad things he did to make people hate him and during moments of clarity can realize he deserves it a little.
• Arranged Marriage: He arranges for his own marriage to Aethelflaed, bartering with Wessex and trying to lowball the marriage price.
• Awful Wedded Life: He makes life hell for Aethelflaed, raping her on their wedding night and coldly mistreating her. This turns out to have repercussions for him.
• Bad Boss: He stabs Aldhelm for disobeying him, and leaves him to die in Wessex. Fortunately Aldhelm is a survivor by nature.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Aethelred really should be more threatening than he is due to the resources and power he's inherited, but he's too short-sighted, foolish and reactive to be much of a threat by himself. He only really becomes a threat when allied with people who actually have plans of their own.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In public, he's polite and kind. In private, he's a ruthlessly ambitious borderline sociopath.
• Bullying a Dragon: He makes several racist and sexist comments about Gisela in front of Uhtred, who promptly drags Aethelred from his horse and threatens to kill him until Aldhelm and Gisela defuse the situation.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: After taunting him, Eardwulf grabs a spike and twists it around Aethelred's bandage covering his fatal head wound, putting pressure on it until the entire skull splits and blood begins filling his eyes. While it's happening, Aethelred is too weak to call for help and can only muster gasps and groans of pain while his head breaks.
• Death by Falling Over: Getting knocked over in a battle causes him to split his skull open and slowly begin to inevitably die.
• Domestic Abuse: He follows up his rape of Athelflaed with regular physical violence and intimidation.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Aethelred is a handsome young man, but behind that pretty face lurks a cruel sadist.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's capable of feigning politeness, but he's sneering and contemptuous.
• General Failure: While his commander, Eardwulf, bears some share of the blame, Aethelred goes campaigning in East Anglia for a land grab that will bolster his reputation, leaving Mercia defenceless against Cnut's army that all but completely destroys the region in his absence.
• Hate Sink: He proves to be both equal parts loathsome and useless.
• Humiliation Conga: Erik and Sigefrid publicly humiliate him before everyone (Erik forces him to kneel in front of everyone at Beamfleot, while Sigefried has one of his own men knock Aethelred unconcious then dump him naked in a pig pen so they can negotiate with Uhtred without his interference); Aethelred most certainly deserved it.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: He holds every other living thing in contempt and is endlessly arrogant, but he's also deeply insecure. He's forever obsessed with the idea that others are tricking him or trying to make a fool out of him.
• It's All About Me: Aethelred's primary concern is Aethelred. He doesn't even care about his own country. His selfish and casually cruel attitude prompts Aldhelm to betray him.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While it doesn't change the fact that he's a psychopathic little shit, he's not wrong to point out how colossally stupid it was to to trust information delivered by Haesten.
• King In Name Only: By Season 3, even Aldhelm considers Aethelflaed the true leader of Mercia.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After being mortally wounded, he realizes quickly everyone hates him and nobody is upset to see him go. He's left broken on his deathbed and realizes how badly he's wasted his life.
• Marital Rape Licence

: He believes that a woman is the property of her husband. As such, he rapes his new wife Aethelflaed on their wedding night.

• Miles Gloriosus: He wastes most of Season 4 raiding villages in East Anglia so he can claim the land and improve his reputation enough to split off from Wessex, completely oblivious to the fact that Cnut and Brida have all but destroyed Mercia in his absence.
• Pet the Dog: When on his deathbed, he vows to Aethelflaed not to marry off her daughter without discussing it with her. When approached with a profitable match for her, he intends to keep his word and refuses without speaking to her.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: His views of women are hateful even for the time period. He's also prejudiced toward Danes.
• Pretty Boy: He's a good-looking fellow. This is the nicest thing that can be said about him.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He takes his anger out on Aethelflaed by raping her brutally on their wedding night.
• Reformed, but Rejected: He tries, at the last days of his life, to change by apologizing to Aetheflaed. She makes some peace with him but coolly rejects any overtures at friendliness or forgiveness.
• Skewed Priorities: Throughout Season 3, he's more interested in trying to have Aethelflaed murdered and consolidating his power in Mercia once Alfred dies, rather than acknowledge the threat of a Danish invasion that requires both Wessex and Mercia allied together to defeat.
• Smug Snake: He's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is, and is only able to summon the courage to be his real, vile self when he's certain of his own safety. Strangely, his idiocy is part of what makes him so dangerous, since he's such a thundering dumbass that he acts without really considering the consequences.
• Undignified Death: Murdered agonizingly in his bed, in pure terror, by a man he'd mistreated.

Aelfwynn

Lady Aelfwynn

Portrayed By: Helena Albright (child), Phia Saban (adult)

The daughter of Aethelflaed and Erik, though legally she is Aethelred's daughter which puts her in line for the Mercian throne.

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• Animal Lover: She's frequently seen carrying around a bird cage.
• And Now You Must Marry Me: The final conflict of Season 5 involves Aelfwynn being kidnapped by Aethelhelm so he can use her as a bargaining chip with King Constantin of Scotland, offering the girl as a bride in exchange for Constantin's help deposing Edward.
• Arranged Marriage: The Mercian nobles quickly try to get one for her after Aethelred's fatal wounding. Eardwulf manages to persuade Edward to give her to him, though this falls apart after he's exposed as Aethelred's murderer.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Aelfwynn starts Season 5 as one, causing her mother no end of grief by refusing to take her duty seriously, as well as sticking her tongue down the throat of any handsome boy who takes her fancy.
• Chocolate Baby: Her pale skin and light hair mark her as a half-Dane, according to Aethelred.
• The Ghost: She's mentioned in Season 3 but doesn't appear until Season 4.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Although her mother wants Aelfwynn to succeed her as Lady of Mercia, her uncle and several Mercian nobles all believe she's not up to the task.
• Jerkass Has a Point: She can be an insufferable brat, but in an argument with Aelswith, Aelfwynn raises a good point that her grandmother was a pretty lousy parent to Aethelflaed and Edward. The accusation clearly strikes a nerve judging from Aelswith's reaction.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Eadith takes on somewhat of a big sister role to her and they hug before parting ways.
• Living MacGuffin: Her status as Mercia's only heir give her some importance since many of the Mercian nobles view her as their ticket onto the throne after her step-father's passing.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Aethelred makes it very clear that he doesn't believe she's his daughter and Aethelflaed doesn't do much to dissuade this notion.
  Haesten: And how is the Lady Aethelflaed, and her child? Tell me, who does the child resemble?
  Uhtred: Haesten, you will say no more.
  Haesten: I'm not saying anything her husband hasn't already.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: Grandparental in this case, but Aelfwynn is clearly grossed out when Aelswith starts describing some of the more intimate benefits of being married.
• Pet the Dog: She consoles a shaken Hild after the Abbess is forced to kill a guard during their escape from Bebbanburg.
• Save the Princess: Much of the conflict of the later half of Season 5 involves rescuing her from being held captive by Aethelhelm.
• Shrinking Violet: As a little girl, very much so. As a young woman, not so much.
• Someone to Remember Him By: Erik died before Aethelflaed even realized she was pregnant.
• They Really Do Love Each Other: Though she and her mother frequently clash, when she learns Aethelflaed is dying, Aelfwynn is genuinely heartbroken.
• Threat Backfire: Threatens to kill herself when Aethelhelm declares she's to be wed to King Constantin of Scotland as part of an alliance to depose her uncle. Aethelhelm spits back he couldn't care less if she does, since her committing suicide is one less problem he has to deal with.
• Uptown Girl: A Mercian princess in love with her cousin Aethelstan's best friend Cynlaef, who is just a common man-at-arms.

Ceolwulf

King Ceolwulf

Portrayed By: David Gant

Last king of independent Mercia. Ceolwulf is not happy with Alfred's lack of support for Mercia, and strives to make his country a military power once again

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• Killed Mid-Sentence: He drops dead whilst yelling at Alfred.
• Large Ham: He shouts at Alfred for "SWORDS!" throughout his scene.
• Old Soldier: An old warrior king who is not at all cowed by Alfred.
• One-Scene Wonder: He dies in his first and only scene, but makes quite the impression while he's there.

Mercian Royal Court

Aldhelm

Aldhelm

Portrayed By: James Northcote

Aethelred’s ambitious and scheming right-hand-man, and commander of his household troops. Resents Mercia’s subservience to Wessex, and has plans to reverse the line of dominance.

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• Adaptational Heroism: Book Aldhelm is a contemptious scheming villian. In the series, once he finds out that Aethelred is not the man he thought he was, he switches allegiances to Aethelflaed and becomes her top general and honest advisor. He then never flinches from her orders and is always at her side.
• All Love Is Unrequited: He openly admits he's in love with Aethelflaed, and while he knows she doesn't reciprocate his feelings, it doesn't stop Aldhelm from being loyal to her.
• Bait-and-Switch: In the final battle of Season 5, it initially appears Aldhelm is trampled and killed during Constantin's counterattack, only for him to turn up wounded but alive in a prisoner exchange after the battle.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has a dry wit when he thinks he can get away with it.
• The Dragon: To Aethelred. Until his Heel–Face Turn.
• Everyone Has Standards: He's disgusted by his master's plans to make Mercia independent and ally with Aethelwold and the Danes once Alfred is dead. He also clearly doesn't approve of Aethelred's plan to try and assassinate Aethelflaed and even warns her of her husband's malicious intent.
• Heel–Face Turn: Spends Season 2 as Aethelred's loyal but manipulative advisor, serving as the brains behind his schemes, but grows disillusioned with his lord in Season 3 and begins to see Aethelflaed as the better choice to rule Mercia. By Season 4, he has completely abandoned Aethelred in favour of Aethelflaed, who trusts him completely—as does Uhtred (who used to despise him).
• Honest Advisor: Aethelflaed's trusted right hand from season three onwards.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Aldhelm is very much the brains behind Aethelred; he is much more aware of political realities than his master, and if Aethelred does something clever, it's safe to assume it's because Aldhelm told him to do so or otherwise tricked him into it.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: For warning Uhtred about Ingilmundr, Aethelstan has Aldhelm branded a traitor and hanged.
• Only Sane Man: He rapidly becomes this in Season 3 as he has to contend with his lord's pettiness and spitefulness towards his wife and the alliance with Wessex. He even has to point out to Aethelred it's not a good idea to try and plan Aethelflaed's assassination when her father and brother are close at hand.
• Pet the Dog: He sincerely thanks Uhtred for ceding the throne of Mercia to Aethelflaed.
  Aldhelm: Your rule was brief, Lord Uhtred, but in that time, you served Mercia well.
  • He also tries to convince Edward to give Uhtred more time to negotiate with Sigtryggr before launching an all out attack on Winchester.
• Quit Your Whining: He angrily tells Aelfwynn essentially this when she complains about her mother treating her like a child, pointing out the sacrifices a dying Aethelflaed made for her daughter to inherit rule of a peaceful Mercia.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: In the Season 3 finale, when a grieving and furious Father Beocca breaks up a meeting between Aethelred, Aethelwold and several other potentially traitorous lords by smashing their table with an axe, Aldhelm quickly intervenes before Beocca or Aethelred can start a fight. He holds Beocca back, urges Aethelred not to use his sword, and judging from his expression, clearly agrees with Boecca's denunciation of Aethelwold.
• Rousing Speech: He gives a brief speech to the men of Mercia after Alfred promises to aid them.
  "In my hand, I have a letter from Alfred of Wessex! It is the promise of one thousand men! It is the one thousand men demanded by our lord, Aethelred of Mercia, to fight alongside the great fryd of Mercia to help rid Lunden of the filthy, stinking, pox-ridden, pig's-arse ugly, heathen, Danish bastards! A toast! A toast! To the warriors of Mercia. Where we go, Alfred and Wessex shall follow. And we shall rise! - We shall rise!"
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Outright tells Edward he will support Uhtred's plan to rescue Aelfwynn from Bebbanburg, even if that means ordering the Mercian army to fight their Wessex counterparts if Edward tries to stop them.
  Aldhelm: Lord King, this is callous, to Aelfwynn and to all those in Northumbria who are Saxon. Mercia owes both a debt of loyalty.
  Edward: Mercia is best served when the south is secure.
  Aldhelm: Not at the expense of the North! Aethelflaed would listen to Uhtred now,as must we. And I gave your sister my word that I would keep Aelfwynn safe! I will not sacrifice her as you do now! And nor will the Mercian army. I stand with Uhtred.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In The Saxon Stories, Aldhelm is killed by Uhtred for trying to rape Aethelflaed at Athelred's behest so the latter has an excuse to divorce his wife. In the series, Aldhelm turns on Aethelred when ordered to harm Athelflaed, becomes a trusted advisor and friend to her and Uhtred. Ultimately, he doesn't meet his end until Seven Kings Must Die, and is one of the very last named characters to die in the entire series.

Eadith

Eadith

Portrayed By: Stefanie Martini

A disgraced Mercian noblewoman who schemes with her brother Eardwulf to reclaim their position by courting Aethelred's favor.

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• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Uhtred and his companions from dying by hanging upside down by distracting the guards and freeing them.
• Dark Mistress: She would prefer it otherwise, as she finds Aethelred repulsive, but Aethelred lusts after her and she's willing to use that so that she and her brother can regain their status.
• Eating the Eye Candy: She's seen taking a long and appreciative look at Uhtred's backside in Season 5.
• Everyone Has Standards: She's clearly appalled when she witnesses her brother murder Aethelred.
• Fiery Redhead: She's got flame-red hair and isn't afraid to speak her mind.
• Friend to All Children: She grows quite close to Aelfwynn and Aethelstan during their travels together under Uhtred's company.
• Heel–Face Turn: After Aethelred is dead, she gives her loyalty to Uhtred and grows fond of Aethelflaed's daughter.
• He Is All Grown Up: A platonic example in Season 5; having last seen Aethelstan when he was ten years old, Eadith is genuinely surprised when Uhtred reveals the young man standing beside him is Aethelstan.
• The Medic: She's spent time in Frankia learning to be this between Season 4 and 5. It's in this capacity Eadith learns Aethelflaed is dying from breast cancer.
• No Place for Me There: Despite Eadith's friendship with her daughter, Aethelflaed sadly tells Eadith she can't remain at the Mercian court, since people would think her weak if she kept her husband's former mistress, as well as his murderer's sister, close. Eadith accepts that she's effectively being banished and chooses to follow Uhtred to Wessex.
• Pet the Dog: When Aethelred is dying, she does try to provide him with some comfort on his deathbed and forgives him when, in one of his more lucid moments, he apologises for mistreating her.
• Playing Hard to Get: Recognizes that, once she sleeps with Aethelred, his interest in her is likely to fade. So she teases him along for as long as she can, finally relenting to try and cushion the blow when her brother has to report that Danes are laying waste to Mercia thanks to his ill-conceived invasion of East Anglia.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Frees Aethelflaed from captivity after Aethelred's death so she can find Aelfwynn and Uhtred to protect her daughter, noting that between them, Eardwulf and Edward's ambitions will destroy Mercia unless they are stopped.
• Secret-Keeper: She is the first to learn Aethelflaed is dying of breast cancer. After the latter and Uhtred have a falling out, Eadith lets Finan in on the secret, urging him to tell Uhtred when the time is right so he doesn't miss the opportunity to reconcile with Aethelflaed before she dies.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She uses her wiles and a knife to overpower and kill one of the guards Haesten left to guard Uhtred and his men, and volunteers herself to sneak into the occupied Winchester to try and get intelligence for Uhtred on Sigtryggr's army.
  • She also helps Aelswith overpower and kill one of Aethelhelm's men holding them and Aelfwynn hostage.
• Ship Tease: With Finan and later Uhtred.

Eardwulf

Eardwulf

Portrayed By: Jamie Blackley

A disgraced Mercian nobleman seeking to regain his family's position by acting as Aethelred's new advisor.

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• Ambition Is Evil: He's a power hungry guy, and has few scruples about what he has to do to gain that power.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: When he and his men finally track down Uhtred and his retainers protecting Aelfwynn, Eardwulf angrily demands Aelfwynn surrender herself, or he kill her friends and protectors, then track down and kill her mother too.
• Blatant Lies: Claims to Mercian noblemen after the Battle of Tettenhall that he urged Aethelred to return to defend Mercia when he delayed their return out of fear of Aethelred's rage when the latter found out about Cnut's rampage.
• Bullying a Dragon: Even after she takes him captive, Eardwulf mocks Brida about the Danish defeat at Tettenhall. He then has to hastily back pedal and offer information on Winchester's weakened defences when a furious Brida moves to kill him.
• Can't Take Criticism: Eardwulf's response to Stiorra telling him he's a self-pitying piece of shit with no one to blame but himself for his problems is to pull a knife on her.
• Didn't Think This Through: After murdering Aethelred, Eardwulf takes his signet ring as a trophy. When Eadith exposes him as Aethelred's murderer, his men find the ring on his person, confirming her accusations as true.
• Dragon with an Agenda: He's Aethelred's loyal henchman only because he hopes Aethelred will restore his family's name. Once Aethelred tells him on his death bed he will never allow Eardwulf to rule Mercia, Eardwulf kills him without hesitation.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Even he is horrified that Brida orders her men to desecrate the men buried at Winchester. This just after Brida and Sigtryggr watched him rob the dead of Winchester for silver, on top of everything else he has done.
• I Owe You My Life: Edward is initially well-disposed towards Eardwulf for saving his life at Tettenhall.
• Make an Example of Them: When Sigtryggr asks him whether it is better to rule with love (As Stiorra has told him her father and Alfred did) or fear, Eardwulf says fear. Sitryggr decides to use him to test that theory.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Eardwulf is a little too eager to employ murder to deal with his problems. Eadith tells him Aethelred suggested murdering Aethelflaed? Hail it as a brilliant idea, so she can marry him. A messenger from Wessex tells him Mercia has been attacked by the Danes, and knowing it's his fault Mercia was undefended? Stab the messenger and bury him in a shallow grave. Aethelred refuses to agree to betroth him to Aelfwynn? Kill the dying Aethelred. Realizing siding with the Danes has left him with nothing to gain? Try to kill Stiorra to gain some revenge against Uhtred.
• Never My Fault: He blames his downfall and banishment from Mercia on Uhtred turning his sister against him, rather than the fact he murdered Aethelred. Stiorra sets him straight, even while he's threatening to murder her that he's a self-pitying piece of crap who has no one to blame for his problems but himself.
• Oh, Crap!: When he realises he now has to tell Aethelred that the information that Haesten gave him was false and left all of Mercia wide open to be ravaged by Brida and Cnut.
  • Also when his sister exposes him as Aethelred's murderer and his guards don't buy his attempts to dismiss her claims, and again when Sigtryggr catches him trying to murder Stiorra.
• Pet the Dog: Even if it feels a whole lot like Kick the Dog. At his execution, Eadith is in the crowd and begs for him to be spared. When Sigtrygrr asks who cares enough for Eardwulf to beg for his life, Eardwulf harshly dismisses Eadith as just a whore he once knew, refusing to endanger his sister by revealing who she truly is even to try to save his own life.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Sigtryggr has him executed when he realizes he has his own agenda and doesn't want him to stab him in the back.
• Yes-Man: On the surface, anyway. He's acquired the rather unflattering nickname of 'the Arse-Licker' among Mercian nobles. Brida also calls him that and the Danes who hear it follow suit.
• Would Hit a Girl: He tries to murder Stiorra for the sake of petty revenge on Uhtred, but Sigtryggr catches him in the act, and then beats him to a pulp for it.
  • Also invoked by Aethelflaed, who refuses to agree to marry her daughter to Eardwulf for fear he'd inflict the same abuse on Aelfwynn that she suffered at Aethelred's hands. He also tries to coerce Aelfwynn into surrendering by threatening to kill her mother.
• You Have Failed Me: He narrowly avoids this fate. Aethelred threatens to have Eardwulf publicly castrated and then executed for allowing Mercia to be left completely undefended, but Aethelred is mortally wounded at Tettenhall before he can go through with it.
  Eardwulf: Please do not execute me.
  Aethelred: (seething) You will pray for execution. When we return to Aegelesburg, I will publicly castrate you! Your family will never prosper and your sister will never leave my bed!

Ludeca

Lord Ludeca

Portrayed By: Richard Dillane

One of the surviving Ealdormen of Mercia following Cnut's invasion and a potential claimant to the throne of Mercia following Aethelred's death.

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• Every Man Has His Price: He's initially resistant to Edward's proposal to name Eardwulf as Lord of Mercia instead of him, until Edward suggests the lands taken from Eardwulf's family could be given to Ludeca as a reward for his support, at which point Ludeca grudgingly consents.
• I Did What I Had to Do: His reasoning to accepting Edward's proposal to betroth Aelfwynn to Eardwulf as Lord of Mercia; as Ludeca insists when Aethlflaed protests, it's not a perfect solution but it will restore peace that Mercia desperately needs.
  Edward: You agreed that Aelfwynn's betrothal was best for Mercia...
  Aethelflaed: I will not have my child condemned to a life of misery!. Please, Ludeca, do not accept this plan.
  Ludeca: The plan offers stability. I believe it to be the best solution.
  • His sealing the gates of Aelesburg to refugees desperately fleeing plague running rampant through the Mercian countryside; as he argues, the last thing they need is sick refugees causing panic and spreading disease within the town.
• Non-Action Guy: As Father Pyrlig describes him, Ludeca "wants a kingdom but doesn't have the balls to fight for it".
• Oh, Crap!: His reaction when one of his retainers informs him plague is ravaging the Mercian countryside and entire villages are being abandoned to escape its spread.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to the Obstructive Bureaucrat that is Burgred.
• Old Man Marrying a Child: Averted: Despite him being one of the best claimants to ascend to the throne of Mercia following Tettenhall and Aethelred's death, Edward does not like the idea of marrying his niece off to a man old enough to be her grandfather, even to secure peace in Mercia, and decides to look for a younger claimant.
• The Quisling: A lot of the Mercian ealdormen, like Burgred, consider him this for his support of Edward's involement in Mercian affairs.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Averted; he's one of the first to accept the prospect of Aethelflaed ascending to the throne of Mercia, and cites the example of King Offa's widow as proof a woman can rule Mercia.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Ludeca doesn't reappear in Season 5, though given several characters remark upon his age during the Succession Crisis, it's entirely possible he died during the intervening years,

Burgred

Lord Burgred

Portrayed By: Dorian Lough

One of the surviving Ealdormen of Mercia following Cnut's invasion, Burgred aspires to put his son on the throne of Mercia and desires to break away from Wessex.

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• 0% Approval Rating: As Father Pyrlig notes, Burgred wants the throne of Mercia to go to his son, but none of the other ealdormen like him enough to let him have his way.
• Death by Materialism: Burgred and the other Mercian ealdormen accepts bribes from Aethelhelm to name his grandson Aelfweard as Lord of Mercia over Aethelflaed's preferred successor. When Edward finds out, he has Burgred and his fellow nobles assassinated.
• Due to the Dead: Averted: Burgred flatly refuses to pay respects to a dying Aethelred, angrily raging that Aethelred's ambitions all but destroyed Mercia.
• Forced to Watch: Burgred mentions that he had to watch his eldest son beheaded and his wife and younger son tortured during the Danish invasion of Mercia.
• I Have Your Wife: Edward finally gets fed up of Burgred's interference in his plans and has his son "taken to Wessex for religious instruction until his father learns better judgement".
• Jerkass Has a Point: He raises some good points, despite being brusque and short tempered:
  • He accurately points out that Aethelred left Mercia at the mercy of Cnut and Brida to go conquer East Anglia to improve his own reputation and the lands he conquered have little strategic or economic value to Mercia.
  Burgred: He left us to face the Danes alone, took all the defenses we had and for what!? A few miles of marshland barely able to yield a crop!?
  • He's not wrong when he points out that Edward is behaving more like a conqueror than an ally during his time in Mercia (installing his troops within the city walls, helping himself to the Mercian granaries, barring the gates to Mercian refugees but breaking the rules to allow Aelswith entry to the town, etc). He's also correct that Edward's dithering over how and when to confront Brida and Cnut left Mercia to fend for itself.
• No Kill like Overkill: Garrotted and stabbed to death multiple times by Wessex soldiers on Edward's orders.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: In Season 5, having accepted bribes from Aethelhelm to go againsr Aethelflaed's choice of successor, Burgred is clearly left feeling guilty for his choice when Aethelflaed turns up at his door to gift him land she wants preserved for the benefit of Mercia.
• Outliving One's Offspring: His eldest son was murdered during Cnut and Brida's invasion of Mercia.
• Pet the Dog: Protests Ludeca and Edward sealing Aelesburg's gates to refugees fleeing the plague ravaging the countryside, insisting they can't abandon the people in a time of crisis.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Zigzagged: He's initially opposed to Aethelflaed becoming Lady of Mercia, but is ultimately persuaded to accept it for the sake of peace.

Benedict

Father Benedict

Portrayed By: Patrick Robinson

A priest of Aethelflaed's court, she brings Benedict to Uhtred's home at Rumcofa to become a parish priest. Benedict is a good man, but his vices make him beholden to people who have their own interests, rather than those of the kingdom at heart.

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• Bald of Authority: He's a high ranking priest, and without a hair on his head.
• Black Vikings: Benedict is most likely based on Hadrian of Canterbury, an African-born priest who came to England to serve as an abbot.
• Due to the Dead: He performs funerary rites for those killed in the attack on Rumcofa.
• Everyone Has Standards: He's an inveterate gambling addict, but he's not bigoted against Danes and is appalled by Aethelhelm's plan to force Aelfwynn into a marriage with King Constantin in exchange for an army to depose Edward.
• The Gambling Addict: His biggest vice. Aldhelm mentions that Benedict was expelled from Rome for his addictions and it's implied the main reason Aethelflaed sends him to Rumcofa is to stop him causing more trouble.
• In Vino Veritas: His first sermon to the people of Rumcofa at a spring festival is a very interesting affair, implied to be done after he's partaken of a lot of the liquor on offer.
• The Mole: A reluctant one, but it's through him that Aethelhelm learns Aethelflaed is dying of breast cancer.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When he realises escorting Aelfweard to his grandfather at Bebbanburg has given Aethelhelm the last pawn he needs to start a coup against Edward.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He's implied to be based off St. Adrian, a 7th century North African priest who became a abbot in Naples before travelling to England and serving in a monastery in Canterbury.
• Pet the Dog: Tries to comfort Aelfweard in the wake of his mother's death and his father's hasty marriage to Eadgifu.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Tries to stop Aethelhelm's men from carrying out a bigoted hate attack on the Danish inhabitants of Rumcofa.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When he learns Aethelhelm, Wihtgar and King Constantin are planning to start a war against Edward, Benedict flees Bebbanburg and returns to Eoforwic to bring warning. When Aldhelm warns that Edward will see Benedict as a traitor for helping Aelfweard join his grandfather, Benedict insists he will face whatever punishment the king decrees, but asserts he couldn't stay silent.
• Trapped in Villainy: He's a good man who hates having to be a pawn for wicked men like Aethelhelm, but the debts he owes the latter leave him no choice.