History Characters / VikingsRagnarsFamily

* GutturalGrowler: Veers into this when he's raising his voice or is angry.

* InformedAbility: That "snake-in-eye" have not been seen for quite some time.[[spoiler: It only reappears upon his death, as he lay on the ground bleeding out.]]

* MessianicArchetype: Seriously. Ragnar ultimately makes the choices he does for the sake of others, never for himself -- surrendering where he knows he needs to, with many followers questioning his choices, and [[spoiler:ultimately choosing death for a larger picture. This is most obvious in "All His Angels" -- Ecbert, who can't bring himself to pass judgment on Ragnar, passes him off to somebody else for judgment, much like how Pontius Pilate passed Jesus to someone else..]]

* PrayerIsALastResort: [[spoiler: Close to losing his duel with the Black Dane king, Ubbe forsakes his Christian baptism and prays to Odin. He credits this with helping him to win and completely turns his back on the struggle he's been having with Christianity.]]

* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler: After being baptised, Alfred rechristens him as Aethelstan. The irony of being named after his father's Christian friend is clearly not lost on either of them.]]

* TheWoobie: Hvitserk becomes this in [[spoiler: the first half of Season 6, during which he's haunted by the trauma of Thora's death, for which he blames himself, and resorts to drinking and mushrooms to numb the pain]].

* ImAManICantHelpIt: His justification for sleeping with Aslaug. Word for word, this is what he says when Bjorn calls him out on it. He doesn't seem to think it compromises his relationship with his wife. It's justified in that fidelity to one's spouse (at least for men) is a mostly Abrahamic thing. Hell, what Ragnar did isn't even considered adultery by the laws of his time; for a man, adultery is defined under most versions of ancient Scandinavian law as sleeping with a ''married'' woman. Unmarried ones like Aslaug are fair game. Women don't get the same privilege though, even unmarried ones.
* InstantExpert: Becomes functionally bilingual impressively quickly. It's justified, as Old English and Old Norse are very similar languages, having both grown from the same source and being spoken by two people with the same cultural origin. Particularly, this is evident in how both languages share similar words, like the word for 'king'.[[note]]konungr in Old Norse, cyninga in Old English[[/note]] So, Ragnar becoming fluent in Old English would have actually been pretty easy.

* KickTheDog: After his warband vanquishes the Northumbrian force, he teases one of the prisoners with the possibility of him being spared. Ragnar laughs and has Rollo cut his head off. He later tries to manipulate Athelstan into becoming a human sacrifice. Of course, this is also a major case of ValuesDissonance as well since becoming a sacrifice for the gods was considered an honour amongst pagan Scandinavians.

* RedRightHand: He has Hati and Sköll tattoed on him. The wolves in Norse Mythology that one day will ''eat the sun and the moon''. Any Norseman carrying such a tattoo should not be trusted. [[FridgeBrilliance Sköll means Traitor.]]

* LukeIAmYourFather: He tries to pull this on Bjorn. Bjorn doesn't care and denies it, rejecting him, despite this Bjorn's parentage is still in question.

* BarbarianLonghair: A long, plaited scalp braid. Averted in Season 3, where his hair gets progressively shorter until he decides to go bald after shaving his head in mourning for Athelstan.

* ParentalIncest: Lagertha lusts after Ubbe, who greatly resembles her ex-husband and his father Ragnar.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted. Ubbe's a very good-looking man, but after his [[spoiler: fight to the death with King Frodo, he's still got scars and gouges all over his face even some time later.]]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Just barely averted. Ubbe and Hvitserk walk out onto a frozen lake, and the ice cracks from under them. Had it not been for [[HeroicSacrifice Siggy]], they'd have died.]]

* TooDumbToLive:
** [[spoiler:Just barely averted. Ubbe and Hvitserk walk out onto a frozen lake, and the ice cracks from under them. Had it not been for [[HeroicSacrifice Siggy]], they'd have died.]]
** A near-example occurs in his adult life where he laughs at Ivar saying he wants to have children. This results in his younger brother bring a knife to his throat as Hvitserk points out that he is impotent. He does this even though he knows that Ivar's impotence is a sore point for him and that Sigurd's cruel mocking of that was what got him killed.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. His brothers end up mentioning him quite a bit, including Ivar saying during the parley with Lagertha and Ubbe that he's [[spoiler: already killed one brother and not keen to kill any more.]]

* LesCollaborateurs: He collaborates with Prince Oleg's invasion of Norway in exchange for becoming a PuppetKing of Norway.[[spoiler: Somewhat averted in that, while he does aid in the defeat of Bjorn and Harald's joined armies, he's also plotting to bring down Oleg]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: She always kicked ass, but after Ragnar became Earl, she gained a measure of authority in her own right as well. Then she attained status as the Earl of Hedeby, effectively leading a corps of shield-maidens and raiders against western lands in Season 2.

* OedipusComplex: A reversed variation with Lagertha lusting after Ubbe, who greatly resembles her ex-husband and his father Ragnar.

* LoveAtFirstSight: He becomes instantly smitten with Thorunn from the moment he first laid eyes on her. [[OedipusComplex Considering who she resembles]], this is not too surprising.

* OedipusComplex: Adores his mother and tends to pick up women who are her spitting image. He's quite conscious about it.

* BoobsOfSteel: Notably chestier than [[NonActionGuy Non-Action Girl]] Aslaug, and most of the female cast for that matter, and is one of the deadliest warriors in the whole cast of either gender.

* LightFeminineDarkFeminine: The dark (ruthless and bloodthirsty shieldmaiden) to Aslaug's light (elegant high ruler) and the light (supportive and respectful of Ragnar's decisions inside and outside of battle) to Siggy's dark (LadyMacbeth and [[ManipulativeBitch calculating and manipulative]] at all times) causing Lagertha to be the grey area between the two.

* LightFeminineDarkFeminine: The light to Lagertha's dark.

* RatedMForManly: He's a Viking, and not just any Viking, one of the most significant Vikings in Scandinavian history.

* RatedMForManly: But by Season 4, he definitely gets there, especially after his experience in the wild. And yes, he can grow a beard.

* BadassBaritone: A borderline example, but particularly noticeable when he raises his voice.

* BadassBaritone: Speaks in a deep booming voice along with a low growl.

* TheWoobie: Hvitserk becomes this in [[spoiler: Season 6]].

* CainAndAbel: His relationship with Sigurd. [[spoiler: He is Cain.]] By Season 5, this has also become his relationship with every sibling not named Gyda.
* CallingTheOldWomanOut: He does this to Lagertha [[spoiler: accusing her of murdering his mother for no other reason than ambition]].
* CompositeCharacter: Through much of Ivar's core character are interpretations of the figure in the sagas, show-Ivar takes on attributes of other sadistic (inarguably more so than saga-Ivar) Vikings. Ivar using a war chariot to compensate for his lack of legs is ironically an attribute of Harald Wartooth, who was the archenemy of Ragnar's father Sigurd Hring. In his old age, Harald could not walk by himself and was tied to a chariot in order to do battle. Ivar also takes on the personality of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Eirik Bloodaxe]], the son of Harald Finehair. Eirik is known for his penchant for axe-related violence, horrible temper, being badly influenced by his wife and his [[spoiler: killing of his own brothers]]. Interestingly, the episode with the ball is a clear nod to Eirik Bloodaxe's archenemy [[MemeticBadass Egil Skallagrimsson]].

* StartOfDarkness: The incident when he [[spoiler:murdered another child over a ball]].
* TheStrategist: Ragnar admits that Ivar's the most intelligent of his sons, and is therefore the most dangerous and capable of them. He's also shown to be a formidable chess player during his time spent with [[TheSmartGuy Alfred]], foreshadowing their future clashes -- both literal and intellectual -- on the battlefield.

[[folder:Aslaug]]

* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: She is killed by Hvitserk, one of the Ragnarssons, originally the one least interested in killing her, because he mistook her for Ivar]].

* BadassInCharge: Of much of Scandinavia, where exactly is never elaborated upon. In Season 4, it is revealed to be a part of Norway, but he holds clout in all land ruled by the Norsemen.

* BadassInCharge: When Ragnar's away, she calls the shots. By the end of Season 2, she's an Earl in her own right, has an army of shield-maidens, and fights alongside her men in battle. In the first half of Season 3 she is in charge of the Northmen settlement in Wessex. [[spoiler:In Season 4B, she overthrows Aslaug to become the ruler of Kattegat, and Queen of Kattegat.]]

* BadassInCharge: Is the leader of the Viking expedition to the Mediterranean and one of the leaders of the Great Heathen Army until he leaves and Ivar takes complete control.

* DawsonCasting: Because the show spans decades, Alexander Ludwig plays Bjorn in his late teens, through Ludwig was in his early 20s when cast. As of Season 5, Ludwig is in his mid-20s and plays Bjorn as a man in his early to mid 30s.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He became the Earl and later, king, through KlingonPromotion.

--->''"I have something to say. [[ReluctantRuler I did not become Earl because I aspired to be one.]] It came about because of ''other'' peoples' actions ''[[[DeathGlare death glares at Lagertha]]]''. And I did not become King out of ambition, but ''once again'' I had no choice, as a result of ''other'' peoples' actions ''[turns to regard Erlendr, who flinches]''. But nonetheless, '''[[AsskickingEqualsAuthority I am King.]]''' '''KING RAGNAR! THAT IS MY NAME!''' '''''[[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething KING RAGNAR]]'''''. What does a king do, Bjorn? [...] '''''YES!''''' ''Good''. He rules. And as ruler ''[turns to Lagertha again, who is silent]'' '''I''' have the last say. '''[[SuddenlyShouting ME!!!]]''' ''[turns to Lagertha, Rollo, Erlendr, and Floki in turn]'' '''NOT YOU!''' '''NOT YOU!''' '''NOT YOU!''' '''AND NOT YOU!''' You have all had your ''"ideas"'' '''''[[SurroundedByIdiots AND THEY HAVE ALL FAILED!!!]]''''' '''[[BadassBoast I WILL NOT.]]''' ''[StunnedSilence]'' Now, with no more ''discussion'', we shall meet the Franks tomorrow."''

* AgeLift: The historical Bjorn had been born in 777. Being 12 in 793 indicates that in the series Bjorn was born in 781.

* AnAxeToGrind: Favours an axe in battle.

* AnAxeToGrind: Uses a Daneaxe, the {{BFS}} of axes.

* AnAxeToGrind: Post-timeskip, he is almost exclusively seen wielding an axe thus far.

* DawsonCasting / PlayingGertrude: Because the show spans decades, Alexander Ludwig plays Bjorn in his late teens, through Ludwig was in his early 20s when cast. As of Season 5, Ludwig is in his mid-20s and plays Bjorn as a man in his early to mid 30s.

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's not nearly as blatant as with Floki, but Ragnar has some very strange speech patterns and mannerisms and often seems to have trouble finding even simple words to express himself, accompanied by an assortment of facial tics. He's also probably the least articulate character on the show despite his undeniable charisma. If this is tied to a disorder then it casts his friendship with Floki in a new light.