Askeladd
Viking commander and mentor-enemy to Thorfinn in Vinland Saga.
Askeladd, also known as Lucius Artorius Castus, is a fictional character from the manga series Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. He leads a band of a hundred Vikings and becomes the target of the protagonist Thorfinn's revenge after killing Thorfinn's father, Thors. Despite their enmity, Askeladd serves as a mentor figure to Thorfinn throughout the first story arc.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Vinland Saga
- First
- Vinland Saga chapter 1 Normanni (2005)
- Creator
- Makoto Yukimura
- Voice
- Japanese
- Naoya Uchida
- English
- David Wald (Sentai Filmworks dub)
- Kirk Thornton (Netflix dub)
Facts from the source article.
Creation
Askeladd's name derives from Askeladden, a Norwegian folk figure known for cleverness, while his backstory draws from the early life of Olaf the Peacock, an Icelandic chieftain in the Laxdæla saga. Manga author Makoto Yukimura stated that unlike most characters in Vinland Saga, who were created to assist the protagonist Thorfinn, Askeladd was an exception. Because Thorfinn was inexperienced at the series' start, Yukimura wrote Askeladd as a mentor who would guide him in the first arc. The author described their relationship as both father-and-son and enemies, and as he wrote them, the dynamic grew increasingly ambiguous—Yukimura could not decide whether Askeladd was good or hateful. He found the character's contradictions interesting. Yukimura initially considered Askeladd a rudderless, disobedient habit that performs its role with some intriguing behavior. For research, Yukimura traveled to Norway and Scandinavia in 2003, where he saw the Oseberg Ship, which he called the most beautiful ship he had ever seen; Askeladd's forces use this ship. Several of Askeladd's lines reflect Yukimura's youthful thoughts, such as when Askeladd mocks a slave and his owner for valuing themselves over money, though Yukimura later concluded that society itself is a slave to money. Yukimura noted that Askeladd is difficult to understand but not entirely bad, as he values those he would follow, like Canute. The friendship with Bjorn was left underdeveloped, emphasized in their final exchange when the dying Bjorn asks if they could have been friends. Askeladd's bond with Thorfinn resembled a father-son relationship despite their antagonism, with Askeladd viewing himself as inferior in his last moments and urging Thorfinn to follow Thor's values and become a true warrior rather than attack Canute.
Appearances
Askeladd commands a small but powerful Viking band, his success owing to his exceptional intelligence. He is half-Danish and half-Welsh, born to a Welsh princess captured by a Viking raider. In his introduction, he gives missions to Thorfinn and rewards him with duels, during which Thorfinn repeatedly tries to kill him to avenge his father, Thors. A flashback shows Askeladd ordered to kill Thors; though defeated by Thors, Askeladd completes his mission by taking Thors's soldiers hostage. Thorfinn pursues Askeladd for a decade, hoping to achieve revenge. During the Viking invasion of England, Askeladd manipulates Thorfinn's desire for revenge to keep the skilled young fighter in his service, sending him to rescue Prince Canute from the Viking Thorkell. When Askeladd's soldiers betray him to save themselves from Thorkell's forces, Thorfinn comes to his aid, and with Askeladd's help, Thorfinn defeats Thorkell in single combat. Askeladd's soldiers leave him, and his second-in-command, Bjorn, dies in a final duel. In his next duel with Thorfinn, Askeladd reveals he is the son of the Viking Olaf and a slave woman he treated badly; his mother named him Lucius Artorius Castus, the legitimate king of Britain, but he earned the nickname Askeladd (covered in ash) while working for a blacksmith. Believing in the legend of Avalon, Askeladd supports Canute's bid for the Danish kingship and sacrifices himself by assassinating King Sweyn to secure Wales from Denmark. After killing Sweyn while feigning madness, Askeladd is distracted by Thorfinn and stabbed by Canute. In his last moments, an angered Thorfinn shouts at him to recover and fight, but Askeladd dies, telling Thorfinn to become a true warrior.
Reception
Critics generally liked Askeladd. Anime News Network named him one of the best characters of 2019, citing his forceful personality even though he does violent things. In the Anime UK News Readers Choice Awards, he came in second for Best Character, beaten by Senku Ishigami from Dr. Stone. Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network liked how he was drawn, saying he drips with sneaky nastiness without looking like a cartoonish villain. He was up for Best Antagonist at the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2020. The same site thought Thorfinn was a flat character at first, and said Askeladd and Canute were more interesting main characters in the first part of Vinland Saga than Thorfinn. Even though they called him a villain who steals every scene, they pointed out that he gave Bjorn the warrior's death he asked for, which matters in Norse culture. His kinder side shows through his bond with Bjorn: after Bjorn gets badly hurt, Askeladd kills him in a fight but lets him die with dignity, the way Vikings wanted. In a book called The European Middle Ages through the prism of Contemporary Japanese Literature, Maximen Denise from the University of Tours said Askeladd's drive for power is like people today who desperately look for a place to belong in Japan's "medieval" 21st century. Den of Geek noted that even though Askeladd does a lot of bad things and seems like a psychopath, he also protects Canute and keeps Thorfinn around for ten years, which makes him come across less as a villain and more like a hero. Ashley D. Lake from UC Riverside wrote that Thorkell, Thorfinn, and Askeladd are all war veterans trying to find Thors's answer about what makes a real warrior. But because Thors died and Thorfinn never got raised properly by his father, none of them ever truly got what Thors meant.
More in Characters & Warriors
Elsewhere in Vinland Saga
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