Askeladd was the leader of a band of mercenaries, and he was the main antagonist of the first season of the Vinland Saga anime. He was such a great villain that it was almost impossible for the audience to hate him. Despite his actions, Askeladd ended up becoming one of the most popular characters.
Due to his popularity, fans wanted to see him in action more often. However, Yukimura had other plans for him. Given the fact that Askeladd is such a fan favorite, it is obvious that the audience wants to learn as much about him as they can. So, here are some things that every fan should know about Askeladd.
6 Named After A Fairy Tale Character
Makoto Yukimura named Askeladd after a fairy tale character. This makes Askeladd stand out from some of the other Vinland Saga characters who are based on real-life people. He is named after Askeladden, who is a Norwegian fairy tale character.
In the stories, Askeladden is usually considered an underachiever at the beginning, but he slowly manages to make a name for himself by doing something outstanding. Askeladden achieves fame through a combination of wit and luck. Askeladd and the fairy tale character definitely have many similarities, but there are a few differences as well. The biggest one is that Askeladd was able to fight from a very young age.
5 Incredible Strategist
Askeladd was a genius when it came to planning. There was almost no one who could outfox him on the battlefield. Askeladd would often use his wits to overcome the hurdles in his path. One incident that perfectly captures his intelligence is the invasion of the French fortress. Any other person would have to give up on the conquest, but Askeladd proved why he was different from everyone else.
He ordered his soldiers to dismantle the ship and carry it over land, then reassemble it. This allowed Askeladd's army to take the enemy by surprise and take over the fort. In addition to his skills as a strategist, Askeladd was also an eloquent speaker who was capable of manipulating people into siding with him. He was able to foil King Sweyn's plans to destroy Wales and Canute by sacrificing himself. Furthermore, he was well aware of the fact that Floki was an unreliable man, so he had already prepared countermeasures to avoid being killed by the Jomsviking.
4 Real Name ​​​​​​
For the most part, fans believed that Askeladd's real name was the one that he used in conversations. It wasn't until much later that Askeladd's real name was revealed. His real name was Lucius Artorius Castus; Askeladd's mother had named him after the legendary Roman general.
Askeladd didn't use his real name in order to fool everyone around him. When he was still a kid, Askeladd grew to hate the Vikings because of how they treated other people. Instead of using his real name, he began to use his nickname "Askeladd" which is derived from "Ashen Lad." The nickname was coined because Askeladd would always be covered in ash while doing different jobs as a child.
3 A Great Leader
Askeladd's leadership qualities go under the radar because of his other qualities. He managed to turn a band of ruffians into dangerous mercenaries who obeyed his every command. They believed so much in Askeladd's abilities that they would follow the most ridiculous orders without asking any questions.
They knew that Askeladd would bail them out of any situation, which is why they put blind faith in him. Askeladd's group managed to complete many important missions, which solidified its reputation as one of the most powerful mercenary groups.
2 Love For His Mother
It is hard to imagine someone like Askeladd loving someone other than himself, so it was quite shocking to see him care so much about his mother. Askeladd was raised by his mother until her health started failing. He realized that he needed to start working to be able to provide for both of them.
When his mother's condition got worse, she tried to cling to Olaf, who was angered by her behavior. Before he could kill her, Askeladd stepped in and fought him. Despite losing the fight, Askeladd had made a solid impact on his father, who eventually took him in. Askeladd decided to play nice until he got an opportunity to kill Olaf. This shows how much he cared about his mother and wanted to avenge all the bad things Olaf had done to her.
1 Elite Swordsman
Considering the fact that the Vikings valued physical strength over everything else, it was extremely difficult for weak people to rise to the top. Luckily, Askeladd was a natural when it came to using the sword. Even at a young age, Askeladd was able to put up a great fight against a man twice his size.
Askeladd showed his fighting capabilities when he managed to clash with Thors. Even though he lost the fight, Askeladd showed off some rather impressive moves. He was also able to fight and kill multiple men at the same time, with little to no difficulty. When he killed King Sweyn, the royal guards barely managed to graze him.