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Out with the Greeks, with the Vikings. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla launched on Tuesday with great reviews, including an 8/10 from GameSpot. This is especially exciting for Xbox Series X owners | S, because arguably the greatest launch game on the new Microsoft platform.
In Valhalla, you play as Eivor, a Nordic raider who leaves his homeland to start a new life in Anglo-Saxon England. The Vikings have long been a subject of fascination in the popular imagination, and you probably have a good idea of what they’re talking about – raids, horns, Chris Hemsworth – even if you found the story to be a gigantic snoozefest. at school.
Valhalla takes place in the 19th century. This is a period we usually call the beginning of the Middle Ages, and it is also when the Scandinavians decided to kick England. But you could probably figure this out from the trailers. Knowing a part of the story will help you get the most out of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
First of all, a warning. The Scandinavians were not very fond of writing their history. They scribbled on the odd runestone here and there, but since the stones are heavy and difficult to carve (I imagine), they mostly passed their story down through the oral tradition of storytelling. “Skalds,” or bards who were the keepers of a clan’s history, recited epic poems regaling the brave deeds of mighty warriors and mighty kings.
These sagas were not written until the 12th century, 400 years after the height of the Viking Age. By then, those sagas had turned into fantastic stories with larger-than-life heroes, romance, and the odd appearance of Thor, just like the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
For this reason, our knowledge of actual events in medieval Scandinavia is somewhat limited. However, we generally accept certain events of the sagas as (more or less) done.
Why are you going to England?
During the days of Assassins Creed: Valhalla, Norway was the center of the Viking world. It was not a country as it is today, but rather made up of several small entities called small kingdoms. These small kingdoms were made up of clans, and each had its own leader: a jarl or chief king.
These kingdoms were not the most peaceful places to live. They did not stay in their respective ways and were often at war with each other, encroaching on territory or settling blood feuds that spanned generations.
While you were busy preventing Fjordane from stealing your land, you were also fighting Hadeland because their great-grandfather was looking at your great-grandfather the wrong way. It was a bad use of everyone’s time.
In 872-873 CE, when Valhalla begins, the Small Kingdoms of Norway were unified by the first king of Norway: King Harald Fairhair. Harry had inherited a few kingdoms from his father, and conquered a few more along the way. This regional conquest clearly made Harry all arrogant, leading to his desire to unite all of Norway.
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At the start of the game, our hero Eivor meets this King Harald Fairhair. King Harald of Assassins Creed is a young and kind (and blond) king, eager to unite Norway under one banner – his own. In Valhalla, Harald comes to Eivor offering the peace and stability of a united country if the Raven clan bends the knee.
The Nordics, both in Valhalla and in real life, got a compromise. On the one hand, everyone could put their differences aside and not have to fight or worry about their grandparents’ battles. On the other hand, they must cede their titles and lands to Harald and be his subjects rather than equals. It’s win-win, if by win-win you mean one person wins and everyone pays taxes to that person for the rest of their life.
Many Jarls, weary of years of bloodshed, accept his offer and swear loyalty to him. It is in this context that, in Valhalla, Eivor’s adoptive father, Styrbjorn, also swears loyalty to the King Herald. Awesome! Except that Styrbjorn did not mention his intention to give up the titles promised to his son, Sigurd. Not great!
Sigurd, your brother, feels betrayed and annoyed that his father gave up his birthright, and decides that there is no place for him and the Raven clan in this new united Norway. It was then that Siguard, Eivor and Clan Raven decided to launch their raid and establish a new kingdom in England.
What’s going on in England?
Anglo-Saxon England consisted of seven kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Wessex, Sussex and Kent. Scandinavians invaded and sometimes settled in Britain since the 793 raid on Lindisfarne in Northumbria. The Lindisfarne raid began what we call the Viking Age, which lasted until 1066, when new people moved to England (spoilers for a future Assassin’s Creed: It’s the Normans game).
Many of these Nordic clans settled in England because, like Sigurd, they were essentially driven from their countries after refusing to swear loyalty to the new kings. Others just wanted to escape to the countryside after realizing how enjoyable it was to own good farmland and grow their own food.
As Eivor (that’s you!) Moved to Mercia, a coalition of warriors from Denmark, Sweden and Norway, known as the Great Pagan Army, captured Jorvik (now known as York ), and Nordic settlements are established throughout Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Scandinavians (derogatoryly called the Danes by the Saxons) gain in power, either through violent conquest or through the installation of Saxon puppet kings on the throne – or often both.
As the unofficial second-in-command of the Raven clan, Eivor can play kingmaker all over Britain in order to win alliances. It’s “I put you on the throne, you scratch my back … and you beat me too when I want because you owe me therefore a lot “of politics.
The power and presence of the Vikings extends from the south side of Hadrian’s Wall, near Scotland, to Lunden (London). Nordic culture is so dominant that this region is known as Danelaw – the place where Nordic laws and culture dominate those of the Anglo-Saxons. Think of it like Little Norway, but covering most of England.
This expansion and growing cultural dominance that takes place as Valhalla is playing out naturally makes the Saxons a bit hot under the collar and wary of these ‘Danes’. In Wessex, King Alfred fights against the Nordic invasion. He’s the guy in the Valhalla trailer, declaring war on the Vikings and their efforts to conquer Britain.
In the game, he positions himself as a whiny antagonist with a glint of cruelty in his eyes. Everything is understandable, because it is in opposition to our hero. The real Alfred, however, may have been more complex than just “Evil English Guy”.
He inherited a divided and war-weary Wessex from his brother, Æthelred I, who spent his entire reign fighting the Pagan Grand Army. Alfred the Great is widely regarded as a strong leader, capable not only on the battlefield but also in diplomacy. Alfred is also the only other monarch of England, along with King Cnut the Great (don’t laugh at his name), to have been given the title “The Great” (OK, you can chuckle a little at Cnut the Great.)
This tidbit has nothing to do with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, I just think it’s cool. If it’s ever a trivia question, you owe me a Guinness as a thank you.
Alfred is nobler in real life than he is portrayed in Assassins Creed: Valhalla. But then again, history is written by the victors. And sometimes it’s fun to beat the winners in history.
Assassin’s Creed will launch on Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC on November 10. The PS5 version will follow on November 12.
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