Vikings: Valhalla – What does Jarl mean (is he a king?)
Vikings: Valhalla features a number of characters who have been given the title “jarl,” but for modern audiences, it may not be clear exactly what that means.
Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Vikings: Walhalla.
Some characters in Vikings: Walhalla are designated by the title “jarl,” but what does that mean? Set 100 years after the events of Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla explores a whole new set of characters. Vikings: Walhalla Season 1 mainly revolves around the tensions between the Vikings and the English following the St. Brice’s Day Massacre, in which King Aethelred the Unready (Bosco Hogan) has all Danes living in England murdered. A year after the massacre, Viking armies from across Scandinavia gather in the Danish settlement of Kattegat to exact revenge on the English.
The leader of this movement is King Canut of Denmark (Bradley Freegard), with the support of Jarl Estrid Haakon (Caroline Henderson) and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), the Prince of Norway. Jarl Olaf Haraldsson (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), Harald’s half-brother, also joins the rebellion, with the original intention of using the gathering of Vikings as an opportunity for mass conversion to Christianity. Viking: Valhalla Tensions between Christianity and the Norse pagan religion add an element to the general conflict with the English, highlighting the tense unity between the Viking tribes that must be overcome for an effective rebellion.
There is clearly a hierarchy of titles in Viking culture, with kings receiving more respect and power than jarls. “Jarl” is a Scandinavian title that has its roots in the Iron Age. For centuries it was the highest rank under the king until the introduction of the title of duke in the 13th century in Norway. In the end from the medieval period there was usually only one jarl in each Scandinavian country at a time, but in the time of Vikings: Walhalla, the title of jarl usually belonged to the ruler of one of the so-called petty kingdoms of Norway that would later make up today’s country. The Jarls were not kings, but they were next in order of the Norwegian hierarchy and could become de facto kings if the king was unable to rule, whether through illness, injury, or age. Likewise, if the king was killed without an heir, the medieval jarls would have had a legitimate claim to the throne – if they consolidated power. This is why Jarl Olaf Haraldsson is so eager to depose Jarl Estrid Haakon and obtain rule of Kattegat; as the most powerful Jarl in the Norwegian version of the show at the time, she is Olaf’s main obstacle in his bid to become King of Norway. The title of jarl has its equivalent in modern English and in the peerage. The English title “county” derives from Old English “eorl,” which itself derives from Scandinavian “jarl.” Today’s modern British equivalent of a jarl, although not directly translated, would be a duke.
As the show usually does, Vikings: Walhalla alters real-life events for reasons of narrative flow, sometimes affecting the historical accuracy of the process. The series’ Jarl Haakon does not have an exact historical equivalent but instead draws inspiration from a number of characters in history. One of them is Eiríkr Hákonarson, who was the Grand Count of Norway from 1000 to 1012, after which his son, Haakon Ericsson, took over. In reality, Olaf Haraldsson was absent from Norway at that time. However, after his travels through Denmark, England and other Baltic regions, Haraldsson returned to Norway in 1015 and declared himself king with the intention of uniting the country into one kingdom. Vikings: Valhalla presumably gives Olaf the title of jarl to establish that he is next to become king, while at the same time acknowledging that he was never officially Prince of Norway.
Looking at the years when Vikings: Walhalla takes place, the show uses real historical figures who are said to have existed during this period, with the exception of Harald Sigurdsson (later Hardrada), who existed a bit later. In this regard, Valhalla follows in the footsteps of Vikings, which also faked the exact details of historical figures such as Bjorn Ironside and Ragnar Lothbrok. Despite the creative freedoms Vikings: Walhalla takes, it still respects and portrays Norse culture effectively, and uses jarls as a way to help describe the many Viking kingdoms. In doing so, it clarifies the show’s themes of unification and loyalty.
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