Vikings: Valhalla's Freydis True Story & History Explained
Warning: SPOILERS for Vikings: Valhalla season 1
With Vikings: Valhalla comes a plethora of questions regarding its historical sensitivity, like how accurately Freydis’ (Frida Gustavsson) story is portrayed in the long-awaited Vikings spin-off. The show finds itself centered around the fallout from the St. Brice’s Day Massacre in which King Æthelred the Unready (Bosco Hogan) ordered the deaths of all the Danes in England on November 13, 1002. A year later, Canute (Bradley Freegard), the King of Denmark, brings together the Vikings in order to invade England in an act of revenge. While the invasion is one of the primary storylines of Valhalla, Freydis Eriksdottir begins her tenure on the show with a personal mission of revenge. Given that Valhalla has taken some creative liberties with its storytelling regarding other matters during this timeframe, it’s time to pull apart the fact from the fiction when it comes to Freydis, one of the show’s most fascinating characters.
Vikings: Valhalla features many strong female characters and one of those is one based on the real-life Freydis Eriksdottir. After Freydis exacts revenge against the Christian Viking who raped her and carved a cross into her back, Jarl Haakon (Caroline Henderson) orders Freydis’ brother, Leif, to fight for Canute in his invasion of England in order to pay off the ransom placed upon Freydis for what she did. Meanwhile, Freydis’ story plays out on Kattegat, revealing more about who she is and what she is capable of. She is the sister of Leif, the daughter of Erik the Red, and a competent shield-maiden who can take care of herself. Yet like much of Valhalla’s loose historical accuracy, there are some important details left out about Freydis.
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