Vikings: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Alfred

Alfred is one of the main characters in Vikings, and he’s first seen in the third season, while staying relevant until the finale. He is the illegitimate son of Judith and the well-known Athelstan. Due to Athelstan’s relationship with King Ecbert, the latter acknowledges Alfred as a holy man despite his birth being the result of Judith’s adultery.

Alfred’s personality is filled with secrets, something that he could even have inherited from Athelstan, who has many characteristics that fans didn’t know about. Alfred ends up being a King, with his presence being impactful throughout the story, which covertly reveals some of his secrets.

10 The First To Treat Ivar Like A Real Person

Due to Ivar being born with weak bones, based on the Nordic culture, most people considered him useless and treated him as an inferior person. The only exceptions were Ivar’s family, as his mother loved him the most out of all sons. His brothers played with him, as well as Alfred, who treated him with respect as an equal. This bears significant similarities with the relationship between Ragnar and Athelstan.

9 Historically Based On Alfred The Great

Based on historical facts, his real name was Alfred The Great. He was King of Anglo-Saxons and West Saxons at different periods, created Danelaw as a result of an agreement with the Vikings, and he even won a battle against them, similar to the series.

However, in history, he was the son of Aetherwulf, not of Athelstan, and his brother Aethelred reigned before him instead of passing the crown to him.

8 Official Title: Alfred Aetheling

According to the wiki of the series, Alred’s official title was Alfred Aetheling, which was the standard title given to any son or brother of the current king, who, in Alfred’s case, was King Aetherwulf.

Even though Alfred wasn’t Aetherwulf’s official son, King Ecbert, in one of his best decisions throughout the series, had force Aetherwulf to accept Alfred solely because the latter, as Athelstan’s son, was believed to be a holy man that was sent to earth by God himself.

7 Appears In Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Alfred is also known to appear in Ubisoft’s famous game Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla under the name of Alfred The Great.

He served as one of the story’s main villains while secretly leading the Order of the Ancients and similar to the Vikings series, Alfred is known for being a merciful yet powerful leader while being the first to win versus the Vikings.

6 Illness

Throughout the series, there are scenes that show Alfred suffering from some mysterious illness, which eventually is the reason he dies. That illness is never explained in the series, and many fans have been wondering about what it might be.

However, based on historical data, it can be assumed that King Alfred was suffering from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease that damages a person’s digestive system, thus leading to immense abdominal pain.

5 Appears in The Last Kingdom

King Alfred also appears in the popular TV series The Last Kingdom in the role of the Anglo-Saxon King. Even though he appears as an intelligent and deeply admired King, he gets far more action than he does in Vikings, and some of his most notable bad decisions justify, according to many fans, why he failed to unite all the four Saxon Kingdoms under his name.

4 Doesn’t Seek Revenge

During season five, a conspiracy occurred against King Alfred which resulted in an attempt to kill him. After torturing one of the conspiracy’s members, Alfred learns that his brother, Aethelred, was one of its leaders. Soon afterward, Judith, Alfred’s mother poisons Aethelred, as he could no longer be trusted.

Nevertheless, when Alfred learns of Judith’s actions, he is angry because he had forgiven Aethelred and didn’t seek revenge despite the latter trying to kill him.

3 Shy

Alfred’s personality is known to be relatively shy, especially before becoming king while he is under King Ecbert. He is seen running away and hiding at King Ecbert’s court when in front of many people. Although not much is known about Athelstan’s past at the monastery, fans can assume that as a monk he held a similar attitude.

Nevertheless, when they grow up, both Athelstan and Alfred managed to live up to their roles without having any feelings of shyness.

2 Knowledgable on the Bible

When traveling to Rome with Aetherwulf and monk Prudentius, he meets Pope Leo IV. During their discussion, the Pope asks him some questions about the Bible and Alfred answers all of them correctly. Despite his young age at the time, Alfred has been studying the holy texts. Athelstan had a similar past, although he was a monk, not a King’s heir.

1 Respectful Until Forced Otherwise

His attitude appears, to some extent, to be similar to Athelstan’s. Alfred is respectful and tolerant of others, always behaving in a kind manner. Nevertheless, due to his title as King, he is forced to slightly alter his behavior.

As a King, although he still is considered kind, he is willing to become more aggressive if people force him to do so, even leading to some of the biggest battles in the series. This exact attitude is the reason why he managed to overcome the Vikings’ raids.

About The Author

Harry Mourtzanakis
(79 Articles Published)

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Harry Mourtzanakis is a List Writer for Screen Rant focused on gaming content. He has been playing games since 2010 and is passionate to share the aspects he likes and dislikes about games through writing. Harry’s love for games began primarily through Civilization V. More than a decade later, although still faithful to the Civilization series with the latest Civ VI game, he enjoys numerous other games. He likes trying as many games as possible ranging from shooters like Rainbow Six Siege and MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2 to hardcore single player games like Dark Souls 3. His favorite game is the more unique competitive sports game, Rocket League. When he isn’t playing or writing about games, Harry is fond of exploring philosophy through the subfields of ethics and political philosophy.

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