Valhalla’s Freydis True Story & History Explained

Summary

• Freydis was Erik the Red’s daughter but it’s unclear if she was Leif’s full sister based on conflicting sagas.
• Freydis in Vikings: Valhalla trained as a shield-maiden, a role not explicitly mentioned in the sagas.
• Vikings: Valhalla significantly altered Freydis’ story to fit the narrative, exploring the clash between Christianity and Norse beliefs through her.

Vikings: Valhalla features many characters based on real-life historical figures from the Viking Age, among them Freydis (Frida Gustavsson), but the show made many changes and additions to her story. Set over 100 years after the events of Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla follows a new group of characters from the final years of the Viking Age, whose stories were influenced by the characters and events of the main series. Leading Vikings: Valhalla were Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydis, Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), King Canute (Bradley Freegard), and Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin).

Freydis’ story in Vikings: Valhalla started with her, Leif, and their crew arriving in Kattegat as she looked for revenge against the Christian Viking who assaulted her years prior. Freydis ended up becoming “the last daughter of Uppsala” and in Vikings: Valhalla season 2, she took over Jomsborg as its leader. Vikings: Valhalla’s third and final season saw Freydis finding a new home for the Jomsvikings and joining her brother on his journey to the “golden land”, which she believed could be the Jomsvikings’ new home – however, not all of this happened to the real Freydis.

Was The Real Freydis Leif’s Sister & Erik The Red’s Daughter?

Freydis Was Erik The Red’s Daughter In Real Life

There is some conflicting information regarding whether Freydis was Leif’s full sister or half-sister.

The real-life Freydis is mentioned in the two Vinland sagas written during the medieval time period: the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red. Freydis was the daughter of Erik the Red, but there is some conflicting information regarding whether she was Leif’s full sister or half-sister. Vikings: Valhalla leaves out quite a bit of who Freydis really was, most likely to better have her fit within the already somewhat fictionalized storyline.

By including a version of Erik the Red in Vikings season 6, and later the real Erik the Red in Vikings: Valhalla season 3, the show was set up to include his kids, Freydis and Leif. Nordic last names consist of the father’s first name with a suffix of either “-son” for a male descendant, or “-dóttir” for a female descendant. In the Saga of the Greenlanders, Freydis was said to be the full sister of Leif, but in the Saga of Erik the Red, she is his half-sister.

Regardless, it is at least agreed upon that she is the daughter of Erik either way, but how much blood she shares with Leif is up for debate given the conflicting information in the two sagas. Erik the Red only had one known partner, Þjódhild Jorundsdóttir, but it is possible that Freydis was the result of an affair Erik may have had with another woman.

Was Valhalla’s Freydis Really A Viking Shield-Maiden?

Vikings: Valhalla Saw Freydis Training As A Shield-Maiden

Shield-maidens, female Viking warriors, are surrounded by their own mythology. While some historians believe women fought alongside men during this time, others have said that there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that this is true. Freydis has never exactly been specifically labeled as a shield-maiden in any of the sagas, but her actions in them hint that she was certainly capable of holding her own.

In the Saga of the Greenlanders, she murders five women when her husband refuses to do the deed. In the Saga of Erik the Red, a pregnant Freydis takes up the sword of a fallen Viking and drives off the Vinland natives by fiercely pounding the sword against her breast in a display of strength. By all accounts, she was fearless, and just as enthralled with adventure and glory as any male Viking of her time.

Did Freydis Become A Priestess In Jomsborg?

Vikings: Valhalla Saw Freydis Leading The Jomsvikings

In Vikings: Valhalla season 2, Freydis arrived in Jomsborg after the destruction of the Uppsala temple, as Jomsborg was said to be the new Uppsala. Freydis freed the Jomsvikings from the oppressive ruling of Hárekr (Bradley James), bringing together all the residents of Jomsborg. Freydis became their leader and priestess, and her compassion, kindness, and empathy made Jomsborg thrive. Sadly, Magnus Olaffson poisoned the Jomsvikings, prompting Freydis and the surviving Jomsvkings to leave Jomsborg and find a new home.

The real Jomsborg was destroyed by Magnus, who burned it down and killed many Jomsvikings.

The real Freydis, however, was never a priestess nor did she make it to Jomsborg. Little is known about Freydis aside from her travels with Leif, so Vikings: Valhalla had to flesh her story out. However, from what is known about the real Freydis, her priestess storyline seems fitting with the strong woman she was described as.

Freydis’ True Story: What Vikings Valhalla Leaves Out

Vikings: Valhalla Didn’t Cover All Of Freydis’ Story

Freydis traveled to Vinland with two men, Helgi and Finnbogi, with whom she had made a deal to share whatever wealth was acquired from the journey.

Vikings: Valhalla’s Leif Eriksson is almost unrecognizable compared to his real-life self, and the same is true for Freydis. The daughter of Erik the Red was a force to be reckoned with according to the sagas she is mentioned in, and though these traits are shown in Vikings: Valhalla, there was more to cover. According to the Saga of the Greenlanders, Freydis traveled to Vinland with two men, Helgi and Finnbogi, with whom she had made a deal to share whatever wealth was acquired from the journey.

After the three ran into several disagreements, Freydis told her husband, a man who is not included in Vikings: Valhalla’s characters at all, that the two men had beaten her and that he should kill them on her behalf, and so he did. However, when he refused to kill the women in the camp, Freydis took up an ax and did it herself. Because of her actions and her unorthodox lifestyle, she had a rather tumultuous relationship with her brother, Leif, which is not the case in Valhalla.

In the Saga of Erik the Red, Freydis also traveled to Vinland, but she didn’t betray her people. When Freydis and her crew arrived, they were attacked by a group of natives. The other Vikings begin to flee, but Freydis held her ground and took her sword, driving back the natives – and it’s worth noting that she was eight months pregnant.

Why Vikings: Valhalla Changes Freydis’ True Story So Much

Freydis’ Story Needed To Be Fleshed Out

The creators of Vikings: Valhalla and its predecessor, Vikings, have never billed the shows as being particularly historically accurate. In numerous ways, it jumbles the real-life events to better fit the show’s storylines, rather than staying true to what is known about this time. Freydis’ path largely examines Viking: Valhalla’sstruggle between Christianity and Norse pagan beliefs, a struggle that is constantly brought up throughout the show, and her character serves as a way to further explore this.

Introducing Erik the Red in
Vikings: Valhalla
season 3 also required changing Freydis’ story, as it’s unclear how good or bad her relationship with her father was.

Even though there are two sagas that mention Freydis, they are in conflict with one another, so it is hard to say just how much of her true story was changed and why in the first place, considering it’s a little unclear what exactly her historical backstory even entailed. As is often the case with history that was not recorded all that precisely, the creators crafted their own narrative for her character, which allowed her to not only have an agreeable relationship with her brother, but also to have romantic storylines with Harald Sigurdsson (with whom she has a son, Harald Jr.) and later Stigr.

Introducing Erik the Red in Vikings: Valhalla season 3 also required changing Freydis’ story, as it’s unclear how good or bad her relationship with her father was. Though Vikings: Valhalla utilized its creative license to the fullest, it still depicted Freydis as a strong woman, just in a very different way from the stories told in the sagas. Freydis’ true story may never fully be revealed in modern times, but Vikings: Valhalla does honor the sagas’ depiction of her unwavering determination.