Here we are with a new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla trailer breakdown in which we will get to know the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Bosses or, if you want, the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Kings or the leaders of Anglo-Saxon England. It is by far the hardest breakdown I have created up to this point because there is a lot of information we are going to cover.
One thing I want to point out before starting our journey in England is that in order to make all details easier to follow, we are going to use images and info from the Vikings TV series connected with the historical facts I have managed to gather. This means that if you have watched the Vikings TV series, then everything will be easier to follow. If you didn’t, it is fair to warn you that this analysis may contain minor spoilers.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Historical Setting
The first thing we are going to clarify is the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla game setting and time frame. According to Ubisoft, we will start our amazing journeys in 873 with Eivor and his Viking clan being part of the Great Heathen Army. The main plot will take place in Anglo-Saxon England, which is the country our Vikings try to conquer in order to expand.
Now, if we take a closer look at the following map, we can notice that Anglo-Saxon England was divided into four smaller kingdoms: Wessex to the south, Northumbria in the north, East Anglia to the east, and Mercia in the center.
The map you see also shows the movement of the Great Heathen Army; however, it is not important at this point. What is important is that Eivor’s journey starts in 873, while the events in the Vikings TV series start around 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne.
This means that there is a gap of around 80 years between Ragnar Lothbrok and Eivor. Even so, the events depicted in both Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the Vikings TV series will overlap, as you’ll see. So, now that we know the years and the main area in the video game let’s take a closer look at each of the four kingdoms from Anglo-Saxon England.
Northumbria
Just like Ragnar Lothbrok in the Vikings TV series, we will start our journey in Northumbria in 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne. Although this happened 80 years before Eivor, it is a key moment in history because it marks the beginning of the Viking Age. And according to the TV series, the attack was led by Ragnar Lothbrok.
During that period, Northumbria was under the iron fist of Ælla of Northumbria a tyrant king. It is unknown when he became King, but his death is recorded in 867, 6 years before Eivor’s arrival.
Obviously, the TV series shows the connection between Ragnar Lothbrok and King Ælla, but we will not discuss it because, as I said, we will try to avoid spoilers. What we need to remember, though, are two important facts.
First, Ælla had a daughter named Judith of Northumbria, according to the TV series. Second, we need to keep in mind Ælla’s death, which occurred in 867. The cause of his death is unknown, but there are two historical opinions here. Some sources claim that he died in the Battle of York when the Vikings defeated the Northumbrians.
Norse sources claim that Ælla was killed by Ragnar’s sons: Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubba. The cause of Ælla’s death is not important for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla except for the fact that after the Battle of York, the Vikings appointed a puppet king in Northumbria.
His name, according to history, is Ecgberht I of Northumbria. Due to the poor recordings, we only know that he was in control between 867 and 872, followed by Ricsige of Northumbria between 873 to 876, or the period when Eivor reaches Great Britain. So this should be the first leader we’ll get to meet in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla according to history: Ricsige of Northumbria.
The problem with this leader, though, is that some sources claim that he wasn’t actually a king because, in 873, the southern part of Northumbria was conquered by Halfdan Ragnarsson; a key character in Eivor’s story.
Halfdan Ragnarsson
So, who was Halfdan Ragnarsson? According to history, he was Ragnar’s son! Brother of Björn Ironside, Ivar the Boneless, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ubba, and Hvitserk.
Because Halfdan is not mentioned in any source that mentions Hvitserk, his brother, scholars believe that they are the same individual. This means that in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, one of the kings we get to meet is Ragnar’s son. His name will be either Halfdan Ragnarsson or Hvitserk, and he will rule Northumbria until 877.
East Anglia
Unlike Northumbria, the history of East Anglia is way easier to follow simply because this territory was targeted by Mercia’s kings; thus, it was a disputed one. One year after Ragnar arrived in Northumbria, East Anglia was attacked and conquered by Offa of Mercia, who died two years later. Seeking to regain independence, East Anglia fought back under the command of Eadwald, but Mercian king Coenwulf suppressed them.
Twenty-nine years later, East Anglia earned its independence. In 827, East Anglia asked Egbert of Wessex for protection against future attacks from Mercia. To secure the protection, Egbert of Wessex asked for the southeastern parts of East Anglia to allow the remaining territory to maintain its independence.
In 865, the Viking armies conquered a large portion of East Anglia, and in 869 (4 years before Eivor’s arrival), they returned. From that year onward, East Anglia remained under the control of the Vikings, who installed puppet kings.
While they are not important for our Assassin’s Creed Valhalla journey, the territory is because, as we have discussed in the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla locations breakdown, I believe that East Anglia will be the area where Eivor will set his headquarters. And it is also featured in the leaked gameplay footage. You may remember the Isle of Sheppey from the said video. If you missed it, you can watch it on YouTube here.
Mercia
Moving to the Kingdom of Mercia, if we follow the historical facts, Eivor should arrive when Mercia was under the rule of Burgred between 852 and 874. The events in the Vikings TV series, though, show Burgred, the Prince of Mercia and brother of Kwenthrith, years before that period of time; thus, we will stick to the historical facts that can be verified.
An interesting aspect about Burgred is that historically, he fled to Rome in the face of a Danish invasion, while in the TV series, he is trapped by Prince Aethelwulf and Ragnar’s Vikings. Burgred, however, will most likely be included in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla even if he won’t play a major role as the following King.
Wessex
The final Anglo-Saxon Kingdom we’ll get to explore is also the most important: Wessex—the jewel of the Anglo-Saxons. I kept it last because it’s also the one that connects the rest of them. Not to mention his great leader, as you already saw in Ubisoft’s trailer.
In the Vikings TV series, after the first raid in Northumbria, Ragnar arrives in Wessex and meets King Ecgberht. Ragnar and Ecgberht have a long history together in the TV series, but we won’t go into details. What we need to keep in mind is that Ecgberht ruled between 802 and 839, and he had a son, Æthelwulf.
After Ragnar’s invasion of Wessex, Ecgberht and King Ælla of Northumbria decide to forge an alliance in order to protect their kingdoms. This alliance leads to the marriage between Ecgberht’s son, Æthelwulf, and Ælla’s daughter, Judith. The result of this marriage is a boy named Alfred. The sources regarding Alfred’s parents, however, are quite confusing.
In the TV series, Judith falls in love with Aethelstan, the priest who helps Ragnar, and we can hear Judith admitting that Aethelstan is Alfred’s father. The history, on the other hand, outlines that Alfred’s mother was Æthelwulf’s first wife, Osburh, who gave him five sons Æthelstan, Æthelbald, Æthelberht, Æthelred, and Alfred, while Judith, who appears in the TV series was the second wife and she is known as Judith of France.
Regardless of who married who, from both sources, we can outline one important fact. The moment Eivor reaches Great Britain and Wessex, he will have to face Alfred the Great, who was the King of the West Saxons between 871 and 886, as well as the King of Anglo-Saxons between 886 and 899.
Who Is Alfred the Great
He is the King we can spot in Ubisoft’s trailer signing the war documents, and history tells us that not only was he very smart, but he was also basically the first king of England.
While Alfred may never have officially created England, he created the circumstances necessary for there to be an England. He created the Burh system, and he defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington, which brought peace between the cultures. He changed Wessex from a dying kingdom to the greatest power in Britain.
Without Alfred, England never would have been realized. That is why Alfred is the true first king of England. In the TV series, we can see Alfred grow from a baby to a leader. Even Ragnar Lothbrok shows a huge respect for him when they meet for the last time.
Bosses & Kings
So, let’s recap the Kings we are going to face in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In Northumbria, we should expect to see Halfdan Ragnarsson or Hvitserk, Ragnar Lothbrok’s son, while in East Anglia, we will most likely set our headquarters.
In Mercia, we should be greeted by Burgred, while in Wessex, we will rage war against Alfred the Great. So let me know what you think about all these Assassin’s Creed Valhalla kings or bosses!
