The True Story of Thorkell the Tall | Vinland Saga

I will be taking you to the 10th and 11th century Scandinavia and England. This was a time of everlasting war, strife, betrayal and bloodshed. Thorkell the Tall would distinguish himself amongst his fellow warriors for his immense fighting prowess. He would climb the ranks of the Joms Vikings, the most savage and highly skilled warriors in Scandinavia and arguably the world and would ultimately become their chief. This is his story. First, let's have a look at his early life. Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High, was said to be born in the late 950s. He was the son of Stratharald, a Jarl who ruled over the Danish territory of Scania. Stratharald was the son of Gorm the Old, the King of Denmark, so Thorkell had royal blood running through his veins. Once Thorkell had reached adulthood, it is said that he stood taller than any man. This combined with his skill at arms would lead him to the legendary order of the Joms Vikings, so Thorkell would travel to their castle in Jomsborg in hopes of joining the famous mercenaries. According to the Joms Viking saga, Thorkell the Tall and his brother Sigvaldi prepared a trip to Jomsborg to see if they could get into the legendary order. Their father said to them it would be wise to join the Joms Vikings to increase their fame and honour. He would also say to them, it is now time for you two brothers to put to the test whether you are worth anything as men. The Joms Vikings were an order of Viking warriors who had a particular way of life. It was not easy to become a Joms Viking, as only elite warriors who had proven themselves worthy could even join the order. A man was required to prove themselves with a feat of strength, such as lifting a huge boulder, or they would have to duel a real Joms Viking and defeat them in single combat to be admitted. Once admitted, you would have to adhere to a strict way of life in order to strengthen your mind and body. Each Joms Viking was bound to defend his brothers in arms and if they fell on the battlefield, or in any other way, their deaths would need to be avenged for their spirit to be at ease. It was forbidden to speak ill of another member behind their backs, as this was a sign of cowardice. Blood feuds between the members were mediated by officers and they were forbidden to show any fear or flee from the battlefield. All spoils of war were to be shared among the members equally and no Joms Viking could be absent from their stronghold for more than three days, unless they were on a campaign or had permission from the Brotherhood. No women or children were allowed within the fortress walls and none were to be taken captive. Any violation of these rules would result in expulsion from the order. Thorkell would pass his initiation and join the order. He would soon have his first taste of battle in the year 986. The Joms Vikings had accepted payment from Harald Blüte, the Christian, whose aim it was to convert Norway and Denmark to Christianity. The Joms Vikings were pagan, but they fought for gold, not for personal ethics, and they joined Harald to fight against a fellow pagan, Hakon Sigurardsson. Thorkell looked forward to proving himself in battle in front of his new brothers. The order of mercenaries sailed to Norway and could see that they were outnumbered. The Joms Vikings and their allied forces only had sixty ships, while the enemy had a hundred and eighty. Thorkell knew that one Joms Viking was worth ten men and showed no fear. Before the battle commenced, a hailstorm would begin, the ships would then ram into each other, and the Battle of Ogdunkvar would begin. The battle was fierce and both sides would take many casualties. Thorkell would fight with a trance-like fury, killing anyone in his path. However, Sigvaldi, the new leader of the Joms Vikings order, saw the devastation and the amount of warriors that were being slaughtered and ordered a retreat. This resulted in his name being disgraced. He would still, however, remain as the chief of the Joms Vikings. Thorkell would later take part in the largest naval battle of the Viking Age, the Battle of Svald. In the year 1000, the Joms Vikings allied themselves with King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway. However, in this particular naval battle, Sigvaldi, the chief of the Joms Vikings, betrayed King Olaf and told him rumours of a fake, planned ambush. He then lured him into a real ambush in the Baltic Sea and him and the Joms Vikings slaughtered his men. King Olaf would then commit suicide by jumping into the sea. Thorkell's brother Sigvaldi and the chief of the Joms Vikings would soon meet his end in England. Thorkell knew that his predecessor had been ridiculed after the Battle of Ogdunkvar, due to him breaking his order's sacred laws of no retreat in the face of the enemy, and not allowing his men to die gloriously on the battlefield. Thorkell also knew of his brother's treachery in the Battle of Svald, but may have overlooked this, as King Olaf wanted to convert the world to Christianity. Nonetheless, the name and reputation of the sacred order had been tainted by cowardice and treachery. Thorkell, however, a man of honour, had sworn an oath when he joined the order, and the death of Sigvaldi, his former lord and brother, had to be avenged. In August of the year 1009, Thorkell and his band of warriors would sail to Sandwich in England. There they would kill, raid and pillage for wealth and for revenge. Thorkell would eventually march his men to Canterbury, where he was paid 3,000 pounds of silver by the people of Kent to sway him and his men from attacking. Thorkell and his men would now reside in England, instead of returning to their castle in Jomsborg. On September the 8th, in the year 1011, Thorkell returned to Canterbury and laid siege to the city for three weeks. They were eventually able to take the city, but they took it by treachery. An English man named Aefmare gave Thorkell the information he needed to break into the city. Soon enough, the Jomsvikings would occupy the great and rich city of Canterbury. They would take many hostages of importance, such as the Archbishop of Canterbury. This, however, would prove to be a mistake. The Archbishop would convert many Jomsvikings to Christianity during his captivity, creating tension amongst the order. The pagan Jomsvikings and Thorkell would soon grow sick of the Archbishop and would demand 3,000 pounds of silver for his release. The Archbishop, however, bravely refused to be ransomed and told the people not to pay the order of mercenaries. This would further infuriate the Jomsvikings. Later, at a great feast, the Jomsvikings would bask in each other's tales of glory and triumph, and while the warriors got increasingly drunk, their attention would turn to the Archbishop. They began pelting him with the bones of cattle and hand bones. Then an axe man approached him. He smashed the Archbishop on the back of his head with the butt of his axe, killing him. Thorkell was infuriated. Even though the Archbishop had caused problems, he could no longer ransom him and Thorkell had instructed his warriors to not kill him. Throughout the Jomsviking occupation of Canterbury, they would raid southern England, using Canterbury as a base of operations. They eventually halted their attacks when they received a series of Dængeld payments, accumulating to around 50,000 pounds of silver. Thorkell would then do something that no leader of the Jomsvikings had ever done before. He would ally himself with the King of England. The Jomsvikings at their core were mercenaries, so if the price was right, they would fight. Thorkell and his loyal Jomsvikings would enter the service of King Æthelred the Unready and they would soon fight for him. In 1013, Swain Forkbeard and his son Canute would try to invade England with a large force. Thorkell and his Jomsvikings force would defend England and their new ally King Æthelred. Thorkell's efforts however were in vain, as by 1013, the English and Jomsviking resistance had collapsed, as Swain had proved himself to be a great general and conquered the whole country. Thorkell would personally escort Æthelred to his exile in Normandy. Swain however, the brilliant general and new King of England, had a short-lived reign and died on the 3rd February 1014, having the title of King of England for only five weeks. Æthelred, the exiled King, then saw his opportunity to take his land back. He sailed to England and recaptured London. Canute, who was Swain Forkbeard's son, then decided to withdraw from England by April. What happened to Thorkell and the Jomsvikings after this is unclear, but he did leave Æthelred's service and sailed to Denmark and swore allegiance to Swain's son Canute. Canute knew that Thorkell and the fabled Jomsvikings would be valuable and powerful allies, many of them being the veterans of a hundred battles. He even overlooked the fact that they had fought against him and his father, which conveys that he knew of Thorkell's military prowess. England seemed to be a different land however. A warrior prince had emerged named Edmund Ironside. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and was everything a king should have been, strong, bold and ready to fight and die for his country. He would inspire his men to follow him into the battlefield and this would prove a problem to Thorkell and Canute. Nevertheless, Thorkell and his Jomsvikings would sail to England with the intention of taking it, just as Canute's father Swain had done a few years earlier. Over the next few months, while Canute and Thorkell conquered most of England, King Æthelred would die in April of 1016, leaving his son Edmund Ironside to take up the defences of the country. Soon enough, the famed Edmund Ironside and Canute would face each other head on in the hills of Sherston on June the 25th. The Danish and English armies would clash. Thorkell the Tall would summon his Jomsvikings from their faulty ships and would face the enemy in the front line to prove his loyalty to Canute. The battle was fierce and Thorkell and his Jomsvikings would fight with such ferociousness that no man could face them, vanquishing all Englishmen in their path. But Edmund Ironside, the warrior prince, would also fight amazingly, cutting down many Danish troops and inspiring his men to fight on. Canute and Edmund saw the amount of bloodshed and death and eventually called the There would be no celebration that night, for the deaths on both sides were too many to count. Later that year, on the 16th of October 1016, a decisive battle would take place that would decide the fate of England. The Battle of Assenden would take place in Essex, where Canute and Thorkell would face off once again against Edmund Ironside. During the battle, both the English and Danish armies fought valiantly, but Edric Stryona, the Elderman of Mercia, betrayed Edmund Ironside and abandoned the battle, allowing the Vikings to break through the English lines and annihilate Edmund's forces. After the battle, the Vikings and Canute had such respect for Edmund as a warrior that they allowed him to rule Wessex, while Canute ruled the rest of the country until one of their deaths, in which the survivor, would take control of England. Thorkell, the lord of the Joms Vikings, would be made into the Jarl of East Anglia for his help and fighting prowess against the English. Edmund Ironside would soon die, leaving Canute to rule the whole of England. He would now be known to history as Canute the Great. Around five years later, for unknown reasons, Thorkell had a falling out with Canute and was banished from England. He would sail to Denmark. By 1023, the two men had reconciled, Canute perhaps sensing that the legendary Thorkell was too powerful a man to make an enemy of. He then granted Thorkell the Eldom of Denmark and gave him the role as foster father for his son, Hearthcanute. After this, Thorkell completely disappears from history. His fate has been widely speculated. Most historians believe that he returned to the Jomsviking castle at Jomsborg. Thorkell the Tall, the lord of the Jomsvikings no doubt lived a full life, but it was full of war, strife and bloodshed. He had been at war for over 30 years in the front lines from 986 to 1016, and never fell in battle. He was evidently a worthy leader of the fabled order of the Jomsvikings, and has now been immortalized in the anime series Vinland Saga. If you enjoyed the video, make sure to like, subscribe and share, and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.