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in: Male Characters, Characters, Vinland Expedition Crew
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Ivar

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Ivar (イーヴァル Īvaru?) is a farmer who joins Thorfinn's mission to colonize Vinland. He disagrees with Thorfinn's pacifist ideology and is heavily distrustful of the Lnu. He is the older brother of Styrk[1] and potentially related to Ganglati as well.

Appearance[]

Ivar has a muscular body structure. His hair is styled in a slicked-back undercut. The shaved hair and his beard are black, and the hair on the top of his head is blonde. He has two earrings with the motif of a cross. There are two facial tattoos with a swirl motif over both of his eyes. He typically carries his Ulfberht sword with him.

Personality[]

Ivar is an impulsive man who holds resentment toward Halfdan for taking over his farm. He owns an Ulfberht sword that he vows to slice Halfdan in two with.[2] He is quick to anger and has had to be restrained from attacking individuals he's had disagreements with, including a heavily pregnant Gudrid.[3] He is known for romanticizing war, although it is unclear if he has ever been to battle since all we know of his past is that he lived as a farmer in Iceland.

Despite his interest in war, he does not want to be the cause of it and is disappointed to hear that Styrk manipulated him into believing there was a threat of war breaking out in Arnheid Village.[4][1] His impulsiveness was one of the leading causes of the settlement falling into violence.

History[]

Ivar is one of the many farmers on Iceland that have had their farm taken over by Halfdan.[2] This is likely from being unable to pay back a loan, as that is how Halfdan has captured other farms.[5] His history beyond this is unknown, although it is notable that despite his situation with Halfdan, he still owns an Ulfberht sword as a prized possession he keeps with him. It is unclear if this sword was obtained before or after his farm was taken.

Originally, Ivar had the intention of killing Halfdan. It is only when Thorfinn makes the announcement of creating a settlement in Vinland that Styrk was able to convince him to move on from that goal. Ivar heavily disagrees with Thorfinn's rule of no swords, and attempts to convince Thorfinn to get rid of the rule. When he is unsuccessful, he initially wants to give up on Vinland, but Styrk suggests that they go with the expedition with the intention of taking the settlement out from under Thorfinn when he fails as leader. Ivar, Styrk, and Ganglati ultimately smuggle Ivar's sword on the expedition to Vinland.

Once on the settlement, Ivar was immediately distrustful of the native people and becomes a leading voice for creating walls, ships, shields, and weapons to protect themselves from outside forces. This causes a splintering in the settlement between people who want to follow Thorfinn's no-sword peace policy and those who distrust the Lnu enough to prepare for a potential war. He is quick to want to use the sword against the Lnu, first drawing it when he sees Plmk point a spear at Thorfinn. Cordelia sees the sword, and despite Ivar and Styrk attempting to convince her not to tell Thorfinn about it, she reveals the smuggled sword during a Thing.

This ultimately culminates in the settlement splintering between those who believe that swords are needed in case war breaks out, and those who want to avoid war altogether and believe swords will cause it. During this Thing, the settlers bring Lnu to join the conversation. Miskwekepu'j grabs an axe during the Thing and attempts to attack Thorfinn. Ivar cleaves off Miskewkepu'j's hand with the smuggled sword, and it is later revealed that this was part of Miskewkepu'j's plan to spark war between the Nords and the Lnu. This was successful, and caused the Lnu to stop visiting Arnheid Village and for the people of Arnheid Village to develop swords, shields, and a large wall across the outside of the settlement. [4]

Hild, angered by the increasing likeliness of war due to Ivar's actions, decides to kill Ivar. Ivar, Styrk, and Ganglati go into the forest to survey the area for Lnu one day, and Ganglati falls into a trap that Hild set. This causes a discussion where Styrk reveals to Ivar that the Lnu likely want peace and that he only fanned the flames of war with the intention of causing the settlement to fail so Ivar could take over as leader. Ivar is disappointed by this, saying that he has no interest in being the cause of war. Styrk then falls into another trap Hild set, and Hild then attacks Ivar with her crossbow. She has the intention to kill him, and is only stopped when Thorfinn appears and talks her down.

While Thorfinn, Bug-Eyes, Einar, and Hild are gone to try and reestablish diplomacy with the Lnu, a non-Lnu group of raiders led by Ga'aoqi attack Arnheid Village. When Ivar notices, he gathers the men of the village to confront the raiders and orders the women and children to hide behind the outer wall. Ga'aoqi's raiders attack the settlers with arrows, and Ganglati uses himself as a human shield to protect Ivar. The back of Ganglati's head is struck by an arrow, killing him instantly. Ivar is at first stuck underneath Ganglati's body, wherein Ga'aoqi then takes the opportunity to stab his hand and take the smuggled sword. Ivar then gets up from under Ganglati's body and takes Ganglati's axe with the intention of avenging him, but ultimately has his hand cleaved off by Ga'aoqi with the stolen sword.[6]

Appearances[]

Manga Appearances[]

Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance

Vinland Arc

Trivia[]

  • Ivar's sword is an Ulfberht Sword. this is a real type of medieval sword known for being made from a very strong material known as crucible steel.[7]
  • Styrk calls Ivar his brother multiple times, but Ganglati's relationship to Ivar and Styrk is currently unknown. He may be their brother as well.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vinland Saga Chapter 200: Thousand Year Voyage (9)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vinland Saga Chapter 168: Voyage to the West (2)
  3. ↑ Vinland Saga Chapter 195: Thousand Year Voyage (4)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vinland Saga Chapter 199: Thousand Year Voyage (8)
  5. ↑ Vinland Saga Chapter 104: The Fettered Tern (4)
  6. ↑ Vinland Saga Chapter 209: Thousand Year Voyage (18)
  7. ↑ https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2012/10/09/nova-secrets-viking-sword
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