Timeline

A timeline of all events from the Vinland Saga manga.

Though Vinland Saga is based on historical events, it makes several changes to many historical facts, and therefore this timeline shouldn't be seen as an accurate timeline of real-world history.

The chapters listed are only those that make direct and clear references to specific dates in the manga.

Year	Chapters Including Dates	Corresponding Episodes	Event
516			Britannian military leader Lucius Artorius Castus defeats the invading Saxons at the Battle of Mons Badonicus, bringing peace to Britannia.
~947			Sverkel is born.
~963			Thors Snorresson is born (February). Thorkell is born.
965			Leif Ericson is born.
~967			Floki is born.
~968			Halfdan is born Ragnar is born.
~969			Askeladd is born. Helga is born.
~971			Ketil is born.
~974			Gunnar is born.
~975			Bjorn is born. Pater is born.
~977			Asgeir is born.
~981			Snake is born.
983			At the age of fourteen, Askeladd travels to Wales to fulfill his mother Lydia's last request. Upon arriving there, he meets Welsh general Gratianus.
~984			Wulf is born.
~985			Fox is born. Badger is born.
~986			Gardar is born.
986			Ylva is born. The Jomsvikings, including Thors and Thorkell, participate in the Battle of Hjörungavágr. During the battle, Thors has a change of heart concerning war and decides to desert the Jomsvikings.
987	Chapter 40 (Flashback)	Episode 19 (Flashback)	Thors returns to Jomsborg to get Helga and Ylva; they are caught by Thorkell, but Thors defeats him and they are able to leave.
~988
~991			Thorgil is born.
991			11 August - Thorkell, presumably with the Jomsvikings, and Askeladd participate in the Battle of Maldon. Thorkell is nearly maimed during the battle, and Askeladd notices him falling to his knees.
~994			Arnheid is born.
~995			Einar is born.
996			Thorfinn is born (03 February). Canute is born (12 July).
997			Hild is born (23 November).
998			Sigurd is born (10 June).
~999			Gudrid is born.
1000			Leif Ericson discovers a new continent to the west of Greenland, and names it Vinland. Gudrid is born.
13 November 1002	Chapter 3	Episode 1	The English massacre a village of Danes in Danelaw. Among those slaughtered is Princess Gunhilde, sister to Danish King Sweyn. Having gained the perfect pretext, King Sweyn prepares to wage war against England and conquer it whole.
1002	Chapter 3	Episode 1	Leif stops in Iceland. Thors and his family find Halfdan's slave in the snow.
1003	Bonus Story: Ylva at Work	Episode 5	Leif returns to Iceland to report Thors's death and Thorfinn's disappearance to Helga and Ylva.
1008	Chapter 17	Episode 6	An injured Thorfinn is briefly taken in by an English mother and her daughter.
1012	Chapter 2	Episode 8	During the winter, King Sweyn withdraws his troops from England. October - With King Sweyn's invasion of England on hold, Askeladd's band of Vikings set sail to look for opportunities in the Kingdom of the Franks. They offer their services to Frankish nobleman Jabbathe, agreeing to help him overtake a strong Frank fortress provided they get a share of the fortress' riches. Before the raid on the fortress begins, Askeladd promises to duel Thorfinn if he is able to get a head with a helmet to him. The raid on the Frank fortress goes well for Askeladd's band, and they seize all of its riches before Jabbathe arrives. To Askeladd's surprise, Thorfinn successfully managed to kill the captain of the fortress' defenders and bring his head back to Askeladd. The conditions met, Askeladd agrees to duel Thorfinn as soon as they reach Gorm's village.
August 1013	Chapter 18	Episode 9	The Danish Viking fleet, led by King Sweyn, invades England up the river Humber. The Vikings, including Floki's Jomsvikings and Askeladd's band, pause in London, which Thorkell and his men are defending along with the English. Thorfinn duels Thorkell.
November 1013	Chapter 20 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 26	Episode 10 Episode 12 Episode 12 Episode 13	Ninety miles west of London, in a farming village near Bath, Askeladd kills a messenger and decides he and his men will go face against Thorkell and his five hundred in order to rescue Prince Canute and reap the reward. At the mouth of the East Bank of the River Severn (Western England), Askeladd arranges for his men to cross into Eastern Morgannwg, Wales. Canute signs a non-aggression treaty with Wales.
December 1013	Chapter 28 Chapter 29	Episode 14 Episode 15	In the Earldom of Mercia, Central England, Askeladd and his band massacre an English village to take their food and keep their presence a secret: only a young girl named Anne survives. Floki reports Canute is missing to King Sweyn in Gainsborough; King Sweyn refuses to dispatch a rescue expedition until the spring and implies Canute may be better off lost. Anne is found and Thorkell learns of Askeladd's location in Mercia.
January 1014	Chapter 32 Chapter 42	Episode 16 Episode 19	Thorkell and his men find Askeladd and his men upstream of the River Severn, in the Earldom of Mercia. Askeladd's band turns against him, with the exception of Bjorn and Thorfinn: most of them are killed by Thorkell's men. Thorfinn duels Thorkell and learns more about his parents' past, including that he is the grandson of the Jomsviking chief. Thorkell is impressed by Canute's change and decides to follow them to Gainsborough. Askeladd, Canute, Thorkell and Thorfinn arrive at Gainsborough and meet with King Sweyn.
Early February 1014	Chapter 47	Episode 22	Leif and Mols arrive at Gainsborough. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Askeladd attacks King Sweyn at swordpoint at the feast. Canute understands Askeladd's plan and runs him through with his sword. Thorfinn witnesses Askeladd's last moments and Askeladd shares some final words. Thorfinn attacks Canute and scars his cheek; he is brought away. Canute claims the crown of Denmark.
1014			Canute is crowned. Thorfinn is sold as a slave.
1015	Chapter 61	Episode 29	Near the border of Mercia and the Danelaw, Central England, Canute goes to deal with Lord Eadric personally.
Late June 1015	Chapter 55	Episode 25	Einar is bought by Ketil. In Southern Jutland, Denmark, Einar meets Thorfinn at Ketil's Farm for the first time.
September 1015	Chapter 63	Episode 30	Thorfinn and Einar meet Sverkel, who lends them a horse for their fieldwork.
October 1015	Chapter 65	Episode 30	Thorfinn and Einar begin spreading seeds on the part of the field they have cleared.
November 1015	Chapter 66	Episode 31	Ketil returns to the farm with his eldest son, Thorgil. Snake and the guests catch two young thives, siblings Sture and Thorra.
April 1016	Chapter 62 (mention)	Episode 29 (mention)	King Ethelred II dies, the cause of death being "disease".
November 1016	Chapter 62 (mention)	Episode 29 (mention)	Seven months after his father King Ethelred II, King Edmund also dies of "disease".
December 1017	Chapter 62 (mention)	N/A	Earl Eadric of Mercia is put to death by Canute.
1018	Chapter 62 (mention) Chapter 72	Episode 29 (mention) Episode 34	Canute's brother, King Harald, dies. Canute officially becomes King of England.
September 1018	Chapter 73	Episode 34	After three years, Thorfinn and Einar finish turning the forest into farmland.
October 1018	Chapter 75 Chapter 79 Chapter 87	Episode 35 Episode 37 Episode 42	Canute receives Ketil and his sons at King Harald's residence in Jelling. Leif and Bug-Eyes meet Ketil and his family. Ketil, Thorgil, Leif and Bug-Eyes arrive at Ketil's Farm, with Canute not far behind. Arnheid runs into her husband Gardar, an escaped slave who meets a tragic end. Arnheid is critically injured by Ketil. The Battle of Ketil Farm is fought, with Thorfinn convincing Canute to end the battle.
December 1018	Chapter 100 Chapter 101 Chapter 110	Episode 48	Thorfinn reunites with his family in Iceland. Gudrid tries to stow away on Leif's ship; Thorfinn meets Gudrid. Gudrid is married to Sigurd, but stabs him and runs away before the can consummate their marriage. Thorfinn makes plans for his Vinland Project and leaves with Leif, Einar, Bug-Eyes and Gudrid to go sell narwhal horns in Greece. Thorfinn's crew arrives at the Faroe Islands, Streymoy, and move on to the Shetlands Islands, where they rescue a newly orphaned Karli.
January 1019	Chapter 114 Chapter 123		Thorfinn's crew arrives in Norway, on the West Coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and meets Hild. It is revealed that Thorfinn previously killed Hild's father Hrafnkell on Askeladd's orders; Hild attempts to kill Thorfinn. Thorfinn's crew convinces Hild not to kill him for now, and she makes an alternate vow. Meanwhile, in East Anglia, a battle-deprived Thorkell is ordered by royal decree to leave England and return to Denmark.
April 1019	Chapter 124 Chapter 125		In Bergen, Southwest Norway, Thorfinn's crew cannot bear to leave Karli behind with an adoptive family and decide to bring him with them instead, to Bug-Eyes's dismay. At the King's stronghold in Jelling, Denmark, Thorkell fights a bear; Thorfinn is recognized at the market and brought to him.
May 1019	Chapter 130 Chapter 136		Floki learns that his attempt to have Thorfinn killed has failed. In Odense, Funen Island, Garm takes most of Thorfinn's companions hostage in order to force him to join the coming battle at Jomsborg, on the side of the attacking forces. The Baltic Sea War is fought between two Jomsvikings factions. Thorfinn's side wins; he is briefly made chief. He exiles Floki and then orders the Jomsvikings disbanded before immediately renouncing his role.
July 1019	Chapter 162		Sigurd returns to Iceland.
June 1021	Chapter 165		Thorfinn and his crew return to Iceland from Greece.
Spring 1022	Chapter 175		The ice closing the western sea route now melted, Thorfinn, Einar, Gudrid, Bug-Eyes, Hild and Karli depart for Vinland, along with settlers interested in Thorfinn's project.
Autumn 1022	Chapter 185		Some of the Norse, including Vargar, return to Vinland.
Early summer 1023	Chapter 191		The wheat sown in autumn becomes a successful crop. Gudrid announces she is pregnant with Thorfinn's child. Hild forgives Thorfinn.
Late November 1023	Chapter 206/Chapter 207		While Gudrid is in labour, Ga'aoqi and several other natives come to attack Arnheid Village in search of swords. They kill the inhabitants of one house and set it on fire. The group decides to target Thorfinn's house next; Cordelia, holding Karli, sees them approaching. Still at the meeting, Miskwekepu'j agrees to hold off on attacking until spring, at which time Thorfinn and his people must have left Viland. Mu'in and others disagree and want to attack the Nords. In the comotion, Niskawaji'j leads Thorfinn, Einar and Bug-Eyes away through the woods, but they are pursued.