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| “ | You behold your brother's gaze in amazement. I knew well you would. Pity you never paid a bastard's eyes heed before. Now behold how swiftly your brother swings his sword! | „ |
| ~ Fjölnir expressing his envious hatred for his brother before killing him. |
Fjölnir the Brotherless is the main antagonist of Robert Eggers' 2022 epic film The Northman. He is a ruthless Viking who murders his brother to usurp his throne.
He was portrayed by Claes Bang, who also portrayed The Dean in The Outlaws and Dracula in the 2020 series of the same name.
Appearance[]
He is a tall Viking man with long graying black hair and a beard and a muscular build, and who wears black fur clothing.
Biography[]
Born out of wedlock, Fjölnir serves as a warrior under his brother King Aurvandill of Hrafnsey, who openly calls him "the bastard". He desires the throne for himself and conspires with the king's wife Gudrún, who hates her husband, to kill them and rule Hrafnsey together. She also tells him to kill Amleth, her son with Aurvandill, so Aurvendill's line will die with him.
Fjölnir and his men ambush Aurvendill as he takes Amleth hunting and shoot him with several arrows. Fjölnir then beheads his brother and sends his men to kill Amleth, but the boy manages to escape. Amleth sees Fjölnir carrying Gudrún off and believes that he is taking her away by force, so he swears an oath to kill Fjölnir and set his mother free.
Years later, Fjölnir is dethroned, but remains a wealthy and powerful landowner. He has a second child, a son named Gunnar, with Gudrún, and has numerous slaves on his homestead, which he runs with Thorir, his adult son from a previous marriage. A now-grown Amleth infiltrates the homestead posing as a slave in order to get close to Fjölnir. He ends up saving Gunnar's life, and Thorir makes him an overseer on the homestead and allows him to take a fellow slave named Olga as his mate. Olga, who hates Fjölnir for making her his sex slave, promises to help Amleth take his revenge,
After Gudrún reveals to Amleth the truth of his father's death and his conception, an enraged Amleth kills Thorir and cuts his heart out as revenge. As Fjölnir mourns his son, Gudrún chastises him to show no weakness in front of his "inferiors" and manipulates him into ordering Amleth's execution. Fjölnir decides that merely killing Amleth is not enough, so he orders his men to torture and kill Olga. Amleth stops the execution and offers to give Fjölnir his son's heart in exchange for Olga's life. Fjölnir has Amleth tortured, but Amleth manages to escape and sails away with Olga.
Upon learning that Olga is pregnant, however, Amleth realizing that neither she nor their children will be safe as long as Fjölnir and Gudrún are alive, and so he returns to Fjölnir's homestead. He slaughters Fjölnir's men and kills Gudrún and Gunnar in self-defense when they attack him. Fjölnir collects the dead bodies of his wife and son and tells Amleth that he will meet him at the Gates of Hel. He then leaves the bodies outside the Gates to taunt Amleth.
Amleth confronts Fjölnir in Hel and engages him in brutal battle, during which Fjölnir mortally wounds his nephew by stabbing him in the chest. Amleth rallies with his last ounce of strength and beheads Fjölnir, avenging his father.
Trivia[]
- Fjölnir is based upon Feng, a figure of Norse legend who served as William Shakespeare's inspiration for King Claudius, the villain of Hamlet.
External links[]
- Fjölnir on the Robert Eggers Wiki