Who Is Einar in Vinland Saga, and Is He Based on a Real Person?

Season 2 of Vinland Saga has just arrived, and that means that the storyline will now proceed to the Slavery arc, which is the part of the story that focuses on Thorfinn’s life as a slave after Askeladd’s death and his attempt at Canute’s life. In that regard, Thorfinn is set to meet new people along the way while working as a slave. One of them is Einar, who was one of the first people he met during his time on Ketil’s farm. So, who is Einar in Vinland Saga?

Einar used to be a farmer working on his family’s farm in Northern England. However, he was forced into slavery when Danish Vikings raided their farm and killed his family. He was subsequently sold off to Ketil, who was interested in him because of his knowledge and experience as a farmer.

While the story of the Slavery arc still focuses heavily on Thorfinn’s story, the thing is that Einar will be a huge part of his character development in this storyline and is set to become one of the most important characters in his life. Einar, of course, will also learn a lot from his time with Thorfinn while they work together on Ketil’s Farm. Now, let’s get to know more about Einar.

Who Is Einar In Vinland Saga?

At the end of season 1 of Vinland Saga, we saw that Thorfinn was subsequently sold off into slavery when he attempted to kill Prince (now King) Canute, who was responsible for taking away Thorfinn’s only purpose in life. Canute killed Askeladd, and Thorfinn was forced into slavery because of how he reacted. After all, Thorfinn’s only goal in life at that point in time was to kill Askeladd in a fair duel so that he could avenge his father’s death.

Season 2 of Vinland Saga was finally released, and that means that we are now going to see more of Thorfinn’s story as a slave. We are also set to see the new people that Thorfinn is going to be working with during his time as a slave. These people are also the ones responsible for a good part of Thorfinn’s character transformation. One of them is Einar.

Einar used to be a farmer that was working in his family’s fields up in Northern England. Before that, his father worked in the same fields but was killed by English troops when the King of England decided to invade Northern England. His father died as a result of the attack. As such, Einar worked hard to get their farm back where it was before his father’s death, as he also tried to train in the use of an axe so that he could defend his home from any future invader.

He spent his days working on the family’s farm while also training to fight. This allowed Einar to develop a strong and muscular body that was fit for manual work. However, he never became a good warrior due to his lack of formal training and combat experience.

Eventually, Danish Viking raiders invaded Einar’s village, which led to the deaths of numerous villagers. Einar, his mother, and his sister tried to flee their village. But his mother was shot by an arrow, and this forced Einar and his sister to halt their retreat. Despite the fact that his mother’s last words were for him to take his sister and flee, Einar was still too shocked to run away.

The Viking raiders caught up to them, as Einar’s sister was killed when she tried to retaliate. Einar, meanwhile, couldn’t fight back due to his lack of combat training and experience. He and the other villagers that were caught were brought to Denmark, where they were auctioned off into slavery.

While he was being sold off to slavery, Einar met Leif Erikson, who was looking for Thorfinn because he wanted to free him from slavery and take him back home to Greenland. It was through Leif that Einar learned that he was looking for a short and blonde young man. Of course, Einar was jealous of how someone was looking for Thorfinn.

Einar was subsequently hired by a man named Ketil, who was interested in him due to his experience of working on a farm before he became a slave. Ketil bought him and took him to his farm, where he was asked to work well enough. Einar’s initial impression of Ketil was well enough at the start because he saw that the man was not a harsh employer.

It was during his first day on the farm that Einar met Thorfinn, who had already been working there for a while. He immediately recognized the name and the physical description that he had heard from Leif.

Einar is somewhat the opposite of Thorfinn, who had become cold and unemotional after Askeladd’s death and during the time he was working as a slave. He is known to be quite emotional, as he is prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve. And while he knows for a fact that he lacks combat experience and capabilities, Einar is open to helping in any way he can.

What Happens To Einar?

At first, Einar did not become friends with Thorfinn as they didn’t have the best impression of one another. However, their experiences on the farm allowed them to get to know one another more, as Einar learned about what happened to Thorfinn, all while Einar shared details about his past as well. It was through their time on Ketil’s farm that Einar learned of Thorfinn’s mental state as he eventually embraced him as a good friend.

It was through the death of Arnheid, another one of the slaves that they were friends with, that both Thorfinn and Einar vowed to find a country where they could live in peace and without wars, injustice, and slavery. As such, they eventually became companions that had a common goal of searching for Vinland, which was the new land that Leif Erikson claimed to have set foot on many years ago.

Is Einar Based On A Real Person?

While Vinland Saga is loosely based on real-life events that happened during the start of the second millennium, the thing is that not all of the characters are actually based on real persons. Some names, such as Canute, Leif, and Sweyn, were based on real persons. However, Einar is unlikely one of the characters that were based on a real person that lived during that time.

There was a man named Einar that asked Gudrid for her hand in marriage but was turned down because his father was a slave. Other than that, there are hardly any records of a person named Einar that was important during the Viking age of the 11th century.