Why Did Canute Kill Askeladd? Explained

There is no doubt that, in the storyline of Vinland Saga, a lot of people contributed to the overall growth and development of Thorfinn. Out of all of the people he met along the way, probably the most influential in the early part of his life were Askeladd and Canute. Askeladd, of course, was a man that Thorfinn wanted to kill in a fair duel but was killed by Canute at the end of season 1. So, why did Canute kill Askeladd?

Canute killed Askeladd because Askeladd had just murdered King Sweyn, Canute’s father, in cold blood. Askeladd went on a rampage after killing Sweyn, as the only thing that Canute could do was to stop the mercenary. Doing so allowed him to have more claim as the legitimate heir to Sweyn.

The death of Askeladd was one of the biggest turning points in the series for both Thorfinn and Canute. In Canute’s case, Askeladd’s death meant more power to him as a possible successor to King Sweyn, who never wanted him to become king. So, in that regard, Askeladd’s death at the hands of Canute allowed the prince to have a better claim to the throne that he decided to take after he underwent a massive character transformation.

Why Did Canute Kill Askeladd?

Back in season 1, one of the developing stories was the scheming that Askeladd was doing under the table when he was tasked by King Sweyn to work with Prince Canute in the battles against Thorkell’s English forces. While Canute was an inexperienced prince that knew nothing about the battle, Sweyn wanted him dead because he felt that he was a threat to Prince Harald’s claim to the throne.

But it was through Askeladd’s politicking and strategy that Canute could survive the battles against Thorkell’s forces and the fleeing that came along with the skirmishes with the gigantic opponent after Thorkell defeated Canute’s army. During that time, the death of Ragnar, the man who raised Canute, also inspired the prince to become a better person as he eventually decided to become the king.

Canute survived the War arc of Vinland Saga and ended up returning to one of the Danish cities in England as he and the other Danish forces were celebrating together with King Sweyn. However, Sweyn gave Askeladd a choice. The king wanted to invade Wales if Askeladd continued supporting Prince Canute.

The thing about Askeladd was that the only reason why he supported Canute throughout the entire time that they were running away from Thorkell was to get on the good side of the prince and allow him to gain victory after victory to increase the chances of him becoming a legitimate heir to King Sweyn’s throne. So, if Canute saw Askeladd as a mentor that allowed him to rise in power, the mercenary leader could convince him to spare Wales from the wrath of the Danish Vikings. And it was important for Askeladd to keep Wales safe because this was the homeland of his mother, and due to the fact that he believed that he was the descendant of an ancient Welsh king.

So, when Sweyn found out about Askeladd’s plans, he gave him an ultimatum. That was when Askeladd had no choice but to do the only thing that he knew would keep Wales safe from the Danish, and that was to kill King Sweyn himself. Sweyn’s death was one that shocked everyone in the hall, Canute included. 

Askeladd continued his rampage in the hall as he cut down every soldier that wanted to bring him down for killing the king. But it was a timely strike from Canute that killed Askeladd, as the mercenary leader died in Thorfinn’s arms. So, if Askeladd supported Canute, then why did the prince kill him?

Canute needed to kill Askeladd because that was the best thing to do at that moment. Despite the fact that Canute and his father were never close and that the prince had little to no affection for his own father, Canute knew that the best thing to do was to kill the man that murdered the king in cold blood. That was what justice demanded, as Canute needed to put down the rampaging Askeladd in what was one of the turning points of the storyline, not only for the prince but for Thorfinn as well.

Did Canute Know Askeladd’s Plans?

As mentioned, the only reason why Askeladd supported Canute was that he believed that doing so would allow him to safeguard Wales from any attacks coming from Denmark if the prince were to become the next king. In a way, he didn’t care for Canute but simply supported him due to the fact that it allowed him to obtain his goals.

There’s also the fact that Askeladd killed King Sweyn not out of blind range but out of desperation due to the fact that this was the only thing that he could do to keep Wales safe. Killing Sweyn allowed him to prevent the king from attacking Wales. And because Canute killed him, Askeladd allowed the prince to rise up in power as Canute killed the man responsible for the death of the king.

Of course, while Canute became a more powerful figure among the Danish for killing the man that killed the king, it still is clear that he had no idea that this was in line with Askeladd’s plans the entire time. Canute was never privy to Askeladd’s plans of using Canute for his own gain, as the mercenary leader scarcely confided with anyone his plans.

As such, Canute had little to no idea that killing Askeladd would have allowed the mercenary to accomplish his goals. In a way, both of them benefitted from Askeladd’s death. For one, Askeladd prevented Sweyn from invading Wales, as Canute never invaded his home country. Meanwhile, Canute became a more legitimate heir to the throne of Denmark after killing the man that killed the king.

So, in a sense, the politicking that was happening behind the scenes worked in favor of all of those involved. The only problem was that Askeladd died, while Thorfinn was sold to slavery for attacking Canute. Meanwhile, Canute gained more power and eventually became an ambitious monarch that would stop at nothing to achieve his grand goals.