Vinland Saga: Did Thorfinn Lose His Ear? Here’s What Happened

Thorfinn is one of the most complex characters in the history of manga and anime, as he experienced one of the best developments as far as his character is concerned. But we do know that he has a somewhat unique appearance in that he is shorter than most adult men and seemingly missing a part of his left ear. So, did Thorfinn lose his ear?

Thorfinn did not lose his ear because only a part of it was cut when Fox and the other mercenaries on Ketil’s farm were bullying him and Einar. Four years later, Thorfinn got another piece of his left year cut off by Garm during their fight. However, he never lost the entire ear.

While we don’t really know the significance of Thorfinn losing a part of his ear, it only added to his iconic appearance, as there aren’t a lot of short Vikings with a part of their left ear missing. Of course, we also know that Thorfinn losing a part of his ear the first time was a moment that allowed us to see just how far he had fallen during the early part of his life as a slave. Now, let’s look at how Thorfinn lost his ear.

Who Cut Thorfinn’s Ear?

There is no doubt that almost the entire Vinland Saga storyline focuses on the journey of Thorfinn, who ended up becoming a slave after spending more than a decade of his life serving Askeladd as a mercenary so that he could earn an honorable duel with the man that killed his father. But Thorfinn ended up in slavery because he attacked Canute after the latter killed Askeladd.

As such, Thorfinn spent years of his life on Ketil’s farm, where he worked in a field with Einar. During this time, Thorfinn’s already iconic look became even more iconic as he lost a part of his ear. Of course, we often look at Thorfinn as a short Viking with blonde hair during a time when the Vikings were great men in their physical stature and accomplishments. But Thorfinn’s small stature became an iconic look for him, and his size was never a hindrance to his fighting style and job on Ketil’s farm.

So, we know that Thorfinn’s appearance now comes with a part of his ear cut off, as this only added to the many scars that he suffered in the past when he was still a warrior. But who cut Thorfinn’s ear?

The first person to cut a part of Thorfinn’s ear was a mercenary called Fox. During that time, Fox worked for Ketil as one of the mercenaries that served under the head of the “guests” or bodyguards on Ketil’s farm. He was an underling of the powerful mercenary named Snake, who Thorfinn described as someone with the strength of Askeladd and a speed that could match his own quick movements. However, Fox only cut the tip of Thorfinn’s left ear.

Four years after he lost the tip of his left ear to Fox, he went on a journey to the east during the Eastern Expedition arc of the storyline. Einar and his friends accompanied Thorfinn, and they met a brash fighter that was strong enough to give Thorkell a tough time. This fighter came in the form of Garm, who faced Thorfinn in a battle after the latter realized they needed to fight. Garm was the second person to cut a portion of Thorfinn’s ear four years after Fox did so.

How Did Thorfinn Lose His Ear?

During the earlier part of Thorfinn’s life as a slave on Ketil’s farm, Olmar was introduced as Ketil’s brash yet weak and cowardly second son. The mercenaries working on Ketil’s farm realized that Olmar wanted to be a soldier but didn’t have the heart to become one because he had yet to kill someone. As such, they wanted to give him his first kill.

Fox and the other mercenaries saw Thorfinn and Einar one morning and brought them over to the mercenaries’ base on Ketil’s farm. The goal of bringing them there was to offer them up to Olmar so that Ketil’s son could kill them and become a true warrior after killing for the first time. Einar was the one who was offered up to Olmar, who didn’t have the heart to kill someone.

However, during that time, Thorfinn offered himself up instead of Einar, as he no longer had a reason to live. At that time, Thorfinn was still depressed due to Askeladd’s death, as killing Askeladd was the only thing he had to live for. But since Canute killed Askeladd, he no longer had a reason to live and was merely going through the motions daily until death came for him. That was why he wanted to offer himself as the one that should be killed instead of Einar.

But Fox realized that Olmar wasn’t willing to kill any of them, and that was when he started bullying Thorfinn by repeatedly cutting him with his sword. The mercenary left cuts on Thorfinn’s flesh, and the former child warrior just stood there to take each cut without reacting to them. And when Fox realized Thorfinn was not even afraid of death, he cut a part of his ear off as Thorfinn didn’t even react to it.

Fox intended to kill Thorfinn after he realized that losing a part of his ear didn’t even make him wince in pain. Luckily for Thorfinn, Snake arrived to scold his men for bullying the slaves of their master. But Snake went for a killing strike that Thorfinn immediately reacted to on instinct, as that was when Snake found out that Thorfinn still had the will to live.

Four years later, Thorfinn and his friends went on an expedition to Greece to seek funding for their journey to Vinland. They encountered a battle-hungry warrior named Garm, who was strong enough to give even Thorkell some trouble in their fight. Garm proved fast and skilled enough to match Thorfinn in a fight as he cut another piece off Thorfinn’s ear.

But Thorfinn used Askeladd’s own tactics against Garm by attacking his emotions instead. Garm’s head became too cloudy and overcame with emotions to think clearly; that was how Thorfinn found an opening to defeat him.