Valdis
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Valdis was a Viking from Denmark who reigned as Queen of East Anglia as the wife of King Oswald. The younger sister of Brothir and Broder, she and her brothers were cousins of the Viking jarl Halfdan Ragnarsson.[1]
Biography
Early years
Originating from what become Denmark in continental Scandinavia, Valdis was at one point married to the Viking chieftain Rued. Unhappy with her marriage of at least five years, Valdis left and emigrated to England around 873 with her brothers to escape from Rued.[2]
Valdis and her brothers settled in East Anglia, a former Anglo-Saxon kingdom that became dominated by the influence of the Vikings led by the Sons of Ragnar, which included Valdis' cousin Halfdan and his brothers Ivarr the Boneless and Ubba Ragnarsson. By this time, East Anglia had been left without a stable kingship following the deaths of King Edmund in 869 and the Viking-appointed Æthelred circa 873. Halfdan thus assigned Finnr as the steward of East Anglia in his absence, and Valdis was bethrothed to the last remaining thegn Oswald, grooming him to become the East Anglian king with the marriage as an alliance between the Saxons and the Norse.[1]
Queen of East Anglia
However, Valdis' brothers, Brothir and Broder, were not receptive to the engagement. They deemed the Oswald, who had no fighting experience, too weak and unfit to rule East Anglia, thus refusing him permission to marry Valdis. As a result, Valdis was often left stranding in between the brothers' conflicts with Oswald, while Oswald struggled to prove himself and present a strong impression.[1]
Oswald was believed to have been slain by Rued, a Viking opposed to Oswald's rule.[3] Following this, Valdis joined and helped recruit villagers in Elmenham to a raiding party led by Eivor against Rued's fort of Burgh Castle to avenge Oswald. Within the base, they discovered that Oswald instead was imprisoned instead of slain, and managed to free the man.[4]
After recovering from the raid on Burgh Castle, Valdis and Oswald were wed in Elmenham. During the reception, the newlyweds swore loyalty to Eivor and their Raven Clan.[5] Soon after being wed, Valdis became pregnant with Oswald's child.[6]
Personality and characteristics
During the Burgh Castle raid, Valdis has the rune tiwaz tattooed on her chin, a rune usually associated with the god of war Tyr.[4]
Behind the scenes
Valdis, a character appearing in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, has an Icelandic name derived from the combination of the Old Norse words valr, meaning 'the dead', and dís, meaning 'goddess'.
Appearances
Gallery
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Valdis in her wedding dress
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Kingmaker
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Triumphant Return
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Raising Iron
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFury from the Sea - ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wedding Horns
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Floating conversations: "Raven Clan Allies: East Anglia"