War Lord characters

Appears from the start

An old pagan Northumbrian lord, master of the sword Serpent-Breath, and by common repute the most famous warrior in Britain. He has outlived nearly every king he served and holds the great fortress on its rock above the sea that he spent a lifetime winning back. He wants only to be left in peace there, and two things prevent it: he is sworn to Guthfrith, the Norse king of Northumbria, whom he despises, and he made Aethelstan, the Saxon king ruling everything to the south, who swore in return that he would never invade Northumbria while Uhtred lived.

Appears from the start

The Irish swordsman who has fought beside Uhtred for a lifetime: his second in command, his closest friend, and the man he trusts to tell him when he is being a fool.

Appears from the start

The Italian-born woman who came north with Uhtred after the fighting for Lundene, carried away from her own country by slavers as a child. She shares his hall at Bebbanburg, speaks to him more bluntly than anyone but Finan dares, and has no patience at all with Saxon kings.

Appears from the start

Alfred's grandson: the king Uhtred raised, taught and twice put on his throne, now ruler of Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia and the most powerful man in Britain. Devoutly Christian and increasingly certain that God means him to rule the whole island, he is no longer the young man who needed Uhtred's protection, and the oath he swore to leave Northumbria alone sits badly with his ambition.

Appears from the start

The Norse king of Northumbria, brother of the dead Sigtryggr, and Uhtred's nominal lord. Drunken, cruel and distrusted by the men who are supposed to follow him, he holds the last kingdom in Britain outside Saxon rule and has neither the wit nor the loyalty to keep it.

Appears from the start

Uhtred's son and heir, a capable warrior who commands men at Bebbanburg and will hold the fortress after his father. He carries the same name, as every lord of Bebbanburg does.

First appears in chapter 2

A Norse warrior and poet who holds land from Uhtred on the northern border. Formidable in a fight, cheerfully irreligious, and one of the few neighbours whose company Uhtred actively enjoys.

First appears in chapter 3

A Norse lord who has taken the Christian faith and become the man King Aethelstan trusts and favours above everyone else. Handsome, fervent in his new religion and persuasive at court, he holds land in the north-west and speaks with the king's voice. Uhtred distrusts him from their first meeting and cannot justify it beyond instinct.

First appears in chapter 3

A young, ambitious West Saxon sent north with the king's authority over Northumbrian lands. Contemptuous of the old lord of Bebbanburg and open about what he thinks the fortress is worth, he has Aethelstan's warrant and intends to use it.

First appears in chapter 3

A bishop in Aethelstan's service, Danish by descent and Saxon by loyalty, and one of the shrewdest men at the king's court. He carries the king's demands to Uhtred and is honest with him about what they mean, which makes him the nearest thing to a friend Uhtred has among Aethelstan's churchmen.

First appears in chapter 8

The Norse king of Dublin: an ambitious and capable war leader with a fleet, a family claim to Northumbria, and the intention of taking back everything the Norse have lost in Britain. He is willing to make an ally of every enemy Aethelstan has.

First appears in chapter 8

King of Alba and the most dangerous ruler in the north, an old rival who has spent years testing Northumbria's borders. Made to acknowledge Aethelstan as his overlord, he has no intention of remaining anyone's client king.

First appears in chapter 10

King of Strath Clota, whose lands lie between the Scots and the Norse of the Irish Sea. Another ruler forced to bow to Aethelstan's overlordship, and another who brings his army against him when the chance comes.