The Last Kingdom is the hit series about the Viking invasion of Anglo-Saxon England based on Bernard Cornwell's book series The Saxon Stories. The main character of the show is Uhtred Uhtredson, a fearsome warrior in the service of King Alfred who has allies and enemies among both the Viking Danes and the English Saxons. However, Uhtred is not the only interesting character worth following.
His childhood friend, Brida, is probably more interesting than Uhtred. Unfortunately, much of her life is glossed over by the show, and in some cases, she has some of her coolest character moments changed. These are ten interesting facts about Brida:
Magic
Brida is a fiercely independent woman. Even from a young age, she refused to let others dictate her life. She also is very aware of how power works and how to wield it, no small feat considering she was orphaned at a young age in the patriarchal world of Anglo-Saxon England.
One way she establishes herself as unique is that she begins studying magic, working to become a seidmadr (which approximately translates from Old Norse as sorceress). Considering that small-minded men tend to fear witches, this is a great way to assert her will in the world.
Her Dog
In her teenage years, Brida adopts a dog. This animal is never described in any physical detail, so the best guess as to its breed comes from what is known about the hounds used by Vikings and the English at the era, but what is clear is that the dog loves her and devotedly follows her wherever she goes.
A great detail in the book involves someone beating her dog and Uhtred coming to the defense, not that Brida needs his help. Still, who doesn't love a dog lover?
Not Northumbrian
In the TV show, it is suggested that Brida is from Northumbria, like Uhtred is. However, she is actually from a totally different English kingdom, the swampy realm of East Anglia. During the campaign in East Anglia, she was actually taken in by Ragnar after a nun tried to give over the young Brida to the Vikings as a piece of property and she responded by viciously beating the nun with a stick.
Considering that two-thirds of the first book are crammed into the pilot episode of the TV show, it is understandable that details about her life were cut, but this seems like a real missed opportunity.
Her Adoption
Adoption is a fairly common concept in Old Norse society. Considering all the blood feuds and that men would be away for years at a time off a-Viking, the Scandinavian peoples needed a way to ensure children were taken care of if the men were off risking their lives for fame, honor, and fortune. As such, foster-children were quite common. In fact, adding members to the family was so well documented that the ritual for making someone a blood brother has been preserved to this day.
In the novel version of The Last Kingdom, Earl Ragnar the Fearless has three biological children, the youngest of which is often sickly. After this boy dies, Ragnar formally adopts Brida and Uhtred as his own children.
Her "Uncle"
There is a scene in the novel where Uhtred and Brida, both in their early teens, are kidnapped by men in the service of Alfred the Great. This is meant as an attempt to rescue them from the Danes.
While held in the care of the English, Brida is gifted a silver cross and asked about her parentage. She tells a story about how she is the illegitimate daughter of King Edmund of East Anglia, who seduced her commonborn mother and how he had Brida call him "Uncle." As Edmund is regarded as a saint and had just recently been martyred by the Vikings, this horrifies the listeners. They take away the silver cross they had given her and replace it with a cheap one made of wood.
Alfred's Wife Hates Her
Alfred the Great married Ealhswith, the daughter of a Mercian lord named Aethelred Mucel. In the series, Eahlswith is depicted as shrill, judgmental, and shrewish. This is actually pretty understandable, as she is a prudish pious woman whose husband spent the early years of their marriage drinking and sleeping around, giving her plenty to be upset about.
Brida is basically the polar opposite of Eahlswith. Whereas Eahlswith is simultaneously oppressive and repressed, Brida is fiercely independent and has no respect for Christianity. The two hate each other.
She's Smarter than Uhtred
Uhtred may be the protagonist, but he is only slightly smarter than the iron ore used to make his sword. He excels as a warrior, which is his calling, but just because he can spill an enemy's brains does not mean he knows how to make much use of his own.
Uhtred and Brida were raised together by Ragnar, and of the two, only Uhtred seems to have received a formal education. Despite this, Brida has a better understanding of events and is generally both wiser and more calculating.
She's a Better Dane than Uhtred
Uhtred may have been born to the Saxons of Northumbria, but he only found happiness after he began living among the Danes. However, Uhtred is a lord and he can only re-inherit his lands if he sides with the English Saxons. As such, his loyalties are divided throughout the series.
Brida has no doubts about where her loyalties lie. It does not matter to her that she was born to the English, as she considers herself a Dane through and through.
The Sheildwall
The shieldwall was one of the most important military tactics of the Viking age (or, really, of all of pre-modern history). In fact, it is still used today by police wielding riot shields. The tactic involves a group of people standing in close formation with interlocking shields in front of them as they clash with an enemy.
Uhtred only considers himself a warrior after fighting in the front rank of a shieldwall. However, long before he ever stood in the wall, he and Brida crawled on their bellies beneath the feet of warriors, stabbing at the ankles of the enemies. Before either was grown, they'd both bloodied warriors in the shieldwall.
Women's Rights
While documents on the lives of women are scarce from the period, Anglo-Saxon England was fairly oppressive toward women by today's standards. By contrast, the Vikings of the period seemed to have allowed women far more freedom, giving married women financial control of a household and allowing women to fight in battle as shieldmaidens if they so chose.
Brida felt more freedom as a slave among the Danes than as a free woman among the English Saxons. She repeatedly speaks about the oppression of women among the English. If Uhtred had listened, both of them would have been happier. However, he was stubbornly focused on his own needs, so Brida set off with Ragnar the Younger, determined to live in a place where women get the respect they deserve.