User:SJB1995/Vinland Saga (manga)

Vinland Saga (Japanese: ヴィンランド・サガ, Hepburn: Vinrando Saga) is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by manga author Makoto Yukimura. The series is published by Kodansha, and was first serialized in the youth-targeted Weekly Shōnen Magazine before moving to the monthly manga magazine Monthly Afternoon, aimed at young adult men. As of November 2019, the series has been compiled into twenty-three bound volumes.

Vinland Saga set in Danelaw (Danish territory in England) at the start of the 11th century. The story combines a dramatization of the Danish King Knútr's rise of power with a revenge plot centered on the historical explorer Þorfinnr, the son of a murdered ex-warrior who serves under a group of mercenaries responsible for the deed.

Plot
Vinland Saga is initially set mostly in 1013 AD England, which has been mostly conquered by the Danish King Sveinn Tjúguskegg. As King Sveinn nears death, his sons, Prince Haraldr and Prince Knútr, are arguing over his throne.

Meanwhile, Þorfinnr is a son to Þórðr, one of the greatest warriors amongst Vikings. But when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, Þorfinnr swears his intent for revenge. He joins Askeladd's group in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.

The story draws elements from historical accounts of the period such as Flateyjarbók, Grǿnlendinga saga and Eiríks saga rauða.