All historical shows or movies always take creative liberties in manipulating historical accuracy to give their story extra spice. And when a show is about a vast history as Vikings, there are bound to be things that the showrunners add to the show’s history. In Vikings: Valhalla, the most fascinating character has to be Freydís Eiríksdóttir.

But how true to the history of the daughter of Erik The Red have the showrunners been.

What does Vikings: Valhalla not tell about Freydis?

Freydis and her brother Leif are both warrior explorers and share a great sibling bond in the show. However, that is not the case in the real Saga of the Greenlanders. According to the saga, Freydis is a vicious woman who does not care much for others. In real life, she travels to Vinland with two other men, Helgi and Finnbogi. Three of them make a deal that they’ll share whatever wealth they get their hands on.

However, after some disagreements, Freydis asks her husband to kill the men as they have beaten her. This whole story is entirely left out of Vikings Valhalla. Not only that, due to her conservative life choices and erratic behavior, her relationship with Leif, her brother, is heavily strained. Which is completely opposite of what is shown in the series.

Was Freydis a real warrior too?

In Vikings: Valhalla, Freydis is one of the best Shieldmaiden( a female Viking warrior). But there has been no actual evidence supporting the fact. Another discrepancy among historians has been whether Shieldmaiden fought alongside men or not? Even though there has been no definitive proof of Freydis being a warrior. There have been hints that she was not the one to mess with. In The saga of the Greenlanders, she killed five women when her husband refused to.

In Saga of Erik the Red, a childbearing Freyid single handily scared of Vinland natives by picking up a fallen Viking sword and thrashing it fiercely against her chest in a display of strength.

Why does the show change Freydis’s story?

Both Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla are never considered to be historically accurate in any sense. Noth shows twist stories to fit their narrative better. But in the case of Freydis, there is a bit of historical ambiguity. As mentioned above, whatever we know about Freydis is through the two Sagas.

However, both Sagas tell different accounts of Freydis, so it is difficult to say how much of her past has been changed. No matter the show’s historical accuracy, Freydis is shown as a strong, courageous woman. And even though we’ll never get to see her real history, whatever is shown in Vikings, Valhalla does justice to Freydis and the Sagas.

What do you feel about the additions and subtractions to the story of Freydis in Vikings: Valhalla? Let us know in the comment section.