Rollo

**Rollo of Normandy**, also known as **Rollo Sigurdsson** and **Rolf**, is Ragnar Lothbrok's older brother and the Duke of Normandy. He is the husband of the Frankish princess Gisla, and father of William, Marcellus, and Celsa. Prior to his marriage, Rollo was reputed as a fearsome Viking warrior, with an impulsive streak and wrought with internal struggles.

## Season 1

In the episode Rites of Passage, we are first introduced to Rollo when he accompanies his younger brother Ragnar on their first raid to England which was done against Earl Haraldson orders. In this episode, Rollo makes no secret that he is attracted to Lagertha, his brother's wife and is still saddened that she chose Ragnar over him.

In the episode Wrath of the Northmen, at the Lindisfarne Monastery in the Kingdom of Northumbria, Rollo walks in on his brother Ragnar talking to a Christian named Athelstan. Rollo insists on killing him but Ragnar forbids it as the monk is worth more alive than dead. Surprised, Rollo reminds his brother they are equals and attempts to kill Athelstan anyway. However, Ragnar pushes his brother back, causing Rollo to angrily chop the Crucifix in the room to pieces telling Athelstan that is how much he respects his God before storming off and leaving for the boats taking Athelstan, slaves, and treasures with them.

In the episode Dispossessed, unable to ignore the riches this unsanctioned journey has returned, Earl Haraldson has no choice but to agree to let these warriors undertake a second trip out. Rollo, Ragnar and the crew land on the Northumbrian shores again. This time they are welcomed by a few Angelo-Saxons Warriors, however, Rollo doesn't trust them and suggests that they kill them, in which they do just that.

In the episode Trial, Rollo, his brother and their crew sail out with Earl Haraldson’s permission and also with Earl Haraldson’s spy and brother Knut. After the bloodshed on the beach, the Vikings choose the Sabbath to invade the town of Hexam and unleash a flood of violence and panic. When Lagertha later kills Knut for trying to rape a Saxon woman and her, Ragnar falsely claims that he killed Knut so as to protect his wife and is put on trial by Earl Haraldson. Despite the Earl's attempts to bribe Rollo to turn against Ragnar, he testifies in support of his brother, who is then acquitted.

In the episode Raid, Haraldson attempts to kill Ragnar and his family, but they escape and go into hiding. As a way of finding them, Haraldson has Rollo captured and tortured to make him reveal Ragnar's location, but Rollo refuses and remains steadfast.

In the episode Burial of the Dead, when Ragnar learns that Haraldson has tortured his brother, he challenges the Earl to a trial by combat which the Earl accepts. When Ragnar wins the duel and kills Haraldson, the Earl's steward, Svein, yells for the other guards to kill Ragnar. At this, Rollo quickly throws an axe into Svein, killing him with satisfaction after he had been tortured by him. Despite his treatment at the hands of Earl Haraldson's men, Rollo does not bear a grudge against the Earl's widow Siggy and daughter Thyri, and even vouches for them so that they do not have to leave Kattegat. Rollo then enters into a relationship with Siggy.

In the episode A King's Ransom, during a raid into Northumbria, the Vikings are invited into the castle of King Aelle in order to negotiate. Ragnar offers to return the King's captured brother Aethelwulf and leave Northumbria in return for a ransom payment. Aelle agrees to pay the ransom, but adds the condition that one of Ragnar's men must become Christian first, so he can only negotiate and make peace with a fellow Christian. Although Ragnar and his men laugh and balk at this stipulation, Rollo agrees to do so, to the surprise of his companions.

Rollo is baptized in the river by the Northumbrian bishop and given the Christian name Rolf. Although Rollo has little understanding of the ceremony and does not take it seriously, Floki takes considerable umbrage at Rollo's action and berates him for offending their Norse gods. Though Rollo seems to remain as staunch a pagan as any of his comrades, Floki's rebuke still unsettles him. While helping fight off an ambush from the Northumbrian's, Rollo eagerly slays as many enemy soldiers as he can. He then yells at Floki "How many Christians have I killed!"

In the episode Sacrifice, Rollo, Siggy, and her daughter join Ragnar and his family for the pilgrimage at Uppsala. During the festivities, Rollo engages in the customary riotous behavior, such as drinking, celebrating, and having sex with other women, much to Siggy's disapproval. Rollo insists that he will be a great man someday and that Siggy would regret leaving him just because he sleeps with other women. Siggy tells him that his brother Ragnar is negotiating with King Horik. She complains to Rollo that because of his feckless behavior, he was not invited to these negotiations and is missing out on an opportunity to raise himself and improve his position.

In the episode All Change, despite Rollo missing out on those discussions, Ragnar brings him along anyway on his mission to Jarl Borg, whom King Horik had asked Ragnar to negotiate with in order to settle a land dispute. Jarl Borg discerns that Rollo is jealous and resentful of Ragnar's success, and connives to divide the brothers against each other.

While Ragnar is away courting Princess Aslaug, Borg allows Rollo to stay at his hall and offers him lavish hospitality, such as food, wine, and the sexual use of any of his serving wenches. He flatters Rollo and suggests that he deserves to be greater than his brother. Borg promises that if Rollo fights with him against Ragnar and King Horik, then he will be a powerful and important person. After quietly considering these offers, Rollo agrees to join Jarl Borg against King Horik and fight against his own brother.

## Season 2

In the episode Brother's War, Rollo fights with Jarl Borg against his brother Ragnar and King Horik. During the battle, Rollo critically injures Floki and kills Arne, impaling him with a spear and almost superhumanly lifting him skyward above the fray, although Arne's death struck Rollo with some guilt for striking down his former comrade. When Rollo is confronted by Ragnar for face-to-face combat, Rollo can not bring himself to fight his brother and surrenders, thereby ending the battle between the two forces. Ragnar, King Horik and Borg then strike an uneasy alliance to go on raids together in the West, and Rollo is taken captive, to be judged for his betrayal of the men from Kattegat. "Not that you'd care, brother," declares Ragnar coldly to his captive brother, "but your niece, Gyda, is dead."

Although the villagers want him to be sentenced to death, the Law-Giver, bribed by Ragnar with a piece of Saxon gold, announces that he has decided to spare Rollo, reasoning that if the Gods had wanted him dead, he would have died already in battle. Rollo indirectly apologizes to Ragnar by explaining that he merely wanted to step out of his brother's shadow, yet found no sunlight when he did. Humiliated, Rollo decides to leave Kattegat, although Siggy convinces him to stay.

In the episode Invasion, four years later, Rollo has descended into self-destructive behavior. He is found by Siggy sleeping outside in the snow, apparently more the worse for wear from drinking. She wakes him up by throwing cold water on his face. She tells Rollo that he has become a disgrace and that he should rot in Hel. She urges him to seek redemption of his honor by asking forgiveness from Ragnar and permission to be included in the next raid on England. Ragnar acknowledges that Rollo has suffered, but other people have suffered much more because of what he has done.

King Horik and Jarl Borg arrive in Kattegat to meet with Ragnar with regard to their planned raid of England. During the conclave, Ragnar publicly acknowledges and accepts Rollo back as his brother, but forbids him to go raiding with them. Rollo is grateful for Ragnar's forgiveness, but is disappointed at accepting his exclusion from the raid. At the feast in the hall of Earl Ragnar with Horik and Borg, Rollo is sitting solemnly with them. Jarl Borg, having been told King Horik does not want to raid with him, tries to lure Rollo back to his side but is only met with a punch in his face. As the Viking fleet sails down the fjord on its way to England, a frustrated Rollo watches from the clifftops, longing to be off raiding once more.

In the episode Treachery, in Ragnar's absence, however, his decision to exclude Rollo turns out to be as prophetic as it is wise. With Jarl Borg also excluded from the raid due to Horik's mistrust, Kattegat is regarded by the angry Borg as easy pickings while Ragnar's off raiding England with almost all of his most capable warriors. With Borg's forces sailing up the fjord, Rollo quickly rouses himself from his frustration and self-pity to organize and mount a hurried but worthy defense of Kattegat. Jarl Borg ultimately captures Kattegat, but not as easily as he'd anticipated. Rollo's resistance, meanwhile, has bought him the time and opportunity to evacuate Ragnar's wife, Princess Aslaug, and young sons, saving them from Jarl Borg's wrath. Rollo leads his brother's family and Siggy to the shelter of a remote farm where they await the return of Ragnar.

In the episode Eye For an Eye, during their exile, Rollo combs the area for warriors willing to fight Jarl Borg when Ragnar returns. Despite his futile efforts, Siggy is heartened to see Rollo finding purpose as a warrior and a man once more. Word, meanwhile, has reached Ragnar of Jarl Borg's treachery and of the flight of his family. Sailing back home with all possible haste, Ragnar is brought by Helga, Floki's wife, to the farmhouse where his family has found refuge. Reunited with his family, an angry Ragnar tells Rollo he wants to destroy Jarl Borg. Rollo, having in the past played the rash, impulsive warrior to his normally cautious and deliberate brother, reins his brother in, counseling him against the futility of an attack at present with so few warriors at their disposal.

Unexpected help soon comes, however, when Lagertha, Ragnar's former wife, and Björn, his oldest son, now taller than Ragnar and as powerfully-built as Rollo, arrive at the head of a column of warriors.

In the episode Answers in Blood, Rollo is surprised and genuinely happy to see Lagertha once more, and seemingly not on the basis of his past desire for her. Rollo also is impressed at how tall and powerful Björn has grown, but observes that he still hasn't grown a proper beard.

With an adequate force at his disposal, Ragnar can now properly plan to oust Jarl Borg from Kattegat. Ragnar, Björn, and two other men slip into the village by night, where they put to the torch the stores of grain set aside for the winter. With the onset of winter around the corner, the lack of winter grain makes Jarl Borg's grasp on Kattegat untenable. Angered at Ragnar's efforts, Jarl Borg and his forces ride out of Kattegat in pursuit, predictably. Having drawn Jarl Borg out, Ragnar's forces spring a trap. The ensuing battle is a victory for Ragnar, with Jarl Borg barely escaping with his life. In the wake of the engagement, Rollo compliments Björn on his fighting prowess. Ragnar, however, is quick to criticize his son for his recklessness, telling him he has much to learn.

Ragnar and his allies return to Kattegat in triumph. Later, as Rollo is about to behead a captive as a sacrifice to Odin, Ragnar intervenes, handing the axe to Björn, who does the honors. Rollo seems surprised, but not chagrined. A messenger informs Ragnar that King Horik and his son barely escaped an attack from King Ecbert's forces.

In the episode Unforgiven, when King Horik himself arrives in Kattegat, he wishes to attack Wessex again to punish King Ecbert. Ragnar and Rollo agree, but the earl wants to deal with Jarl Borg first. King Horik understands Ragnar's thirst for vengeance, but points out that they need Borg's men and ships if they are to go to Wessex again due to the losses they sustained during their last foray. He says that Rollo should go to Götaland to ask Jarl Borg to restore the alliance between himself, Ragnar and King Horik. At his departure from Kattegat, Siggy, King Horik and even Torstein, the man who wished Rollo to be executed earlier, wishes him success on his journey.

Arriving in Götaland, Rollo meets with Jarl Borg, delivering the proposal of resuming the alliance between Jarl Borg, Ragnar, and King Horik. Before agreeing, Jarl Borg consults with the skull of his late first wife. "What do you say, my love?" Borg asks the skull, kissing it intently. His new second wife, in the room, looks away. "You think I should go?" Turning to a bemused Rollo, Jarl Borg says, "She thinks I should go."

Rollo returns to Kattegat along with Jarl Borg. Jarl Borg confers with Ragnar while Rollo observes from a distance. During the night, Rollo, Torstein, and Floki lead a party that locks Borg's men inside the barn in which they'd been quartered, sets it aflame, and burns them alive. Bursting into Jarl Borg's sleeping chambers, they seize Borg and subject him to a brutal beating. When one of the men moves to attack Borg's pregnant wife Torvi, Rollo stops him. "That's not necessary," he tells him.

King Horik enters the Earl's hall to ask Ragnar what is going on. Rollo and the other men drag Jarl Borg inside and deposit him at Ragnar's feet. Ragnar says he cannot forgive Jarl Borg for what he has done to his family and will take revenge by carving a blood eagle on his back.

In the episode Blood Eagle, King Horik asks Ragnar to postpone the execution of Jarl Borg, as they still have no new ally to help them in their raids. Rollo asks Horik if Ragnar should reprieve Jarl Borg after all he has done, to which the King replies the execution might discourage and deter any possible allies from joining them. Rollo resents Ragnar constantly doing King Horik's bidding, to which Ragnar replies that Horik is the king.

A messenger from a possible new ally arrives. Later, Rollo tells Siggy that they've found a new ally, someone called Earl Ingstad. When they are having sex, Rollo starts to strangle Siggy, asking her why she has sex with King Horik. She tells him she does it for him, as King Horik and Ragnar are allies now but eventually will fight each other, and Rollo will have to choose between them. Jarl Borg is subjected to the blood eagle. Rollo watches along with the rest of the people of Kattegat.

In the episode Boneless, Rollo, now fully redeemed by his defense of Kattegat and by his protection of Ragnar's wife and sons, is once more included in his brother's westward endeavors. He grows particularly close to his eldest nephew, Björn, taking it upon himself to spar with and train the younger warrior in preparation for the upcoming return to Wessex. At sea on the voyage back to England, he encourages and reassures Björn, ensuring him that he'll always be by his side.

Setting camp in Wessex, Rollo notices the tension between Ragnar and King Horik. Ragnar seeks to first approach King Ecbert in a spirit of diplomacy and cooperation, while King Horik wants only revenge and plunder. Rollo also notices Floki gravitating toward Horik. When an envoy, among them King Ecbert's son Aethelwulf, arrives at the Viking camp, Rollo instructs the men to set up a shield wall and narrow the passage into the camp in case it is a ruse. However, Ragnar accepts Aethelwulf's invitation to meet King Ecbert at his villa in a peaceful manner. King Horik, however, has no interest in diplomacy or negotiation, secretly sending a company of warriors under his son Erlendur into the forest to ambush Aethelwulf and his escort on their way back, intentionally sparing only Aethelwulf.

In the episode The Choice, as a result, the battle is inevitable. A frustrated Ragnar wants to approach their enemy with deliberation, but King Horik, disdaining such caution, leads them into a trap. When the Saxon forces are spotted, Horik insists on attacking head-on. King Ecbert, having studied the strategies of Caesar and the Roman legions of old, has drawn the Northmen onto a battlefield of his own choosing. The Northmen find themselves between multiple bodies of the allied forces of King Ecbert and King Aella. Assailed by coordinated attacks by both mounted cavalry and infantry, The warriors of Ragnar, Lagertha, and Horik suffer heavy losses before fighting their way out of the trap and into headlong retreat. During the fray, Rollo fights valiantly, killing many. Spotting Prince Aethelwulf, Rollo heads toward him with murderous intent, but ends up wounded, then trampled by horses. Unable to come to his aid, Ragnar and Björn are forced to flee the field without him.

In the battle's aftermath, the Saxon soldiers are finishing off wounded Viking warriors when Athelstan finds the gravely-wounded Rollo, saving him from a final spear-thrust. King Aella recognizes him as Ragnar's brother. King Ecbert, realizing Rollo's importance and potential use, orders him cared for. Later, back at Ecbert's villa, Athelstan goes to Rollo to look after him. Seeing Athelstan in his priestly attire, Rollo says King Horik was right about Athelstan betraying them, regretting his lack of adequate strength to kill him.

Rollo is later released by King Ecbert as part of an agreement with the Northmen that includes payment of gold and silver, 5,000 acres of good farming land in Wessex, as well as recruiting those Northmen willing to fight as mercenaries for Princess Kwenthrith in her efforts to rule Mercia. Ragnar sails home to Kattegat with his injured brother, where Siggy and a servant woman take care of Rollo's injuries. During his lengthy recovery, an increasingly-frustrated Rollo has been bedridden and barely able to stand much less walk. Siggy insists he not give up, saying she believes that he might still be useful. Before leaving, she places an axe within Rollo's sight.

In the episode The Lord's Prayer, Floki, angered and drunk, confronts Athelstan, claiming no one wants him in Kattegat and that it's his fault Rollo is going to die. Floki later gathers mushrooms in the forest and forces a weak, bed-ridden Rollo to consume them.

Later, Horik shows the "King's Sword" to his son and tells him his plan. He explains that if even one member of the Lothbrok family survives, the day will come when he will rise again and destroy their family. They discreetly invade Kattegat, killing several soldiers quietly but a large battle ensues as the alarm is raised and Ragnar's men realize they are under attack. A bedridden (but un-poisoned) Rollo is confronted by two of Horik's soldiers and, despite being barely able to stand, he reaches for his axe that Siggy left for him and bravely fights them.