Orm

## Ormrich

**Ormrich** is the sissyish, coward brother of chieftain Olav and the husband of the bold shield-maiden Frøya. He is introduced as stand-in chieftain while his brother Olaf is away on a raid, however it quickly becomes clear that he has neglected his duties while the villagers begin to starve.

Where his brother is a born leader, Ormrich is more interested in the beauty of art and poetry, than pillaging, and often is shown or described as a coward, who, on the other hand, shows great excitement to be the village leader himself. Ormrich turns quickly into the secondary antagonist of the show.

Ormrich soon brings trouble to Norheim with his ways, and his new friendship with the arrogant slave Rufus. His disloyal actions lead to an attack from Jarl Varg, which makes Ormrich an outlaw in the aftermath and Arvid the new chieftain. Ormrich, Rufus and Liv then wander the forest and Rufus and Ormrich soon get caught by Sturla Bonecrusher and brought back to Norheim, where they become slaves.

## Biography

#### Early years

Ormrich's boyhood was spent in the shadow of his elder brother, the now-Chieftan Olav . It becomes clear throughout the three series that Ormrich felt unloved, marginalised and excluded by his family. Ormrich's overriding interests in crochet, poetry and gender fluidity do not fit well into Viking male culture, and all he longs for is to belong. His positive attitude on his wedding night is based entirely on his desire to belong in a social unit, even with someone totally unsuited to him. As a result, Ormrich takes it very badly each time he is socially excluded. The only unconditional love he receives is from Kark .

#### Taking control of Norheim

Ormrich is happy in his position of interim-chieftain of Norheim following his brother, Olav's absence. When Olav is severley injured, Ormrich takes the opportunity to usurp his brother, killing him before he is able to publicly announce Arvid as the next chieftain.

Ormrich's rule is painful for the members of Norheim, as he lacks guidance and any sense of what is right. Ormrich begins exerting his authoritarian rule over the villagers of Norheim, which causes rifts between them, especially between Ormrich and Hildur, with the latter writing offensive runic symbols about him.

Arvid and the other members of Norheim become increasingly annoyed at Ormrich when he announces that they are to melt down all of the weapons to make way for their cultural centre — a move that makes them vulnerable to attack from Jarl Varg, who is seeking the map to the West. Ormrich later loses his control of the village when he is unable to best Varg in a duel, leading to Arvid assuming control of Norheim and exiling Ormrich for his actions.

## Trivia

* Although Ormrich is a coward, he has a habit of killing people who are about to expose his treachery. Interestingly, his initial attempts on people's lives generally fail and he has to resort to blunt force in order to finish them off.
* When his brother Olav is on his deathbed, Ormrich takes the chance to take over leadership, although he knows, Olav had promised his best warrior Arvid to be the new chieftain. Ormrich cowardly kills the severely wounded Olav and declares himself new "rightful" chieftain.
* In *Bachelor Party* it is revealed that slave Kark is the long lost older brother of Ormrich and Olav. Unfortunately, Kark (or KARL) was so often beaten in the past, that the large tattoo on the back, which would be a proof, isn't readable anymore.
* Ormrich turns out to be the shitting log stalker.
* Ormrich was supposed to be executed by Blood eagle at the end of Season 3, but his fellow prisoner Saladin saves him with the knowledge about the country in the West.
* Ormrich also has a place on the Villains Wiki.
* Kåre Conradi is listed as one of the voice actors for "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" (Video Game, 2020). He played the characters King Styrbjorn and Faravid.
* Had an imaginary friend called Nick the Stick. This is mentioned in S2, E6: The Last Domino.
* Loves to crochet although Nålebinding probably was the more commonly used technique in 790AD.

## Appearances

Season One
* *The Homecoming*
* *The Escape*
* *The Funeral*
* *The Raid*
* *The Siege*
* *The Duel*

Season Two
* *East vs West*
* *Slavebound*
* *Hand Job*
* *Vengeance*
* *The Thing*
* *The Last Domino*

Season Three
* Thin Up Top (Høl i hatten)
* Bachelor Party (Utdrikningslag)
* Wedding and Sacrifice (Bryllup og blot)
* War Table (Krigsbord)
* Do You Believe in Dragons? (Tror du på drager?)
* Scrotum Whipping (Pisk på pung)

## References

1. ↑ *The Siege*
2. ↑ *The Duel*