Character Creation

It is well know that Olaf Henrikson began his career as a sellsword in
the Southlands, where he gained his reputation as a leader of men and
as a generous ring-giver. He also amassed his fortune with plunder from
his days of fighting for foreign lords before attaining command of his
own ships and reaving against the settlements of those same lords. Upon
returning to the North at the head of his own fleet of sixteen ships, he
landed at Halfstead, at that time a stockaded port town known more for
its surly jarl and acerbic residents than anything else, and put the place
to the torch. Those residents who did not yield or flee were put to the
sword, and a new banner raised over Halfstead — the boar and rings of
Olaf Henrikson. That Køenig Ragi Steinson raised no hand against the
newcomer brought forth more than a few suspicions as to whether or
not the crafty ruler had not paid Olaf to raze Halfstead in the first place.
Regardless of any real or imagined collusion, the result was a port rebuilt
by Henrikson into a large and prosperous settlement open to trade from
abroad and a powerful jarl loyal to the køenig and with a fleet of ships at
his command that only grew as his reputation spread.

Outlawry (The worst criminals):

Because that was the usual punishment for hard crime, like an insult or composing a love poem. (yes these were harsh crimes) The punishment was outlawry, which in today’s world would mean deportation and confiscation of all property and goods.

You could get outlawed for many different reasons. This is why Vikings made settlements in so many places outside of Scandinavia. Some of the worst Scandinavians were the ones who left Scandinavia to live elsewhere. Because usually they did so because they had been outlawed at home… I mean Erik the Red who was the first Scandinavian to really settle in Greenland and whose son, Leif the Lucky is known for sailing to North America, moved to Greenland after being outlawed first from Norway and then from Iceland. A true criminal of his time.

If you were fully outlawed you were banished from society. Your property was confiscated. You could not be fed or sheltered. Wherever you went, you could be killed by anyone who saw you without penalty. Again, it was almost expected that people ought to kill you on sight.

Lesser outlawry was slightly different. It meant that you were only banished for three years. And your property was not confiscated, making it possible for to return to a normal life after the three years were over… if you survived that long.
Because if you did not leave the country you had virtually no means of staying alive, as it was against the law to trade with an outlaw.

A lesser outlaw still had it better than a full outlaw because he was immune from attack at three places within the country in question, or within a bow-shot of them, or on the roads that connected the places, as long as he moved more than a spear-length off the road when other travellers passed.

I just love these measurements.

An outlaw had no entitlements, and was at the bottom of society. Even thralls, Viking Age slaves, had it better, and the reason for this is most probably that an outlaw was someone who had benefitted from the rights of a freeman, unlike a thrall who had never been considered free. An outlaw was a former freeman who had committed a severe crime, which shamed everyone who had family ties or friendly relations with him. Effectively an outlaw was a freeman who willingly threw away all of his bonds to kinsmen and friends and all of his personal rights.

Under no circumstance could such a person be deemed honourable, and in Viking Age Scandinavia, honour was law.

Okay, I’m cool with Freja was the wife of one of the surly, original inhabitants, with her child Bjørn of a few years old. Shortly after conquering and settling in the area (during which time Freja’s husband kept well away in his outlaw band) Vidar married Freja.

Bjørn grew up surly and nearly always abusive to young Ulfar. At last Bjørn and some of his thuggish friends assaulted Ulfar and his female friend (who later became a shield-maiden in service to the jarl), mostly as a way to continue to punish Ulfar, whom Bjørn resented.

Perhaps the shield maiden kind of blames Ulfar for her trauma, since it was for Ulfar’s shame that the assault occurred.

After this Bjørn and his followers were outlawed, and Bjørn probably joined up with his father’s band.

I still haven’t found a good reason for Vidar to be estranged from the jarl. Maybe it needs to be discovered through play?