One Great Character: Willibald, from Vinland Saga

A drunk monk... or something more? Or both, really.

PSA! I’m rebranding Side Character Spiral as One Great Character, because I’m tired of pointlessly debating if a character is technically a side character or not. PSA OVER!

I’ve been using these character excavations to obsess over characters I adore, and by extension, to find out why I adore them and why they work so well in the context of their story. I’m going to do the same here with Willibald, but this is also going to be a straight-up celebration of a character who is equal parts a trope and wonderfully unexpected. A character who enriches the series when he’s in it without even being a required presence.

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Here’s what you need to know about Willibald before we dig in:

Willibald is a Christian monk who is being held captive by Vikings. He’s a drunk, and often mocked by his captors, but he says some really insightful things throughout his captivity, and even when he goes on his way, he reappears looking… quite different. More on that in a second.

He doesn’t really have an affiliation with anyone, no real friends or connections (other than to booze) and no allegiances either (except to God, of course).

And that’s all you need to know.

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If Vinland Saga didn’t have Willibald in it, the story would not change at all. But with him in it, much like Kobeni is to Chainsaw Man, he adds another layer to the series that enhances the richness of the overall vibe. A layer that, while objectively unnecessary—it doesn’t add to the story—it becomes so enjoyable and thought-provoking that it becomes necessary, even if it isn’t.

Which doesn’t make sense. Except it does. Once you meet Willibald, everything will make sense.

There is an entire Reddit discussion about Willibald’s speech about love. His philosophy is so thought-provoking that people are out there debating if what he said is true, or intentionally flawed. He gives this prolonged, multipart speech about what love is, and settles on the finality that love is death, it doesn’t discriminate. This speech is remarkable, and what I find particularly special about it is this—you know that old adage that stories should never be preachy?

Willibald is preaching—literally—and not just that, but he’s preaching the themes of Vinland Saga, or at least some of them. But it never feels preachy, because it’s in character. Well, and because it’s damn fascinating and insightful, but mostly it’s in character.

In addition to being philosophical and thought-provoking, he’s also responsible for one of the funniest scenes in all of Vinland Saga… or at least all I’ve gotten through so far. It’s a hilarious scene where he’s shaved his beard and becomes unrecognizable to Thorkell. Thorkell, who is never surprised, who is funny in his own way, who provides so much personality to the series. Here he is caught completely off guard and his personality is sapped in favor of the reemergence of Williband.

Not just that, but then Willibald reveals that he’s only 23. Which, without context, may not sound that funny, but in the context of the story, it got me cackling. He looked so much older as a bearded captive.

How many times have these character excavations centered on a singular point? That point being—being unexpected. That’s Willibald, but even his unexpectedness is unexpected, which is kind of meta in a weird way. I never expected him to be the source of such humor. Sure, he was mocked by Viking warriors and in a way that was funny, but not the same kind of humor as what this moment provided.

I never expected him to be 23. I never expected him to be so insightful. He is the epitome of the unexpected.