Vikings: Why [SPOILER] Changed His Name & Converted To Christianity

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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Vikings season 6.

Vikings season 6 brings the History Channel series to end, wrapping up a story that has spanned decades. Though it may seem to come out of left field, Hvitserk converting to Christianity and changing his name to Athelstan is a fitting conclusion not only for Hvitserk's arc, but also for Ragnar Lothbrok's.

Ragnar was the main protagonist of Vikings until his death midway through season 4, at which point the focus shifted to his five sons: Bjorn Ironside, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and Ivar the Boneless. Nearing the end of his life and lacking the strength and following he once had, Ragnar planned his own death as part of a greater strategy to fulfil his dream of securing land for the Norse people in England. In surrendering himself to King Ecbert, Ragnar knew that he would be executed and that his sons would seek revenge. Sure enough, they assembled the Great Heathen Army and launched an invasion that ended with both King Ecbert and King Aelle dead and the city of York secured as a new Viking stronghold.

After Hvitserk experienced that triumph alongside his brothers, he became unsure of what he should do next. In a pivotal moment he chose to stay in York with Ivar rather than returning to Kattegat with Ubbe, who had been his closest sibling since childhood. This choice marked the start of Hvitserk's journey to his lowest point. He eventually lost both of the women that he had relationships with, developed a drug addiction, and was exiled from Kattegat for accidentally killing Lagertha in the midst of his madness. In Vikings season 6, Hvitserk laments that he never achieved greatness in the same way his father or brothers did - but his final conversion to Christianity is a vital part of Ragnar's legacy.

Each Of Ragnar's Sons Represents A Different Part Of Him

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With the possible exception of Sigurd, who was murdered by Ivar at the end of Vikings season 4, all the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok represented a side of his personality and each of their stories ended in a way that makes them part of Ragnar's legacy. Bjorn Ironside seemingly rises from the dead to lead the armies of Scandinavia in a decisive victory against the invading Rus, just as Ragnar once rose from the dead to lead his warriors in ransacking Paris. Ubbe echoes Ragnar's journey in Vikings season 1 by leading a group of Norse settlers on a perilous journey to the west and discovering new land. Ivar organizes an invasion of Wessex that demonstrates his skills as a military strategist, and in a dreamlike sequence puppeteers the other Viking soldiers on the battlefield before he finally dies a warrior's death. So, how does Hvitserk fit into this pattern?

Hvitserk Represents Ragnar's Religious Curiosity & Uncertainty

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There was a lot of fighting and exploring across Vikings' six seasons, but the real conflict of the series was faith: a struggle between the Norse gods and the Christian god. From the moment he raided the monastery at Lindisfarne and captured Athelstan, Ragnar was curious about the Christian god in a way that eventually drove a wedge between him and Floki, a devout believer in the Norse pantheon. After Floki murdered Athelstan, Ragnar was haunted by the idea that he would never see his friend again, since Athelstan would be in Heaven and Ragnar would go to Valhalla when he died. In Vikings season 3 Ragnar requested a Christian baptism, telling Count Odo, "When I die I want to be reunited with my Christian friend, who happens to be in your Heaven."

This baptism was part of a ruse for Ragnar to infiltrate Paris by faking his death and bursting out of his coffin after being brought into the city for burial. However, it also moved him further down the road of being torn between Christianity and the Norse gods. Ragnar experienced a vision of the gates of Valhalla closing to him, and before his death in Vikings season 4 he indicated in conversations with King Ecbert that he had become an atheist, believing that both the Norse and Christian gods were simply stories created by humans. Nonetheless, before Ragnar's execution he delivered a speech in which he declares that he will soon be in Valhalla: "There I shall wait for my sons to join me. And when they do, I will bask in their tales of triumph."

At first glance, Hvitserk's story doesn't seem like a tale of triumph. He follows his brothers around instead of creating his own destiny, and when given an opportunity to take a more active role in governing Kattegat he instead spirals downwards into drug addiction and madness. However, Hvitserk's uncertainty represents a part of Ragnar that's just as important as the explorer and military tactician - if not more so. Hvitserk goes through a religious journey of his own, at one point becoming completely enthralled by Buddhism in his search for answers. Both Hvitserk's drug addiction and his fascination with Eastern philosophy are a reflection of Ragnar's relationship with the Chinese slave Yidu. Like Hvitserk, Ragnar's dependence on drugs led to both a downfall and a rebirth.

Hvitserk's Conversion To Christianity Is A Tribute To Athelstan

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Although Athelstan was killed off in Vikings season 3, he never really left the show. As well as appearing in characters' visions and dreams, he influenced Ragnar all the way up to the end of his life. Vikings season 6 introduced a wanderer called Othere who reveals that he was originally an English monk called Athelstan, and Othere guides Ubbe to the "Golden Land." Athelstan also lives on through his son, King Alfred the Great, and it's King Alfred who has Hvitserk baptized and gives him the new, Christian name of Athelstan. For Alfred this is a way of honoring the father that he never met, but it's also an important part of wrapping up Ragnar's story. Athelstan was such an important part of Ragnar's life that Hvitserk taking Athelstan's name honors Ragnar just as much as Ubbe exploring North America, or Bjorn protecting Norway from invaders.

As for why Hvitserk chooses to convert to Christianity and accept his new name, the simple fact is that there's nothing in Kattegat for him to return to. Ivar is dead and Hvitserk's only surviving brother, Ubbe, is thousands of miles away and may not ever make the return journey to Norway. The reign of Ragnar's sons in Kattegat has ended, with Bjorn and Harald's widow Queen Ingrid now on the throne, and (like his father) Hvitserk never had much ambition to rule anyway.

While it may be the end of his story in Vikings, for Hvitserk his Christian conversion is actually a new beginning. A baptism is a symbolic way of cleansing someone of all their past sins to give them a fresh start, so in being baptized Hvitserk can leave the person that he was behind and become someone new. It's definitely the most ambiguous ending of all Ragnar's sons, but it's a fitting conclusion for a show that has charted the early Viking Age - an era ultimately ended with the Christianization of Scandinavia. Perhaps the upcoming sequel series Vikings: Valhalla will reveal what became of Hvitserk, and even include some of his descendants.