He demands that his son fight the Great Heathen Army commanded by Ragnar's sons, but Æthelwulf's army is defeated. After Ragnar's death by the hand of King Ælle, Ecbert loses reason and the will to live. He is horrified at how Ragnar is being killed. Ecbert sneaks out of his villa and attends Ragnar's execution. Ecbert is in tears throughout almost this entire interaction as he steels himself for what must be done. Ecbert accepts and promises Ragnar he will spare Ivar. Ragnar promises that his sons will not attack Wessex. He wants to be delivered to King Ælle and blame him for his death. Finally, Ecbert learns that Ragnar's strategy is to be killed then his son would come to avenge him.
Ragnar demands Ecbert to kill him but he refuses again, because Ecbert can't bring himself to kill the only person who ever really understood him. We see the respect and admiration that Ragnar and Ecbert have one for the other, during their exchange, and mostly Athelstan misses them. Ecbert refuses, then they speak faults committed by each other. Initially, Ragnar is still in his cage but Ecbert frees him, he thinks that Ragnar will kill him but Ragnar demands him to kill him.
Ragnar is placed in the big room and he and Ecbert share a moment. He is furious at his son, seeing Ragnar in a dungeon. When Ecbert learns that Ragnar is captured, he returns to his castle. He assures his son, as well as Judith, that Ragnar is just one man. Later, Æthelwulf warns him that Ragnar has returned. Ecbert betrays King Ælle, his ally, becoming the King of Mercia. When Kwenthrith learns that Ecbert wants to take over Mercia for himself, she kills Waerferth, one of his men and tries to kill him, but dies because of Judith. When Queen Kwenthrith is the victim of a rebellion, Ecbert sends his son to protect her and to promise to help her to regain her kingdom. But when he broaches the subject of her staying with him instead of going back to her earldom, she tells him that she had fun with him but that she knows he only cares for himself. In the meantime, he has been sleeping with Lagertha and showering her with gifts. Lagertha and Athelstan stay behind to begin work on the settlement on the lands given by King Ecbert while Ragnar, Æthelwulf, and the rest go to fight for Mercia.Īthelstan has begun a liaison with Judith, which King Ecbert deliberately ignores, hoping that the relationship will make Athelstan want to stay in Wessex. He tells the Vikings that they must now fight to return Kwenthrith to the throne of Mercia as a show of good faith. Ecbert takes this opportunity to elaborate on the conditions of their deal. When the Vikings return to England, they sup with King Ecbert with whom they are now amicable. In return, Ecbert is able to recruit a contingent of Viking warriors to fight as mercenaries for Princess Kwenthrith in her campaign to become Queen of Mercia. The deal also granted the Northmen five thousand acres of good farming land in East Anglia and a quantity of gold and silver. Rollo's release is part of the deal struck between Ecbert and Ragnar. Additionally, Ragnar's brother Rollo has been wounded and captured during the battle, and Ecbert recognizes that Rollo is an important and potentially useful captive. When Ælle suggests finishing off the Northmen, Ecbert demonstrates his keener political acumen, responding that more might be gained by negotiating a truce. King Ecbert's victory is decisive, and in the aftermath, King Ælle expresses surprise at Ecbert's skill as a tactician and strategist. Confounded by Ecbert's tactics, and taking heavy losses as they are assailed from all sides, the Vikings are forced to fight their way out of the trap and into a headlong retreat. With his new ally King Ælle of Northumbria, Ecbert ambushes the advancing Viking Army with a multi-pronged attack that includes both mounted cavalry and infantry. Having delved into the military mind of Caesar, King Ecbert puts his new knowledge to the test when confronting the large group of raiding Vikings being led by Ragnar Lothbrok, Lagertha, and King Horik. From the scrolls, Athelstan conveys to Ecbert detailed accounts of the battlefield strategies of the Roman legions. He puts the monk in charge of his treasury of ancient Roman relics and documents left over from Rome's domination of Britain centuries prior. He regards Athelstan as a kindred spirit. King Ecbert saves Athelstan from being crucified for apostasy. Ecbert spent his formative years in the court of Frankish Emperor Charlemagne.
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