The 13 Warriors

Last modified: 2003-05-04. The current version of this document is available at http://www.Thistlehaven.net/J3. Email comments and questions about this FAQ to j3@pobox.com.

This was an excellent movie. However, it was hard to tell which character (as found at IMDB) matched up with which face. After a little deductive reasoning (a lot like those little logic puzzles you played as a kid), I got most of the names and faces matched up. It's offered up here to save a few fellow souls out there a little similar effort.

Volunteer Order	Character	Image	Actor
1	Buliwyf		Vladimir Kulich
2	Helfdane the Large		Clive Russell
3	Hyglak the Quarrelsome		Abbie Woodington
4	Edgtho the Silent		Daniel Southern
5?	Rethel the Archer		Mischa Hausserman
6?	Haltaf the Boy		Oliver Sveinall
7?	Roneth the Horseman		Neil Maffin
8	Weath the Musician		Tony Curran
9?	Ragnar the Dour		John DeSantis
10	Halga the Wise		Asbjørn 'Bear' Riis
11	Herger the Joyous		Dennis Storhøi
12	Skeld the Superstitious		Richard Bremmer
13	Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan		Antonio Banderas

Notes:

The Eaters of the Dead book: Michael Crichton's book, The Eaters of the Dead, upon which the movie was based, does not say in which order the various characters volunteer, merely that "One by one , several warriors stood at their places to face him. Not all stood; I counted eleven, and Buliwyf pronounced himself satisfied with this." Fahdlan is specified as the thirteenth in the book, however.
1: the first volunteer was Buliwyf, who was called by name in the film
2: the second volunteer was Helfdane the Large, called by name when he died; he died in the third controntation, in the caves of the Wendol
3: third was Hyglak the Quarrelsome; he and Ragnar the Dour were killed in the first confrontation, and Ragnar's face was placed from other roles that actor has played; Hyglak had his head torn off by the Wendol in the first confrontation at the settlement of Hrothgar
4: fourth was Edgtho, who was called by name in the film
5-7 unsure: volunteers 5-7 are not shown during the movie (the camera focusses on Banderas instead); the assignment of these three positions is educated guesswork here
5: fifth was Rethel the Archer; while volunteers 5-7 are not shown, Rethel is shown taking a bone from the Angel of Death (the old seer); Rethel dies in the second controntation, at the settlement of Hrothgar, clubbed by the Wendol
6: sixth was Haltaf the Boy; while volunteers 5-7 are not shown, Haltaf is shown following Rethel in taking a bone from the Angel of Death; Haltaf is somewhat hard to pick out in the film; he is shown holding the horses when the entire group discusses the Wendol after first speaking to Hrothgar; he is also shown when the seven ride out from Hrothgar's settlement to the caves of the Wendol (he is the last in the posse, visible sometimes behind Fahdlan); he does not seem to go into the caves with the others (I seem to only count six men in the caves)
7: seventh was Roneth the Horseman; while volunteers 5-7 are not shown, Roneth is one of the three unaccounted-for warriors, and the other two (Rethel and Haltaf) look like they are numbers 5 and 6; Roneth's face was placed from other roles that the actor has played (for example); he died in the second confrontation at Hrothgar's settlement, clubbed by the Wendol
8: eighth was Weath the Musician; Weath's face was placed from the fact that he was one of the four survivors and the other three are accounted for
9: ninth was Ragnar the Dour; he and Hyglak died during the first confrontation at Hrothgar's settlement; Ragnar's face is placed from the fact that he is not seen after the first confrontation and from other roles that the actor has played (for example1, example2)
10: tenth was Halga the Wise; Asbjorn Riis is a professional wrestler with a homepage here; Halga was killed during the second confrontation at Hrothgar's settlement (hey, I respect any man that it takes six or more spears to kill!)
11: eleventh was Herger the Joyous; a number of other web pages place Herger's face with his name
12: twelfth was Skeld the Superstitious; Skeld's face was placed by the fact that he is one of the four killed during the second confrontation at Hrothgar's settlement and the other three are accounted for
13: thirteenth, of course, was Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rasid played by Antonio Banderas
For more information on actors and their filmographies: see the Internet Movie Database, the Eaters of the Dead Unofficial Website under Cast / Crew, and The 13th Warrior Production Information