In Vinland Saga, Prince Canute is one of the central characters and his rejection towards Christianity was the tipping point of season 1. The anime introduces Prince Canute in a dichotomous world where the Prince is torn between the binaries of peace, and love hatred, and blood shed.
Despite his lack of interest in politics, and governance, prince is in the center of the conflicts. While the wars were happening, prince is found inside a tent kneeling infront of cross and praying with a priest. Here with this very scene, anime defines prince’s ideology of placing religion on a higher pedestal. Solider were dying but prince took no heed. He kept on praying till he was caught. He relies on the entity beyond humanity and shrugs off his responsibilities. Hundreds of Villages are plundered and innocent villagers are murdered. Yet, these horrifying events could hardly move Prince Canute.
But, destiny took a different turn. Prince’s inaction and escapism from his responsibilities took the life of Ragnar, his beloved guardian. Ragnar was a father-like figure to him. His death became a traumatic experience for prince. Death of Ragnar made him realize two things: first that if he does not perform his responsibilities then he will be losing his loved ones. And the other one is that he has already lost his only loved one.
After such a realization, prince gives a speech in which he questions God’s plan and rejects his authority. He decides to stand for himself and create a paradise in the earth. Canute feels disillusionment from religion and realizes that God’s plan fails our society. He feels that humans are doomed and they can not survive the adversities set by God.
But what Canute did not realize is that he fails to draw a boundary between reality and fantasy. He idealizes teachings of Jesus Christ but never took effort to create them as a reality. For him, a world of love, peace and kindness were like fantasy which were far from his reality. It takes tremendous form of effort to create these ideals into reality. Canute gave up on his responsibility and wishes for a miracle. When miracles did not reach him, he gave up his fantasies and chose to blame God for creating humans into mad beasts. Canute fails to realize that a person’s action determine their destiny and future.
Our actions are the only ones which manifest miracles. We are the only ones who have the power to create miracles. In the Bible’s New Testament, the parable of Talent is a great example of responsibility, efforts, and action which lead to success and blessing. The character of Canute illustrate that praying does not make miracles possible. Religion can only guide humanity to get closer to God. It is up to us to pay attention and act accordingly.
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