Bloody battle sequences. Stabbing, slicing and with use of blood. Aftermath of village raid shows hanged villagers and pillaging.
The most violence seen is in the first few minutes of the show, where a man is seen fighting barbaric vikings, lots of blood is seen, and this is the only time in the show where visible gore is shown.
Frequent battle and war scenes. Blood is seen frequently during sword battles. But the anime doesn't have a dark tone to it. For instance death note has moderate violence but its dark tone makes the violence feel heavy. The violence in vinland saga is stylised and even though bloody, the main character's journey is one of redemption and justice, as he searches for vinland. In season 2, Thorfin becomes a christian.
There is bloody violence including: bloody battle sequences. And there also is a scene where askeladd is shot by 16 arrows. Overall still a great historical show.
Although the violence is stylised and somewhat infrequent, a person gets his one arm cut off, a man is thrown in a pit, a ship is set on fire killing all the people on board.
One episode features violence toward horses, this can be rather disheartening for horse/animal lovers.
The series has a lot of bloody fighting sequences but is not ultraviolent or unnecessarily graphic (meaning that it's nowhere near as violent as something like "Berserk", but it's still graphic). However, the violence is presented in a stylized way, with quick edits and fast-paced music playing along.
The openings show snippets of the violent sequences, with blood detail
Season 2 is much tamer than Season 1 in the first half, there is almost no violence in it. Season 2 focuses more on character-building other than war. But there are scenes of stabbings, impaling, eye gouging, limbs being cut off, and savage beatings. Season 2 does have more emotional moments though.
The series is based on history and real life, and has alot of educational value to it. As you learn about christianity in the middle ages, and the political system back then. As thorfin sets out on his journey to find vinland, (which is america).
Blood is much less frequent in season 2, but when it does happen it is bloody. That being said, it is also slightly censored on the Netflix version as of August 9 2023.
A man's leg is pierced by a coin. None of it is off screen. Some blood is seen running down his leg.
A soldier's hand is cut off with a sword for information. His bloody hand is seen on the ground.