Determining who is older between Freya and Klaus is an interesting question that requires looking at the backstories and timelines of these two characters from the TV show The Originals. Both are powerful immortal beings so their exact ages can be hard to pin down, but by piecing together clues from the show we can get a good sense of who is older. In this in-depth article, we will compare Freya and Klaus’s origins, family connections, and life events to solve the mystery of their relative ages once and for all.
Introducing Freya and Klaus
First, let’s provide some background on who Freya and Klaus are:
- Freya Mikaelson is one of the first vampires in history known as “The Originals.” She is part of the Mikaelson family of ancient vampires. Her parents are Esther and Mikael. She has several vampire siblings including Elijah, Finn, Kol, and Rebekah. Freya has powerful witch abilities and has lived for over 1000 years.
- Niklaus “Klaus” Mikaelson is Freya’s younger half-brother. He is also an Original vampire born in the 11th century. Klaus’s mother is Esther, but his biological father is a werewolf named Ansel rather than Mikael. This gives Klaus both werewolf and vampire abilities. Known as the Hybrid, Klaus is feared throughout the supernatural world for his power, volatile temper, and cruelty. He has lived for over 1000 years.
Now that we know who they are, let’s dig into the evidence around their ages.
Freya’s Origins
To determine Freya’s age, we first need to understand her backstory. According to the lore of The Originals:
- Freya was born in the Kingdom of Norway in the late 10th century to Esther and Mikael. She is the first-born child of this Viking family.
- When Freya is 5 years old, a plague sweeps through her village killing many. Desperate to protect Freya, Esther makes a deal with her witch sister Dahlia to place Freya in a mystical slumber to preserve her life and health.
- Freya sleeps for nearly a century before awakening still as a child. During this time, Esther has more children including Elijah, Finn, Kol, Rebekah and Henrik.
- After Henrik is killed by werewolves, Esther uses forbidden magic to transform herself, Mikael and their five children into the first vampires – the Originals. This happens around the year 1000 AD.
- Esther’s spell to create vampires has unexpected side effects. It allows Dahlia to sense when Esther has had more children. Still feeling owed after preserving Freya’s life, Dahlia comes to collect payment by taking Freya away.
- Dahlia casts a spell that links her life force to Freya’s, putting them both in a magically induced slumber for 100 years at a time. They wake for a single year of life before repeating the cycle.
Based on this timeline, Freya was born in the late 10th century, lived her first 5 years of life, slept for around 100 years, and then was taken by Dahlia probably in the early 12th century. This means Freya is technically over 1000 years old having lived through the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. However, due to being magically preserved she did not age normally during those centuries.
Klaus’s Origins
Now let’s examine what we know about Klaus’s origins:
- Klaus was born to Esther and the werewolf Ansel in the Kingdom of Norway sometime in the early 11th century.
- Klaus is the youngest of Esther’s children fathered by Mikael. Elijah refers to him as the youngest brother.
- When Henrik is killed, Klaus is stated to be about 13 years old physically. This places his birth around the year 1000 AD since Henrik dies around 1012-1013 AD.
- After becoming vampires, the Mikaelson siblings flee Norway from the late 10th to early 11th century. Over the next centuries, they settle in various places like Italy, Greece, France, England, and Spain.
Based on dialogue in the show, Klaus seems to have been born between 1000-1005 AD. This would make him about 5-10 years younger than Freya who was born in the late 10th century. Though the exact years are unclear, consistently Freya is depicted as the eldest Original vampire sibling.
Comparing Life Events
We can confirm Freya’s seniority over Klaus by looking at some key life events and markers:
| Freya | Klaus |
|---|---|
| Born in late 10th century in Norway | Born around 1000-1005 AD in Norway |
| First decade alive in Norway | Born after Freya’s first decade |
| Preserved by Dahlia’s spell circa 1005 AD | Still an infant or unborn at this time |
| Reawakens from slumber in 12th century | A child when Freya reawakens |
| Taken by Dahlia in early 1200s AD | A young teen when Freya taken by Dahlia |
This timeline shows some clear separation between Freya’s early life in the 10th/11th centuries compared to Klaus’s birth and childhood in the 11th/12th centuries. Freya is estimated to be at least 5-10 years older than Klaus based on their backgrounds.
Analysis of Freya and Klaus’s Ages
Pulling together all the evidence, we can draw some conclusions about Freya and Klaus’s relative ages:
- Freya is confirmed as the eldest Original vampire sibling based on both character dialogue and her historical timeline.
- She was born in Norway in the late 10th century, at least 5-10 years before Klaus’s birth around 1000 AD.
- Freya lived her first 5-6 years of life in the 10th/11th centuries before being preserved by Dahlia’s spell for 100 years.
- Klaus was born after Freya’s early childhood in Norway and is depicted as the youngest Original vampire brother.
- Major life events like Freya’s preservation sleep, her awakening, and when she was taken by Dahlia all point to her being older than Klaus.
- The maximum age difference seems to be about 10 years based on historical context provided in the show.
Taking into account their backgrounds and life events, the evidence strongly indicates that Freya is older than Klaus by 5-10 years. Though the exact dates are unclear, she preceds him as the firstborn child of Esther and the earliest-born Original vampire.
Conclusion
In summary, Freya Mikaelson is older than Niklaus Mikaelson based on information provided in The Originals about their origins and life histories. As the firstborn daughter of Esther, Freya was born at least 5-10 years before Klaus in the late 10th century. Her early life in Norway occurred before Klaus’s birth around 1000 AD. Major events like Freya’s preservation by Dahlia and later being taken by Dahlia also point to her being older than her younger half-brother Klaus. While the supernatural nature of these siblings makes determining their exact ages challenging, the preponderance of evidence indicates Freya is the eldest Original vampire and therefore older than Klaus.