#chucklehead

Let us go through the events of the Riders of Berk episode “Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man” to find out, since that is where we will receive the story of Hiccup the Second.

We know that Hamish the First was a famous chieftain in Berkian history, said by Fishlegs to have been: “the most successful and wealthiest chieftain in Berk’s history, who amassed a fabulous and massive treasury.” 

However, there may be some conflict over who was actually Hamish the First, since according to the Wiki, the blonde Viking is NOT Hamish the First, but actually the first portrait on the wall, the dark-haired Viking, and that Hamish the Second was named after him.

Of course, I’m not sure if the animation error is true or not. If Hamish the First, according to the Wiki, truly was the first chieftain to take his portrait in this, then it doesn’t make sense that Hamish the Second would put the treasury spanning from the First Chieftain into a secret place several generations later. But could it be that his (the first chieftain’s) son is really Hamish the Second?

I don’t know. It’s difficult to tell. I’ll leave that to you guys, and I’ll think about it a little more. I might even write another article about this apparent discrepancy.

While it may be a stretch, it's possible that Hamish the Second switched the portraits and that the first chieftain’s portrait was actually the portrait posing as the two Hamishes (the blonds) while the true portrait of the Hamishes was put into the First Chieftain’s portrait spot.

Anyway, back to Hamish the Second’s background.

After leaving behind a literal golden and colorful legacy, Hamish the First stepped down (or died), leaving Hamish the Second to succeed him as the 5th-Generation Chieftain of Berk. After that, he hid the majority of his father’s treasure hoards and created the labyrinth and riddles for the next “hiccup” to find in the future. We don’t know the later events or accomplishments of his reign — or anything else about him, for that matter — before the succession of either Stoick’s grandfather or father.

But here’s where it’s gets even more hazy.

The Case of the Missing Portraits

If you count all of the portraits in total, there are only SIX of them, including Hiccup’s portrait! We’re missing Hamish the Second’s portrait with his son.

Where is it? What happened to it? Why is it missing?!

In the intro to the HTTYD 1 film, Hiccup stated that they have lived on Berk for “seven generations,” so whether you include his own generation as the 7th generation, or if the 7th generation is Stoick’s generation while Hiccup’s generation is the 8th is its own topic altogether.

Though you could argue that only Hamish the Second's portrait is missing, since if you HAD included that, it would've been 7 generations of portraits, including Hiccup's portrait with Stoick, and, even IF Hiccup was the 8th generation instead of the 7th, there wouldn't be an 8th portrait until the coming-of-age of Hiccup's OWN children.

We get an interesting hint by Fishlegs as they observe the line of portraits:

So according to him, Hiccup is one of the “few” who wasn’t killed by their successors  — which usually implies that regicide was somewhat commonplace. Of course, “few” could just imply more than 3-4 individuals, and it’s possible that only a few in their history were actually killed by their successor.

Another theory is that Fishlegs is talking about successors and predecessors in general throughout the Archipelago in all of Viking history.

It’s not really stated what “the elite few” is referencing, whether it’s concerning the Berkian chieftain bloodline, or is including the chieftain bloodlines of other Tribes as well.

What do you guys think?

At any rate, let’s start with Hamish the Second.

Hamish the Second

Hamish the Second is definitely a curious individual in Berkian history, shown to be a nod to Grimbeard the Ghastly's son, Hiccup the Second, in the Books. Both are friends to dragons, both were Runts, both loved their fathers despite their grievances, and both their fathers were successful pirates who collecting a massive hoard of treasures.

Since after his father's death, Hamish the Second, being a brilliant engineer and nasty trapper and riddler, used his (presumedly) secret relationship with dragons to build a massive complex to hide his father's treasure (most likely due to the infighting over the said treasure, as was seen in HTTYD Book 2) and protect it from thieves and raiders.

That was his first job and project as the 5th(?) Chieftain of Berk.

So, if Hamish II became the next Chief, what happened to him and why isn't there a portrait of himself with his own son?

Well, we simply don't know, unfortunately. There are some theories and plausibilities that could explain its disappearance.

1. Hamish, much like his Book counterpart, perished at a young age — most likely as the victim of what Fishlegs mentioned as "being one of those killed by their successor."

2. Hamish could've died as a result of an accident, disease, injuries, battle, or even a shipwreck or a storm.

3. Hamish's secret of befriending dragons could've been discovered and was either killed or exiled for "betraying Berk". (Of course, this is assuming that Berk hadn't tamed dragons back then since Hamish the First obviously had time to raid and pillage to get this massive hoard of treasure without much problems with dragon raids. And the flashback with Stoick and Hiccup in HTTYD 2 and HTTYD 3 seem to support that.)

4. Hamish could've been killed or forced to leave due to people seeking his father's treasure.

5. Hamish could've had a son but, like Thugheart from the Books, decided to overthrow Hamish II and got rid of him.

6. Hamish, not wanting to endanger his dragon friends, pulled a Valka-move and either made it look like dragons killed him, or, like what Hiccup tried to do in HTTYD 1, decided to quietly leave Berk without telling anyone.

There might be more, but those are the main ones.

Heck, perhaps even one of these two portraits IS Hamish the Second and his son, presumedly Stoick's grandfather. Who knows? 🤷‍♂️

At any rate, for any or a combination of these reasons, this resulted in a tragic early death before having an heir, or he did have an heir but died before his son came of-age, thus the portrait couldn't be made.

Considering Hamish the Second is based off of Hiccup the Second from the Books, let's just assume the chieftainship was left vacant after his disappearance, for whatever reason it may be.

Of course, if this is true, does this simply mean that the portraits got switched? If so, then we can continue with the theory that a relative of Hamish the Second, Stoick's grandfather or father, became the new Chief of Berk — assuming there wasn't an upstart before that who tried to take advantage and take the throne for himself.

This would effectively make Stoick's family a new dynasty, even if they're part of the same family. Assuming that they're not just a family of Vikings that the residents voted in and that the official line of Berk ended with Hamish the Second.

If it's TRUE that the Hamishes WERE, in fact, the FIRST and SECOND Chiefs of Berk, then that would change things a bit.

For instance, if we were to be loyal to the Books, after the deaths of Grimbeard and Hiccup the Second, and the disownment and exile of Thugheart, Chucklehead would become the new Chieftain of Berk.

Meaning that after Hamish the First's death, and Hamish the Second's early death/disappearance, Chucklehead would be the next Chieftain of Berk.

And if you look at the portraits, the one on the right looks like what Chucklehead would look like, doesn't he? 👀

Conclusion

To conclude with this rather long article, regardless of Hamish the Second's fate, or what timeline he truly hails from, he left a seat vacant, and the absence of his theoretical portrait of himself and his heir is likely due to his early death or disappearance, or, if he HAD an heir, or contenders, they might've dealt with him and got rid of the portrait.

The only reason why I didn't mention the possibility of his secret — that of his friendship with dragons — being found out, and that's what caused his downfall, is that if that had been the case, then why didn't they destroy the portrait of Hamish the First and Hamish the Second as well?

If the Hamishes were the First- and Second-Generation Chieftains, then the next chieftain would've been [insert Viking] (I'm going with "Chucklehead").

If not, and it was during Stoick's grandfather's or father's time, then it's possible that Stoick's grandfather and father were part of the continuation of the dynasty left vacant by Hamish the Second. Assuming they're not a new dynasty altogether, which is unlikely.

<><><><><>

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any thoughts about this mystery, or about Berkian history, please feel free to give your thoughts.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a good weekend.

Long Live the Night!

He sneaked down quietly. Stoick had told him that if he didn’t get sleep, he would never grow. But no one should be crying alone.  

“You should get some sleep, son,” Stoick said, wiping his eyes.

“I was thirsty,” Hiccup lied. In truth, he was having bad dreams because he was a light sleeper, and his dad crying always woke him. Hiccup was too little to figure out if he preferred the dreams or seeing his dad’s echoed misery.

Stoick considered. He pulled a worn book from the shelf, one that they had pored over during many sleepless nights. Hiccup crawled onto his lap, out of habit. Stoick flipped the pages. They started reading about ancient heroes. Hiccup pressed his fingers to each rune, sounding them out in his high-pitched voice,.

“Do you think we need a King of Vikings?” Hiccup asked, as they came across the tale of their ancestor who had come to Berk. He was a stout man named Chucklehead, who was a bit dim in the brain but had a good heart. He always looked so sad in the drawings.

“We may. A King of Vikings only emerges when all the tribes agree to have a leader,” Stoick said. “The problem is that if even one tribe disagrees at a Thing then you have no king. The last time I went to one, I was the only survivor.”

Hiccup peered into his eyes, curiously, to see if his father was joking or not.

“Maybe I could learn to be King,” he said. “Then we don’t have to worry about dragons carrying off moms anymore. Snotlout asked me when we were going to get a new mom.”

Stoick made a grunting, growling sound.

“I could never replace your mother,” he said. “When you love someone, you can never truly replace them.”

Hiccup thought about this. He had wondered about why Snotlout kept asking about why Hiccup didn’t have a new mom.

“You could be King, though.” Stoick took Hiccup’s hand and pressed it to the drawing of Chucklehead overlooking the tiny village that would become Berk. “I think you could reconcile all the tribes, to remind them that we fight for what we love.”

“What’s reconcile?” Hiccup asked.

“You know how Gobber makes rings out of iron? For chainlinks?”

Hiccup nodded. Gobber sometimes watched him when Stoick had to go out and run the village. Sometimes the man would show him all the secrets of being a blacksmith.

“He takes a rod of metal, heats it up, and puts the ends together,” he said. “And he sometimes connects them to other rings, one at a time, to make chainmail.”

“Reconciling with people is like that.” Stoick drew Hiccup’s hand to his heart. “You reach inside, and connect yourself to them. If you are lucky, you form a strong bond, stronger than what the heart can offer.”

“But people aren’t metal,” Hiccup said. “We’re soft and squishy, in between our bones and all.”

Stoick then laughed. Hiccup leaned closer to his father to take in the sound, something he always liked to hear.

“Funny boy,” he said. “No, we Vikings aren’t metal. That is what makes it harder and easier. But we can come together, and make links like metal does. You would be a great king, if you can make me laugh at two in the morning.”

Hiccup wasn’t sure what that meant. But he liked feeling the warmth of his father’s heart. It beat steadily, reminding him that his dad was there, and always would be.

#

Hiccup rummaged through the damaged floorboards. His father’s books were always buried in the basement, to keep them safe from dragonfire. Hiccup had lost his books, accumulated over years of trading, to Grimmel’s fire. He mourned the scraps of paper that fluttered with the ashes and embers.

Toothless was standing guard outside, in case Gothi or her Terrors appeared and learned that Hiccup wasn’t rested. They had both stuffed his sleeping bag with toys that his mother had sewn over the past five years, of all dragons. Eret and Astrid were already doing all they could to make sure that Hiccup didn’t have to oversee the rebuilding. The twins had threatened to cause more chaos if Hiccup tried to go flying after Grimmel. Visiting the remains of the chief’s hut was all he could do without arousing anyone’s suspicion, because they’d assume he was still in bed, and the burned walls shielded him. Toothless would have some low warbles if anyone came.

The old book was still there, if a little dusty, nestled between an old ledger of weapons from Trader Johann. Hiccup wiped off the years of unuse and flipped the pages. The corners were crinkled and the spine had cracked, but it still reminded him of home. Of the nights when things between him and his dad were simple. He had memories of wanting to go down there many times as a child, but in time he lost interest because the books never changed. Nor did their meanings. Stoick didn’t mind reading, but he never had time to seek new books.

Chucklehead’s drawing had seen better days. His illustration was wrinkled. The man actually didn’t look like a chuckling man, even if the books described him as such. That sad expression hung on his face, and in his drooping shoulders. The words said he had never learned to read, but his children had, and often they would dictate letters for him.

Hiccup traced the illustration, and the carefully hand-printed words. He could hardly believe his fingers were thicker than the letters now, when before they had been as thin as bird claws.  

He reread the tale of Chucklehead. Now that he was older, he realized that the book was in worse condition. There were lots of ink stains that he hadn’t noticed as a child, that sometimes blotted out entire names and words. He flipped to one page that was supposed to be the Haddock family tree, and most of the names between his great-great-grandfather and his father were blacked out. Stoick must have skipped out those pages.

Then he noticed two pages were stuck together. Hiccup reached and gently opened them. They came apart with a crackling rustle.

Both of the pages were covered in decades-old charcoal and ink. Hiccup rubbed at them and smeared ink on his fingers. He’d need an expert book restorer to see what had been blacked out. His father must have deliberately avoided this page, because Hiccup as a child would have insisted on opening it and rubbing away the mystery.

The library on Tomorrow would have a librarian that could restore an old book. Hiccup could go there. Tomorrow. The island where a King of Vikings was elected.

The King of Vikings. You could only become one if the tribes all had a common enemy. The way Grimmel talked, it sounded like he already had the crown in hand. That they had found a common enemy in Berk.

It didn’t add up. If other tribes declared war on Berk, they would have shown up with armies. And Hiccup didn’t attack other tribes; he went for the remains of Drago’s army.

He closed the book carefully and hugged it to his chest. Then he rummaged through the rest of them. The ledger still had Stoick’s large, careful blocky runes. The man was impatient when he came to writing, but he did it because it was his job. His handwriting meant a part of him was still on Berk, had survived what Grimmel had intended to wipe out with his flames. Hiccup pressed his nose to the page, trying to smell any scent his father might have left behind. That familiar brine of the sea, mixed with the embers of old fires and mead.

“Hiccup!” Astrid’s voice came from above. “We know you’re there.”  

He blinked, coming out of his reverie. Then he groaned. Busted.

“Hiccup!” She sounded angry. “Come out of there right now! You’re supposed to be resting!”

“Toothless!” he called back with mild irritation. “You were supposed to keep watch. Where was the signal?”

There was an apologetic warble, and some squawking chuckles from Stormfly. Hiccup could picture the scene: Toothless keeping watch, and Astrid and Stormfly greeting him. The few minutes of distraction would be all that Toothless would need to forget to signal, especially when Astrid asked the dragon where his rider was.

Hiccup sighed. Then he grabbed the rest of the books. There would surely be a metal box where he could keep them, that no fire could touch. When Trader Johann came, there would be more books to acquire, to replace the ones he lost. Books were not people, after all. They were things. Things that made you feel joy, or sorrow.