Tengil is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 and the main antagonist

Antagonist

An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

 of The Brothers Lionheart

The Brothers Lionheart

The Brothers Lionheart is a children's fantasy novel written by Astrid Lindgren. It was published in the fall of 1973 and has been translated into 46 languages. Many of its themes are unusually dark and heavy for the children's book genre. Disease, death, tyranny, betrayal and rebellion are some...

, a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 children's novel by Astrid Lindgren

Astrid Lindgren

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...

.

Tengil is the evil ruler of the paradise

Paradise

Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...

-like "Valley of the Roses Thorn" in Nangijala. He resides in his own land of Karmanjaka, from which he oppresses the people and force them to build him a fortress. Tengil's power relies on the army of soldiers he commands, the Black Riders and well as Katla

Katla

Katla is one of the largest volcanoes in Iceland. It is situated to the north of Vík í Mýrdal and to the east of the smaller glacier Eyjafjallajökull. Its peak reaches in height and is partially covered by the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The Eldgjá canyon is part of the same volcanic system...

 the dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

, which he controls with a magical lur

Lur

A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to carry A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure....

. His soldiers execute anyone seen resisting Tengil's rule, but there's a resistance forming in the "Valley of the Roses Thorn". At the end, Jonathan Lionheart, one of the protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

s, steals the lur of Katla and Tengil, now without her control, is killed.

Adaptations

In the 1977 film adaptation of the novel

The Brothers Lionheart (film)

The Brothers Lionheart is a 1977 Swedish fantasy film directed by Olle Hellbom and based on the book The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren...

, Tengil is played by actor Georg Årlin

Georg Årlin

Georg Adolf Wilhelm Årlin was a Swedish film actor who appeared in 50 films between 1940 and 1988.A native of the southern city of Karlskrona, renowned as Sweden's only baroque city and site of the country's sole remaining naval base, Georg Årlin died in Lövestad at the age of 75.-Selected...

. He wears a black cape and helmet with a purple plume

Hackle

The hackle is a clipped feather plume that is attached to a military headdress.In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated as fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. The...

, and has a red flame symbol on his chest. Swedish critics have compared Årlin's portrayal of Tengil to contemporary figures such as Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

, Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

, Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...

, Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 and Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

.