The Witcher Reveals Geralt’s Age

The latest The Witcher book has at last revealed Geralt of Rivia’s year of birth: 1211. The protagonist of The Witcher series hence turned out to be much younger than some fans were suspecting.

Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski has consistently written Geralt as an experienced monster hunter ever since his first short story starring the now-famous witcher, published in 1986. But none of The Witcher books or short stories have ever spelled out his exact year of birth until Rozdroże kruków (Crossroads of Ravens), which came out in Poland on November 29, 2024.

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As reported by Redanian Intelligence, Crossroads of Ravens reveals Geralt was born in 1211. This would make him around 37 at the start of The Last Wish—the first novel in Sapkowski’s saga—and approximately 57 by the time of the series’ chronological conclusion depicted in The Lady of the Lake. As for Crossroads of Ravens, the new The Witcher book follows a teenage Geralt, as it’s set in 1229, just after the monster hunter completes his training at Kaer Morhen.

Geralt Is Implied to Be Much Older in The Witcher Games

CD Projekt Red’s hit games based on Sapkowski’s books imply that Geralt is much older than in the novels. E.g., Vesemir suggests that Geralt is close to a century old in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Since CDPR’s RPG trilogy exists in its own universe, Crossroads of Ravens doesn’t retcon Geralt’s age from the games. Another difference between the game and the book universe concerns the age gap between Geralt and Yennefer. In the games, Yennefer is implied to be only slightly older than Geralt. In the books, she is 38 years older than the monster hunter.

Geralt’s Age in The Witcher Books

Netflix’s The Witcher series also has a different timeline, as it depicts Yennefer’s year of birth as 1192, making her 18 years younger than her book version. Meanwhile, the show version of Geralt was born in 1160, so he’s approximately 106 years old in the Season 3 finale. The lore of the franchise implies that a century-old witcher is something akin to a middle-aged human. E.g., by the time The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place, Vesemir is implied to be close to 200 years old, thus boasting the title of the oldest living witcher. Due to the nature of their profession, witchers don’t usually die of old age, a sentiment that’s frequently repeated throughout CDPR’s RPGs.

While Sapkowski has not ruled out writing more The Witcher books, he has repeatedly stated he has no intentions of taking Geralt’s story any further than The Lady of the Lake—originally released in 1999—did. As for Crossroads of Ravens, the English version of the book following a teenage Geralt is presently planned to be released in early 2025.

Source: Screen Rant

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The Witcher

The Witcher is a 3D action RPG series developed by CD Projekt Red featuring the exploits of Geralt of Rivia. Steeped in fantasy, The Witcher series is based on the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.