Yes, he is a murderer.

Toragg had no choice but to fight him, and instead of fighitng honourabley he murderered him.
There is a unwritten code of honour to that sort of thing. If you want it to be recognized.
Fight with the same weapons. Agree on axes, or swords only. Fight on the same level.
If you're legit, you won't need to cheat.
And Ullfric is not legit.

Ulfric has no right to the throne, or he'd have schemed and bribed his way to power. So the egomaniac risks the entire country as they're on the verge of invasion, destabilises the country, murderers the high king, all because the delusional bastard thinks he has a right to rule skyrim.
Even with a legititmate moot, no one would seriously vote for a delusional, racist psychopath who is a menace to all concerned and can't even run his own city. If only from self preservation.
The only power and tactic Ulfric has is by bullying other jarls or trying to. And he's not that clever at it.

No one said he was high king. He and he alone said he was high king, after murdering the real one. Not one other person has ever said he is high king.
Ulfric cares about one thing and one thing only. Ulfric. He's a whiney, temper tantruming, bullying, psychotpathic, child, who wants the crown and does'nt care how he get's it.
Everything, from the ridiculous, impractical, out of date uniforms, his self agrandising speeches, screams delusional freak trying to imitate a past that never existed.
The talos thing is nothing more than a hook to lure in racist idiots to make up his pawn army.

It wasn't honorable for the Empire to try to arrest him for a legal duel. It wasn't honorable for the Empire to execute Roggvir for doing the honorable thing and not letting them kill Ulfric for fullfilling a Nord custom which Torygg agreed to.

Duels are conducted according to a set of rules. Those rules are different from those of the battlefield. They're generally aimed at keeping things even, otherwise the outcome wouldn't hold much meaning.

Ulfric basically brought a gun to a knife fight.

Ulfric being sent to the Greybeards wasn't a secret. If Torygg wanted to set the rule "No shouting" he would have.

He didn't.

And Torygg agreed that it was completely ok. They both knew the other's capabilities.

Okay that's a little harsh, I dont really like Ulfric but I know his motives lie with trying to help Skyrim.

The most probable scenario is that the duel traditions of Skyrim goes back to the time after the Dragon Wars when the Nords started to rule Skyrim for themsleves, and at that time the Thu'um was fairly common, especially among the warleaders. So why would it be against the traditions of Nordic duels to use the Thu'um? If anything I would guess it is encouraged of you can use it.

On one hand, both Torygg and Elisif are figureheads put in place by the Imperials to push their point of view. On the other hand, you have to admire the fact that Torygg stuck to his convictions. Ulfric knows the fact that the thalmor are the biggest threat to men. Balgruuf had it about right.Sure, the imperials have a lot of milk drinkers. But its not like a united skyrim prevents talos worship. I think the end of the DB questline is key to seeing what the empire will use to break the WGC

There is nothing honorable about shouting a youth who hadn't even grown his first beard into a wall and then butchering him before he can come to his senses. Especialy when you're a battle hardened vetren that could beat him black and blue all day long. Even less honorable to use strong arm politics on said boy and corner him so he can't refuse.
The duel had nothing to do with honor and everything to do with Ulfric showing off his personal power. The trend continues later when he's offered an axe. If he'd accepted it would have ment a duel to the death. He hands it back, refusing to fight a grown man on equal terms and sends in his army instead.

In a duel it would be cheating. A fair duel is way different than a war. It is NO different than if he came in and fireballed him to death. Actually if he lost after using a shout I think many would say he got what he deserved for cheating. I wish as the Dragonborn I could offer my opinion of this ingame actually

http://images.wikia.com/elderscrolls/images/6/64/Toryggsovn.PNG

except Elisef saw it happen and relates it to you quite emotionally.

Ulfric did it for his Thalmor mistress. That just makes him a tool really.

I was wondering why there was such a difference in views about that duel among the Nords. Some of them, primarily Ulfric's supporters, think it was fair. The rest view it as murder. Why?

I think I found the answer in something Alvor says. He comments that after Ulfric killed Torygg, the Empire had to step in. He goes on to say that once the Jarls start killing each other, it's "back to the bad old days."

So this is what I think makes the most sense. As you said, the tradition probably arose a long time ago. Back then, Skyrim was a much harsher and more violent place. The Jarls were constantly warring with each other as they fought for dominance. The tradition has a strong sense of "might makes right" and the idea that the strongest warrior is clearly the most fit to rule. Over time Skyrim began to stabilize and that tradition fell out of favor. Or maybe Skyrim began to stabilize BECAUSE that tradition fell out of favor. Some time before the time of the game, you reach a point where the High King is chosen by much more "civilized" means.

So now you reach the time of the game. Ulfric kills Torygg. The tradition he uses it technically still on the books, but has not been used in so long that many do not view it favorably. However, since it is still on the books, Ulfric's supporters can go "It's tradition! It's legal!" Meanwhile, the rest of Skyrim is going, "We're not a bunch of dumb barbarians! We don't do that, anymore! That was murder!"

It wasn't murder, and shouting at Torygg wasn't cheating, either. The Voice is the projection of one's inner strength; dragon's decide fights solely with the Voice. The winner is the one with more will, or strength of character, or whatever you want to call it. So shouting Torygg down was precisely proving his point: that he was more fit to rule than Torygg. The only reason he had to kill Torygg after that was so that the Empire couldn't use him or his heirs as rallying points to overthrow Ulfric. Either he forgot about Elisif, or was unwilling to kill a woman in cold blood.

The Empire is just all pissy about losing their puppet to someone who won't be their [censored]. I mean, when the Empire decides its time to take on the Thalmor, do they think Skyrim, independant or not, will just sit on the sidelines? No, they just know that without the strength of Skyrim backing them, the pitiful remains of their Empire will eventually fall, whether to the Thalmor or someone else.

This seems pretty valid.

Ulfric is a murderer whether or not tradition or law supports his actions. Torygg supported Ulfric and he would have probably gone along with his rebellion if he had asked. However, Ulfric did not just want to be a general leading the rebellion. He wanted the crown for himself. You can say that Torygg didn't have to accept his challenge, but if he hadn't, the moot would have probably reconvened and ousted Torygg and places Ulfric on the throne anyway. Ulfric covets the throne above anything else. His actions were unnecessary and immoral.

Ugh, if the Empire is civilized, then I'll remain a barbarian. I'd much prefer a little head-to-head bloodshed every once in a while to a constant state of corruption and assassination attempts.

Valid points, but there is something I find strange on this issue: Almost all Imperial supporters claim Ulfric simply went in and murdered Torygg, not to mention Elisif will lie directly to you. Of the people affiliated with the Empire there is only Sybile Stentor who awknowledge the duel IIRC. It seems Ulfric is painted as an assassin by the Imperial supporters, so how many would think he was in the right when killing the High King even if they do not support him politically?

That's what it comes down to. Weither people want Skyrim to just become the northern part of Cyrodil, or if they want it to stay Skyrim. And as for me personaly, I want the Nordic people stay barbarians, loyal rough and tumble fighters rather than just become stronger Imperials. The different cultures is what I love about TES, and I can't understand why people would want to lose one.

And don't deny that's not what is happening. The loss of Talos is huge, but it's much much more than that. In Bruma you could see the Imperials activly trying to convert the "heathen" Nords to the proper religion. As trade and all the other good things flowed from Skyrim being a part of the Empire, it slowly started to lose itself. Traditions were changing, being forced to change. And while it may in the end be for the better, I'd rather we not lose a culture all together in TES.

I don't think Ulfric would have been prosecuted had he not started a rebellion. That is the real reason the Imperials are after him.

No they don't, at all.

Someone who cares about their country does not destabilise it. They don't kill the high king as invasion is imminant. They don't destroy their own countrymen and country for their own ego trip.

Someone who cares about their skyrim would see that being in the empire, is the best for skyrim to be.
The people who care about skyrim, like Jarl Baalgruf, Jarl Brunwulf Free-Winter, care about the people they rule. They want stability, peace.
Elisif could be high queen the entire time. But she wants to calm the country down first. That is wanting to help your country.

When you care about your country, you do the best for it. If it means being in a big empire for stability, then that is what you do.
If not taking something you could before calm is restored, like Elisif does, means the best thing for your country, then that is what you do.

Not sure if you realize this but the Dominion is actively trying to destroy all Men on Tamriel. So you can keep talking about tradition and culture, but it means little when the Dominion comes steamrolling through a fractured and helpless Empire and destroys all Men.

...What does that have to do with Ulfric being a wuss?

Torygg isn't just some innocent boy- he's a king, meaning he holds the lives and deaths of many people in his hands. Everyone who puts on a crown takes on that responsibility and the risks it involves. If he wasn't able to hold it, then he shouldn't be there in the first place. He could have declined the duel and saved his own life, but chose not to. No pity. He died with honor.

As for the axe, I think you're a bit confused. Ulfric offered his axe to Balgruuf in a last ditch attempt to get him to join the cause. At that point, he could have offered a duel, but as Irileth says, he had already proven his personal power and needed to show Skyrim the power of his armies.

Ulfric is ruthless, but he's tactically ruthless and not wantonly so. He argues with Galmar about not pushing Balgruuf until he's sure that he can't bring him around. Against the Thalmor, you want someone who will get the job done no matter what it takes.