Ragnar Lodbrok
Encyclopedia
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse
legendary hero from the Viking Age
who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry
and legendary sagas.
, was linked to two famous shieldmaiden
s, Lathgertha
in the Gesta Danorum, and Queen Aslaug
according to the Völsungasaga.
He told people he always sought greater adventures for fear that his (possibly adoptive) sons who included such notable Vikings as Björn Ironside
and Ivar the Boneless
would eclipse him in fame and honor. Ragnar raided France many times, using the rivers as highways for his fleets of longship
s. By remaining on the move, he cleverly avoided battles with large concentrations of heavy Frankish cavalry, while maximizing his advantages of mobility and the general climate of fear of Viking unpredictability. His most notable raid was probably the raid upon Paris in 845 AD, which was spared from burning only by the payment of 7,000 lbs of silver as danegeld
by Charles the Bald
. To court his second wife, the Swedish princess Thora, Ragnar traveled to Sweden and quelled an infestation of venomous snakes, famously wearing the hairy breeches whereby he gained his nickname. He continued the series of successful raids against France throughout the mid 9th century, and fought numerous civil wars in Denmark, until his luck ran out at last in Britain. After being shipwrecked on the English coast during a freak storm, he was captured by Anglian
king Ælla of Northumbria and put to death in an infamous manner by being thrown into a pit of vipers.
Although he is something of a hero in his native Scandinavia
, reliable accounts of his life are very sketchy and heavily based on ancient Viking sagas.
A historic Ragnar Lodbrok is held to have been a jarl
at the court of the Danish
king Horik I
(814-854), and this Ragnar participated in the Viking
plunderings of Paris
in 845.
A certain Reginheri attacked Paris with a fleet of 120 ships. The warriors belonging to the army of Charles the Bald
, were placed to guard the Abbey of St. Denis, but fled when the Danish Vikings executed their prisoners ferociously in front of their eyes.
After receiving a tribute
of 7000 pounds of silver
from Charles the Bald, Ragnar went back. By mysterious circumstances, many men in Ragnar's army died during the journey and Ragnar died soon after his return.
Ragnar apparently spent most of his life as a pirate and raider, invading one country after another. One of his favorite tactics was to attack Christian
cities on church feast days, knowing that many soldiers would be in church. He would generally accept a huge payment to leave his victims alone, only to come back later and demand more riches in exchange for leaving.
But as the extent of his supposed realm shows, he was also a gifted military leader. By 845, he was a powerful man. It is said he was always seeking new adventures because he was worried that his freebooting sons would do things that would outshine his own achievements.
, probably at the Seine
estuary, and ravaged West Francia, as the westernmost part of the Frankish Empire
was then known. Rouen
was ravaged and then Carolivenna, a mere 20 km from St. Denis. The raiders then attacked and captured Paris
. The traditional date for this is 28 March, which is today referred to as Ragnar Lodbrok Day by certain followers of the Asatru
religion. The King of West Francia, Charlemagne
's grandson Charles the Bald
, paid Ragnar a huge amount of money not to destroy the city. Ragnar Lodbrok, according to Viking sources, was satisfied with no less than 7,000 pounds of silver
in exchange for sparing the city. However, that did not stop Ragnar from attacking other parts of France, and it took a long time for the Franks
to drive him out.
Later, Ragnar's sons were to return for more booty. Among their feats was destroying the city of Rouen
several more times. Ultimately, many of them settled there permanently, in a land that became known as Normandy
(deriving from the expression "Nordmenn" , or 'Northmen' ('Norsemen'), which was - and indeed still is - both the name the Norwegians called themselves and also the name the Franks used for the Scandinavians).
. The widely accepted version is that Ragnar was shipwrecked on the Northumbrian shore; where he was captured and taken to the Northumbrian king Ælla.
Legend claims that Aelle ordered Ragnar thrown into a pit filled with poisonous snakes. As he was slowly being bitten to death, he is alleged to have exclaimed "How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers!", referring to the vengeance he hoped his sons would wreak when they heard of his death.
Alternative versions of the story say that he landed by accident in East Anglia
and there befriended King Edmund
before being killed by a jealous courtier. The murderer escaped to Denmark and blamed Edmund for Lodbrok's demise.
The dating of Ragnar's death has been alternatively stated as 840 or 865. The earlier dating corresponds to events attached to Ragnar's legend in the saga. However, a later date better explains the attack on England by his sons in 865; supposedly to avenge their father's death. It is unlikely that the Great Heathen Army
, led by the Sons of Ragnar, would have waited 25 years to take their vengeance.
The Æsir
will welcome me. Death comes without lamenting… Eager am I to depart. The Dísir
summon me home, those whom Odin sends for me [Valkyries] from the halls of the Lord of Hosts. Gladly shall I drink ale in the high-seat with the Æsir. The days of my life are ended. I laugh as I die."
, who was playing tafl, gripped the piece so hard that he bled from his fingernails. Björn Ironside
grabbed a spear so tightly that he left an impression in it, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, who was trimming his nails, cut straight through to the bone.
Although these stories may not be accurate, if there is any truth to them his death had serious consequences. His other sons, Ivar the Boneless
(alias Hingwar) and Ubbe
soon learned the details of their father's death and swore that they would avenge his killing, in time-honoured Viking tradition. In 866, Ivar and Ubbe crossed the North Sea
with a large army (The Great Heathen Army
), sacked York
, met King Aelle in battle, and captured him. He was sentenced to die according to the custom of the blood eagle
- an exceedingly painful death.
They then moved south to East Anglia, on the way attacking the monasteries of Bardney
, Croyland
and Medeshampstede
where, according to tradition, their army slew 80 monks. Eventually they captured King Edmund and had him shot by archers and beheaded. These wars were a prelude to the long struggle of the Saxons
of Alfred the Great
against the Danes a generation later, which also included the leader named Guthrum
, all of whom founded the Danelaw
.
Ragnar's forays into France were traditional for the Danish monarchs, with such men as Gudfred
, Harald Klak
and Hygelac
among his predecessors; Rollo
of Normandy
his future and ultimate successor of the Frankish policy in making the Danes fief-holders of Frisia
. Danish policy towards France was also defensive, in the Danevirke
's construction.
Boddason is said to have composed the Ragnarsdrápa
for the Swedish king Björn at Hauge. However, this does not correspond to what we know about the historical Ragnar. It is consequently said that in the Norse sagas, he was identified with a Swedish king Ragnar (770-785), the son of Sigurd Ring
. According to legend, he married Aslaug
and became the son-in-law of Sigurd
the Völsung.
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
legendary hero from the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...
and legendary sagas.
Life as recorded in the sagas
The namesake and subject of “Ragnar’s Saga”, and one of the most popular Viking heroes among the Norse themselves, Ragnar was a great Viking commander and the scourge of France and England. A perennial seeker after the Danish throne, he was briefly ‘king’ of both Denmark and a large part of Sweden. A colorful figure, he claimed to be descended from OdinOdin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
, was linked to two famous shieldmaiden
Shieldmaiden
A shieldmaiden was a woman who had chosen to fight as a warrior in Scandinavian folklore and mythology. They are often mentioned in sagas such as Hervarar saga and in Gesta Danorum. Shieldmaidens also appear in stories of other Germanic nations: Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni. The mythical Valkyries...
s, Lathgertha
Lathgertha
A semi-legendary female Danish Viking and shieldmaiden, one time wife of the famous Viking Ragnar Lodbrok.- Early life :History of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus...
in the Gesta Danorum, and Queen Aslaug
Aslaug
Aslaug, Aslög, Kraka, Kráka or Randalin, was a queen of Scandinavian mythology who appears in Snorri's Edda, the Völsunga saga and the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok.-The Legendary Aslaug:...
according to the Völsungasaga.
He told people he always sought greater adventures for fear that his (possibly adoptive) sons who included such notable Vikings as Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
and Ivar the Boneless
Ivar the Boneless
Ivar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless , was a Viking leader and by reputation also a berserker. By the late 11th century he was known as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok, ruler of an area probably comprising parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden.-Invader:In the autumn of AD 865, with his...
would eclipse him in fame and honor. Ragnar raided France many times, using the rivers as highways for his fleets of longship
Longship
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with...
s. By remaining on the move, he cleverly avoided battles with large concentrations of heavy Frankish cavalry, while maximizing his advantages of mobility and the general climate of fear of Viking unpredictability. His most notable raid was probably the raid upon Paris in 845 AD, which was spared from burning only by the payment of 7,000 lbs of silver as danegeld
Danegeld
The Danegeld was a tax raised to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the geld or gafol in eleventh-century sources; the term Danegeld did not appear until the early twelfth century...
by Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
. To court his second wife, the Swedish princess Thora, Ragnar traveled to Sweden and quelled an infestation of venomous snakes, famously wearing the hairy breeches whereby he gained his nickname. He continued the series of successful raids against France throughout the mid 9th century, and fought numerous civil wars in Denmark, until his luck ran out at last in Britain. After being shipwrecked on the English coast during a freak storm, he was captured by Anglian
Anglian
Anglian may refer to* The Anglian dialects* The Anglic languages* The Anglian Stage * The Anglian automobile* Used in reference to the cultural products and politics of the Angles of Anglo-Saxon England...
king Ælla of Northumbria and put to death in an infamous manner by being thrown into a pit of vipers.
Although he is something of a hero in his native Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, reliable accounts of his life are very sketchy and heavily based on ancient Viking sagas.
A historic Ragnar Lodbrok is held to have been a jarl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
at the court of the Danish
Daner
The Danes were a North Germanic tribe residing in modern day Denmark. They are mentioned in the 6th century in Jordanes' Getica, by Procopius, and by Gregory of Tours....
king Horik I
Horik I
Horik I reigned as sole King of Denmark from 827 to his violent death in 854. His reign was marked by Danish raids on the Franco-German empire of Louis the Pious, son and successor of Charlemagne....
(814-854), and this Ragnar participated in the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
plunderings of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 845.
A certain Reginheri attacked Paris with a fleet of 120 ships. The warriors belonging to the army of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
, were placed to guard the Abbey of St. Denis, but fled when the Danish Vikings executed their prisoners ferociously in front of their eyes.
After receiving a tribute
Danegeld
The Danegeld was a tax raised to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the geld or gafol in eleventh-century sources; the term Danegeld did not appear until the early twelfth century...
of 7000 pounds of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
from Charles the Bald, Ragnar went back. By mysterious circumstances, many men in Ragnar's army died during the journey and Ragnar died soon after his return.
Contemporary sources
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
cities on church feast days, knowing that many soldiers would be in church. He would generally accept a huge payment to leave his victims alone, only to come back later and demand more riches in exchange for leaving.
But as the extent of his supposed realm shows, he was also a gifted military leader. By 845, he was a powerful man. It is said he was always seeking new adventures because he was worried that his freebooting sons would do things that would outshine his own achievements.
France
In 845 he sailed southward, looking for new worlds to conquer. With an alleged force of 120 ships and 5,000 Viking warriors, he landed in what is now FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, probably at the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
estuary, and ravaged West Francia, as the westernmost part of the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
was then known. Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
was ravaged and then Carolivenna, a mere 20 km from St. Denis. The raiders then attacked and captured Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The traditional date for this is 28 March, which is today referred to as Ragnar Lodbrok Day by certain followers of the Asatru
Ásatrú
is a form of Germanic neopaganism which developed in the United States from the 1970s....
religion. The King of West Francia, Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's grandson Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
, paid Ragnar a huge amount of money not to destroy the city. Ragnar Lodbrok, according to Viking sources, was satisfied with no less than 7,000 pounds of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
in exchange for sparing the city. However, that did not stop Ragnar from attacking other parts of France, and it took a long time for the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
to drive him out.
Later, Ragnar's sons were to return for more booty. Among their feats was destroying the city of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
several more times. Ultimately, many of them settled there permanently, in a land that became known as Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
(deriving from the expression "Nordmenn" , or 'Northmen' ('Norsemen'), which was - and indeed still is - both the name the Norwegians called themselves and also the name the Franks used for the Scandinavians).
England and questions surrounding his death
All sources agree that Ragnar ended his life in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The widely accepted version is that Ragnar was shipwrecked on the Northumbrian shore; where he was captured and taken to the Northumbrian king Ælla.
Legend claims that Aelle ordered Ragnar thrown into a pit filled with poisonous snakes. As he was slowly being bitten to death, he is alleged to have exclaimed "How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers!", referring to the vengeance he hoped his sons would wreak when they heard of his death.
Alternative versions of the story say that he landed by accident in East Anglia
Kingdom of the East Angles
The Kingdom of East Anglia, also known as the Kingdom of the East Angles , was a small independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that comprised what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps the eastern part of the Fens...
and there befriended King Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
before being killed by a jealous courtier. The murderer escaped to Denmark and blamed Edmund for Lodbrok's demise.
The dating of Ragnar's death has been alternatively stated as 840 or 865. The earlier dating corresponds to events attached to Ragnar's legend in the saga. However, a later date better explains the attack on England by his sons in 865; supposedly to avenge their father's death. It is unlikely that the Great Heathen Army
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
, led by the Sons of Ragnar, would have waited 25 years to take their vengeance.
Death song
As he was thrown into the snake pit, Ragnar was said to have uttered his famous death song: "It gladdens me to know that Baldr’s father [Odin] makes ready the benches for a banquet. Soon we shall be drinking ale from the curved horns. The champion who comes into Odin’s dwelling [Valhalla] does not lament his death. I shall not enter his hall with words of fear upon my lips.The Æsir
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
will welcome me. Death comes without lamenting… Eager am I to depart. The Dísir
Dísir
In Norse mythology, a dís is a ghost, spirit or deity associated with fate who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people. Dísir may act as protective spirits of Norse clans...
summon me home, those whom Odin sends for me [Valkyries] from the halls of the Lord of Hosts. Gladly shall I drink ale in the high-seat with the Æsir. The days of my life are ended. I laugh as I die."
Legacy
One Viking saga states that when his four sons heard the manner of his death, they all reacted in great sorrow. HvitserkHvitserk
Hvitserk was one of the legendary sons of the 9th-century Norse king Ragnar Lodbrok and his wife Kraka, attested to by the Ragnarssona þáttr. Since he is not mentioned in any source that mentions Halfdan Ragnarsson, some scholars have suggested that they are the same individual.After having...
, who was playing tafl, gripped the piece so hard that he bled from his fingernails. Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
grabbed a spear so tightly that he left an impression in it, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, who was trimming his nails, cut straight through to the bone.
Although these stories may not be accurate, if there is any truth to them his death had serious consequences. His other sons, Ivar the Boneless
Ivar the Boneless
Ivar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless , was a Viking leader and by reputation also a berserker. By the late 11th century he was known as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok, ruler of an area probably comprising parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden.-Invader:In the autumn of AD 865, with his...
(alias Hingwar) and Ubbe
Ubbe Ragnarsson
Ubbe, Ubba or Hubba Ragnarsson was a Norse leader during the Viking Age. Ubbe Ragnarsson was one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and, along with his brothers Halfdan and Ivar the Boneless, a leader of the Great Danish Army....
soon learned the details of their father's death and swore that they would avenge his killing, in time-honoured Viking tradition. In 866, Ivar and Ubbe crossed the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
with a large army (The Great Heathen Army
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
), sacked York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, met King Aelle in battle, and captured him. He was sentenced to die according to the custom of the blood eagle
Blood eagle
The Blood Eagle was a method of torture and execution that is sometimes mentioned in Norse saga literature. It was performed by cutting the ribs of the victim by the spine, breaking the ribs so they resembled blood-stained wings, and pulling the lungs out. Salt was sprinkled in the wounds...
- an exceedingly painful death.
They then moved south to East Anglia, on the way attacking the monasteries of Bardney
Bardney
Bardney is a village and Civil Parish east of Lincoln, sitting on the north side of the River Witham in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-The village:...
, Croyland
Croyland Abbey
Crowland Abbey is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire.-History:...
and Medeshampstede
Peterborough Cathedral
Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, whose statues look down from the...
where, according to tradition, their army slew 80 monks. Eventually they captured King Edmund and had him shot by archers and beheaded. These wars were a prelude to the long struggle of the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
against the Danes a generation later, which also included the leader named Guthrum
Guthrum
The name Guthrum corresponds to Norwegian Guttom and to Danish Gorm.The name Guthrum may refer to these kings:* Guthrum, who fought against Alfred the Great* Gorm the Old of Denmark and Norway* Guthrum II, a king of doubtful historicity...
, all of whom founded the Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
.
Ragnar's forays into France were traditional for the Danish monarchs, with such men as Gudfred
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
, Harald Klak
Harald Klak
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson was a king in Jutland around 812–814 and again from 819–827.-Family:...
and Hygelac
Hygelac
Hygelac was a king of the Geats according to the poem Beowulf. He was the son of Hrethel and had brothers Herebeald and Hæthcyn. His sister was married to Ecgtheow and had the son Beowulf. Hygelac was married to Hygd and they had the son Heardred, and an unnamed daughter who married Eofor...
among his predecessors; Rollo
Rollo
Rollo has multiple meanings. It may mean:a first name*Rollo Armstrong, member of British dance act Faithless* Rollo May, American psychologist...
of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
his future and ultimate successor of the Frankish policy in making the Danes fief-holders of Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
. Danish policy towards France was also defensive, in the Danevirke
Danevirke
The Danevirke The Danevirke The Danevirke (modern Danish spelling: Dannevirke; in Old Norse Danavirki ; in German Danewerk ; is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian...
's construction.
Mythology
BragiBragi
Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology.-Etymology:Bragi is generally associated with bragr, the Norse word for poetry. The name of the god may have been derived from bragr, or the term bragr may have been formed to describe 'what Bragi does'...
Boddason is said to have composed the Ragnarsdrápa
Ragnarsdrápa
Ragnarsdrápa is a skaldic poem composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero Ragnar Lodbrok. It is attributed to the oldest known skald Bragi Boddason who lived in the 9th century, and composed for the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Bragi describes the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had...
for the Swedish king Björn at Hauge. However, this does not correspond to what we know about the historical Ragnar. It is consequently said that in the Norse sagas, he was identified with a Swedish king Ragnar (770-785), the son of Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
. According to legend, he married Aslaug
Aslaug
Aslaug, Aslög, Kraka, Kráka or Randalin, was a queen of Scandinavian mythology who appears in Snorri's Edda, the Völsunga saga and the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok.-The Legendary Aslaug:...
and became the son-in-law of Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
the Völsung.
In popular culture
- In The Vikings (1958 film), Ragnar, played by Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, is captured by King Aella of Northumbria and cast into a pit of ferocious dogs. His son Einar (presumably a variation of the historical IvarIvar the BonelessIvar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless , was a Viking leader and by reputation also a berserker. By the late 11th century he was known as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok, ruler of an area probably comprising parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden.-Invader:In the autumn of AD 865, with his...
), played by Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, vows revenge and conquers NorthumbriaNorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. - In the PC game Civilization IIICivilization IIISid Meier's Civilization III, commonly shortened to Civ III or Civ 3, is the third installment of the Sid Meier's Civilization turn-based strategy computer game series. It was preceded by Civilization II and followed by Civilization IV. The game offers very sophisticated gameplay in terms of both...
, included in the Play the World and Conquests expansion packs, Ragnar is the leader of ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. - In the PC game Civilization IVCivilization IVSid Meier's Civilization IV is a turn-based strategy, 4X computer game released in 2005 and developed by lead designer Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and Meier's studio Firaxis Games. It is the fourth installment of the Civilization series...
, included in the expansion packs Beyond the SwordCivilization IV: Beyond the SwordCivilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second official expansion pack of the turn-based strategy video game Civilization IV. The expansion focuses on adding content to the in-game time periods following the invention of gunpowder, and includes more general content such as 11 new scenarios, 10 new...
and WarlordsCivilization IV: WarlordsCivilization IV: Warlords is the first official expansion pack of the critically acclaimed turn-based strategy video game Civilization IV.-Features:Warlords added many new features to the original game...
, Ragnar is the leader of the Viking civilization. - Ragnar is the name of The NFL FootballNFL FootballNFL Football is a 1989 football video game, developed by Enteractive and published by LJN exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System.- Gameplay modes :This game was the first to get an official National Football League license...
team The Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
' mascot
External links
- Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda and Ragnars saga loðbrókar in Old Norse from «Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad» Norway.