Ragnar is the first real Viking personality to emerge from the hazy accounts of the period but in many ways he still belongs more in the fable-filled pages of the sagas than amongst the sober entries in the chronicles.
Is Ragnar Lothbrok based on a real person?
In fact, Ragnar Lothbrock (sometimes called Ragnar Lodbrok or Lothbrok) was a legendary Viking figure who almost certainly existed, although the Ragnar in the Viking Sagas may be based on more than one actual person. The real Ragnar was the scourge of England and France; a fearsome Viking warlord and chieftain.
Is there any proof of Ragnar Lothbrok?
The only legitimate source for information on Ragnar Lothbrok is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of documents detailing Anglo-Saxon history originally published around the time Ragnar was said to exist. His name does appear, but there is a debate within the historical community if that's the same man.
How much of Vikings is true?
Although many of the characters in Vikings are based on historical figures, and a number of events actually happened, there are significant departures throughout. In order to create a seamless narrative and engaging story arc, historical events are often telescoped, combined, compressed, or otherwise altered.
Is Vikings based on a true story?
Yes and no. Like Vikings creator Michael Hirst, Vikings: Valhalla creator Jeb Stuart has taken a creative license to the true story of some of the most famous Vikings. Many parts of the series take inspiration from real people and historical events, but much of the drama is fictional for dramatic purposes.
Did Lagertha really exist?
According to Judith Jesch, the rich variety of tales in the first nine books of Saxo's Gesta, which include the tale of Lagertha, are "generally considered to be largely fictional".
Is Kattegat real?
In Vikings, Kattegat is a city located in Norway. In reality, Kattegat is not a city at all, though it's still located in the Scandinavian area. Kattegat is actually a sea area located between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Do Vikings still exist?
So do Vikings still exist today? Yes and no. No, to the extent that there are no longer routine groups of people who set sail to explore, trade, pillage, and plunder. However, the people who did those things long ago have descendants today who live all over Scandinavia and Europe.
Who is the most famous Viking?
Ragnar Lothbrok Arguably the most famous Viking warrior of them all, not least for his role as the leading protagonist in Vikings, the History Channel's popular drama.
Is Valhalla real?
Yes, it's based on history, but loosely so! Almost every character in Vikings: Valhalla is based on a real person. Leif Eriksson really did have an ambitious, murderous, hella cool sister named Freydis and Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin) was a true medieval power player.
Do people still believe in Odin?
Thor and Odin are still going strong 1000 years after the Viking Age. Many think that the old Nordic religion - the belief in the Norse gods – disappeared with the introduction of Christianity. However, it did not, but was instead practised secretly or under a Christian cloak.
Did Vikings: Valhalla really happen?
Is Vikings: Valhalla based on actual events? Yes, Vikings: Vallhalla is somewhat inspired by actual events that happened in history. Many of the characters and occurrences that take place in the well-written narrative are real.
Where is Kattegat?
The Kattegat (Danish: [ˈkʰætəkæt]; Swedish: Kattegatt [ˈkâtːɛˌɡat]) is a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Västergötland, Skåne, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden in the east.
Do Vikings still exist?
So do Vikings still exist today? Yes and no. No, to the extent that there are no longer routine groups of people who set sail to explore, trade, pillage, and plunder. However, the people who did those things long ago have descendants today who live all over Scandinavia and Europe.
Who is the most famous Viking?
Ragnar Lothbrok Arguably the most famous Viking warrior of them all, not least for his role as the leading protagonist in Vikings, the History Channel's popular drama.
Is Ragnar Lothbrok in Assassin's Creed Valhalla?
Therefore, when it comes to graves in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, one of the most sought-after is the laying place of Ragnar Lothbrok. The grave of Ragnar Lothbrok isn't the easiest to find. It's in a very special place that players will need to have keen eyes to find.
How old was the real Ragnar Lothbrok when he died?
And that he died after being cast into a pit of snakes sometime before 865. This puts his age at 45.
Who was Ragnar Lothbrok?
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a Danish king and Viking warrior who flourished in the 9th century. There is much ambiguity in w...
How did Ragnar Lothbrok die?
According to the Gesta Danorum of Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, Ragnar Lothbrok was captured by the Anglo-Saxon king Aella of Northumbria and...
What is Ragnar Lothbrok remembered for?
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a 9th-century Danish Viking king and warrior known for his exploits, for his death in a snake pi...
What is the story of Ragnar Lodbrok?
The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, Tale of Ragnar's Sons, and Heimskringla all tell of the Great Heathen Army that invaded England at around 866, led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok to wreak revenge against King Ælla of Northumbria who is told to have captured and executed Ragnar.
Who is Ragnar Lodbrok's father?
He also appears in Norse legends, and according to the legendary sagas Ragnarssona þáttr and Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum, Ragnar Lodbrok's father was the legendary king of the Swedes, Sigurd Ring.
What was Ragnar's nickname?
The unusual protective clothes that Ragnar wore, when attacking the serpent, earned him the nickname Lodbrok ("shaggy breeches"). His sons with Thora were Erik and Agnar. After Thora died, he discovered Kráka, a woman of outstanding beauty and wisdom living with a poor peasant couple in Norway, and married her.
What is Ragnar Lothbrok known for?
According to the traditional literature, Ragnar Lothbrok distinguished himself by conducting many raids against the British Isles and the Holy Roman Empire during the 9th century.
What was the name of the battle that the Vikings fought?
According to the contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser 's Life of Alfred, in 878 the "brother of Hingwar and Healfden", with a naval fleet, a contingent of the Great Heathen Army invaded Devon in England and fought the Battle of Cynwit. There the Vikings lost, their king slain and many dead, with few escaping to their ships. After the battle the Saxons took great plunder, and among other things the banner called "Raven". The early 12th century Annals of St Neots further state that "they say that the three sisters of Hingwar and Hubba, daughters of Lodebroch (Lodbrok), wove that flag and got it ready in one day. They say, moreover, that in every battle, wherever the flag went before them, if they were to gain the victory a live crow would appear flying on the middle of the flag; but if they were doomed to be defeated it would hang down motionless, and this was often proved to be so." This is among the earlier references to the legendary hero Ragnar Lodbrok.
What does the Sagas of Scandinavian Prehistory tell us about Ragnar?
In their accounts of his reign, the Sagas of Scandinavian Prehistory, known as fornaldarsaga tell more about Ragnar's marriages than about feats of warfare. According to the Sögubrot, "he was the biggest and fairest of men that human eyes have seen, and he was like his mother in appearance and took after her kin".
Who was the king of Sweden and Denmark?
Legendary king of Sweden and Denmark. Lothbrocus and sons Ivar and Ubba, 15th-century miniature in Harley MS 2278 folio 39r. Ragnar Lothbrok or Lodbrok ( Old Norse: Ragnarr Loðbrók, "Ragnar shaggy breeches", Modern Icelandic: Ragnar Loðbrók) is a legendary Viking hero, as well as a legendary Danish and Swedish king.
When did Ragnall sail?
He first sails out of the realm of Norse mythology and into something like history in 845. At that time a leader of this name, or perhaps the similar sounding ‘Ragnall’, is recorded as leading a fleet of 120 ships up the Seine to besiege Paris.
When an area became impoverished through raiding or dangerous through a more organized defense, they could melt away answer
Equally when an area became impoverished through raiding or dangerous through a more organized defense, they could melt away back to sea, only to appear again later in richer and more vulnerable places. The Vikings were highly mobile mariners, using the seas and rivers to launch lightning raids.
Did the Vikings leave any records?
Finding historical Vikings in the 9th century to base a whole TV series around is no easy matter. In the first place, none of the Vikings of that early era left any written records whatsoever to tell of their exploits. What we do have are the scant chronicles of the people they attacked and the much later saga legends which embroider their history ...
Was Ragnar a real Viking?
Ragnar is the first real Viking personality to emerge from the hazy accounts of the period but in many ways, he still belongs more in the fable-filled pages of the sagas than amongst the sober entries in the chronicles. That there even was a single Ragnar is still a matter of some debate due not least to the eagerness of contemporary writers to kill him off – something which is dutifully recorded a number of times, at a number of dates and accompanied by a number of different reasons.
How many sons did Aslaug and Lodbrok have?
Together, Lodbrok and Aslaug had at least four sons. Ivar the Boneless, also called Ivar Ragnarsson, earned his nickname because according to Norse legend, his legs were deformed, although some sources say that boneless referred to impotence and an inability to have children.
Who was the king of Sweden?
In the Norse legends, Sigurðr hringr, or Sigurd Ring, was the king of Sweden, and battled against the Danish leader Harald Wartooth; Sigurd defeated Harald and became king of both Denmark and Sweden. After his death, his son Ragnar Lodbrok succeeded him and took the throne. According to the sagas, Lodbrok and his sons killed Harald's son Eysteinn, and then led an invasion into England. According to the Icelandic saga Ragnarssona þáttr, The Tale of Ragnar's Sons, during this invasion, Lodbrok was captured and executed by the Nortumbrian king Ælla, and so his sons sought vengeance and attacked Ælla's stronghold. The legend holds that the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok then executed the Northumbrian king in retaliation, although English sources claim he died in battle at York.
How did Sigurd get his name?
Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye got his name from a mysterious serpent-shaped mark in one of his eyes. Sigurd married King Ælla's daughter Blaeja, and when he and his brothers divided Scandinavia, became king of Zealand, Halland, and the Danish islands.
Is Lodbrok a Viking?
In other words, Lodbrok is a literary composite of at least two different figures, as well as several Norse chieftains. However, several of his sons are documented as historical figures; Ivar the Boneless, Björn Ironside, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye are all considered part of Viking history.
Is Ragnar Lodbrok real?
Many people have heard of Ragnar Lodbrok, or Lothbrok, thanks to the History Channel drama series Vikings. However, the character of Ragnar isn't new—he's existed in Norse mythology for a long time. Let's take a look at who the real Ragnar Lodbrok was—or wasn't.
Did Lodbrok have children?
According to the Norse legends, Lodbrok had several sons by different women. In the Gesta Danorum, a book of Danish history written in the twelfth century by a Christian chronicler, he was first married to the shield maiden Lagertha, with whom he had at least one son and a daughter; Lagertha is largely believed to be representative of Thorgerd, a warrior goddess, and may be a mythical figure.
Is Ragnar Lodbrok a composite?
Ragnar Lodbrok Fast Facts. Historians aren't sure if Ragnar Lodbrok really existed ; it is most likely that he is a composite of multiple historical figures. The sons of Ragnar Lodbrok feature prominently in Norse mythology and history. According to legend, Lodbrok was a great warrior king who invaded England and West Frankia.
Who was Ragnar Lothbrok?
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a Danish king and Viking warrior who flourished in the 9th century. There is much ambiguity in what is thought to be known about him, and it has its roots in the European literature created after his death.
Who played Ragnar in Vikings?
In the early 21st century he was a central figure in the popular television series Vikings. Vikings: Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok. Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok in the TV series Vikings, 2016.
What was Ragnar's motivation?
…brothers’ motivation was to avenge their father, who had died after being captured while raiding the kingdom of Northumbria. Ragnar supposedly had been cast into a pit full of venomous snakes by order of the Northumbrian king Aella. Ivar’s forces landed in the kingdom of East Anglia, where they met…
What is a legend?
Formerly the term legend meant a tale about a saint. Legends resemble folktales in content; they may include supernatural beings, elements of mythology, or explanations of natural phenomena, but they are associated with a particular locality….
Who was the Viking king who was killed by a snake pit?
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a 9th-century Danish Viking king and warrior known for his exploits, for his death in a snake pit at the hands of Aella of Northumbria, and for being the father of Halfdan, Ivar the Boneless, and Hubba, who led an invasion of East Anglia in 865.
Who captured Ragnar?
According to Saxo’s legendary history, Ragnar was eventually captured by the Anglo-Saxon king Aella of Northumbria and thrown into a snake pit to die. This story is also recounted in the later Icelandic works Ragnars saga loðbrókar and Þáttr af Ragnarssonum.
Where did Ivar's forces land?
Ivar’s forces landed in the kingdom of East Anglia, where they met…. Viking. Viking, member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century and whose disruptive influence profoundly affected European history.
Who is the real Ragnar Lothbrok?
THE REAL RAGNAR LOTHBROK. Dusted off and brought into the limelight in History Channel’s TV-series Vikings, Ragnar Lothbrok has risen to fame anew more than a millennia after his death.
Who plays Ragnar in Vikings?
What matters is that a man’s legend lives on more than a thousand years after his death. That is absolutely amazing. Ragnar Lothbrok portrayed by Travis Fimmel in the TV-series Vikings. Page one of the Gesta Danorum.
What does Ragnar do in the saga?
The sagas describe Ragnar as a badass fantasy hero who begins his career with killing a Lindworm and freeing a virgin. He did this while wearing “hairy armour” during the fight that protected him from the Lindworm’s poison.
Is Ragnar a Viking?
Summary: There is no doubt that there must’ve been a legendary Viking by the name of Ragnar.
Who exiled Bjorn and Hasting?
According to Willliam the king “Lothbroc” exiled his son Bjorn and his friend Hasting. The tale then continues to account for the adventures of Bjorn (who is invincible thanks to a magic potion given to him by his mother) and his friend Hasting as they ravage France for three decades.
Who was the leader of the Vikings who sailed the Seine, plundered the surroundings and besie
That simple sentence links the name “Ragnar” with the Viking leader who sailed the River Seine, plundered the surroundings and besieged Paris in 845. The city was protected by Charles the Bald’s men, but they fled when the Vikings killed prisoners right before their eyes and hung 111 of them.
Is Ragnar Lothbrok related to Rollo?
First of all, Ragnar wasn’t the brother of Rollo as seen in the TV-series. Rollo is a historically verified person who lived later on and Ragnar Lothbrok isn ’t mentioned anywhere in those sources.
Who is Bjorn Ironside?
We have all heard the name of Bjorn Ironside from the popular TV show "Vikings ," according to which he was the first son of Ragnar Lothbrok and his first wife, Lagertha.
What is the greatest story of the Vikings?
Telling tales has always been an important part of life for the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe, but the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons is one of the greatest stories of the Viking Age. For more than a millennium, it has captivated audiences, from medieval mead halls to a 21st-century TV series. Even centuries later, it seemed to gain a new life by being told and retold again. However, this tale, just like many others, has never been proved to be historically accurate.
What is the epithet of Ivar the Boneless?
Ragnar's saga tells us that Ivar was unable to walk and had to be carried everywhere. But this piece of writing is a later source, and it isn't the only place we find information on Ivar the Boneless.
Who was the king of Denmark?
Frankish sources at the time mention Horik, the king of Denmark, who was being undermined by the West Frankish king Louis the Pious. But after Charlemagne, standards slipped, and the Frankish army was now only a shadow of its former self. After Horik successfully fought off attacks from his rivals, the full ferocity of the Norse men was about to come crashing down catastrophically.
Who killed the dragon Fafnir?
Most of us have even read of the Old Norse king Sigurd, a legendary Viking warrior who killed the dragon Fafnir, stabbing him directly in the heart.
Do people like heroes from the past?
It often seems that people don't like heroes from the present as much as they respect the ones from the past . Once a warrior is slain, he's no longer a subject of envy, and his abilities are no longer a threat to society. In fact, he is no longer human but part of an ever-lasting legend that will continue to enthrall generations ahead.
What is the story of Ragnar Lothbrok?
Eleanor Parker tells the story of the ultimate Norse legend: Ragnar Lothbrok. This competition is now closed. Published: December 6, 2019 at 10:44 am.
Who is Ragnar based on?
One candidate for the figure on whom Ragnar might be based is a Viking leader from Denmark named Reginheri, who attacked Paris in 845.
What is Ragnar's name?
By the end of the medieval period, Ragnar’s name was familiar to people across Scandinavia and the British Isles. But it was in the 16th and 17th centuries – as scholars began to rediscover Old Norse and Old English texts, plus the work of Saxo Grammaticus – that the modern Ragnar was born. In 1636, the Danish scholar Ole Worm translated Krákumál, an Old Norse poem about Ragnar’s death, into Latin, and it quickly became popular with readers in Britain. Krákumál was usually known in English as ‘The Death-Song of Ragnar Lothbrok’, and for 17th-century readers it seemed to offer an exciting glimpse of a Viking culture imbued with savage, pagan glamour. It provided a romantic image of a heroic and fearless Viking: glorying in battle and bloodshed, eager to enter Valhalla and feast with the gods for eternity.
How many sons did Ragnar have?
By these wives, Ragnar had at least eight sons – Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Ubbe among their number. These offspring were just as warlike as Ragnar and – courtesy of their own escapades – ensured that their father’s name lived on long after he met his death.
How long have Ragnar and his sons been around?
Stories about Ragnar and his sons have been told for almost a thousand years, and even today new legends about these archetypal Viking warriors continue to be created.
How did Ragnar get the nickname "Lothbrok"?
One of Ragnar’s adventures explains how he got the nickname ‘Lothbrok’ while winning Thora, one of his wives. Thora was the daughter of a powerful earl, and one day her father gave her a little snake as a present. She kept the snake as a pet, but it quickly grew into a huge, poisonous serpent that terrorised the neighbourhood.
What did Ragnar do?
The son of a king of Denmark and Sweden, he fought giant snakes, led armies into battle, conquered vast swathes of Scandinavia, and terrorised the unsuspecting people of the British Isles. Many, if not all, of Ragnar’s adventures are mythical – the product of Norse chroniclers’ vivid imaginations.
Who is Ragnar Lothbrok based on?
The figure of Ragnar Lothbrok is believed to have been based on three different men: Viking leader Reginherus , King Horik I of Denmark (who appears in the series), and King Reginfrid. With that in mind, the “real” Ragnar died in different ways.
Who threw Ragnar Lothbrok into the pit of snakes?
The legend of Ragnar Lothbrok says that he died just like in the series: thrown into a pit of snakes by King Aelle, but the trick here is that Ragnar’s existence is unclear, and the Viking warrior everyone knows might actually be a combination of different real-life people, with a dose of fiction to add to the legend.
What episode did Ragnar get thrown into a pit of snakes?
Ragnar Lothbrok, for example, is a big mystery, but Vikings took many details from the legends of the great Ragnar. In season 4’s episode “All His Angels”, after torturing him and cutting a cross into his head, King Aelle threw Ragnar into a pit of snakes, from which he couldn’t (nor tried to) escape. The legend of Ragnar Lothbrok says that he died ...
Is Vikings a historical drama?
Although Vikings is a historical drama and Hirst made a lot of research when developing the series, thus taking many elements from history, it also had to make some up so it could tell the desired stories, more so as there are not many records on the characters depicted in the show. Ragnar Lothbrok, for example, is a big mystery, ...
Overview
Ragnar Lodbrok was a legendary Viking hero, as well as a legendary Danish and Swedish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of the Viking Age, Icelandic sagas, and near-contemporary chronicles. According to the traditional literature, Ragnar distinguished himself by conducting many raids against the British Isles and the Holy Roman Empire during the 9th century. He also appears in Norse le…
Accounts
According to the Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok, Tale of Ragnar's Sons, Heimskringla, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum, and many other Icelandic sources, Ragnar was the son of the king of Sweden Sigurd Ring. Nearly all of the sagas agree that the Danish king Randver was Sigurd's father, with the Hervarar saga citing his wife as Åsa, the daughter of King Harald of the Red Mo…
Ragnar's sons
The Great Heathen Army is said to have been led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, to wreak revenge against King Ælla of Northumbria who had previously executed Ragnar by casting him into a pit full of venomous snakes. Among the organizers were at least some of the brothers: Ivar the Boneless, Ubba, Halfdan, Björn Ironside, Hvitserk, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, all of whom are known as …
Sources and historical accuracy
Whereas Ragnar's sons Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Björn Ironside, Ubba and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye are historical figures, opinion regarding their father is divided. Contemporary academia regards most of the stories about him to be fiction. According to Hilda Ellis Davidson, writing in 1979,
Certain scholars in recent years have come to accept at least part of Ragnar's …
In literature and media
Ragnar Lodbrok features prominently in the following works:
• Edwin Atherstone's 1830 novel Sea-Kings in England.
• Edison Marshall's 1951 novel The Viking.
• "Ragnar le Viking", a 1955 comic book feature written by Jean Ollivier with art by Eduardo Teixeira Coelho, that ran in the French Vaillant magazine up to 1969.
See also
• List of legendary kings of Denmark
• List of legendary kings of Sweden
Further reading
• Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram, and Frederik Pedersen (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82992-5.
• "Krákumál", Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Vol. 17 (2001), p. 299-302.
• McTurk, Rory (1991). Studies in Ragnars saga loðbrókar and Its Major Scandinavian Analogues. Medium Aevum Monographs. Vol. 15. Oxford. ISBN 0-907570-08-9.