The champion who comes into Odin’s dwelling (Valhalla) does not lament his death. Soon we shall be drinking ale from the curved horns. “It gladdens me to know that Baldr’s father (Odin) makes ready the benches for a banquet. In it are the last words that Ragnar apparently spoke before being thrown into the snake pit: The Krákumál (written in Iceland sometime during the 12th century) seems to support the theory that King Aelle was responsible for Ragnar’s death. It is also widely accepted that the sons of Ragnar avenged his death by killing Aelle if this is true, then perhaps this helps to point towards a more probable version of events. Equally, more than one literary source recounts the tale of a bloody feud between Ragnar and King Aelle. Records written by Frankish monks around the time of the attack on Paris suggest that the citizens of the great city, barricaded within its walls due to the Viking invasion, succumbed to some sort of disease. Another version sees our protagonist meeting a grisly end after developing dysentery or cholera whilst invading Paris.Īfter reviewing the evidence (I use that term loosely due to its obvious flaws!) available, I find both scenarios very plausible. The most popular theory is that he was slain by King Aelle of Northumbria, who threw him into a pit of vipers. Much of what we know about Ragnar comes from the sagas and poetry, most of which was written at least a century after his supposed death!Įven Ragnar’s death is subject to controversy.
Some even said that he was a direct descendant of Odin! He was said to have been a highly skilled (and feared) warrior. The Paris raid was well documented by Frankish scholars and monks, and all of them seem to place the blame firmly at Ragnar’s door.ĭespite being hailed for his prowess and influence concerning many major Viking Age events, experts now believe that other notable figures could be credited with most of them, for example:Īccording to literary sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a long-reigning king of both Denmark and part of Sweden.
Historically speaking, the one event that I can be categorically convinced that Ragnar actually attended was the first Viking raid on Paris, which means that he must have been born sometime around 815 – 820 (the Paris raid took place in 845). Well, the first thing I should point out is that ‘Lothbrok’ was not his real surname – it was in fact a nickname! Roughly translated, ‘Lothbrok’ means ‘hairy breeches’ in Old Norse. Largely thanks to the Vikings TV series, the name Ragnar Lothbrok remains infamous even now, over 1000 years after his supposed death.īut who exactly was Ragnar? Did he even exist? And if he did exist, was he exactly as he is portrayed in popular culture?
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