Brutal revenge by Viking army: The Blood Eagle | Lars Brownworth and Lex Fridman
A discussion about the legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok's death by snake pit and his sons' brutal revenge through the Great Heathen Army invasion of England. The conversation details how King Aella of Northumberland executed Ragnar, leading to his sons' conquest of England and the horrific blood eagle execution performed on Aella.
Summary
The conversation begins with Ragnar Lothbrok returning to Denmark with 7,000 pounds of silver from Charles the Bald, making him so wealthy and powerful that the Danish king views him as a threat and encourages him to leave. Ragnar spends about 15 years raiding England before being shipwrecked and captured by King Aella of Northumberland. Aella attempts to execute Ragnar by throwing him into a pit of vipers, but initially fails because Ragnar's hairy breeches protect him from the snake bites. While being bitten, Ragnar sings hymns to Odin. When pulled out and questioned about his survival, Ragnar foolishly reveals the secret of his protective clothing. Aella removes the breeches and throws Ragnar back into the pit, where he dies after delivering prophetic last words: 'when the boar bleeds, the piglets come,' referring to his twelve sons who would avenge him. His sons, including the notably named Ivar the Boneless, lead the Great Heathen Army to invade and conquer England. Their revenge culminates in capturing King Aella and performing the first recorded blood eagle execution on him - a horrific torture method where the victim's lungs are removed while alive and placed on their back to flutter like wings when they attempt to breathe.
Key Insights
- Ragnar's wealth of 7,000 pounds of silver from Charles the Bald made him so powerful that it threatened the Danish king's authority
- King Aella's initial execution attempt failed because Ragnar wore protective hairy breeches that prevented snake bites
- Ragnar's last words 'when the boar bleeds, the piglets come' prophesied that his twelve sons would avenge his death
- Ivar the Boneless led the Great Heathen Army and performed the first blood eagle execution on King Aella as revenge for his father's death
- The blood eagle torture method involves removing lungs from a living victim and placing them on their back to flutter like wings when breathing
Topics
Transcript
[0:02] So this he gets about 7,000 lb of silver from Charles the Bald, which destroys essentially destroys Charles the Bald's kingship. But he goes back home to to Denmark and the Danish king doesn't want him around because he's too powerful, he's too rich, he's a ring giver. You know, think Beowulf here, right? He's he's got this large personal army which wants to join him for a bit he can do you know, they'll follow him and he is a threat and so he is he kind of is encouraged to go elsewhere. He ends up [0:33] raiding England for something like 15 years. And then there's a probably the most famous bit of the story is he…
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