Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye

When Sigurd was three years old, two half-brothers were killed by the Swedish King Eysteinn Beli. His mother asked Sigurd's older brothers to avenge the deaths, but they (including Ivar the Boneless) feared that the Swedish king's magic was too powerful (they heard that he had a magic cow!). Three-year-old Sigurd wanted to attack, however, which encouraged the others to gather ships and men. They succeeded in killing Eysteinn.

In his Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danish People"), Saxo Grammaticus writes that Sigurd was close to his father, Ragnar Lodbrok, traveling with Ragnar in Scotland and being named sub-ruler of conquered territories. We also learn that Sigurd went with Ragnar through the Kievan Rus all the way to the Hellespont.

When Ragnar died (killed by Ælla of Northumbria, prompting Ragnar's sons to launch the Great Heathen Army), Sigurd inherited the island of Zealand, the province of Scania and Halland, the Danish islands, and Viken (the strait between Norway, Sweden, and Jutland). He is also referred to in many records as the co-ruler of Denmark with his older brother Halfdan (who was away most of the time with the Great Heathen Army).

The "evidence" of co-rulership comes from Frankish sources that mention Sigfred and Halfdan as rulers in 873 (The names "Sigfrid" and "Sigurd" were often mixed up in literature). The known Danish King Harthacanute (not this one in England, but an earlier designated with a "I" in Denmark) was the son of "Sigurd" in the proper time frame.

What about Sigurd's nickname? It is said he was born with a mark in his left eye that looked like a snake. You might spot the difference in the 1670 engraving pictured above.

Some of the above comes from  Ragnarssona þáttr, "The Tale of Ragnar's sons." It mentions that, when word came of Ragnar's death, two of Ragnar's son, Björn Ironside and Hvitserk ("white shirt," believed to be a nickname of Halfdan) were playing tafl. That reference got me looking into tafl, a table game several forms of which have been played for centuries. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

The Great Heathen Army

There was an invasion in England in 865 by a coalition of Scandinavian warriors referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the Great Heathen Army or the Viking Great Army. It was supposedly commanded by Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubba, who were three of the five sons of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok. For 14 years they fought the resident Anglo-Saxons, starting from their landing spot in East Anglia and moving north to York and then south through Nottingham and Cambridge down to London. Let's talk about the three brothers.

Ivar the Boneless was actually discussed over a decade ago in this post. Although "Boneless" (see the link, although there are several theories) he was considered wise and cunning, and a master of battle strategy. Ivar and Ubba are credited with killing Edmund the Martyr when the army returned to East Anglia in 869. Ivar died in 870.

Ubba's existence and role in the Great Heathen Army are fairly sketchy. From the Historia de sancto Cuthberto ("History of Saint Cuthbert") we are told that he was a dux ("leader, duke") of the Frisians, but that the army was Scaldingi, meaning they were either Scyldings (an ancient designation mentioned in the poem Beowulf from which the kings of Denmark claimed descent), or they were from the river Scheldt, meaning Ubba was from an island in the mouth of the Scheldt in Northern France that was granted to a Viking named Herioldus in 841 by King Lothair I.

The Battle of Arx Cynuit, mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Vita Alfredi, was a loss for the Heathen Army. The army's leader was killed according to the chronicles, but not named; he is only designated the brother of Ivar and Halfdan. Contemporary records do not say that Ivar and Ubba were brothers; that link comes later in the 11th-century Annals of St. Neots.

Halfdan is better attested in history, because he became King of Jorvik (York), King of Dublin, and co-ruler of Denmark. I'll explain how he managed all that tomorrow.

The Saxon Wars, Phase 2

The Saxon Wars (see Part 1) were a series of campaigns led by Charlemagne to incorporate and Christianize Saxony. A first phase was complete by 779CE, with three of the four Saxon areas conquered; Nordalbingia would come later.

There was peace for a few years after that. In 782, Charlemagne returned to Saxony with the goal of making sure their code of laws conformed to his own ideas of justice. This code of laws was the Lex Frisionum, the "Law of the Frisians." He held a gathering of Saxon nobles, but there was one notable exception: Widukind was instead staying with the Danish king Sigurd (father of Ragnar Lodbrok). It might not have been difficult to have the native peoples adopt the new laws, but it was particularly harsh regarding pagan practices.

In autumn of 782, Widukind returned and led a revolt that burned several Christian churches and invaded the Chatti, a Germanic tribe that had been converted by St. Boniface and who were firmly part of the Frankish empire. Charlemagne was busy fighting the West Slavic Sorbs (Serbs), and in his absence Widukind defeated a Frankish army at the Battle of Süntel, killing the leaders and many other nobles. Charlemagne retaliated by killing 4500 rebels in a single day, referred to as the Massacre at Verden.

Charlemagne stayed in Saxony for two solid years of fighting. The Saxon rebels were reduced sufficiently that Widukind himself gave in and had himself baptized in 785. The major battles for Frankish rule over Saxony were done, but sporadic revolts continued for another two decades. The Nordalbingian Saxons were subdued in 798 by allies of Charlemagne, the Obotrites, a confederation of West Slavic tribes near what is now Mecklenburg. The Obotrites had also helped Charlemagne put down an Engrian revolt in 796.

In 797, Charlemagne started backing away from some of the harsher penalties, and in 802 codified Saxon common law. He also established bishoprics in Paderborn, Munster, Bremen, Verden and others.

Widukind's particular entry in this blog (see paragraph two) labels him only as Charlemagne's enemy. His conversion after his strong opposition to Frankish invasion seems unlikely, but of course there's a story behind it, which I will relate next time.

Vikings - Art Imitates Life

A new TV show started in 2013 and has proven popular enough that it has been renewed for a couple more seasons. It is called "The Vikings." Its historicity would not be very satisfying to scholars, but it is very popular with audiences.

It centers on the character of Ragnar Lodbrok (in Old Norse that would look like Ragnarr Loðbrók). The saga of Ragnar is attached to the Norse Völsunga Saga ["Saga of the Volsungs," a clan that included Sigurd and therefore inspired the Nibelungenlied, the "Song of the Nibelungs"]. It tells us of Ragnar's quest for a wife, then for another wife, and of the deeds of their sons.

Ragnar actually had three marriages (in legend, that is: the exact truthfulness of the details of his existence cannot be proven). His first was to Lagertha, a Danish shield maiden. In the history written by Saxo Grammaticus, Lagertha got Ragnar's attention when she dressed as a man to fight against the Swedes who had killed King Siward of Norway. They married and had a son and two daughters.

Ragnar divorced her, however, so that he could marry Thora Borgarhjortr, the daughter of King Herraudr of Sweden. Despite that betrayal, Lagertha came to his aid when he dealt with a civil war in Denmark.*

Even later, Ragnar supposedly married Aslaug, who was the daughter of Sigurd (who killed Fafnir the Dragon in the Nibelungenlied) and Brunhild the Valkyrie. (It gets a little more mythical than usual here.)

Ragnar became a scourge of England and France. The invasion and pillaging of Paris on 28 March 845 is attributed to him.

King Aelle of Northumbria (who died on 21 March 867) was one of the English that Ragnar annoyed.  Aelle captured Ragnar and threw him in a pit of snakes. This would have happened prior to 865: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 865 states that the Great Heathen Army that invaded England was led by Ragnar's sons to avenge their father.

*On the TV show, the marriage between Ragnar and Lagertha didn't survive the first season; the writers had him take up directly with the seductive Aslaug, skipping over the more likely marriage to Thora.