The Tale of Ragnar Lothbrok // Icelandic Saga // 13th Century

To coincide with the start of season 6 of the TV series Vikings, here we have where it all began...
Written in the 13th century in Iceland, the Tale Of Ragnar Lothbrok (Ragnars saga loðbrókar) tells the story of the legendary Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, a story of love, tragedy, trickery and of course - a dragon.
And yes! Voices of the Past now has a Patreon:
/ voicesofthepast
So if you want more of this content and believe what the channel is doing is important, please head over and support us. I am still working my day job, so every cent really does help out.
This video is part of Vikings Month - so please check out these other excellent videos!
• VIKINGS MONTH - DECEMB...
- How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.
- Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future.
- Music courtesy of:-
Epidemic Sound
- Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.
Thanks to:
Paul VanDerWerf
Louis Moe [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)]

[@VoicesofthePast]

Hi guys, if you like this content and want to support, the new patreon is patreon.com/voicesofthepast Enjoy the video!

[@bryanpatrickmchugh]

You should set up a Ko-Fi account as well. Some people prefer that. Great work by the way!

[@emeraldamethyst6197]

Thanks for the time and care put into a biography about myself and I am truly honored everytime.

[@Polderjongen]

Voices of the Past what do you mean cornfields ? There were no cornfields in Europe back then

[@davidmarland]

I know this reply it has been three years but corn in UK can refer to any grain.@@Polderjongen

[@gideonjones8088]

"Man, isn't peace just so nice? A life of war would suck." Sees two armies fighting a war "Hey, a war! I wonder which side is the good guys here? Sees a pretty girl leading one army "Screw the peaceful life, this war's got babes!"

[@ogrehaslayers605]

Haha right? My thoughts exactly!

[@Artur_M.]

This was more like a fantasy novel than I expected.

[@subutaynoyan5372]

@@Raventooth Most possibly, he was a famous chieftain that which a lot of other people claimed kinship to. We do know Ivar, Sigurd, Ubbe and Bjorn Ironside all lived. And they all were known as Ragrarsson. But there is not even a slightest clue of his existence than that

[@jdhed1]

When did you expect it?

[@Artur_M.]

@@jdhed1 Ha, thanks! I didn't notice that. I'm not a native speaker and I don't actually speak English everyday, so apparently I keep making dumb little mistakes like that. It's fixed now.

[@markmorris7123]

@@Raventooth how do you know.. It was over a thousand years ago.. He was probably real and then got fictionised over time.. Just like king Arthur and Henry the 8th...For a couple centuries people believed Henry was anointed by God at Sollamons temple

[@KevinUchihaOG]

@@markmorris7123 That's why he said "not as much real life". Meaning the story of ragnar is mostly myths/legends but there are some grains of truth laying underneath.

[@wendys390]

Ragnar gets around....a wife in every port!

[@tarajh]

And yet is somehow unfailingly devoted to each of them! 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@wendys390]

Tara H. That happened to me once. I mean, I just COULDNT decide.

[@wendys390]

This is an entertaining Comments section, thumbs up :)

[@jt_norway9129]

"En pige i hver havn, formoder jeg?" 😀🙌 Nordmannen er jo så litterlig populær, så ingen overraskelse der nei 😎

[@notasmith8163]

“Oh how the pigs will grunt...”

[@renealbrechtsen9743]

"When they hear how the old boar suffered."

[@maisiecarruthers695]

Little piggies wasn't it on Vikings anyway and I think I missed it on Saturday lol

[@notasmith8163]

Micah Carruthers Well the prophecy of pigs was supposedly his actual last words. Vikings just paraphrased it.

[@maisiecarruthers695]

@@notasmith8163 yeah I only knew because I just binged watched the last three seasons lol

[@cristsan4171]

The cage: for the last time, I'm not Nicholas Nicholas: I'm the cage Credit scene: cage Nicholas

[@jcastle614]

Just recently found this channel,as a lifelong history buff this may be one of the coolest things I've discovered!! This is the closest I can get to time travel! Thanks 😊 keep it coming.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Welcome! 😁

[@gubiousofthebluegrass5645]

J.R.R and George R.R. both heavily “borrowed “ from this saga obviously. This was truly epic. Thanks great channel!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@abradolfhonkler9287]

Tolkien read the Sagas in their original language. That dude was so impressive in so many ways.

[@santyclause8034]

yebbut what's with all the R's?

[@davidicus6791]

George Martin got most his inspiration from the scotland medieval history.

[@ollielong630]

@@davidicus6791 he got a lot from the war of the roses. Stark and lannister was York and Lancaster. Theres tons more.

[@kevinmulcahy7991]

Brilliantly recited, with a true appreciation of the bardic traditions.

[@paul1x1]

Gotta say Vikings have the best names snake in the eye that's badass

[@paul1x1]

@Michael Kevin Millet I like snake but to each their own you're not a barber are you

[@paul1x1]

@Michael Kevin Millet years but your name isnt snake In the eye

[@paul1x1]

@Michael Kevin Millet I'm thinking of getting my name changed to snake in the ass

[@Bluebelle51]

I freaking LOVE Norse nicknames, Kjetill Flatnose, Old Fart the Champion, Erik Blood Ax, Thord the Menace, Gunnslaug Serpent Tongue, Rollo the Walker and that's just the men's nicknames I can think of in the middle of the night

[@heathenwolf4997]

That was more a nickname. They had better nicknames then actual names.

[@blink2665]

I realise how bad i miss Ragnar when he died

[@joedemelfie5509]

Well he died over a millenia ago and you hardly knew him but good to know you missed him.... or maybe the actor who portrayed him in the role on vikings history ch tv show? Lol jk

[@heathenwolf4997]

Ragnar and Floki is 2 of my favs. Third is Bjorn

[@RENZEENO]

@@joedemelfie5509 loool spot on

[@kaltonian]

I will one day as this such a great channel, it is important to have an eye on the past, especially with history and stories told so well such as these, I love the accounts of passers by or just general observations made by bystanders as it tells and shows a different perspective,. I could go on but the will leave it at that, keep up the great work

[@JP-yw4wx]

Very enlightening part of history. Thanx for the educative lesson. 👏

[@magickriver]

Beautifully told & presented, David!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks! 😁

[@gumpwynn3142]

Love your channel. Thank you.

[@YanoshRagauld]

Fantastic work as always.. Thankyou so much,, Your channel seems to be some of the steadiest and reliable content available. (There's no attempting to constantly hijack viewers attention, as your content is made so well and is full of interest, intrigue and to hear those voices of the past makes it so full and real. Superdooper. Pssst.. How's about doing an hour episode about Grim the Dane ,Grimsby's founder (and child king savoir) Havelock the Dane). Hevelock did go back and successfully claimed his kingship too!. The makings if an A list film right there!. Best regards amigo.

[@bjornnylander8754]

Ragnar Lodbrok or Lothbrok a legendary Viking hero, a legendary Danish and Swedish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of the Viking Age, Icelandic sagas, and near-contemporary chronicles. Son of the Swedish Viking king Sigurd ring and Alfhild Gandolfsdatter.

[@KarlKarsnark]

Sneaking up on 100k subs....well deserved!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Little by little!

[@nanphx2038]

Another excellent presentation!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks!

[@jamminwithjambo7729]

Great story telling and voice. Enraptured!!!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@jamminwithjambo7729]

@Michael Kevin Millet Yep😀

[@AsttoScott]

"magic mirror" did you just describe the first eye witness account of an actual picture of some one being taken out and shown to another person?

[@NeilRoy]

Proof of time travel. Probably a cell phone. ;)

[@mirzaahmed6589]

That's what they called Tinder back in the day.

[@Sunil5291]

Wonderful narration!!

[@MichaelmaxxxxX]

This is amazing! Thank you.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelmaxxxxX]

@@VoicesofthePast love your content. Unique and informative, not to mention very cool hearing narration from primary source.

[@danielgreen2788]

thank you, such inspiration

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks!

[@jacobd9114]

sir you have done the world a great service for making these videos. The History channel should be sponsoring you.

[@gryffin638]

This was amazing!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks!

[@aarondemiri486]

wonderful video really interested in reading the viking sagas now

[@danielbakergill]

Long overdue. Signed up at the highest tier. I feel like I'm in on the ground floor of a really sensational channel. Gotta get those exclusive season-1 t-shirts when they launch--

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks for signing up! Cracking business. Thanks for having faith in the channel!

[@robmitchel5166]

Great video as always. You and your brother have such great content. Never boring! Always intriguing.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@crazyhorse1879]

Absolutely enjoy this channel..from OKC

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks!

[@KingNoTail]

Love listening to the sagas.

[@iLLeag7e]

You guys do good work. Cheers from Colorado

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks pal!

[@johnv6806]

Awesome visuals!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks pal!

[@nickkarlsons673]

This is a great video

[@rasmuskjrbyepetersen8862]

Great work! And an interesting source as well. I've never heard this particular saga before. Do you have a link to the text?

[@mangot589]

Lovely reading! Brilliant.

[@josephbrunelle2111]

History is the best and purest subject second to mathematics. Love all history. So much to learn

[@MaycroftCholmsky]

Literally a hornier and more bearded version of Achilles xD

[@oldboy977]

Achilles is described in the Illiad as a massive bearded, longhaired and blonde man. Just saying.

[@oldboy977]

@Timothy Dexter just like Menelaus and Odysseus? Sulla, Commodus and Nero were all blonde too. That's just off the top of my head. I am fairly certain just based on the Roman and Homeric stuff I have read it was much more common back then.

[@FrenchToast663]

Wrong! No one can be hornier than Achilles

[@FrenchToast663]

@@oldboy977 A certain measure of naivete can excuse claims of the alleged blondeness of the ancient Greeks. Sometimes, the common-sense explanation of literary descriptions is conveniently discounted, and a generalization from sporadic references to blondes in ancient literature is performed without much thought. In an oft-used example, Orestes’ hair is described as fair, in Euripides’ Electra (line 515) as a dramatic device aiding Electra’s recognition of her brother from a lock of his hair on her father Agamemnon’s tomb. Clearly, if Orestes was depicted as brunet, the common Greek color, it would be impossible for Electra to identify him. Indeed, according to the poet, the person who left the fair lock on the tomb “certainly was no Argive” (line 517) suggesting that the inhabitants of Argos mostly had dark hair. Similarly, Demeter, the goddess of the corn is described as light-haired (xanthe) and so is Apollo, the god of light and the sun. Poseidon, the sea god is dark-haired (kuanochaites), as is Hades, god of the underworld, while Eos, the Dawn goddess is rosy-fingered (rhododaktylos). There are only four mortals in the Iliad who are described as xanthoi. From this scanty evidence, the generalization “the Achaeans were blonde” is arrived by the Nordicists. Does the absence of descriptions of brunets signify that there were no brunets in the southernmost extremity of Europe in Mycenaean times? Clearly, such a thesis overlooks the common use of color terms as distinctive attributes of their possessors. It is more reasonable to think that Menelaos and Achilleus are described as xanthoi, while hundreds of other heroes are not as indicative that these two possessed a trait which was otherwise uncommon, i.e., light pigmentation of hair. The same can be said for light eyes as well, and e.g., Athena’s light eyes caused the scorn of Hera and Aphrodite in a text by Hyginus who presumably did not have such eyes (Hyginus, Fabulae, Marsyas). We must also dispel the notion that xanthos always refers to yellow hair, or that purros refers to purely red hair. For the former, we note that Aristophanes used xanthizein to describe roasting meat, which of course does not turn yellow. Additionally, Strabo uses xanthotrichein and leukotrichein (making hair xanthon and making hair “white”) indicating that xanthon was a darker shade than extremely fair hair. George Cedrenus uses it to describe the eyes of the Virgin (xanthommaton); eyes are rarely yellow, unless jaundiced, which seems unlikely in this case. In modern Greek it may be used to describe any color short of black [22]. In ancient Greek, according to Barbara Fowler [28] was any color short of black or dark brown, while Wace [22] believes that it may have been at most auburn. Color terms are notoriously relative; xanthos may only be taken to mean the fair end of the Greek hair continuum, not blond. This impression is enhanced by the descriptions of northern European hair as polios (gray, usually of old people) or leukon (white) to be found in Greek literature (Diodorus Siculus, Adamantius Judaeus). As for purros it is noteworthy that the common Greek words for fiery red eruthros is not employed for hair, whilepurros is given by Aelius Herodianus (Partitiones 115, 10) for the color of eyes. Human eyes are never red, or so-called strawberry blond, but they are often of a brown tint mixed with red. It is certain that at least in some cases, reddish brown is intended, while in others, as e.g., in describing German hair, reddish blond may be appropriate, given the known pigmentation of Germans. It must also be remembered that no ethnic taxon of man is recorded as being primarily red-headed. Therefore, purros means having a red tinge, it does not mean redhead. It would be worthwhile to quote here in full, the opinion of British anthropologist John Beddoe [34]. Beddoe studied thousands of Britons and continental Europeans, and comparing his designations with that of other observers, came to realize the relativity of color terms: Thus almost all French anthropologists say that the majority of persons in the north of France are blond; whereas almost all Englishmen would say they were dark, each set of observers setting up as a standard what they are accustomed to see around them when at home. What is darkish brown to most Englishmen would be chestnut in the nomenclature of most Parisians, and perhaps even blond in that of Auvergne or Provence; an ancient Roman might probably have called it sufflavus or even flavus.

[@ofthecaribbean]

I wouldn't call him horny. If they were as beautiful as was described, only a homosexual could resist them. Plus, his first wife didn't want to come with him

[@thorgilohnstad1479]

Thanks!

[@fernandonovo6149]

Nice saga......interesting tale of the historic hero....thanks...🇨🇦

[@Iyumni]

Excellent telling of the tale; more enjoyable than the history channel show "Vikings".

[@camrendavis6650]

Here's to Ragnar Sigurdsson. The O'est of the G's. 🍺skål

[@hawkhatcher]

Skal

[@o.3464]

East Gothland could have been translated East Geatland to avoid the eternal name confusion with the island of Gotland. Thank you for great content!

[@zakattack8624]

Hahaha, Someone should make a film of that secret funeral attack. That was amazing.

[@CODmasterpwnage]

They did on Vikings

[@kcharles8857]

Great voice!

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks!

[@trukeesey8715]

4:51 contradicts itself in the next 2 clauses.

[@siechamontillado]

Less well known is Sigurd Ring's musician cousin, Sigurd Sing or the glitzy cousin, Sigurd Bling or the reeeeeeeeeally ugly cousin that never shaved, Sigurd Thing.

[@CODmasterpwnage]

👏

[@joedemelfie5509]

Nice to meet you David. Primary sources on st Patrick exploring Ireland at all?

[@cnilogisticscorp2917]

this stuff is good

[@MrLennybach]

I love these bed time stories lol

[@rogerhinman5427]

"Dressed in leather and smelling of pitch? What rude man are you? Ohhh...it's Ragnar! What a wonderful leather outfit!"

[@lisaa.4667]

Soon thereafter all of the nobility throughout the land wore leather smelling of pitch. It's too bad he didn't actually wear horns on his helmet.

[@JanWillemdeGeest]

Thanks a lot. Can you do Egil's Saga too?

[@user-sq1le3jd8i]

The ballad of shaggy breeches.

[@playerextremebr1.027]

I like that, have a sword & sorcery vibes for me.

[@mrdrose4005]

I miss you Ragnar gone too soon 💔 😢

[@arthurdowney2846]

The monster sounds like my overly possessive dog!

[@seand.g423]

Bruh, do we even want to know how you're able to feed it that many roadkill skunks?

[@thaboclive7308]

This is way different from what is displayed in the vikings series

[@juliangermanicusaugustusro1526]

Ragnar, the great viking warrior...Who is somehow completely faithful to all of his wives.

[@ghanashyamvn1762]

who else is obsessed with ragnar lothbroke

[@poutisinc.4211]

The first 30 seconds were really suprising. I never knew patreon was a thing in de 13th century and David didn't seem like a viking name. You learn something new every day.

[@chocolatefrenzieya]

More Vikings plotl ines!

[@aasgaardson]

Gives me goosebumps, my family chronicles says that I`m a descendent of Ragnar through Sigurd Worm in the Eye who married one of King Ellas daughters and had 4 children with her

[@petehill7280]

Is this from the Gesta Danorum, or the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok? It appears that you're using details from both, particularly with the presence of Lagertha here, as Lagertha only appears in the Gesta Danorum.

[@annalieff-saxby568]

Have you read "Amleth's Revenge" from the Gesta Danorum? The original text for Hamlet, and retold in a favulous rendition "reeking with musk and gore" called The Green Man, by Henry Treece.

[@vlamb4769]

"chattering magpies" is the Old Norse version of "a little birdie told me"

[@wendys390]

This is an entertaining Comments section :)

[@TheSeannypants]

Happy Ragnar Day Everyone.

[@thefunkosaurus]

Take note,... If you want to grow a Dragon, hatch a Griffin egg, and feed it 2 Princess hands.

[@wilhelm992]

So much better than the TV show, love the actors but the story trash. Keep up the amazing work.

[@VoicesofthePast]

Thanks buddy

[@brianpeck4035]

"Thou...called Leather Garments" I can imagine a translator calling this word combo "leather garments" at a loss to find a better alternative.

[@tedhinklater3203]

My 41st great grandfather.. Thank you for the tales

[@icoolmt4598]

Yeah yeah

[@Cokeastur]

Yeah sure... Keep dreaming. In fact never existed, is a mixture of different people. So good luck with that

[@Kokinos45]

🧢

[@seand.g423]

1:00-1:30 merely shows that it may go ye... Originality is as a corpse... Translation: suck it, Billy!

[@ThatIcelandicDude]

Ragnars saga Loðbrókar is not really an Icelandic saga though. Just being written in Iceland is not enough to be classified as one. An Icelandic saga (íslendinga Saga) is a saga specifically about Icelanders. There are different classifications for this. Ragnars saga Loðbrókar would fit in the fornaldarsögur norðurlanda (ancient nordic sagas) category i think. I don't remember all the categories but I know there are also íslendingaþættr (Icelandic short stories) And Konunga Sögur (King saga's) And more.

[@ThatIcelandicDude]

@Timothy Dexter Well there were plenty more 13th century saga writers in Iceland than Snorri Sturluson although he is definitely the most known and yes pretty much all the sagas are written in Iceland. But that doesn't make them Icelandic sagas. If you read my original comment I address that very point. It's not enough for them to have been written in Iceland to be classified as an Icelandic Saga. The Icelandic Sagas are a distinct group of Sagas specifically about Icelanders. Like Egils saga, Eiríks Saga, Njáls saga, Gísla saga etc. Ragnar Loðbrók was not an Icelander and thus his saga although written in Iceland not an Icelandic saga.

[@lsrpjune3500]

@@ThatIcelandicDude right, it’s just because the Icelanders were norse, so a lot of there history tends to have danish norweigan or Swedish history in them/ people, Icelanders were so new at the time, think of how the norse got their thoughts and ideas just from the indo Europeans, such as apparently odin was

[@mykulpierce]

I have an ancestor named Reginar, any Icelandic experts know if that is influenced by Viking etymology? Around 7th / 8th century

[@petehill7280]

Might be. 'Regin' means 'Wise', and 'ar' might be a conjugated form of 'Heer', meaning 'host', in the sense of 'military host'.

[@mykulpierce]

@@petehill7280 that would make sense, there are a few names that pop up going back that far that are generally Nicknames for military positions especially some of my frankish ancestors that received Roman commands. Thanks for feedback

[@agamemnon8163]

No 'reg' is the root of the modern word 'regular' and 'inar' is the root of the proto ido-European word 'eeinart' which means serf or worker in the context of agriculture . That name could be interpreted as 'regular serf' or 'normal farm hand'.

[@mykulpierce]

@@agamemnon8163 you realize that you incorrectly interpreted reg if going that route? Reg is a root from latin meaning to direct or rule. Meaning a word like regular is not the same a commoner it is to make orderly. Like the word Regicide means to kill a king. I was asking for Icelandic alternate meanings as I am well versed in the Latin.

[@hagsmunamadurinn]

Does not sound Icelandic. Sounds french.

[@Trollfagget]

Ragnaaar, Ragnar the Red! When he landed in England, everyone was dead!

[@williamreeve7397]

The Dragon part is remarkably similar to Beowulf

[@trukeesey8715]

Originally the monster may have been a tribe or king with a dragon totem.

[@angelno16]

There is a accounts of Ragnor in other books and English records.

[@weird-history-and-odd-news]

Hi there..... just wondering if you reviewed the auto-captioning on this one before the video was made public..... some of the auto-captions in this video are pretty bad... like being "pissed through the heart" instead of "pierced through the heart".....

[@Shaggarott]

Found out recently im supposedly a descendent of Ingvar and Ragnar. After i had watched the show. Pretty trippy.

[@oikakashi9394]

How

[@tompabay8721]

👍👍👍

[@KingFluffs]

4:00 If they've only just met them, then how do they know they killed their best blokes?

[@denisestevens2540]

It was her Stepmother! These are real life Fairy Tales.

[@northumbriabushcraft1208]

Wow, i wasn't expecting my people, the Northumbrians to have defeated him in battle at the end.

[@saintdizzle3758]

Theh didnt he gave himself willingly knowing his sons would avenge him n destroy the northumbrians

[@johnmanno9701]

Xena warrior princess meets the Vikings

[@terrialdrich9477]

So no more of your channel here?

[@phonotical]

Unless birth umbria shipped snakes in, what killed the king was an adder? Ineffective

[@WoodsLesnik]

6:40 sounds a lot like a crocodile

[@cristsan4171]

So they don't wear horned helmet with the horns on the inside of the helmet?

[@heathenwolf4997]

11:36 that's gorgeous. Denmark??

[@joelkavanagh1464]

,,, stunningly great stor%EYE Tale-INK ... .. . ... .... ...........

[@gigglypuff3589]

Am here after watching the series “Vikings”

[@kevgh3869]

Really?

[@Cokeastur]

Worst viking portrayal ever... Don't watch that. No historical accuracy, no historical costumes (vikings did not dressed like that). It's an entertaining crappy shitty tv show..

[@kevgh3869]

@@Cokeastur I liked it. I thought it was entertaining. I did not think it was going to teach me about the Viking age. Not everyone is stupid. Take the stick out of your rear.

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

You accidentally have some video in your adverts bro.

[@VoicesofthePast]

If you could watch all of them that'd be a great help

[@sibbebladh8661]

Ragnar is my ancestor

[@rdbchase]

"... and when he heard that the Danish islands had rebelled against his rule and became [sic] independent ..." -- "become"!

[@rdbchase]

@meg50 Plurality is irrelevant; "had ... become" is the past perfect tense and requires the past participle of "become" (which is also "become"), not the past tense "became"!

[@Frank-mm2yp]

Another version of BEOWULF. Kill the "monster"-get to marry the princess. No copywrite laws in those days.

[@Frank-mm2yp]

@Michael Kevin Millet Certainly. Read Joseph Campbell, if not Carl Jung, about "cultural archetypes", myths and legends across time and space in the history of humanity.

[@vibangigan5336]

Not really, Ragnar is a actual historical person he was romanticized but he actually lived but Beowulf is just a folktale that was being passed around even around the times of Ragnar.

[@NicNico]

2:58 So... Lagertha had "raven locks"? As in, black hair? Are we sure?

[@snowdog03]

There were brunettes in Norway as in Ireland.

[@alexman378]

Hildugard There were but the more famous drawing we have of her depicts her as a blonde.

[@shanicewallace161]

Trust me was thinking that

[@faravid1045]

The Scandinavian people have allways had, all from very dark brown to blonde hair. See the history about the first Scandinavian hunter gatherers. Im quite sure the raven locks in this case is dark brown. Or its just a metaphor for something we do not understand now. :)

[@bongfuhrer]

I would like to know the sources to this story, since the Norwegian-Icelandic sagas do not mention this story.

[@user-sq1le3jd8i]

What translation is this?

[@dlmdlm7685]

Lothbrok mean shagy pants like the ones he was wearing in the story. Not sure where you got that. Or just mixed up his son iron side maybe?

[@eeljn]

More than one legend of the mythical Ragnar, I think the one closest to reality is the account of Reginherus who sacked Paris in 845, upon his return to Denmark he died from a fatal case of the runs before King Horic the first. Shat his pants so bad that they looked like they were covered in tar and hair. Growing up eating bland and boring Norse food and then eating French cuisine can have fatal consequences.

[@Debbie_Bcool]

Oh wow sounds like a stinky and embarrassing way to die.

[@o.3464]

History has numerous accounts of embarrasing deaths like that; people shitting themselves to death, guys being shot through the asshole, arrow flying out through the mouth. No serious historian would take such smearing campaigns as valid sources.

[@lisaa.4667]

Sounds more like dysentery.

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

There is more reference to dog people, and dogs and cats fighting sieges, than shield maidens. And yet for some reason whenever Hollywood does anything European it's filled with shield maidens (and non-Europeans) - historical revisionism irks me so much.

[@danrobinson1729]

I completely agree, feminist propaganda is as annoying as all other propaganda. And it's insult comes in the form of a lie. There are many great women in history, why Hollywood is so concerned with fighting women, i don't understand