In the 860’s CE Ragnar Lothbrok invaded Northumbria, but was captured and killed by King Aelle. The sons of Ragnar banded together to form the “Great Heathen Army” and invaded Britain conquering most of the Saxon kingdoms of Britain.
Ragnar is well known, from Old Norse Poetry and from the Icelandic sagas. However, there are still some conjectures (as with lots of old Norse history) as to whether Ragnar was a real person, as it is possible that his legend was constructed from a number of different historical characters. His sons, on the other hand, are believed to have really existed (together with their gloriously colourful names – see later post!).
There is also a story about how Ragnar met his death at the hand of King Aelle. It is said that he was thrown into a pit of snakes and died laughing. We’re not sure about the validity of this, however.
It is not surprising, therefore, that in our current age yet more material has been added to the Ragnar legends with the TV series, Vikings, which is based on the life and world of Ragnar Lothbrok.