Ragnar Lothbrok
Ragnar Lothbrok (“Ragnar Hairy-Breeches”) is a legendary Viking chieftain of ninth-century Scandinavia. He is often identified with “Reginherus”, the Danish chief who sailed up the Seine in 845, plundered Paris and was paid 7,000 pounds of silver by Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, but most of his life is known only from stories told in later sagas. The sagas say he was captured by King Ælla of Northumbria and died in a snake pit, and that his sons came to England to avenge him.
| Lived | Dates unknown |
|---|---|
| Active in | Denmark (Hedeby) · the Seine and Paris · Northumbria (in legend) |
| Known for | The raid on Paris in 845; the Viking said to be father of Ivar and Björn |
| Game start | 844 · age 40 · Chieftain of Hedeby (knightly rank) — Ragnar's Ship |
Life at a glance
- 843 The Treaty of Verdun splits the Carolingian Empire in three, and the riverbanks of West Francia are left undefended. Ragnar's raid comes through this gap.
- 845 In March about 120 ships of a Danish chief whom the Frankish annals call Reginherus sail up the Seine and plunder Paris around Easter. Charles the Bald pays 7,000 pounds of silver to send them away.
- 845 The annals say disease broke out among the Danes on their way back from Paris. In contemporary records the name of Reginherus disappears after this.
- 859 Björn Ironside, said to be Ragnar's son, sails as far as the Mediterranean with Hastein.
- 865 The “Great Heathen Army” lands in England. Its leaders, Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan and Ubba, are called Ragnar's sons in later tradition.
- 867 The Great Heathen Army takes York and King Ælla of Northumbria is killed. The sagas tell this as vengeance for their father.
- c. 1200 In Denmark Saxo Grammaticus writes Ragnar's story into the Gesta Danorum, and in 13th-century Iceland the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok is written. The snake-pit story comes from records like these.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Sigurd Ring | Dates unknown | A legendary king, according to the sagas |
| Mother | Alfhild | Dates unknown | The name given in the sagas |
| First wife | Thora | Dates unknown | “Thora Town-Hart” of the saga. In the game she died nine years before the start |
| Wife | Aslaug | Dates unknown | The saga makes her the daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild |
| Son | Eirik | Dates unknown | Son of Thora (saga) |
| Son | Agnar | Dates unknown | Son of Thora (saga) |
| Son | Ivar the Boneless | Dates unknown | A leader of the Great Heathen Army |
| Son | Björn Ironside | Dates unknown | Mediterranean voyage around 859 |
| Son | Ubbe (Ubba) | Dates unknown | A commander of the Great Heathen Army |
| Son | Halfdan | Dates unknown | A commander of the Great Heathen Army; later settled in Northumbria |
In the game
You begin in autumn 844 at Hedeby in Jutland as a chieftain of forty. You have no land, but ships, men and solid might. Beside you are Eirik and Agnar, left by your first wife Thora, your present wife Aslaug, your eldest son Ivar who cannot walk, twelve-year-old Björn, Ubbe and Halfdan; Eyvind the fisherman's son and old Gulbrand the steersman board your ship.
The turning point is “If Paris had fallen”. In the first event, “Dragon ships at Hedeby”, getting King Horik's permission or taking everyone aboard, the fisherman's son included, tips the odds towards Paris. Take the silver and go home, and the branch of legend runs to the end through disease on the ships home, King Horik's hall, the isle of Thanet, Björn's southern sea, your sons' songs and King Ælla's coast in 865; take Paris, and another branch follows through a winter on the Seine and the Frankish king's offer of baptism.
Captured on the Northumbrian coast in 865, you face the snake pit of legend, but survive and there is another ending, with the great army and an old man at Hedeby. The game keeps what is in the annals apart from what is in the sagas, and treats the saga scenes as legend.
- Scenario guide Ragnar's Ship
- Era guide Age of Vikings and Coronations
- Related turning points What if Charlemagne's empire had not been divided at Verdun?, What if the Vikings had taken Paris in 845?
Frequently asked questions
Was Ragnar Lothbrok a real person?
It is not certain. The Reginherus who raided Paris in 845 is a real man named in the Frankish annals, but scholars disagree whether the saga Ragnar is that man or whether stories of several ninth-century Viking leaders gathered around one name.
Did the raid on Paris in 845 really happen?
Yes. In March 845 about 120 Danish ships sailed up the Seine and plundered Paris around Easter, and Charles the Bald paid 7,000 pounds of silver to make them withdraw. It is one of the earliest large cases of paying Vikings to stop a raid.
Is it true that he died in a snake pit?
Records from around the 13th century, such as the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and the Tale of Ragnar's Sons, say King Ælla of Northumbria threw him into a snake pit, but it does not appear in contemporary records. It is generally regarded as legend.
Sources
Frankish annals for 845, including the Annals of Saint-Bertin; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 865–867; Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum; the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok.