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Exploratory research to produce a Brief History of Ukraine.
This essay is a collection of exploratory research materials in preparation for semester thesis work in history. |
Ragnar Lodbrok, a legendary figure whose story has been told for 1000 years, has been surrounded by myth and legend. In this essay, we will Separate Legend from fact.
It starts with Sigurðr Hringr, (Sigurd Ring), the king of the Swedes. Sigurd had a bunch of Mistresses and A wife, Alfhild, the Queen of the Swedes. Alfhild was a daughter of king Gandalf Alfgeirsson, the king of the Álfheimr. She gave birth to prince Ragnar. Unfortunately for Ragnar, his mother died when he was 15. And his father, Sigurd, married a woman about Ragnar’s age. That is a story of its own for another time.
Sigurd wanted to marry the daughter of the king of Vendel, but their family refused. So the king of Sweden went to war with the king of Vendel and won. To protect their daughter, Vendel ordered his sons to poison their sister. When 60-year-old Sigurd found the body, he was super pissed. He then burned her body on a boat which is traditionally only usually for queens.
Sigurd felt that he lost too much so he got on a ship with the burning girls corpse, so he could die with his teenage crush. Thanks to recently discovered ancient runes, king’s last words were to his son, which he pointed to as he was burning on the boat:
"Follow the path I laid out for you and reach the goal I never could, become the ultimate king son, For it is in your blood."
1. Early Ragnar
- One Ragnar Lodbrok
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Now this sets the scene for ragnar, 15 years old and the king of Sweden. He led one successful raid after another, gaining the trust of his men. To the point that his men believed when young Ragnar claimed that he has Odin’s blood in him.
Ragnar has a lot of historic and mythic tales about himself. Yet, according to the historical facts, he most probably was only a Jarl, an owner of lands. He was not a king and probably was under King Horik himself.
Ragnar was still a gifted and talented raider otherwise. He was a sea king who was a menace to Europe, and he started raiding Northumbria. Ragnar even killed a king and ransomed the country, telling them to pay him tribute to not kill the new king. So, a reputable troublemaker in his own right.
- Ragnar flosses Frankia
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Vikings were raiding the South in full force, and after French king Charlamanges' death in 814, the kingdom of Frankia was split, and the king’s son did not wield the same authority. The empire was filled with infighting and a lack of stability. Everyone laid claim to be king and nobility claimed parts of the empire. When Ragnar, the sea king, and the raiding king, heard about this, he headed South. Ragnar made West Frankia, situated near the water and enjoyed bullying his victim. The Vikings attacked Frankia with bigger and bigger fleets every year for 20 years as retribution for past attacks by Frankia. They raided and looted and pushed deeper and deeper inland. The main Viking warlord terrorizing them was Ragnar. In these 20 years, Ragnar was documented by his men, the vikings, as more of a legend than a man. The Viking stories are far less down to earth than the Franks story (single).
- Ragnar goes to Norway
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Later, when Ragnar was made the king of Sweden, he marched on Norway. There king Fro killed his uncle, and Ragnar saw this as an opportunity to prove himself to his people. After many battles by Ragnar to reach the king of Norway, the Vikings got a little reprieve. Ragnar and his men were resting upon some hill.
Ragnar looked down to see that the king’s army was fighting another force. When he looked down, he saw that the force was mainly woman and that leading them was some sort of "Warrior Goddess." Ragnar and his men went down to help the woman win the battle, and after the battle they introduced themselves.
2. Ragnar King and Lagertha Queen
The woman’s name was Lagertha. And her women were prostitutes who used the chaos of Ragnar’s attacks to free themselves and started to fight Fro’s men. In fact, before Fro Stole these lands, Lagertha was the ruler of these lands, and she just so happened to take Ragnar’s heart. After their combined forces dispatched Fro, Ragnar proposed to Lagertha and she accepted.
- Ragnar and Lagertha
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Under the conditions of their union, both ruled their land as equals. For 3 years they lived a good life, they had three kids and had a happy family. But then the news arrived that Ragnar’s own lands were under attack.
- Ragnar and His Decision
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Ragnar begged Lagertha to join him and help take back his lands, but she refused to leave. According to their original agreement, Lagertha stayed with her people. Ragnar went alone.
3. Ragnar And The Jarl’s Daughter
- Ragnar and the dragon myth
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After he successfully got his lands back, he heard the story of YotaLands King. He would Auction off his daughter to any man who solved his problem. Long ago he gifted his daughter a baby snake, but it turned out to be a dragon.
The dragon grew to a massive size, and it wrapped itself around her house, trapping her making sure no one could get to her. Ragnar knew that he had to slay the dragon once he heard the Jarl’s Daughter was HOT and young. So knowing what he had to face, he made shorts out of wolf’s hair and covered it in tar and let it froze. So equipped with his hairy shorts, a spear, and a shield, he went off to slay the dragon.
After a long fight, Ragnar dodged the Dragon’s attack, but he was a little too late and the dragon bit down on his leg. But as all seemed lost for Ragnar, his furry shorts made it so that the Dragon’s teeth could not penetrate Ragnar’s skin, and the tar made the Dragon’s mouth stick shut. With the opportunity, ragnar took his spear and he killed the dragon. As a reward the Jarl gave his daughter to Ragnar and gave him the name, Ragnar Lothbrok. Meaning Ragnar, FurryPants.
- Ragnar and the Facts
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We don’t know exactly what happened historically on how ragnar married the daughter, but it was not so uncommon for Jarl’s to marry off their daughter to others as a reward for doing a Task. They had two sons, but just like their father, the two sons lost their mother when they were teenagers.
4. Ragnar And Conquest
- Ragnar and the old Folks Daughter
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Ragnar heartbroken could not bear to stay in these lands, and he left. To handle his grief, Ragnar Killed, raided and destroyed villages. One day in norway raiding, Ragnar and his men decided to make some bread to eat. So his men he sent broke into a nearby farmhouse, and they Told the old couple that lived there to start baking them bread, but they were not scared. They told the vikings that they were already at death’s doors and that they would not bake them bread.
But this was all a facade as at that moment their daughter, the most beautiful woman in the lands, arrived. The couple was scared of what the vikings would do to her. The vikings could do nothing but stare at her. They could do nothing but stare, and they burnt their bread, After that they went to ragnar and told him what they found. But she could only go to see ragnar if she could solve this riddle: To come to him neither clothed or unclothed, to come to him neither full nor hungry, to come to him without no one coming with her but not alone. She came to him eating an onion, wearing a fish net, and with a dog. He proposed to her, but she refused, knowing a womanizer when she sees one she says that after 10 months of raids, if he came back and still loved her, then she would marry him.
- Ragnar And The Raid of Old Paris
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He went and raided old paris in 845. He arrived in old paris, with 5000 men. Frankia was weak at this time, and they knew it. He blitzed Frankia and destroyed many costal villages. Charlie the bald had two armies on both sides of the river protecting the heart of france. So ragnar just attacked the smaller army, and all the other army could do was just watch as their men were being slaughtered. Ragnar took the remaining members of the smaller army and made a bloody ritual with them to odin. Then on Easter sunday, further demoralizing frankia he attacked paris, Showing god was not protecting them.
He forced them to pay him 7000 pounds of gold. And then he raided every costal village they had and returned to norway.
- :: Ragnar And The Valkyrie’s Daughter
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They got married, and She reveled that she was a daughter of a legendary dragon slayer and a valkyrie. They had Four legendary sons.
5. Ragnar And The End
- Ragnar And The Trap
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Ragnar got old and lazy and faded into legends. But he was still alive and wanted to add to his story before he passed, and his sons surpassed him. Ragnar decided to end his days attacking northumbria. Where his first raids started. Ragnar and his men raided deep into ireland. But the leader of Northumbria was pretending to lose. They trapped and surrounded him in ireland and won in a 1-sided battle. They captured him and threw him into a pit of snakes.
- Ragnar And The Death Speech
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This is what he wanted though, so he had his famous death speech as they were preparing to throw him in: "It gladdens me to know that balder’s Father makes ready the benches for banquet, soon we shall be drinking ale from the curved horn’s, the champion that comes into Odin’s dwelling does not lament his death I shall not enter his hall with words of fear upon my lips, the Aesir welcomes me, death comes without lamenting eager am I to depart this Disir Summon me home those who Odin sends for me the valkyries from the halls of the lord of the host."I will not lament my death, gladly I shall drink ale in the high seat with the aesir, the days of my life are ended, and I laugh while I die."His last words were, "If the porkers knew the punishment of the boar pig, Surly they would break into the sty and hasten to lose him from his affliction."
- Ragnar’s Legacy
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Once they heard the legend that their father Had died, his sons gathered the largest viking army in history, the great heathen army which would invade England in 865, and they raided. They unleashed absolute violence for the next 14 years. All to avenge ragnar.
6. NO Expected Connection to Rus'
This exploration did not lead to Vikings-Rus' connection discovery. But this was a good starting point for the Connection of Ragnar to Rus'.
