The death of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons' vengeance in the last episodes from season 4

When king Ælla of Northumbria learns of the pillaging army, he musters an overwhelming force and defeats Ragnar's army. Ragnar is dressed in a silken jacket which Aslaug had made and nothing can pierce it. Finally, he is taken prisoner and thrown into a snake pit. However, as the snakes do not bite him, the Englishmen take off his clothes and then the snakes kill him for good.

Ragnar's sons attack England but Ivar does not want to fight as the English army is too large; he fears they will lose and will have to go home again. Ivar, however, stays in England and asks Ælla for wergild, claiming that he can not go home without some compensation to show his brothers.

King Ælla of Northumbria (Ivan Kaye) photo: wikia

Ivar only asks for as much land as he can cover with an ox's hide. He cuts it into such a fine long string of hide that he can encircle an area large enough for a city. When this is done, he lays the foundations for a city which becomes York. He allies himself with all of England and finally all the chieftains in the region become loyal to Ivar and his brothers.

Then, Ivar tells his brothers to attack England. During the battle Ivar sides with his brothers and so do many of the English chieftains with their people, out of loyalty to Ivar. Ælla is taken captive and in revenge Ragnar's sons carve the blood eagle from him.

Ivar becomes king over north-eastern England which his forefathers owned (i.e. Ivar Vidfamne and Sigurd Ring), and he has two sons, Yngvar and Husto. They obey their father Ivar and torture king Edmund the Martyr and take his realm.

An 1857 painting by August Malmström depicting King Aella's messenger before Ragnar Lodbrok's sons. photo: wikipedia

Ragnar's sons pillage in England, Wales, France and Italy, until they come to the town of Luna in Italy. When they come back to Scandinavia, they divide the kingdom so that Björn Ironside has Uppsala and Sweden, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye has Zealand, Scania, Halland, Viken, Agder, all the way to Lindesnes and most of Oppland, and Hvitserk receives Reidgotaland (Jutland) and Wendland.

Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye marries king Ælla's daughter Blaeja and they have a son named Harthacnut, who succeeds his father as the king of Zealand, Scania and Halland, but Viken rebels and breaks loose. Harthacanute has a son named Gorm, who is big and strong but not as wise as his ancestors.

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• Top 8: Famous Vikings you should know about

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Story source: 

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Wikipedia. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) meet his fate and dies in a pit of snakes in Episode 15 of Vikings Season 4

Photo: inquisitr.com

Exactly as it expected and History teaches us Episode 15 of Vikings Season 4 saw Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) meet his fate and dies in a pit of snakes. In my opinion they have made a big mistake by removing Ragnar from the movie so soon, because Ragnar Lodbrok was the main character and the fans will lose the interest of watching the following episodes. 

photo: History

The second mistake is that they have released the movie long awaited on November 30th only in USA and Uk the rest of the fans across the globe remained as stupid and have to wait many other months to watch the following episodes from season 4. The alternative for those who could not wait was to search the movie online or to download it. So when will be launched on the rest of the countries It will be too late because the vast majority of the fans could not wait and already saw it...

I m a big fan of this series because the movie is very realistic and inspired from history including lifestyle of the vikings, religion, raids across europe especially Siege of Paris (885–886) led by Ragnar Lodbrok or Lothbrok with a fleet of 120 Viking ships carrying thousands of men.




Other articles on the same theme:

• Top 8: Famous Vikings you should know about

• Over a millennium ago, the real Ragnar Lodbrok ran a legendary battle that would ensure them a place in history

• Top 10 Greatest Historical Warriors close to perfection and invincibility.

Over a millennium ago, the real Ragnar Lodbrok ran a legendary battle that would ensure them a place in history

Ragnar Lodbrok or Lothbrok (Old Norse: Ragnarr Loðbrók, "Ragnar Shaggy-Breeches") was a legendary Viking ruler, king, and hero from the Viking Age described in Old Norse poetry and several sagas. In this tradition, Ragnar was the scourge of France and England in the 9th century and the father of many renowned sons, including Ivar the Boneless, Björn Ironside, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and Ubba. 

While these men are historical figures, it is uncertain whether Ragnar himself existed or really fathered them. Many of the tales about him appear to conflate the deeds of several historical Viking heroes and rulers.

According to legend, Ragnar was married three times: to the shieldmaiden Lagertha, to the noblewoman Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr, and to Aslaug. Said to have been a relative of the Danish king Gudfred and son of the Swedish king Sigurd Hring, he became king himself and distinguished himself by many raids and conquests, but was at last seized by his foe, King Ælla of Northumbria, and killed by being thrown into a pit of snakes. His sons bloodily avenged him by invading England with the Great Heathen Army.

Excerpt from folio 39r of Harley MS 2278. The scene depicts Lothbrok, king of Danes, and his sons, Hinguar and Hubba, worshiping idols. photo: wikipedia.org

Historicity

As a figure of legend whose life only partially took place in times and places covered by written sources, the extent of Ragnar's historicity is not quite clear.

Ragnar acquires Kráka (Aslaug), as imagined by August Malmström. photo: wikipedia.org 

In her commentary on Saxo's Gesta Danorum, Hilda Ellis Davidson notes that Saxo's coverage of Ragnar's legend in book IX of the Gesta appears to be an attempt to consolidate many of the confusing and contradictory events and stories known to the chronicler into the reign of one king, Ragnar. 

19th century artist's impression of Ælla of Northumbria's execution of Ragnar Lodbrok photo: wikipedia.org

That is why many acts ascribed to Ragnar in the Gesta can be associated, through other sources, with various figures, some of which are more historically certain. These candidates for the "historical Ragnar" include:

• King Horik I (d. 854)
• King Reginfrid (d. 814), a king who ruled part of Denmark and came into conflict with Harald Klak, 
• The Reginherus who besieged Paris in the mid-9th century
• possibly the Ragnall (Rognvald ) of the Irish Annals, and the father of the Viking leaders who invaded England with the Great Heathen Army in 865

So far, attempts to firmly link the legendary Ragnar with one or several of those men have failed because of the difficulty in reconciling the various accounts and their chronology. Nonetheless, the core tradition of a Viking hero named Ragnar (or similar) who wreaked havoc in mid-ninth-century Europe and who fathered many famous sons is remarkably persistent, and some aspects of it are covered by relatively reliable sources, such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

According to Davidson, writing in 1979, "certain scholars in recent years have come to accept at least part of Ragnar's story as based on historical fact". Katherine Holman, on the other hand, concludes that "although his sons are historical figures, there is no evidence that Ragnar himself ever lived, and he seems to be an amalgam of several different historical figures and pure literary invention."

In popular culture

Ragnar Lodbrok is mentioned in Edwin Atherstone's novel Sea-Kings in England.

Ragnar Lothbrok is featured in Edison Marshall's 1951 novel The Viking.

Richard Parker's 1957 historical novel The Sword of Ganelon explores the character of Ragnar, his sons, and Viking raiding culture.

In The Vikings, a film of 1958, Ragnar, played by Ernest Borgnine, is captured by King Ælla and cast into a pit of wolves. His son Einar (presumably a variation of the historical Ivar), played by Kirk Douglas, vows revenge and conquers Northumbria. The script is based on Marshall's novel.

Ragnar's shipwreck, capture, and execution, as well as his sons' revenge, are portrayed in Harry Harrison's 1993 alternative history novel The Hammer and the Cross.


Played by Travis Fimmel, Ragnar is the protagonist of the History Channel's historical drama television series Vikings that debuted in 2013.



Story source: Wikipedia