THE SCENE: The “blood-eagle” was a legendary Viking execution method. The passage below represents one of the few instances where an actual blood eagle is described in detail.
THE TEXT: Where the armies met each other, there was a great battle, and the sons of Ragnar charged right through King Aelle’s ranks. They were so enraged that they only thought of doing as much damage as possible, and the battle was both long and hard. And in the end, King Aelle and his forces turned and fled, and he was taken prisoner.
Ivar was nearby and he said the they should now bring about his death. “My advice now,” he said, “is that we remember the sort of death that he ordered for our father. Now the man who is the most skilled woodcarver shall carve an eagle on his back as carefully as possible, and that eagle shall turn red with his blood.”
The man who was summoned for this tasks did as Ivar asked him, and King Aelle was terribly wounded before the task was completed. He now lay down his life, and it seemed to the brothers that they had avenged their father Ragnar.
– The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, 13th Century AD
[Image Credit: F. Amador]
