THE SCENE: One of the great defeats for the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok came when the king of Sweden bolstered his forces with a terrifying cow.
THE TEXT: The king had the war-arrow sent throughout his kingdom, and summoned such a huge host that it was a wonder. Then he advanced his forces until he came to a forest, and he pitched his tents there. He now had the cow Sibilja with him, and she received many sacrifices before she was willing to travel.
When they were in the forest, King Eystein spoke. “I have found out”, he said, “that Ragnar’s sons are in the fields directly in front of the forest, and I have been told truly that they have not a third of the forces we have. Now we shall divide our ranks for the battle. One third of our men shall advance against them, and they are all so bold that they will think that they have the business well in hand. Then we shall attack them with our full forces. And the cow will go in front of the army, and I shall expect that they shall not withstand her bellowing.” And so it was done.
As soon as the brothers saw King Eystein’s force, they thought that it wouldn’t be too powerful to deal with, and they didn’t suppose that his forces might be larger. Suddenly, all of his host came out of the forest. The cow was turned loose, and she charged in front of the ranks and bellowed horribly, and there was such great confusion among the fighters who heard it that they fought each other, except for the two brothers who managed to hold out. The evil creature gored many men wither her horns that day. Though the sons of Ragnar were mighty, they could not withstand both such overwhelming forces and such sorcery, although they put up stiff resistance and defended themselves well, with bravery and great renown.
– The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, 13th Century AD
