That is why many acts attributed to Ragnar in the Gesta can be associated, through various sources, with several different figures, some of which make more sense today in historical terms. In her commentary on Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, Hilda Ellis Davidson notes Saxo's notorious efforts in book IX of the Gesta to consolidate, under Ragnar's reign, various confusing and sometimes contradictory events and stories of which he was aware. The historical accuracy of Ragnar's life, only partially in places and times covered by the pages of history, is not very clear. He has been linked in marriage with two famous shiled-maidens, Lagertha in Gesta Danorum, and Queen Aslaug, the daughter of Sigurd and Brynhildr, according to the Völsunga saga. Ragnar Lothbrok was a devout pagan and, according to Norse legends, claimed to be a descendant of the god Odin.įor this reason he had no hesitation in attacking Christian cities on holy days (in fact he preferred to do so, as the surprise was greater and the soldiers were usually in the church). Was Ragnar Lothbrok a descendant of Odin? The dating of his reign is uncertain: some sources place it between 750 and 794, others from 860 to 865 and others more likely between 835 and his death in 865. There is no agreement as to which was the capital of his kingdoms, nor in which country he usually resided.ĭespite appearing as a local hero, there are not many biographies of him, barely a few mentions can be found in the sagas.
According to the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, Ragnar belonged to the royal line of the house of the Ynglings.Īccording to these chronicles and the Icelandic sagas, he is considered the son of Sigurd Ring, king of Sweden and conqueror of Denmark, and his wife Alfhild Gandolfsdatter (b. Ragnar Lothbrok (Old Norse: Ragnarr Loðbrók Sigurdsson) was a legendary king of Sweden and Denmark who reigned in the 8th century.
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