The Tale of Ragnar Lothbrok // Icelandic Saga // 13th Century

hello all just a quick announcement to let you know that finally I have set up a patreon for voices of the past my name is David and I run voices of the past so before do you think the channel does is worthwhile if you think it's important to hear the past through the words of the people who actually lived it and of course help preserve primary sources please to head over to the patreon but for now enjoy the video [Music] BRAC now's the son of King Sigurd ring and his first wife I'll field his father when an old man had fallen deeply in love with Alf Sol the daughter of King Alpha Strickland her brothers refused to give her in marriage to so old a man and when they were defeated in battle by c-code ring they poisoned her rather than she should become his wife the King thereupon had her corpse carried on board his ship which he steered out into the open sea and then plunged his sword into his heart thus dying beside the body of his beloved afsal Ragnar therefore although only 15 years of age was now king he was remarkable as well for his great beauty as for the dauntless courage which he always displayed when he went with his followers on marauding expeditions to foreign lands on one of these expeditions he landed on the coast of Norway and penetrated alone into the heart of the land on gaining the summit of a hill he threw himself on the soft turf to rest and to enjoy the beautiful landscape which spread itself out before his view the green valley at his feet the lake sparkling like diamonds in the sunshine and the verdant meadows and cornfields as he gazed on this fair picture his mind was filled with the idea that the wild and warlike life he had hitherto that was after all far less satisfactory than a life of peaceful quiet happiness as he thus pondered he suddenly became aware that two hostile divisions of soldiers had entered the valley presently their trumpets sounded and they rode at one another Full Tilt with their shields raised his surprise was great to receive that one of the divisions was led by a beautiful woman who was mounted on a milk-white charger and dressed in silver armor while her lovely raven locks escaping from under her helmet fell in rich profusion over her neck and shoulders she wrote before her soldiers cheering them on and fighting the enemy herself with sword and spear many fell beneath her strokes but the enemy being too strong for her little man to resist they were obliged to retreat not so the heroic maiden captivity or death threatened to be her doom yet still she fought on with indomitable courage her bright silver armor making her conspicuous wherever the battle was hottest Ragnar seeing that she stood in sore need of help could no longer remain an inactive spectator of the scene but seizing his sword he hastened to her side and fought desperately against the enemy his sword made such havoc amongst the foe and such numbers of their best warriors were slain that at length those who were left were obliged to seek safety in flight as soon as the battle was over Ragnar straightaway withdrew to his ship there he learned that the name of the soldier maid was a lagertha that she ruled the surrounding country and dwelt in a beautiful place in the midst of her possessions the following day he repaired Lizza and was received by lagertha with much joy and gratitude has a friend and deliverer Ragnar remained a guest at the palace for three days after which time as he loved lagertha dearly he besought her to become his wife to which she joyfully consented Ragnar and lagertha lived very happily together for some time she was an excellent wife to him but she refused to leave her own country for his No which she resigned to him her rights as sovereign Ragnar past three peaceful years at her side but at last the warlike spirit woke again within him and when he heard that the Danish Islands had rebelled against his rule and became independent he parted from his wife who could not bring herself to leave her peaceful home for a strange country and set out for his own Kingdom alone in a very little while he succeeded in putting down the rebels and proceeded to his palace at Halle drew covered with glory one day a stranger at his court showed him in a magic mirror a virgin of wonderful beauty the king was so enchanted at the sight of her that he could hardly take his eyes from her face and declared that the man who could call such a treasure his own must be the happiest being on earth yes indeed replied the stranger now say us truly for this noble maid is not only famous for her beauty but also for her wisdom and goodness her father Herod of east Scotland asks her advice on all occasions and if he follows it his enterprises are always successful now however both he and his daughter are in great distress some time ago two of his warriors presented him with a Griffin's egg which was part of the plunder which they had brought home with them from a foreign land it was hatched at the King's orders by a swan and a curious little winged serpent came out of it he gave that little creature to his daughter who put it in a golden cage and fed it with her own hands it grew however so quickly that it was soon too large for the cage and even for the room and now it surrounds the whole house in which the princess lives the monster is still submissive to her but he guards her with a jealous eye nor will he allow her to leave the house or receive food from anyone but the man who daily brings him an ox for his meals no one dares attempt to touch him for his eyes are like flaming fire his breath his deadly poison and with his tail he can break the strongest oak tree as easily as if it were a reed the king therefore in order to rid himself of this curse has promised the hand of his daughter to whom ever shall succeed in slaying the monster before Ragnar had heard the completion of this tale he had determined to set out on the adventure himself he lost no time in procuring a garment of thick wool and ox-hide which he steeped in tar for he knew that through such a garment neither poison no venom could penetrate accompanied by many warlike companions he set out for East goth lend and landed on the coast not far from the king's castle wrapped in his tarred garment and armed with a mighty spear he started for the princess's abode there surrounding the house with his huge body he beheld the monster apparently asleep he attempted several times to stab him but in vain his spear could not pierce the scales of the serpent which were hard and smooth as steel presently the monster raised its huge body and tried to seize Ragnar in its jaws hissing meanwhile with rage and spitting its deadly venom at him but as it thus coiled itself about Ragnar perceived an exposed spot under its throat where the scales appeared to be soft and at this spot he aimed his spear with all the strength he could muster for a few moments the creature writhed and turned in agony so that the house was shaken to its foundation and then suddenly the great monster sank to the ground dead the princess awakened by the noise stepped to the window and beheld the victor clothed in his rude garments but before she had time to look upon him more closely he withdrew himself from her gaze Herod as soon as he received news of the event ordered a proclamation to be made to the effect that the people should meet together in an assembly in order to decide whom the prize should be awarded to on the appointed day Ragnar took his place in the Assembly clothed in his tarred garments at the command of the King to heralds carried about among the men the point of the spear which had been taken from the Serpent's body in order to discover who among them possessed the shaft to which it fitted when Ragnar produced the same and fitted the point of the sphere onto it the king taking him to be a poor man exclaimed in astonishment huh thou leather garments and who taught thee that clever thrust comes Lao from the Bahama country that thou has such an odour of pitch and tar about thee these words Ragnar dropped his disguise and stood in his royal attire before the assembled people rakhna Ragnar it is the king himself cried a multitude of voices and Herod stepping down from his throne embraced him saying thou shalt in future be called leather garments in remembrance of thy valour and I will give thee the hand of my daughter in marriage the King kept his word and the princess thora joyfully consented to become the wife of her brave deliverer nor had she ever any cause to regret her choice for her husband was so devoted to her that he even gave up his marauding expeditions in order to remain at her side the happiness was augmented by the birth of two sons Eric and aDNA but fate suffers no perfect happiness to be on earth and ere long thora died in the arms of her disconsolate Lord and now peace and happiness fled from the palace and sorrow and mourning reigned in their stead for Ragna was inconsolable for the loss of his wife at length one of the noblest of his warriors stepped before him and represented to him how it was that he was still young and in the prime of his life and it was a sin for him to waste his best years in mourning for his departed Queen his words roused to the sleeping ardor of the king and soon he was once more tossing in his ship on the billowy ocean where amidst dangers and diverse adventures he strove to forget his great sorrow one day landing on the coast of Norway he sent his servants inland to prepare food and bake bread after wandering about they came to a lowly peasants Hut and on entering they found within it across hideous old woman sitting cowering over the fire they asked her to help them make the bread but she excused herself on account of her great age just then a young peasant girl entered the cottage and the men on seeing her stared at her with open mouths and could not find words to address her for they had never before seen so exquisitely lovely a woman yes yes that is my daughter croaked the old hag see cracker these men would make bread and do not know how without making any reply the girl set about preparing the dough herself and when she had put the loaves into the oven she directed the mental watched them as she had other work to do but the man only had eyes for the beautiful girl who with wonderful adroitness went about the cottage cleaning and putting everything to rights in consequence of their negligence some of the loaves were burnt and when they returned on board the ship they were scolded and punished for their carelessness they declared however that the king himself would have been guilty of the same negligence had he endeavoured to watch the bread in the presence of such a beautiful maid their words aroused the curiosity of the king and he gave orders that this wonderful maiden should be brought before him on board his vessel on the following morning she was to come unattended and yet not alone naked and he had closed fasting and yet for this strange command was given to Clara who accordingly appeared before the king the next day with a fisherman's net wrapped in fools about her and accompanied by shepherd's dog she taken some of the juice of a leek so that she was neither fasting nor full in just this way she obeyed the command of the king to the letter Ragnar was much impressed by her wisdom but still more so by her wonderful beauty her fair silken locks and blue eyes in which the light of heaven was reflected he straightaway offered to make her his queen but she having no great faith in the constancy of man desired him to complete his voyage and then if he should still be of the same mind to return to Norway and repeat his offer the king submitted to the will of the peasant girl and departed his devotion to her however was unchangeable and immediately on his return from his voyage he fetched her from her peasant home and took her to his palace at Halle drew as his bride and their celebrated his marriage feast [Music] cracker bore her husband four sons the eldest of whom named Eva who's very handsome and had strong broad shoulders but his lower limbs were so weak that he always had to be carried about the other three sons were strong healthy youths who awaited impatiently the time when they like their half-brothers Eric and agna should be permitted to go on distant voyages and return with rich plunder from foreign lands meanwhile the people began to murmur and complain that the peasant girl had been set upon the throne and the courtiers who were as dissatisfied as the people repeated these murmurings to the king ragnar greatly displeased that these complaints set out force with the odd to pay a visit to his friend King eistein he was cordially welcomed at the court and the daughter of the mighty King waited upon him herself and filled his goblet with sparkling wine and sat beside him at the board Ragnar was enchanted as well by her beauty as by her conversation and when the courtiers pointed out to him the advantage of an alliance with the princess he allowed himself to be persuaded and asked for the Kings consent to his marriage with his daughter this the King granted and it was arranged that as soon as their betrothal had been solemnized Ragnar should return home and under some excuse divorce is peasant wife when he arrived at his palace at her Ladera cracka came out as usual with glad and smiling countenance to welcome him home she seemed not to notice his cold greeting but did her utmost to provide him with every possible comfort after his journey and asked if he had brought any news on his replying surly that he had none to give she informed him that she had heard a strange report about his best friend that he had wished to divorce his rightful spouse in order to marry a king's daughter and the petrosal had already been solemnized what nave informed thee of that cried Ragnar angrily my chattering Magpies she quietly replied thou knowest them for they were present at king ice teens court during thy stay there full of anxiety I sent them after thee and they brought me a faithful report of thy doings if thou dost indeed intend to carry out thy plan I will return to the peasant folk whom people believed to be my parents they murdered my foster father Jaime R and now thou wilt destroy the happiness of my life before you do anything rash listen to me and I will reveal to thee a secret know then that my name is not cracker but a slob for I am the daughter of King Sigurd the Dragon Slayer who ranks us high over all the kings of the north as the son ranks above the stars my mother was bring Hilde when my father was Fowley and secretly murdered by his brothers-in-law ganaron hagen the good high mare for fear of the murderers bore me away in a harp from the unhappy land and after wandering about for a long time came to the peasants hut in which you found me the two inhabitants of the hut thinking the harp contained great treasures murdered my faithful protector in his sleep by night but did not dare to make away with the child which they discovered in the place of the gold they had expected to find thus I grew up with them in the cottage they allowed me to keep my mother's wedding ring together with her picture and the letter which she wrote before her death here is the proof of my story graça continued producing the letter and the ring and yet another token has Odin revealed to me it shall be made manifest when our unborn babe shall behold the light of the world for in his eye he shall have a mark like a tiny serpent as she ceased speaking she laid aside her royal jewels and turned to depart but Ragnar who stood shamefaced and abashed before the noble woman whose royal descent he now recognized besought her to stay she loved him so dearly that she could not withstand his entreaties but remained with him and in due time presented him with a little son who bore on him the prophesized mark of distinction and was therefore called Sigurd the serpent eyed meanwhile Eric and Agnetha the sons of Ragnar's first wife thora had made the name famous by their warlike deeds they had opportunity of displaying their valor in the war which now broke out with King eistein who was enraged at a Ragnar's rejection of his daughter Eric and agna landed on the Swedish coast but they both fell in the battle which ensued feist teens host was too strong for them and their ranks were thrown into confusion by the enchanted bull which the King had ordered to be driven amongst them when the news of their defeat and death reached Ragnar skort his third son IVA forthwith set out to avenge his brother's untimely end no sooner was the battle opened however that the huge Enchanted Bull rushed bellowing as before amongst the soldiers causing terror and confusion in the ranks Ivar therefore lost no time in seizing his mighty bow and arrow and taking aim of the monster he pissed it through the heart so that it fell dead on the field after this the battle was easily won eistein himself being struck down while attempting to fly for his life Ragnar Suns engaged in many other Wars and piratical expeditions their combined forces conquered the rich town of wilfers Berg after which they marched to Luna in air Korea they found it strongly garrisoned and therefore sent messengers into the town to say that they came with peaceful intentions merely to buy victuals that their captain Hastings who was sick to death wish to be baptized and received into the Christian Church delighted with this news the inhabitants immediately opened communication with the strangers and the holy ceremony of baptism was performed over the sick man the governor of the town standing sponsor a few days later an emissary was sent to inform the inhabitants that Hastings was dead and that his dying wish had been that his corpse might be allowed a resting place in the Christian Church to which he had bequeathed his riches with the desire that the priests should annually say three masses for his soul the messenger ended by declaring that if this was allowed to take place it was his belief that the whole army who intended unarmed to accompany the body of their leader to the grave would consent to be baptized the request was granted on the day of the funeral the church was so crowded by the clergy nobles and citizens of the town that there was hardly any room left for the Northman the requiem was solemnly chanted the blessing was spoken and the body of the departed soldier was just about to be lowered into the grave when the lid of the bier sprang open the dead man rose up in his shroud with a drawn sword in his hand with which he at once slew all who came within his reach the rest of the soldiers likewise drew forth their arms which they had kept concealed beneath their garments and massacred without mercy the unarmed people who filled the church they then rushed out into the streets plundering and murdering wherever they went and setting the town on fire this was the strategy by which means the north men possessed themselves of the town of Luna while his sons were engaged in these warlike expeditions King Ragnar himself was not idle he determined on an invasion of Britain in order to force King Ella to pay him tribute for this purpose he had two new ships built large enough to carry a great number of soldiers and with these he landed on the British coast he devastated the country in a terrible manner and engaged in many bloody battles but he never received any wound for a slog had woven him a magic garment through which neither shot nor sword could penetrate one day ships were driven by a storm into a Northumbrian Bay where they struck upon a rock and founded he however with many of his men and some arms succeeded in gaining the shore here they soon encountered others forces but the brave soldier nothing daunted did not hesitate a moment with his handful of followers to commence the attack he fought without flinching in the hottest part of the battle but as his brave soldiers fell around him he was at length surrounded by the enemy and taken prisoner no one recognized him and as he refused to answer any of the questions put to him King Ella in anger ordered him to be thrown into a dungeon full of serpents at first a slugs magic garment protected him from any hurt but the guards when they perceived this deprived him of it and he soon after succumbed to their venomous stings thus died brave King Ragnar like a hero as he was uttering neither cry no complaint under his slow torture but singing in rich clear tones a dirge of the Northland [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Voices of the Past

Views: 143,675

Keywords: Ragnar Lothbrok, Ragnar, Lodbrok, Iceland, Icelandic Saga, Vikings, Vikings TV show, Season 6, Ivar the Boneless, Sigurd Ring, Saga, Legend, History, Primary Source, Original Saga, Original Story

Id: lZ3CX-FzzIY

Length: 27min 4sec (1624 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 04 2019