Aelle and the Blood Eagle- Fact or just blood thirsty Fiction?

Depiction of the viking Ragnar Lodbrok’s death by being thrown into a pit of vipers by the Northumbrian King Aelle. By Hugo Hamilton

Here’s a great article from the Smithsonian Magazine on our perceptions of vikings. Particularly the gruesome ‘Blood Eagle’ tradition which according to legend was performed on the King of Northumbria, Aelle, in the 9th century invasion of York by Vikings.

By A H Gray

Related articles

• Historical Figure Profile: King Osbert and King Aelle of Northumbria (ahgray.wordpress.com)

 

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