Ragnar Lodbrok And His Wives And Sons


The old sagas, or hero tales of the north, are full of stories of

enchantment and strange marvels. We have told one of these tales in the

record of King Rolf and Princess Torborg. We have now to tell that of

Ragnar Lodbrok, a hero king of the early days, whose story is full of

magical incidents. That this king reigned and was a famous man in his

days there is no reason to doubt, but around his career gathered many

fabl
s, as was apt to be the case with the legends of great men in those

days. To show what these tales were like we take from the sagas the

marvellous record of Ragnar and his wives.



In East Gothland in the ancient days there lived a mighty jarl, or earl,

named Herroed, who was descended from the gods. He had a daughter named

Tora, who was famed for her beauty and virtue, but proved as hard to win

for a wife as Princess Torborg had been. She dwelt in a high room which

had a wall built around it like a castle, and was called Castle Deer,

because she surpassed all other women in beauty as much as the deer

surpasses all other animals.



Her father, who was very fond of her, gave her as a toy a small and

wonderfully beautiful snake which he had received in a charmed egg in

Bjarmaland. It proved to be an unwelcome gift. The snake was at first

coiled in a little box, but soon grew until the box would not hold it,

and in time was so big that the room would not hold it. So huge did it

become in the end that it lay coiled in a ring around the outer walls,

being so long that its head and tail touched.



It got to be so vicious that no one dared come near it except the maiden

and the man who fed it, and his task was no light one, for it devoured an

ox at a single meal. The jarl was sorry enough now that he had given his

daughter such a present. It was one not easy to get rid of, dread of the

snake having spread far and wide, and though he offered his daughter with

a great dower to the man who should kill it, no one for a long time

ventured to strive for the reward. The venom which it spat out was enough

to destroy any warrior.



At length a suitor for the hand of the lovely princess was found in

Ragnar, the young son of Sigurd Ring, then one of the greatest monarchs

of the age, with all Sweden and Norway under his sway, as the sagas tell.

Ragnar, though still a boy, had gained fame as a dauntless warrior, and

was a fit man to dare the venture with the great snake, though for a long

time he seemed to pay no heed to the princess.



But meanwhile he had made for himself a strange coat. It was wrought out

of a hairy hide, which he boiled in pitch, drew through sand, and then

dried and hardened in the sun. The next summer he sailed to East

Gothland, hid his ships in a small bay, and at dawn of the next day

proceeded toward the maiden's bower, spear in hand and wearing his

strange coat.



There lay the dreaded serpent, coiled in a ring round the wall. Ragnar,

nothing daunted, struck it boldly with his spear, and before it could

move in defence struck it a second blow, pressing the spear until it

pierced through the monster's body. So fiercely did the snake struggle

that the spear broke in two, and it would have destroyed Ragnar with the

venom it poured out if he had not worn his invulnerable coat.



The noise of the struggle and the fierceness of the snake's convulsions,

which shook the whole tower, roused Tora and her maids, and she looked

from her window to see what it meant. She saw there a tall man, but could

not distinguish his features in the grey dawn. The serpent was now in its

death throes, though this she did not know, and she called out:



"Who are you, and what do you want?"



Ragnar answered in this verse:



"For the maid fair and wise

I would venture my life.

The scale-fish got its death wound

From a youth of fifteen!"



Then he went away, taking the broken handle of the spear with him. Tora

listened in surprise, for she learned from the verse that a boy of

fifteen had slain the great monster, and she marvelled at his great size

for his years, wondering if he were man or wizard. When day came she told

her father of the strange event, and the jarl drew out the broken spear

from the snake, finding it to be so heavy that few men could have lifted

it.



Who had killed the serpent and earned the reward? The jarl sent a mandate

throughout his kingdom, calling all men together, and when they came he

told them the story of the snake's death, and bade him who possessed the

handle of the spear to present it, as he would keep his word with any

one, high or low.



Ragnar and his men stood on the edge of the throng as the broken head of

the spear was passed round, no one being able to present the handle

fitting it. At length it came to Ragnar, and he drew forth the handle

from his cloak, showing that the broken ends fitted exactly. A great

feast for the victor was now given by Jarl Herroed, and when Ragnar saw

the loveliness of Tora, he was glad to ask her for his queen, while she

was equally glad to have such a hero for her spouse. A splendid bridal

followed and the victor took his beautiful bride home.



This exploit gave Ragnar great fame and he received the surname of

Lodbrok, on account of the strange coat he had worn. Ragnar and Tora

lived happily together but not to old age, for after some years she took

sick and died, leaving two sons, Erik and Agnar, who grew up to be strong

and beautiful youths. Ragnar had loved her greatly and after her death

said he would marry no other woman. Nor could he comfort himself at home

but began to wander abroad on warlike voyages, that he might drive away

his sorrow.



Leaving Ragnar Lodbrok to his travels, let us take up the strange story

of another fair maiden, who was to have much to do with his future life.

She was named Asloeg and was the daughter of King Sigurd Fafnisbane, of

Germany. Soon after she was born enemies of her father killed him and her

mother and all of his race they could find. Her life was saved by Heimer,

foster-father to her mother, who to get her away from the murderers had a

large harp made with a hollow frame, in which he hid the child and all

the treasure he could find.



Then he wandered far as a travelling harper, letting the child out when

they came to solitary woods, and when she wept and moaned silencing her

by striking the strings of the harp. After long journeying he came to a

cottage in Norway called Spangerhed, where lived a beggar and his wife.

Seeing a gold bracelet under Heimer's rags, and some rich embroidery

sticking from the harp, the beggar and his wife killed him during the

night and broke open the harp. They found in it the wealth they sought,

but the discovery of the pretty little girl troubled them.



"What shall we do with this child?" he asked.



"We will bring her up as our own, and name her Kraka, after my mother,"

said his wife.



"But no one will believe that ugly old people like us can have so fair a

daughter."



"Let me manage it," said the wife. "I will put tar on her head so that

her hair will not be too long, and keep her in ragged clothes and at the

hardest work."



This they did and little Asloeg grew up as a beggar's child. And as she

kept strangely silent, never speaking, all people thought her dumb.



One day, when Asloeg was well grown, Ragnar Lorbrok came that way,

cruising along the Norway coast. The crew was out of bread and men were

sent ashore to bake some at a house they saw in the distance. This house

was Spangerhed, where Kraka dwelt.



She had seen the ships come up and the men land, and was ashamed to be

seen by strangers as she was, so she washed herself and combed her hair,

though she had been bidden never to do so. So long and thick had her hair

grown that it reached to the ground and covered her completely.



When the cooks came to bake their bread they were so surprised at the

beauty of the maiden that they let the loaves burn while looking at her,

and on being blamed for this carelessness on their return to the ship

said they could not help it, for they had been bewitched by the face of

the loveliest maiden they had ever gazed upon.



"She cannot be as lovely as Tora was," said Ragnar.



"There was never a lovelier woman," they declared, and Ragnar was so

struck by their story that he sent messengers ashore to learn if they

were telling the truth. If it were so, he said, if Kraka were as

beautiful as Tora, they were bidden to bring her to him neither dressed

nor undressed, neither fasting nor satisfied, neither alone nor in

company. The messengers found the maiden as fair as the cooks had said

and repeated the king's demand.



"Your king must be out of his mind, to send such a message," said the

beggar's wife; but Kraka told them that she would come as their king

wished, but not until the next morning.



The next day she came to the shore where the ship lay. She was completely

covered with her splendid hair, worn like a net around her. She had eaten

an onion before coming, and had with her the old beggar's sheep dog; so

that she had fulfilled Ragnar's three demands.



Her wit highly pleased Ragnar and he asked her to come on board, but she

would not do so until she had been promised peace and safety. When she

was taken to the cabin Ragnar looked at her in delight. He thought that

she surpassed Tora in beauty, and offered a prayer to Odin, asking for

the love of the maiden. Then he took the gold-embroidered dress which

Tora had worn and offered it to Kraka, saying in verse, in the fashion of

those times:



"Will you have Tora's robe? It suits you well. Her

white hands have played upon it. Lovely and kind was

she to me until death."



Kraka answered, also in verse:



"I dare not take the gold-embroidered robe which

adorned Tora the fair. It suits not me. Kraka am I

called in coal-black baize. I have ever herded goats on

the stones by the sea-shore."



"And now I will go home," she added. "If the king's mind does not change

he can send for me when he will."



Then she went back to the beggar's cottage and Ragnar sailed in his ship

away.



Of course every one knows without telling what came from such an

invitation. It was not long before Ragnar was back with his ship and he

found Kraka quite ready to go with him. And when they reached his home a

splendid entertainment was given, during which the marriage between

Ragnar and Kraka took place, everything being rich and brilliant and all

the great lords of the kingdom being present. It will be seen that,

though the Princess Asloeg pretended to be dumb during her years of

youthful life in the beggar's cottage, she found her voice and her wits

with full effect when the time came to use them.



She was now the queen of a great kingdom, and lived for many years

happily with her husband Ragnar. And among her children were two sons who

were very different from other men. The oldest was called Iwar. He grew

up to be tall and strong, though there were no bones in his body, but

only gristle, so that he could not stand, but had to be carried

everywhere on a litter. Yet he was very wise and prudent. The second

gained the name of Ironside, and was so tough of skin that he wore no

armor in war, but fought with his bare body without being wounded. To the

people this seemed the work of magic. There were two others who were like

other men.



Since the older brothers, the sons of Tora, had long been notable as

warriors, the younger brothers, when they grew up, became eager to win

fame and fortune also, and they went abroad on warlike expeditions,

fighting many battles, winning many victories, and gaining much riches.



But Iwar, the boneless one, was not satisfied with this common fighting,

but wanted to perform some great exploit, that would give them a

reputation everywhere for courage. There was the town of Hvitaby (now

Whitby, in Yorkshire, England), which many great warriors had attacked,

their father among them, but all had been driven back by the power of

magic or necromancy. If they could take this stronghold it would give

them infinite honor, said Iwar, and to this his brothers agreed.



To Hvitaby they sailed, and leaving their younger brother Ragnwald in

charge of the ships, because they thought him too young to take part in

so hard a battle, they marched against the town. The place was ably

defended, not only by men but by two magical heifers, their charm being

that no man could stand before them or even listen to their lowing. When

these beasts were loosed and ran out towards the troops, the men were so

scared by the terrible sound of their voices that Ironside had all he

could do to keep them from a panic flight, and many of them fell

prostrate. But Iwar, who could not stand, but was carried into battle

upon shields, took his bow and sent his arrows with such skill and

strength that both the magic heifers were slain.



Then courage came back to the troops and the townsmen were filled with

terror. And in the midst of the fighting Ragnwald came up with the men

left to guard the ships. He was determined to win some of the glory of

the exploit and attacked the townsmen with fury, rushing into their ranks

until he was cut down. But in the end the townsmen were defeated and the

valiant brothers returned with great honor and spoil, after destroying

the castle. Thus it was that the sons of Kraka gained reputation as

valiant warriors.



But meanwhile Kraka herself was like to lose her queenly station, for

Ragnar visited King Osten of Upsala who had a beautiful daughter named

Ingeborg. On seeing her, his men began to say that it would be more

fitting for their king to have this lovely princess for his wife, instead

of a beggar's daughter like Kraka. Ragnar heard this evil counsel, and

was so affected by it that he became betrothed to Ingeborg. When he went

home he bade his men to say nothing about this betrothal, yet in some way

Kraka came to know of it. That night she asked Ragnar for news and he

said he had none to tell.



"If you do not care to tell me news," said Kraka, "I will tell you some.

It is not well done for a king to affiance himself to one woman when he

already has another for his wife. And, since your men chose to speak of

me as a beggar's daughter, let me tell you that I am no such thing, but a

king's daughter and of much higher birth than your new love Ingeborg."



"What fable is this you tell me?" said Ragnar. "Who, then, were your

parents?"



"My father was King Sigurd Fafnisbane and my mother was the Amazon

Brynhilda, daughter of King Budle."



"Do you ask me to believe that the daughter of these great people was

named Kraka and brought up in a peasant's hut?"



The queen now told him that her real name was Asloeg and related all the

events of her early life. And as a sign that she spoke the truth, she

said that her next child, soon to be born, would be a son and would have

a snake in his eye.



It came out as she said, the boy, when born, having the strange sign of

which she had spoken, so that he was given a name that meant Sigurd

Snake-in-Eye. So rejoiced was Ragnar at this that he ceased to think of

Ingeborg and all his old love for Kraka, or Asloeg as she was now called,

came back.



The remainder of the lives of Ragnar and Asloeg and of their warlike sons

is full of valiant deeds and magic arts, far too long to be told here,

but which gave them a high place in the legendary lore of the north, in

which Ragnar Lodbrok is one of the chief heroes. At length Ragnar was

taken prisoner by King Ethelred of England and thrown into a pit full of

serpents, where he died. Afterwards Iwar and his brothers invaded

England, conquered that country, and avenged their father by putting

Ethelred to death by torture. Iwar took England for his kingdom and the

realms of the north were divided among his brothers, and many more were

the wars they had, until death ended the career of these heroes of

northern legend.



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