Top 5 Most Famous Viking Kings

The Vikings lived in its northern peoples Europe: Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. In this article you will read about the 5 most famous Viking kings.

 

The main protagonist of the famous series “Vikings” should be mentioned first in this list. At the age of 15, in order to win a princess's hand, he destroyed a nest full of venomous snakes, wearing a handmade body armor made of animal skin boiled with sand and pine tar so that it would not be pierced by snake teeth.

When he grew up, he was feared by both the English and the French cities. The French king even paid him an unbelievable amount to stop the raids.

According to the myth, Ragnar married three times: Lagertha, Tora Townheart and Aslaug. He is thought to be related to the Danish king Gudfred and the son of the Swedish king Sigurd Ring. He proclaimed himself king and was distinguished for the many raids and conquests.

Before his last raid, his wife Aslaug warned him that conquering Britain with just two ships would not be a good sign. Thus, the end of Ragnar came when a raid in England failed. He was captured and thrown into a snake pit.

Ragnar's sons, Ivar the Boneless and Ubbe, are among the main rivals of Uhtred, the fictional protagonist of the series “Last Kingdom”.

Bjorn was a legendary Swedish Iron King who lived in the 9th century and was the first king of the House of Munso. He spent his entire life raiding from Europe to North America. In one of them, the walls of the city could not be collapsed, so Bjorn pretended to be dead and entered a coffin. His family approached the gate and asked the priests to put him in their temple. That night he got out of the coffin, rushed to the gate and let his whole horde in.

The largest embankment on the island of Munsö, located near Lake Mälaren, Sweden's third largest lake, is said to be the final resting place of this legendary Viking. The embankment is part of an old tomb collection consisting of about 45 smaller embankments. A total of 150 remains were found on the embankment, including various valuables and objects.

Harald, one of the most famous Vikings (his real name was Harald Sigurdsson), started the wars at 15 years old like any real Viking child. He spent 15 years traveling to Europe, reaching as far as Constantinople, where he became the leader of the Emperor's Varangian guard.

Later, he returned to his homeland Norway where he seized the throne. As soon as the king of England died, he decided to conquer the island and invaded Britain, where he clashed many times with the also aspiring king, William the conqueror. Hardrada was killed in battle at Stamford Bridge by an arrow piercing his throat. William won the war, became King of England and history was written.

Harald has been described as gigantic and with great muscular strength, as well as with light-colored hair and beard. His first wife was Elizabeth of Kiev, with whom he had an unknown number of children. He also married Tora Torbergsdatter in 1048.

Sweyn Forkbeard and the Jomsvikings at the funeral ale of his father Harald Bluetooth 

Sweyn Forkbeard

We can certainly not say that the Vikings were not committed to the traditions and customs of their people. Forkbeard killed his father in 987 by seizing the throne of Denmark and launched raids off the coast of England for about 10 years.

Then, he decided to focus on his neighbors and began the invasion of Norway in 1000. He killed the king and divided the country in two, oppressing those who were loyal to the former king. The English took advantage of his absence and ordered the killing of all the Danes in their territory between them and his sister. In retaliation, Forkbeard resumed his raids in England, harder than ever, and terrorized the island until his death 14 years later.

 

A depiction of Ivar The Boneless and Ubba on the way to avenge their father

Ivar the Boneless

Ivar was the youngest son of Ragnar Lothbrok. He got the nickname “Boneless” because he was born with a serious bone problem that could break more easily than the average person.

However, that “curse” did not stop him from being one of the bloodiest warlords and many times he went down in battle under a shield, armed with a bow! He conquered Dublin and then attacked York.

Ragnar's son never forgot the horrific death of his father in a pit of venomous snakes. Revenge was sworn on King Aela of Northumbria who was held directly responsible for his tragic loss.

After conquering York, Ivar executed Aela with one of the most brutal and horrific ceremonies, the Blood Eagle. He did the same in other areas, where he killed a king by beheading, only after using him alive to practice with his bow. He then returned to Dublin where he lived until his death.

Still there are lots of other Viking kings that are worth mentioning like Rollo, Ragnar’s brother, Erik the Red and Olaf Tryggvason.

The eventful period of the Viking raids has inspired many novels and films. Now the stories are transferred to the screen. The popular series "Last Kingdom" relates the efforts of King Alfred to save his kingdom from the Danes, with the help of Uhtred, an English lord who grew up with enemies.

Written by Stefan

Northlord - The Ancient World As One