Famous Warriors of the Vikings

 1: Rollo Ragnvaldsson. Rollo, like many Vikings, raided western Europe. He laid siege to Paris in 885 to 886. The siege ended when the army of France lead by Charles the Fat (what a name, right?) forced the Vikings to continue up the Seine river and raid elsewhere. Charles, seeing the potential usefulness of having a Viking ally, offered land for Rollo at the mouth of the Seine river in an area that came to be known as Normandy (which pretty much translates to Northman-land). Now Duke of Normandy, Rollo would defend the lands he so recently was raiding (while also extorting money from the French monarchy). (Left: statue of Rollo in modern day Paris). Bonus fact: I am possibly related to Rollo as one of my ancestors was a companion of William the Conqueror, his descendant.

 2: 

 The ancient Vikings were feared fighters that raided and fought from the Byzantine Empire in Turkey to the coast of Canada in the Americas. Obviously, as this class discusses, their culture was far more complex but the fact remains that they had a long held military tradition. With warriors featuring heavily in the sagas, such as Grettir, it's worth exploring a few that stand out.

Lagertha doing what she does best, fighting.

Lagertha. The real story of beloved Vikings character Lagertha is a little harder to detail. The chronicler Saxo Grammaticus wrote down most of what we know about her life, and Saxo was known for his... creative liberties with accounts. What we know about her from him is this: Fro, King of Sweden, invaded Norway and killed Siward the Norwegian King. Ragnar Lodbrok, the famous Viking hero (who also might have had an exaggerated life) came to avenge his grandfather Siward and fought alongside Lagertha as they killed Fro in revenge. The two married and had several children, though Ragnar later divorced her both for political reasons and because she did kind of sic a bear and dog on him to test his courage. She retained her feelings for him however, and came to his aid during a civil war and rescued both Ragnar and his son also named Siward. While the real Lagertha might not have been sole Queen of Norway or lead an armada of 120 ships to save her old love, like many tales there is no doubt an ounce of truth at the heart of the story about this fearsome shield-maiden.

















3: Harald Hardrada. With a last name that literally means "hard ruler" one can kind of guess how Harald was a bit of an intense fellow. Early on in his life, Harald was forced into exile and sent to Russia where he became a military leader of the Kievian Rus (think Russians with Viking influence). But Harald wanted more in life and joined the famous Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire. The Varangians were the personal bodyguards and military commanders of the Emperor, and Harald proved his talents leading forces in Anatolia, Sicily, and Bulgaria. Harald, sensing he kind of liked this whole leadership thing, Harald returned to Scandinavia and began raiding Denmark. His nephew, Magnus, was king of Denmark (long story) and he granted Harald Norway and co-ruled alongside him. Until Magnus died. So Harald became king of Norway AND Denmark. Sensing that he was on a roll, Harald tried invading England and claiming the throne there (while it was also being invaded by William the Conqueror, descendant of Rollo). Harald died at the battle of Stamford Bridge, thus ending the Viking Age by many accounts, but his legend and exploits lived on.