Two separate episodes of the hit History Channel show Vikings depict an unimaginably grisly and horrific torture method that is known as the "Blood Eagle." In the first, the villain Karl Borg is murdered through the extremely cruel and brutal method; in the second, the corrupt King Ella is tortured to death using the "Blood Eagle" method. Historians are divided as to whether the Blood Eagle was a real practice or simply a myth that originated from misinterpretation of ancient Nordic sagas. The Oxford English Dictionary provides a very brief description of the method: A Viking method of killing someone, usually the slayer of a mans father, by cutting out the ribs in the shape of an eagle. "Contrary to established wisdom, we therefore argue that the blood eagle could very well have taken place in the Viking Age," the authors concluded in their essay. Thorbjrn Harr played Jarl Borg of Gtaland in the first two seasons of the History Channel series. Here's your blood eagle how-to, as related by Smithsonian Magazine: First, fasten the victim, face-down, and carve the image of an eagle, wings outstretched, on the victim's back. published 27 January 2022 It literally turned victims inside out. The Heimskringla Saga from 1230 describes the same alleged incident: cut with [an] eagle.[1]. The Icelandic ritual is the most commonly used in television and film, seeing as it is recognized as being the most painful. Then, the person seeking vengeance stabbed the victim by his tailbone and up towards the rib cage. The best we can do is say "we don't know". 10.1086/717332 (About DOIs). Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She also reports on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology, and space. baki ristinn. the late ttr af Ragnars sonum gives a full, sensational report of the event by the beginning of the 19th century, the various sagas motifseagle sketch, rib division, lung surgery, and saline stimulantwere combined in inventive sequences designed for maximum horror. A common element in the medieval sources, according to the authors of the new study, is that the aggressors perform the ritual on enemies who killed one of their family members. In popular lore, few images are as synonymous with Viking brutality as the " blood eagle ," a practice that allegedly found torturers separating the victim's ribs from their spine, pulling. The blood eagle seems to have been a more extreme case of this sort of behaviour conducted only in exceptional circumstances: on a captured prisoner of war who had earlier subjected the. Review: AP Program Undermines Humanities, Devalues College, and Cheats Students of Learning, SCOTUS's Stay of Mifepristone Ruling a Win for Abortion Rights, but Shows Dangerous Power of "Shadow Docket", How the Reagan Administration Used "A Nation at Risk" to Push for School Privatization, Ned Blackhawk Unmakes the American Origin Story. The conventional interpretation of the Blood Eagle stipulates that the shape of an eagle was carved onto the victim's back, after which the skin was pulled back and the ribs were detached from the spine. It's described as a sacrifice to Odin in thanks for Einarr's victory. It consists of having the ribs severed from the spine and the lungs pulled through the opening to simulate a pair of wings. According to Saxo Grammaticus'sGesta Danorum, after the previously detailed mutilation, the flesh was rubbed with salt. "Such a weapon might even be depicted on a stone monument found on the Swedish island of Gotland, where a scene carved into the stone depicts something that could have been a blood eagle or other execution.". The blood eagle is a method of execution detailed in late skaldic poetry. But one thing is beyond dispute: Either the Vikings were sick individuals, or their conquerors had a sick imagination. As Murphy explains, The blood eagle plays a prominent role in our early 21st-century constructions of Vikings, which generally favor an [understanding that] violence was commonplace in the Iron Age Nordic region. Thats been the case for quite a while, he adds: The [ritual], as it exists in popular culture today, owes a lot to the attitudes of Victorian scholars who were keen to exaggerate its role in order to emphasize the barbarity of the past and civilized nature of their own time. This, in turn, led to a more nuanced discussion of not only what could have happened, but how and why. With a broad sword But he likely would have died of shock, suffocation, and/or exsanguination within seconds of the blade being thrust into his back to cut the ribs. She suggests that these tales of martyrdom inspired further exaggeration of the misunderstood skaldic verses into a grandiose torture and death rite with no actual historic basis. [17], Ronald Hutton's The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy states that "the hitherto notorious rite of the 'Blood Eagle,' the killing of a defeated warrior by pulling up his ribs and lungs through his back, has been shown to be almost certainly a Christian myth resulting from the misunderstanding of some older verse. Regardless of whether it is fact or legend, performing such a ritual, while challenging, would have been anatomically possible with the tools available at the time, according to the authors ofa recent paper published in the journal Speculum, and would be in keeping with the Vikings' cultural mores. It wouldnt be until the early 1200smore than 300 years after the alleged participants had diedthat a very detailed and graphic description of the method appeared in the Orkeyinga Saga: Einarr made them carve an eagle on his back with a sword, and cut the ribs all from the backbone, and draw the lungs there out, and gave him to Odin for the victory he had won. The vertebral column would still present an obstacle to removing the lungs, and the primary bronchi and pulmonary veins and arteries aren't long enough to allow the lungs to be removed while they are still attached. Instead,"We suspect that a particular type of Viking spearhead could have been used as a makeshift tool to 'unzip' the rib cage quickly from the back," the authors wrote in an accompanying essay for The Conversation. The show led them to medieval sagas, which opened up further questions and made them realize they needed to consult a historian. Founded in 2010, Thought Catalog is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. For over a decade, we've been at the bleeding edge of media, pioneering an infrastructure for creatives to flourish both artistically and financially. The blood eagle might be nothing more than fiction, but it was definitely one of the most brutal killing methods in the series. Popular opinion ebbs and flows, especially regarding history. [5], Einarr made them carve an eagle on his back with a sword, and cut the ribs all from the backbone, and draw the lungs there out, and gave him to Odin for the victory he had won.[6]. The sources are often vague, referencing legendary figures of dubious veracity or mixing up accepted historical chronology. Jennifer Ouellette / Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. "Class War" is Back in the Headlines. The History Channel series Vikings is a fictional account of legendary Norse hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), who was born a farmer and became a Scandinavian king. The "blood eagle" execution method: Sagas made Vikings look scary, but What Is a Blood Eagle? - Scandinavia Facts Some believed that the brutal rite resulted from . Advertising Notice In his book The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy, Ronald Hutton tends to agree with Franks analysis: The hitherto notorious rite of the Blood Eagle, the killing of a defeated warrior by pulling up his ribs and lungs through his back, has been shown to be almost certainly a Christian myth resulting from the misunderstanding of some older verse. These representations take their cue from medieval sources written in both Old Norse and Latin. The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry. This, in turn, led to a more nuanced discussion of not only what could have happened, but how and why. This article will discuss the representation of the . Gruesome Viking "blood eagle" ritual is anatomically possible, study About 50 percent died during the first year due to their inexperience at meeting the dangers of living in the wild. For instance, there is an account in the "Tale of Ragnar's Sons" of Ivar the Boneless performing the blood eagle on Kinglla of Northumbria because the latter killed his father, Ragnar. Vikings saw Jarl Borg being killed through the "blood eagle" ritual, and while some texts talk about this method, it might have not been real. with a broad sword Victims likely lost consciousness early in the process as flesh was removed from their backs; the quantity of blood loss and subsequent lung collapse would have killed them long before the grisly ordeal was finished, and "much of the procedure would have been performed on a corpse," the scientists reported. In ttr af Ragnars sonum (the "Tale of Ragnar's sons"), Ivar the Boneless has captured king lla of Northumbria, who had killed Ivar's father Ragnar Lobrk. Work on the anatomical limits of the ritual spurred me to consider the wider social and cultural limits within which any historical blood eagle would have had to have taken place, Murphy says. The tallest guy in recent history was a man named Robert Wadlow, who stood at 8 11 and did indeed need braces to stand due to his enormous height. Spectacular executions, displaying of dead bodies, and "deviant burials" did occursuch as the skeleton of a beheaded noblewoman buried with her head tucked under arm and her jawbone replaced by a pig's mandible. Seemingly 'empty' burial mound is hiding a 1,200-year-old Viking ship, Rare, 1,000-year-old Viking Age iron hoard found in basement in Norway, Extremely rare white killer whale spotted off California coast. In the video game Assassins Creed: Valhalla,Ivarr the Boneless, a character based on the Viking chieftain who invaded the British Isles in the ninth century C.E., performs theblood eagleon his nemesis, King Rhodri. The life span of eagles in the wild is generally around 30 years. The Vikings rubbed salt on the wound to make things more painful and pulled the victim's lungs over their shoulders. 2012, Sigvatr rarson. Here's your blood eagle how-to, as related by Smithsonian Magazine: First, fasten the victim, face-down, and carve the image of an eagle, wings outstretched, on the victim's back. The Blood Eagle - Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind The Infographics Show 12.9M subscribers Join Subscribe 104K Share Save 4.7M views 3 years ago We're back with another worst. His co-authors conducted several simulations using modern anatomy software, while Murphy re-assessed the stories, archaeological evidence, and historical accounts in light of their findings. [The early references] merely envisage someone scratching, as deeply as possible, a picture of an eagle upon Ellas back. Vikings aimed to be as historically accurate as possible, which wasnt easy given the few historical records about the Viking Age, but theres one big mistake when it comes to the most brutal death in the series: the blood eagle, and heres what happened. Archived post. "), There are also two accounts of Torf-Einarr's execution of Halfdan Haaleg. Why Did Madison Write the Second Amendment? If you know anything about history, its that they winners are never content simply winningthey need to justify their victory by claiming their victims were evil and deserved it. According to Saxo, the term eagle was used by men who rejoiced in "[crushing] their most ruthless foe by marking him with the cruellest of birds.". The answer, according to an interdisciplinary team of medical doctors, anatomists and a historian, is a resounding yes. - Jan 10, 2022 7:22 pm UTC. A BRUTAL Viking torture ritual rubbished by researchers may have actually been a thing, according to a new study. Second, the mere act of opening the thoracic cavity from behind would likely weaken or sever several major arteries of the body, and probably deflate the lungs. Others note that the early references occurred centuries after Scandinavia had been Christianized and that the Blood Eagle was merely a propagandist myth used by Christians to make the pagan Vikings appear subhuman. New York, Cookie Settings, The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog, The Science of California's 'Super Bloom,' Visible From Space, What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklins Unheralded Brilliance. Real Life / Cruel And Unusual Death - TV Tropes However, when it comes to the depictions of blood eagle, Murphy pointed out one crucial aspect regarding the perception of Vikings in the 21st century. Some scholars believe that the Blood Eagle was connected to earlier human sacrifices made to Odin, although whether or not those sacrifices every took placeremains controversial. Certain types of Viking knives, swords and spears may have been wielded for different parts of the blood eagle ritual, and prior archaeological discoveries include examples of weapons that would have been well-suited for this gruesome practice. The Portal for Public History. "It was physically possible, in line with broader social habits regarding execution and the treatment of corpses, and reflected a cultural obsession with demonstrating your honor and prestige. (The word translated "raven" is not hrafn but hugin, the personal name of one of Odin's ravens.). varr ara, The primary versions share certain commonalities: the victims are both noblemen (Halfdan Haaleg or "Long-leg" was a prince; lla of Northumbria a king), and both of the executions were in retaliation for the murder of a father. Thanks I hate blood eagle (WARNING EXTREME GORE) : r/TIHI - Reddit The use of salt was later adopted by writers; they described the process as a "saline stimulant" intended to inflict additional pain and suffering, usually applied before the lungs were spread.
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