Although based on historical persons from the 9th century, Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons are the subjects of compelling legends dating from the Viking era. Warriors, raiders, and rulers, Ragnar and his sons inspired unknown writers to set down their stories over seven centuries ago. This volume presents new and original translations of the three major Old Norse texts that tell Ragnar's story: the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, the Tale of Ragnar's Sons, and the Sogubrot. Ragnar's death song, the Krakumal, and a Latin fragment called the List of Swedish Kings, complete the story. Extensive notes and commentary are provided, helping the reader to enter the world of these timeless stories of Viking adventure.

From the translator of the bestselling Poetic Edda (Hackett, 2015) comes a gripping new rendering of two of the greatest sagas of Old Norse literature. Together the two sagas recount the story of seven generations of a single legendary heroic family and comprise our best source of traditional lore about its members—including, among others, the dragon-slayer Sigurd, Brynhild the Valkyrie, and the Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok.

Millions love the hit television show Vikings—but how many fans know that its main character, Ragnar, is based on an actual Viking king whose ambitious and terrifying exploits have been legend since the ninth century AD? As fierce, cunning, and determined as the character he inspired, King Ragnar Lodbrok is perhaps most famous for his sacking of Paris in 845 AD. He is also widely regarded to be among the first Viking leaders to target the riches of the British Isles not simply for plunder, but also for Danish settlement. The Legend of Ragnar Lodbrok presents fascinating translations of ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth-century writings—including sagas, poems, and historical accounts—that describe, in vivid detail, the adventures of Ragnar, his sons, and his formidable wives, Lagertha the Shieldmaiden and Princess Aslaug. These absorbing convergences of fact and Norse mythology include a new translation of The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok; a new translation of The Tale of Ragnar’s Sons; The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the single most important source for English history during the early Middle ages; Krákumál, a famous twelfth-century poem thought to be Ragnar’s death song; and the Gesta Danorum, a patriotic work that describes the origin of Lagertha and her relationship with Ragnar. Whether Ragnar was a single man of a thousand deeds or an amalgam of heroes may never be proven, but The Legend of Ragnar Lodbrok offers thrilling insight into his brutal, unforgettable world.

Is Aslaug really Ragnar's one true love? Can she save him from his own prideful death? Plus, how close can one be to their stepson before questions are asked? Aslaug was one of Ragnar Lodbrok's wives and bore him many sons. However, prior to meeting him, she spent her childhood locked up in a harp. Then, when the harp owner was murdered, she was raised by a beastly pair who insisted Aslaug never wash in order to hide her beauty. Once released from this life of miserable slavery, Aslaug went on to marry Ragnar Lodbrok, the famous Viking. She bore many children to him as well as help raise some of his other children. At times, her relationship with one of her stepchildren was considered questionable as she favoured him over even her own children. 'Vikings: The Truth About Aslaug And Ragnar' will unravel all these secrets and reveal a story that is more interesting than anything you knew about them previously as well as debunking the myth that their relationship was loveless. Discover the truth today! Part One brings the whole story to life with a historically accurate novel of their lives. Part Two then examines the historical facts behind this famous Viking couple. The 'Viking Secrets' series explores the historical fact from present day fiction in regards to the Vikings and the extraordinary women who existed in the Viking era. PLEASE NOTE: Each of the books in this series can be read as standalone books due to the nature of the sagas involved. Therefore, the book numbering indicates the order in which the stories were published and not the order in which they are required to be read.

"The popular TV show may have popularized Ragnar's story but the real facts are not very well known. Discover the truth behind this Viking Warrior and the rich history of the Vikings."--Publisher's description.

Gesta Danorum - Deeds of the Danes In the early years of the thirteenth century the Danish writer Saxo Grammaticus provided his people with a History of the Danes, an account of their glorious past from the legendary kings and heroes of Denmark to king Gorm. It is one of the major sources for the heroic and mythological traditions of northern Europe, though the complex Latin style and the wide range of material brought together from different sources have limited its use.

The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga contain the first ever descriptions of North America, a bountiful land of grapes and vines, discovered by Vikings five centuries before Christopher Columbus. Written down in the early thirteenth century, they recount the Icelandic settlement of Greenland by Eirik the Red, the chance discovery by seafaring adventurers of a mysterious new land, and Eirik’s son Leif the Lucky’s perilous voyages to explore it. Wrecked by storms, stricken by disease and plagued by navigational mishaps, some survived the North Atlantic to pass down this compelling tale of the first Europeans to talk with, trade with, and war with the Native Americans.

Laughing Shall I Die explores the Viking fascination with scenes of heroic death. The literature of the Vikings is dominated by famous last stands, famous last words, death songs, and defiant gestures, all presented with grim humor. Much of this mindset is markedly alien to modern sentiment, and academics have accordingly shunned it. And yet, it is this same worldview that has always powered the popular public image of the Vikings—with their berserkers, valkyries, and cults of Valhalla and Ragnarok—and has also been surprisingly corroborated by archaeological discoveries such as the Ridgeway massacre site in Dorset. Was it this mindset that powered the sudden eruption of the Vikings onto the European scene? Was it a belief in heroic death that made them so lastingly successful against so many bellicose opponents? Weighing the evidence of sagas and poems against the accounts of the Vikings’ victims, Tom Shippey considers these questions as he plumbs the complexities of Viking psychology. Along the way, he recounts many of the great bravura scenes of Old Norse literature, including the Fall of the House of the Skjoldungs, the clash between the two great longships Ironbeard and Long Serpent, and the death of Thormod the skald. One of the most exciting books on Vikings for a generation, Laughing Shall I Die presents Vikings for what they were: not peaceful explorers and traders, but warriors, marauders, and storytellers.

The Saga of the Volsungs is an Icelandic epic of special interest to admirers of Richard Wagner, who drew heavily upon this Norse source in writing his Ring Cycle and a primary source for writers of fantasy such as J. R. R. Tolkien and romantics such as William Morris. A trove of traditional lore, it tells of love, jealousy, vengeance, war, and the mythic deeds of the dragonslayer, Sigurd the Volsung. Byock's comprehensive introduction explores the history, legends, and myths contained in the saga and traces the development of a narrative that reaches back to the period of the great folk migrations in Europe when the Roman Empire collapsed.

In this rich and exciting alternate history, a Science Fiction Hall of Famer “evokes the spirit and atmosphere of the so-called Dark Ages” (Publishers Weekly). 865 A.D. Warring kings rule over the British Isles, but the Church rules over the kings, threatening all who oppose them with damnation. Only the dreaded Vikings of Scandinavia do not fear the priests. Shef, the bastard son of a Norse raider and a captive English lady, is torn by divided loyalties and driven by strange visions that seem to come from Odin himself. A blacksmith and warrior, he alone dares to imagine new weapons and tactics with which to carve out a kingdom—and launch an all-out war between. . . . The Hammer and the Cross. “Savage, inventive, compelling.” —Piers Anthony, New York Times–bestselling author of the Xanth series “Few historicals are as powerfully evocative of time and place as Harrison’s tremendous saga.” —Kirkus Reviews