Ragnars Saga Lothbrok

by C. Vandyke, Christopher Van Dyke (Translator)

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.

Genres: History, Mythology, Nonfiction

84 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Chris Vandyke was born in 1979 and spent the first 16 years of his life in the small coastal town of Gold Beach, Oregon. Since 2002 has been a High School English Teacher in the New York City Public School System, which is, needless to say, somewhat different than his hometown. He is the founder and president of Skullgate Media, a writer-owned publishing collective, as well as the editor-in-chief of Tales from the Year Between, a weird-fiction anthology. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, two children, and a menagerie of animals. They are currently one goat shy of a petting zoo.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

They really had the nerve to just end it with the Vikings taking over all of England after King Ælla of Northumbria died

my brother in Christ, have you never heard of Alfred the Great and the Kingdom of Wessex

[Kathy Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, admittedly I read this in desperation after binge-watching all 3 seasons of "Vikings" and still yearning for more. Since the series is very loosely based on this saga, I had to check it out, and it was actually pretty satisfying!

[Spear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read!

[Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: If you go into reading this thinking you're going to get something like the Vikings tv show, you're probably going to be disappointed. The Ragnar Lothbrook you find here is very different from the one on the show and the events herein are quite different. If you're curious about Norse culture during the viking era or are curious about the historical person and text that the show is VERY loosely inspired by, you might be interested, just keep in mind it is VERY loosely based. I enjoyed this as I like reading fairy tales, sagas, and that sort of thing. If that's your thing, you'll probably like this. If you only like stories with deep characterization and rich detail, this may not be your particular horn of mead.

[Donne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I too have enjoyed the television series and wanted more info. I liked many of the historical references of the tribes and the battles but it was lacking in character development, which is something I have enjoyed about the tv show.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a lot of interesting information, but how it was presented and the complexity/confusion/seeming contradictions of the material made it hard to follow. Especially while driving and listening to the audio book. This might have been better if I had physically read to and could go back and forth to check my facts.

[Kelly Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book! The last chapter was hard to read because it's a huge wall of text without many paragraphs.

[Chaitat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't understand much of it as it is full of verses which is not suitable for my level of English reading skill.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wife and I have loved the "Vikings" series, so we we came across this book we had to pick it up. It was interesting, but must be described as fictionalized history. The actual historical accounts of that era are very sparse. This book is a translation of ancient accounts and legends. It doesn't take long to see that the material is more legend than history. Still it is very interesting to read these legends and to imagine how they shaped human responses to this man, as well as the pretty barbaric realities of these early centuries of human history.

[Steven Plappert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great account of the times. Very intriguing

Loved this book and exploring such an interesting and peculiar stretch of history. The Viking value system is a riddle indeed.

Well written. Highly recommend.

[Tim Weakley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read because I've been watching the tv series based on this saga...very loosely based. Good read

[Shellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very confusing, doesn't follow the History Channel's show 'Vikings', but is interesting.