Ragnar Lothbrok — Viking Hero
Ragnar Lothbrok is without a doubt one of the greatest war heroes of all time. Ragnar was a Viking war king from Scandinavia during the time of the Vikings. He was widely known for his fame amongst all of Europe. For years he conquered lands in different areas of northern Europe. His pillages of the Saxons and Francia were among his most famous raids. Since the time of Ragnar Lothbrok has long passed, and many heroes have came and went; however, I believe that his legacy has kept the course to becoming one of the greatest heroes, to his people, of all time.
Ragnar was born in Scandinavia around 801 a.d.(Ragnar Lothbrok). He was born and raised in Norway. He did not grow up with all of the fame and glory that he died with. He was a poor farmer before everything in his life changed. According to the documentary “Vikings” on history channel, The young Lothbrok was fed up with the way that his Chieftain was leading their town. He challenged him to a dual and killed his chieftain. This brave moment placed the path for future times as a leader. Now that he was the chieftain he could show his leadership abilities to the rest of, now, his people. From the time of his rule over their village he had began to spread his attacks across all of northern and western Europe. He began his quest by laying siege to the Anglo-Saxon lands(ancient.au). From there Ragnar went on to do the greatest feat of his incredible life.
“Ragnar sailed south with a large force said to include 120 ships and 5,000 men”(Ragnar Lothbrok- Legendary Viking Leader). Then he attacked the nation of Francia, present day France, and he had his eyes set on taking Paris. The attack went on and the French were forced to buy their way out of the lost battle. After the fight was lost and the French became desperate to get the Pagans out of their prized city, they agreed to pay the Vikings 7,000 pounds of Silver in order for the vikings to leave(Danish net). This was a great victory for all of the Viking people. They had established dominance over yet another world power. They secured farmlands in Francia. They also had all of the confidence in the world to attack anyone they wanted to. They did just that. With the great army energized and rich they wanted more and more. They went on to lead several other raiding parties across northern Europe and into all of the different kingdoms of England. He was overly successful in his raiding campaign through his prosperous life king of the Vikings. He was not immortal however. He was eventually brought down by his enemies. “He was captured by King Ella of Northumbria and thrown into a snake-pit, where he died”(Groeneveld). This was a terrible time for his people. “However, he was avenged by his sons who bring their might to England. According to this story, they torture Ella to death by performing the notorious blood-eagle on him”(Groeneveld).
With all of that being said, many different hero traits had to go into a man that accomplished that much for his people. To me, his leadership stands out more than anything, He was brilliant at bringing a group together and accomplishing a common goal. Not only was Ragnar a once in a lifetime leader, but he was also a very skilled warrior in his own right. He was a very large and strong man. He spent his whole life improving his battle tactics. He was very skilled with all of the commonly used weapons by the Vikings. I can admire a leader that fights on the front-line with his men. Most kings would stay in the back and watch his men do the fighting from atop a vantage point. Ragnar would never do this. He would be the first one sprinting out to the front line, leading his men on the charge. I find that very admirable and heroic. His strategic abilities in war was second to none as well. He was very skilled in developing a solid plan with many alternatives in case of a mistake. Then he could execute it flawlessly. That is very impressive.
With all of that being said, now you can see why Ragnar Lothbrok was a very heroic character. He was an A+ leader. These abilities translated into all of his endeavors. Strategy in preparation, skill come time to fight, Ragnar was a complete package. His legacy lives on to this day. That is why I believe that Ragnar Lothbrok is a heroic historical figure.