In the end, Erik would leave and go on to discover Greenland in around 982 AD and the sagas would credit him with founding the first settlement there. Another bloodthirsty rampage ensued when Erik returned from exile to retrieve some personal possessions. Soon Erik found himself in temporary exile after murdering two neighbours who killed his slaves. Brutality was clearly in his blood - at a young age, his family were uprooted and taken to Iceland after his father had been banished from Norway due to some killings. Perhaps the epitome of the archetypal bloodthirsty Viking, Erik the Red violently murdered his way through life.īorn in Norway, Erik gained his nickname most likely due to the colour of his hair and beard but it could also reflect upon his violent nature.
Read more about: Vikings Three of the greatest Viking explorers that ever set sail He was said to have eventually died in battle in 954 AD. During his reigns, he would go violently raiding in Scotland and around the Irish Sea, driven by a thirst for plunder and power. Eric fled to England where he enjoyed two stints as King of Northumbria during the mid 900s. Eric was supposedly the oldest and favourite son of Harald Finehair, the first King of Norway and he secured his inheritance by murdering his other brothers.Įric’s rule of Norway was harsh and unpopular, leading to his deposal by his last surviving brother, Haakon the Good. You don’t gain a nickname like ‘Bloodaxe’ without cracking a few skulls, something Eric started doing from a young age.Īccording to the sagas, Eric began his violent career at the age of 12, raiding and pillaging along the Baltic coasts. Perhaps one of the most famous Vikings in history, Eric Bloodaxe was also one of the toughest. Unlike many of his countrymen, it seems Ivar got to enjoy old age before passing away. The coming years saw Ivar rampage and pillage across parts of England and Scotland before he settled in Dublin, Ireland, as the king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain. Historians debate whether or not this practice was ever a reality or an invention of the Nordic sagas. According to some accounts, they tortured him to death by the method of the blood eagle – a gruesome Norse ritual of execution that saw the shape of an eagle carved into a victim’s back before their ribs were severed from their spine and their lungs pulled from their back and spread out to create a pair of wings. In 866, Ivar’s forces captured York and the following year they got their hands on King Ælla. Read more about: Battles The Three Greatest Viking battles His death marks the end of the Viking Age, making Harald the last great Viking ruler. Initial success couldn’t be sustained and Harald was defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge by the forces of Harold II, who would go on to lose to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings a few weeks later.Īlthough Harald was said to have fought during the Battle of Stamford Bridge with the fury of a beserker, with no body armour on, an arrow to the throat felled him. The pair came to a compromise to co-rule, an agreement that lasted just one year as Magnus passed away, leaving Harald the new King of Norway in 1046.Īfter swiftly crushing any resistance to his reign, the formidable warlord turned his sights on the English throne, mounting an audacious invasion in September 1066. He then turned his sights to Norway, where Olaf’s son Magnus had recently been crowned king. "Yep, that's me.Read more about: Vikings Harald Hardrada: The last Vikingĭescribed as cold, ruthless and aggressively ambitious, Harald soon amassed himself a large wealth. I love boxing, listening to rock music, and I'm fiercely protective. Think of Raven from Teen Titans, and the fact that I'm pretty badass myself. I'm a girl, and while I may be biased because my name is Reyvin, I think that Raven's pretty badass. Cause my names Phoenix which is a bird and so is Raven. just to keep the bird names going through the family. Considering naming my child this cause 1. Not to mention its just an mysterious and badass name. There is a folklore that there was a deity and guardian of Britain that was called Bran the Blessed, who had his own head cut off just to so it could speak words of prophecy. Also, the name "Raven" just sounds amazing. I've always liked her, and she pretty much just symblizes badass for me. Such a beautiful name, and I pretty much think of the DC superhero Raven each time.
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