Ragnar Lodbrok was the legendary king of the Vikings who ruled over Denmark and Sweden. Ragnar Lodbrok is mentioned in many old poems, sagas and chronicles of this famous tribe. However, despite his glorious conquests, Ragnar Lodbrok met an unhappy end when he was killed by his ex-wife – Lagertha, the female shield-maiden warrior.
Legend of the Viking Queen
According to legend, Lagertha ruled over the lands that today make up Norway. Her story was documented in the 12th century by the historian Saxo Grammaticus. In the ninth book of his work Gesta Danorum – a history of Denmark, Saxo wrote about Lagertha as follows.
Lagertha embarked on her path as a warrior when Fro, the King of Sweden, invaded Norway and killed King Siward. Fro had the late king’s concubines brought to a brothel to publicly dishonor them. Hearing this news, Ragnar Lodbrok – the legendary Viking king – quickly brought his army to avenge King Siward (who was also Ragnar’s grandfather). Many women who had been forced by Fro’s orders to submit all dressed as men and fought under Ragnar’s banner.
Leading this army of female warriors, and key to Ragnar’s victory over King Fro, was the young maiden Lagertha. Saxo described her as: “Lagertha, a skilled Amazon, though a maid, had the courage of a man, and fought bravely against the boldest with hair hanging down her back.” All were astonished by her unprecedented actions, but the lock of hair hanging down her back revealed her female nature.
Impressed by her bravery, King Ragnar courted her. The maiden feigned interest and Ragnar wished to ask her hand in marriage, so he competed in contests in the Gaular valley against many others. When he arrived at Lagertha’s home, the king had to face a bear and a fierce dog guarding the entrance. Ragnar speared the bear and broke the dog’s neck, winning Lagertha’s hand in marriage. They had a son named Fridleif together and two unnamed daughters.
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Ragnar’s betrayal and the warrior woman’s revenge
Ragnar and Lagertha’s marriage faced trouble when the king returned to Denmark to participate in civil war. Saxo recounts that Ragnar remained angry that Lagertha had made him face the wild beasts. After the civil war, Ragnar decided to divorce Lagertha to marry Princess Thora Borgarhjort – the daughter of the King of Sweden Herraud.
Ragnar once again faced civil war in Denmark. So despite taking a new wife, the king still appealed to his ex-wife for help. Lagertha, out of love for him, immediately came to his aid with 120 ships. During this war, Ragnar’s son Siward was wounded and Lagertha’s assistance saved the king’s life.
Saxo describes: “Lagertha, whose unconquerable soul inhabited her fragile frame, by her valor caused armed men to falter. She devised stratagems, and passing behind the foe in stealth, transformed the alarms of friends to the dread of enemies.”
Despite fighting alongside Ragnar this way, on the journey back to Norway the two quarreled. Lagertha stabbed Ragnar to death with the spear she had concealed in her bedclothes. Her actions were seen as a bid to usurp power rather than share rule with Ragnar.
According to the historian Saxo Grammaticus, Lagertha lived in the Gaula valley located in western Norway, as marked on the map.
The story of Lagertha is recorded in passages from the ninth book of Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work of Danish history written by the Christian historian Saxo Grammaticus. According to this work, after divorcing Lagertha, Ragnar Lodbrok married Princess Thora Borgarhjört of Sweden.
Some scholars believe Lagertha could be identified with the Norse deity Thorgerd. Thorgerd was a goddess worshipped by the Norwegian ruler Haakon Sigurdsson, and was sometimes said to be wed to him. This may be the origin of Lagertha’s likely name in her native Old Norse, Hlaðgerðr.
In fiction, Lagertha’s figure has been portrayed in many prominent literary works and films, such as the 1789 novel by Christen Pram and the popular American TV series “Vikings”, in which Lagertha is played by actress Katheryn Winnick.
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