Ragnar Lothbrok and the Frankish Chronicles

Episode 91 of Fexingo History turns from the Norse sagas and English chronicles to the Frankish perspective on Ragnar Lothbrok. We examine the Annals of St. Bertin and the work of Dudo of Saint-Quentin, the two main Frankish sources that mention a Viking leader named Ragnar (or Reginherus) raiding the Seine in the 9th century. Lucas and Luna explore how these accounts differ from the legendary sagas, what they reveal about Viking interactions with the Carolingian Empire, and the controversy over whether the Ragnar in the Frankish sources is the same figure as the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok. They discuss Charles the Bald's payment of Danegeld, the siege of Paris in 845, and why Frankish chroniclers portrayed Vikings as divine punishment. The episode also touches on the historical method of comparing contemporary chronicles with later legendary material, and what the Frankish sources can tell us about early Viking raids on the continent.

#RagnarLothbrok #FrankishChronicles #AnnalsOfStBertin #DudoOfSaintQuentin #Reginherus #CharlesTheBald #Danegeld #SiegeOfParis845 #CarolingianEmpire #VikingRaids #SeineRiver #GestaDanorum #SaxoGrammaticus #NorseSagas #LegendVsHistory #EarlyMiddleAges #History #FexingoHistory

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