Ragnar Lothbrok and the Frankish Chronicles

Lucas and Luna explore what contemporary Frankish sources reveal about Ragnar Lothbrok. While the sagas and later medieval chronicles offer legendary accounts, the Annales Bertiniani and other Carolingian records provide terse but valuable mentions of a Viking leader named Reginherus who sacked Paris in 845. This episode dives into the chronicles of Prudentius of Troyes, the Annals of St. Bertin, and the writings of Lupus of Ferrières to separate historical fact from later myth. We discuss the diplomatic exchanges between Charles the Bald and the Vikings, the payment of Danegeld, and the cultural shock of the attack. Listeners will gain a nuanced understanding of how contemporary record-keepers viewed the Vikings and how their entries shaped later legends. The episode also touches on the limitations of these sources and what they do—and don't—tell us about the historical Ragnar.

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