Ragnar's Sons and the Great Heathen Army: Viking Invasion

In this episode, we pull together the threads of Ragnar's legend and the historical reality of his sons. The Great Heathen Army, recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the 'mycel hæþen here', landed in East Anglia in 865. We follow its movements: the capture of Eoferwic (York), the death of King Ælla, and the campaigns of Ívarr inn beinlausi and Halfdan Ragnarsson. We explore the blood-eagle controversy, the treaty with King Æthelred of Wessex, and the army's shift from raiding to settlement. How much of the saga is memory, and how much is myth? We look at the possible historical kernel behind the legend of Ragnar's death in a snake pit and the revenge of his sons. We also touch on the role of the Uí Ímair, the dynasty that may have descended from Ívarr, and the archaeological evidence from Repton. This is the story of how a legendary family reshaped England.

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