Book Description

Ragnar Lothbrok, the celebrated pioneer of the Viking Age, flew a war banner called the Raven. This Raven boasted his lineage from Odin, the one-eyed god of inspiration, battle, and discovery. According to legend, the Raven was woven in a single day by the three daughters of Ragnar and imbued with such magic that it would predict victory or defeat. If the Raven appeared to be in flight, with its wings animated by the wind, then the Vikings would be victorious. Men could force this victory by waving the banner, but whoever did so would forfeit his own life to the Norns of fate.Ragnar flew the Raven banner throughout Scandinavia, and then to Ireland, Scotland, and the walls of Paris. His sons, Ivar the Boneless, Ubba, and Bjorn Ironside carried it at the helm of their Great Heathen Army as they conquered the Saxon kingdoms of Britain. Alfred the Great captured the Raven, but some believe it returned to Viking hands through the Ui Imar kings of York and Dublin. The banner fell at Clontarf before the Irish forces of Brian Boru, but then made its way back to Orkney and then to Norway. There, at the Battle of Stiklestad, Saint Olaf passed it to his half-brother, the last Viking, Harald Hard-Ruler. Harald called the Raven "Land Waster" and credited it with his victories throughout Russia, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and then back to Denmark. Finally, the banner fell for the last time in 1066, in England at Stamford Bridge, the Ragnarok of the Viking Age. Ragnar's Raven: A Legendary History of the Vikings tells the story of this incredible age through the lives of people. Each chapter is the biography of an extraordinary figure that defined his era. Rollo, Ivar, Erik the Red, Floki, Lagertha, Turgeis, Saint Patrick, Alfred, Rurik, Sviatoslav, William the Conqueror, and many other heroes and villains bring this pivotal period in world history to life in a way that facts and chronologies alone cannot. The work is meticulously researched from more than two dozen primary sources and more than fifty secondary sources, but it is not afraid to challenge convention and offer new perspectives. Ragnar's Raven is the perfect introduction for the casually-interested fan of Vikings in popular culture, and a new take for the well-read history enthusiast. From myths, legends, sagas, and stories to the most-recent archeology and DNA research, this book brings the Viking Age to life.