The Blood Eagle
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The Blood Eagle
The Blood Eagle was a method of ritual execution described in late skaldic poetry. According to the two accounts mentioned in the sagas, the victims—both members of royal families—were laid face down, their ribs severed from the spine with a sharp tool, and their lungs pulled through the opening to create a pair of "wings." Up until the 1980s, scholars debated whether this ritual was a literary invention, a mistranslation of the original texts, or an authentic historical practice.
Accounts of the Blood Eagle Execution
Einarr and Halfdan
Two sources describe the ritual execution of Halfdan Long-Leg, son of Harald Fairhair, by Torf-Einarr in the late 9th century. Both were written centuries after the events they claim to depict and are known to have influenced each other.
In the Orkneyinga Saga, the Blood Eagle is presented as an offering to Odin:
Old Norse Text:
Þar fundu þeir Hálfdan hálegg, ok lèt Einarr rísta örn á baki honum með sverði, ok skera rifin öll frá hrygginum ok draga þar út lúngun, ok gaf hann Óðni til sigrs sèr.
Translation:
Einarr had them carve an eagle on his back with a sword, sever the ribs from the spine, pull out the lungs, and dedicate him to Odin for his victory.
In Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, the event is similarly described, but Einarr performs the act himself:
Old Norse Text:
Þá gékk Einarr jarl til Hálfdanar; hann reist örn á baki honum með þeima hætti, at hann lagði sverði á hol við hrygginn ok reist rifin öll ofan alt á lendar, dró þar út lungun; var þat bani Hálfdanar.
Translation:
Then Earl Einarr went to Halfdan and carved the "Blood Eagle" on his back, driving his sword through the spine into the chest, severing all the ribs down to the loins, and pulling out the lungs. This was Halfdan’s death.
The Sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and King Ælla of Northumbria
In Þáttr af Ragnars sonum (The Tale of Ragnar’s Sons), Ivar the Boneless captures King Ælla of Northumbria, who had killed Ragnar Lodbrok. After a battle for York, Ælla’s execution is described:
They carved the bloody eagle on Ælla’s back, cutting all the ribs away from the spine and pulling out his lungs.
The Blood Eagle is also mentioned by 11th-century poet Sigvatr Þórðarson in his skaldic poem Knútsdrápa, which describes Ivar the Boneless killing Ælla and carving open his back:
Old Norse Text:
Ok Ellu bak,
Bei lét hinn's sat,
Ívarr, ara,
Iorví, skorit.
Literal Translation:
And Ælla’s back,
had, he who dwelled,
Ívarr, with eagle,
York, cut.
Interpretation:
And Ívarr, who dwelled in York,
had Ælla’s back cut with an eagle.
Skaldic verses were intentionally cryptic and metaphorical, and the idiomatic nature of Sigvatr’s poem has been debated. The association of the eagle with blood and death in Norse imagery lends weight to the interpretation of this passage as referring to the Blood Eagle.
In Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum, the execution of Ælla by Bjørn and Sigvard, Ragnar’s sons, is described as follows:
Latin Text:
Idque statuto tempore exsecuti, comprehensi ipsius dorsum plaga aquilam figurante affici iubent, saevissimum hostem atrocissimi alitis signo profligare gaudentes. Nec vulnus impressisse contenti, laceratam salivere carnem.
Translation:
At the appointed time, they carried it out; having captured him, they ordered his back to be cut in the shape of an eagle, rejoicing in vanquishing their cruelest enemy with the mark of the fiercest bird. Not content with inflicting the wound, they salted the torn flesh.
Other Accounts
Norna-Gests þáttr
A potential indirect reference to the Blood Eagle appears in Norna-Gests þáttr. At the end of section 6, titled "Sigurd slew the sons of Hunding," a character recounting past events recites the following verses:
Old Norse Text:
Nú er blóðugr örn
breiðum hjörvi
bana Sigmundar
á baki ristinn.
Fár var fremri,
sá er fold rýðr,
hilmis nefi,
ok hugin gladdi.
Translation:
Now the Blood Eagle
With a broad sword
The killer of Sigmund
Carved upon the back.
Few were braver
As the troops scattered,
A chieftain of the people
Who gladdened the raven.
The term "raven" here translates not from hrafn but from hugin, the name of one of Odin's ravens.
Authenticity of the Blood Eagle Ritual
The historicity of the Blood Eagle remains a matter of significant scholarly debate. No contemporary accounts of the ritual exist, and references in sagas were written several centuries after Scandinavia's Christianisation.
Arguments Supporting Historicity
In the 1970s, Alfred Smyth argued for the ritual's authenticity, proposing it as a human sacrifice to Odin. He likened descriptions of Ælla’s execution to "an accurate account of a body subjected to the Blood Eagle ritual."
Scepticism and Alternative Interpretations
Roberta Frank critically assessed the historical evidence in her work Viking Atrocity and Skaldic Verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle. She argued that the details—such as carving an eagle, rib splitting, lung removal, and salting the wounds—were exaggerated motifs woven together in later sagas to create a horrifying narrative.
Frank suggested that the sagas misinterpreted poetic descriptions, possibly referring metaphorically to leaving enemies face-down on the battlefield, their backs torn apart by scavenging birds. She compared these embellishments to Christian martyr narratives, such as the account of Saint Sebastian, whose body was pierced by arrows to expose his ribs and organs.
Similarly, David Horspool, in King Alfred: Burnt Cakes and Other Legends, noted parallels to martyr tales but did not address the ritual's historical basis. Ronald Hutton, in The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, concluded that the Blood Eagle was likely a Christian myth resulting from a misinterpretation of earlier skaldic verses.
Modern Analysis
A 2022 study examined the physiological feasibility of the Blood Eagle ritual without asserting its historical authenticity. The study concluded:
- The described ritual is not inconsistent with Viking Age tools or the physiology of the human body.
- If the ritual were performed as the sagas describe, and the victim was alive, death would occur within seconds from blood loss or asphyxiation following the severing of the ribs from the spine.
While the ritual remains enigmatic, it continues to provoke debate as a vivid symbol of Viking culture, whether as a literal practice or a literary construct.