*children based on Royal Genealogy Database.

Much of the history of these early families may be invented mythology.  Care needs to be taken about the birth dates, and lineage.  

In the translated writings of Saxo we find this:

"I should think that he who did this miracle wished to declare, by the manifest token of his eyes, that the young man was to be cruel in the future, in order that more visible part of his body might not lack some omen of his life that was to follow.  When the old woman, who had the care of his draughts, saw him showing his face signs of little snakes, she was seized with an extraordinary horror of the young man, and suddenly fell and swooned away.  Hence it happened that Siward go the widespread name of Snake-Eye."  [Saxo,  bk 9, p547-548  - Hathi Trust Digital Library -    https://babel.hathitrust.org]

"As a boy Sigurd was close to his father and accompanied Ragnar on a hazardous expedition through Russia to the Hellespont. Later on in life he is said to have sojourned for a time in Scotland and the Scottish Islands, like all wise men." Wikipedia.org

The below photo is on the bay on the north side of the town of Roskilde.  The Viking Ship Museum occupies this area now but during the era of "Snake-in-the-eye", about 850, it was a major protected port that was used as a origin point for various raids.  "Snake-in-the-eye"'s grandson Harald "Bluetooth" made this the official site of his kingdom.  He is later buried here in the nearby Roskilde Cathedral. 

Viking Ships at Roskilde
edited photo Elroy Christenson 2016

Ementarius of Noirmoutier in 860 recorded:

"The number of ships increases, the endless flood of vikings never ceases to grow bigger.  Everywhere Christ's people are the victims of massacre, burning, and plunder.  The vikings over-run all that lies before them, and no one can withstand them.  They seize Bordeaux, Périgueux, Limoges, Angouléme, Toulouse, Angers, Tours, and Orleans are made deserts.  Ships past counting voyage up the Seine, and throughout the entire region evil grows strong. Rouen is laid waste, looted and burnt: Paris, Beauvais, Meaux are taken , Melun's stonghold is razed to the ground, Chartres occupied, Evreux and Bayeaux looted, and every town invested. " [Jones 215]

The amount of bullion that the Viking raiders accumulated was incredible, no wonder they kept coming back.  In 845 on Hamburg, Fresia and Paris started with 600 ships.  They came back from Paris alone with 7000lbs of gold and silver. In 858 from St. Denis, Fr. they took 686 lbs of gold and 3000lbs of silver. In 860 from Somme they took 3000 - 5000lbs of silver plus livestock. In 862 from the Seine they took 6000lbs in silver. In 884 from East Frankia they took 12,000 lbs of silver and gold.    [Sawyer 37]

An early Medieval monk was at an audience on the return of Ragnar and recorded this.

"Ragnar presented himself at the court of King Horik, and displayed to the king, the great men and visiting notables the gold and silver which he had brought back from Frankia.  He told them he had gained control of Paris, got into the abbey of St-Germain, and subdued the whole kingdom of King Charles. He laid before them part of a beam from the church, and a bolt from the gate of Paris. There he boasted of the incredible riches of Frankia, and how easy it had been to acquire them.  Never had he seen, he said, lands so fertile and so rich, nor a people so cowardly. "
            [Sawyer 40]

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When king Ælla of Northumbria learns of the pillaging army, he musters an overwhelming force and defeats Ragnar's army. Ragnar is dressed in a silken jacket which Aslaug had made and nothing can pierce it. Finally, he is taken prisoner and thrown into a snake pit. However, as the snakes do not bite him, the Englishmen take off his clothes and then the snakes kill him for good.

Ragnar's sons attack England but Ivar does not want to fight as the English army is too large; he fears they will lose and will have to go home again. Ivar, however, stays in England and asks Ælla for wergild, claiming that he can not go home without some compensation to show his brothers. Ivar only asks for as much land as he can cover with an ox's hide. He cuts it into such a fine long string of hide that he can encircle an area large enough for a city. When this is done, he lays the foundations for a city which becomes York. He allies himself with all of England and finally all the chieftains in the region become loyal to Ivar and his brothers.

Then, Ivar tells his brothers to attack England. During the battle Ivar sides with his brothers and so do many of the English chieftains with their people, out of loyalty to Ivar. Ælla is taken captive and in revenge Ragnar's sons carve the blood eagle from him. (ritualized form of torture pulling his lungs through his back - wikipedia) [Saxo bk 9 - 380]

Ivar becomes king over north-eastern England which his forefathers owned (i.e. Ivar Vidfamne and Sigurd Ring), and he has two sons, Yngvar and Husto. They obey their father Ivar and torture king Edmund the Martyr and take his realm.

Ragnar's sons pillage in England, Wales, France and Italy, until they come to the town of Luna in Italy. When they come back to Scandinavia, they divide the kingdom so that Björn Ironside has Uppsala and Sweden, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye has Zealand, Scania, Halland, Viken, Agder, all the way to Lindesnes and most of Oppland, and  receives Reidgotaland (Jutland) and Wendland.

Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye marries king Ælla's daughter Blaeja and they have a son named, Harthacnut, who succeeds his father as the king of Zealand, Scania and Halland, but Viken rebels and breaks loose. Harthacanute has a son named Gorm, who is big and strong but not as wise as his ancestors.  [wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_Ragnar%27s_Sons]

Source:

Danish Kings - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy-
                 http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/DENMARK.htm#_Toc196361191
Jones, Gwyn.  A History of the Vikings, Oxford University Press. Oxford, England.1968. revised 1984.
Nationalmuseet, Jellingprojektet
Royal Genealogy Database.    http://www.hull.ac.uk
Sawyer, Peter. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press. 1997
Saxo Grammaticus.  Heimskringla, translated by Oliver Elton. The Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus in two vol.  Norroena Society, London, 1905   -     Hathi Trust Digital Library -    https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89065537417;view=2up;seq=46;size=75
Wheaton, Henry (1785-1848). History of the Northmen: or, Danes and Normans, from the earliest times to the Conquest of England by William of Normandy.  pub. Murray, London, 1831    online- Internet Archive - www.archive.org
wikipedia.org
wikitree.com

Elroy's Brief Jutland History  || Elroy's Family Index || Ancestor Chart #23

Cheryl's Family Index | Ancestor Chart #1 | email to Cheryl Grubb

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All information and photos included within these pages are here for the express purpose of personal genealogical research and may not be included or used for any commercial purpose or included in any commercial site without the express permission of Cheryl and Elroy Christenson. Copyright Elroy Christenson 1998-2017.

web pages created by Elroy Christenson- elroy@next1000.com - last updated 11/27/17