2023 Smithsonian Magazine The game begins with Senua arriving on 49 A gruesome form of execution whereby an eagle is carved onto the victim, their ribs severed from their spine and their lungs pulled out to resemble wings . Now is the bloody eagle As such, the scholars conclude, the blood eagle could have formed an extreme, but not implausible, outlier to the idea of the bad death within wider Viking society: a way to avenge an earlier deviant, dishonorable or otherwise culturally condemned death. This was an act that had meaning. However, ribs could potentially be "unzipped" from the spine with a small, barbed spearhead, and such weapons have also been recovered from Viking burials, the researchers reported. Lots of people become victims of other people's press, and more than a few have tripped over their own feet and created image problems forever after. Two separate episodes of the hit History Channel show Vikings depict an unimaginably grisly and horrific torture method that is known as the Blood Eagle. In the first, the villain Karl Borg is murdered through the extremely cruel and brutal method; in the second, the corrupt King Ella is tortured to death using the Blood Eagle method. The primary versions share certain commonalities: the victims are both noblemen (Halfdan Haaleg or "Long-leg" was a prince; lla of Northumbria a king), and both of the executions were in retaliation for the murder of a father. This is technically possible, although it would require tremendous strength and coordination, and the ribs would likely need to be fractured again somewhere on the victim's side. After that, his ribs would be hacked from his spine with an ax, one by one, and the bones and skin on both sides pulled outward to create a pair of wings from the mans back. Theres nothing about severing the ribs from the spine or pulling the lungs over the exposed ribsthose details would be piled on, one-by-one, over the coming years. The Blood Eagle - Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind The Infographics Show 12.9M subscribers Join Subscribe 104K Share Save 4.7M views 3 years ago We're back with another worst. Supposedly, this was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals, like someone who murdered his parents , but there is some question as to whether or not the . had Ella's back In the numerous sagas that mention the Blood Eagle practice, revenge and pure disdain often preceded its usage. The work of scholars is to understand how this violence fit into a complex societyand a new study does just that. Heres how it works. Here are some details about this antiquated and shocking punishmentto help fill in some of history's cracks. But one thing is beyond dispute: Either the Vikings were sick individuals, or their conquerors had a sick imagination. Set to be published inSpeculum: A Journal of Medieval Studieslater this month, the article sidesteps the question of whether the ritual actually took place during the Viking Age, instead asking whether the blood eagle could feasibly serve as a torture method. He's currently the senior academic advisor in the History Department at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. [14], Roberta Frank reviewed the historical evidence for the rite in her "Viking Atrocity and Skaldic Verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle", where she writes: "By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the various saga motifseagle sketch, rib division, lung surgery, and 'saline stimulant'were combined in inventive sequences designed for maximum horror. Second, the mere act of opening the thoracic cavity from behind would likely weaken or sever several major arteries of the body, and probably deflate the lungs. The give-and-take nature of the pairs collaboration with Luke John Murphy, a historian of religion at the University of Iceland, proved eminently fruitful, with the different perspectives of history and medicine pushing the scholars in unexpected ways. | READ MORE. In other words, rituals like the blood eagle had meaning because they were a wayin practice or on the pageof drawing lines between groups of people and warning outsiders of the dangers of crossing that boundary. Jarl Borg was aleader from Gtaland who was introduced in Vikings season 1, and it was clear from the beginning that he was going to bring a lot of trouble to Ragnar and Kattegat. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. The account of lle, the king of Northumbria being thus treated by the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok in retaliation for Ragn. In one version, an eagle is carved on Halfdan's back with a sword, all the ribs cut from the backbone, and the lungs drawn out. This horrific murder method was allegedly practiced not only on conquered soldiers, but on Viking men whod performed evil deeds and had thus lost all honor in the eyes of the community. In popular lore, few images are as synonymous with Viking brutality as the blood eagle, a practice that allegedly found torturers separating the victims ribs from their spine, pulling their bones and skin outward to form a set of wings, and removing their lungs from their chest cavity. Unless performed very carefully, the victim would have died quickly from suffocation or blood loss; even if the ritual was conducted with care, the subject wouldve almost certainly died before the full blood eagle could be completed. However, theres a lot of debate on whether the blood eagle was real, a literary invention, or a mistake in the translation of the original texts. The blood eagle is described as a sacrifice to the Norse god Odin, who is referenced throughout the Vikings series. Set to be published in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies later this month, the article sidesteps the question of whether the ritual actually took place during the Viking Age, instead asking whether the blood eagle could feasibly serve as a torture method. (The word translated "raven" is not hrafn but hugin, the personal name of one of Odin's ravens.). David M. Perry is the co-author ofThe Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe. York, cut. The victim had become a slimy, bloody bird. People are messy, and, by extension, history is, too. The debate among historians about whether or not the Blood Eagle actually occurred continues. Oral tradition can screw up details, especially when theres a 200-year lapse between the alleged event and the description. He was previously a professor of medieval history at Dominican University from 2006-2017. The lungs were then pulled out and over the ribs, mimicking the image of the wings of a spread eagle. Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide, earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence. The victim, it is said, would still be alive at this point to experience the agony ofsaline stimulanthaving salt rubbed, quite literally, into his vast wound. Early in the series, a rival leader named Jarl Borg (Thorbjrn Harr) of nearby Gtaland leads an attack on Ragnar's men and even convinces Ragnar's brother to betray him. The vertebral column would still present an obstacle to removing the lungs, and the primary bronchi and pulmonary veins and arteries aren't long enough to allow the lungs to be removed while they are still attached. The Disturbing Truth About The Vikings' Blood Eagle Execution. Performative displays of social standing and ritualized executions that included "conspicuous mutilation" were common practices in elite circles of Viking society; this suggests that written accounts of the blood eagle ritual were describing events that actually happened and were socially significant for leaders celebrating victory over a powerful enemy, the researchers said. The bones and skin are then peeled back, to sort of kind of make them look like wings. The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry.According to the two instances mentioned in the Sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, their ribs severed from the spine with a sharp tool, and their lungs pulled through the opening to create a pair of "wings". Jennifer Ouellette / Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. According to sometranslations of the Viking saga, a less invasive Blood Eagle could be performed by simply carving an eagle with outstretched wings on the victim's naked body; however,for added cruelty, the eviscerating method could be performed from the front. In this case, we're talking about a nifty little procedure called the blood eagle execution. In the paper, the authors move methodically through the medieval sources before discussing what would happen to the human body if the fullest version of the procedure was carried out (in short, nothing good). Here's your blood eagle how-to, as related by Smithsonian Magazine: First, fasten the victim, face-down, and carve the image of an eagle, wings outstretched, on the victim's back. at, lt, hinns sat, However, researchers recently found that the act known as blorn, or "blood eagle," was in fact anatomically possible and could have been performed with known Viking weapons. A posterior view of the thorax illustrating the results of detaching or cutting the ribs. The lungs would also likely have collapsed by this point into compact tissue about the size of a fist. The historian community believes that the blood eagle ritual is a piece of complex poetic misunderstanding due to the lack of information. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Why Did Madison Write the Second Amendment? Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies and chair of the Department of Religion & Culture at Virginia Tech. Related: Vikings: Jarl Borg Created A Major Location Mistake In The Show. The answer is complex. One would also need to sever the muscles attaching the ribs to the lower back. So it remains unclear whether or not the Blood Eagle was real. who dwelt at York, We won't go into detail here, but watch our new horror video to see how bad torture was in the past, and how you pretty much have it made living in 2020. Archaeologists have never found human remains that display signs of having endured this ritual. The History Channel series Vikings is a fictional account of legendary Norse hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), who was born a farmer and became a Scandinavian king. The execution method shows up twice in the popular History Channel drama series Vikings as aritual reservedfor the protagonists worst enemies,Jarl BorgandKing lla, a fictionalized counterpart to the actualNorthumbrian ruler. The use of salt was later adopted by writers; they described the process as a "saline stimulant" intended to inflict additional pain and suffering, usually applied before the lungs were spread. The killing of lla, after a battle for control of York, is described thus: They caused the bloody eagle to be carved on the back of lla, and they cut away all of the ribs from the spine, and then they ripped out his lungs. Borg doesn't get an easy death when his schemes ultimately fail and he is captured. Single-edged "fighting knives" with rigid handles have been found in elite Viking burials, and some resemble large knives that are used in modern autopsies, according to the study. I watched midsommar last night, and it is full of nordic tropes. It wouldn't be possible to cut each of them and detach the ribs quickly with a serrated blade while the victim was still alive. In popular lore, few images are as synonymous with Viking brutality as the " blood eagle ," a practice that allegedly found torturers separating the victim's ribs from their spine, pulling. While dissecting a living human body in this way was within the realm of possibility, surviving such torture was not. Vikings, like many medieval people, could be spectacularly violent, but perhaps not more so than other groups across a range of time periods. Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies and chair of the Department of Religion & Culture at Virginia Tech. "[18], While taking no view on the historical authenticity of the ritual, the authors of a 2022 study concluded that the ritual as described was not inconsistent either with physiology or the tools available within the sociocultural context of the Viking era. varr ara, Next, take an axe there's nothing about sharpening it first and use the axe to hew the victim's ribs from the spine. Unless performed very carefully, the victim would have died quickly from suffocation or blood loss; even if the ritual was conducted with care, the subject wouldve almost certainly died before the full blood eagle could be completed. In some cases, the texts suggested that a designated official was on hand to perform the blood eagle act, perhaps because it required highly specialized knowledge of anatomy and butchering. But What is it, Really. Hacking away at the ribs with a sword or small axeas Ragnar does in the Vikings scene would have seriously damaged the lungs. ar fundu eir Hlfdan hlegg, ok lt Einarr rsta rn baki honum me sveri, ok skera rifin ll fr hrygginum ok draga ar t lngun, ok gaf hann ni til sigrs sr. As the story progressed, Vikings shifted its focus to Ragnars sons and their own journeys, with them taking over the series after Ragnars death in season 4. It would have been very difficult to separate the ribs from the vertebrae, since the joints are stabilized by very strong ligaments. The torturer would then complete the ritual by pulling out the victim's intact lungs and laying them over the extended ribs (by this point, the victim was certainly deceased, the researchers wrote). They then looked at weapons from that era, to see how diverse blades might have been used for a task so laborious and grisly. varr, with eagle, According to Saxo, the term eagle was used by men who rejoiced in "[crushing] their most ruthless foe by marking him with the cruellest of birds.". In ttr af Ragnars sonum (the "Tale of Ragnar's sons"), Ivar the Boneless has captured king lla of Northumbria, who had killed Ivar's father Ragnar Lobrk. One would first need to rapidly remove all the skin and muscles of the back; it would otherwise not be possible to cut and manipulate the underlying ribs so the lungs could be removed. The blood eagle is a method of execution detailed in late skaldic poetry. When she's not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs! Some believed that the brutal rite resulted from . The Portal for Public History. Nec vulnus impressisse contenti, laceratam salivere carnem. by Other sources detail the practice more fully. Then we come to various rituals and rites that don't involve reciting sagas and drinking a lot. The blood eagles prominence within Viking societyboth during the medieval era and as ascribed in the centuries sincestems from its emphasis on ritual and revenge. ("They caused the bloody eagle to be carved on the back oflla, and they cut away all of the ribs from the spine, and then they ripped out his lungs. Ragnar performs theblrn (blood eagle) on Borg, a gruesome process of ritualized torture and execution allegedly carried out during the Viking Age (c. 7501050). Cookie Policy The Vikings rubbed salt on the wound to make things more painful and pulled the victim's lungs over their shoulders. It is alleged that the practice was invented by Ivarr the Boneless, a Viking military leader in occupied England who lived in the 800s and disappeared from the historical record by 870 AD. According to 12th and 13th century authors, the Blood Eagle had a long tradition in Scandinavia, often being associated with Vikings,and was used against the most heinous enemies. The ritual was only known about from sagas until the University of Iceland team discovered that it 'could have' been performed with Viking weapons . But in the nine known written accounts of the blood eagle ritual, the people who ordered the torture and their victims were men of elevated social status, and most of them were royal, according to the study. Borg later attacked Kattegat when Horik excluded him from their raids and battled Ragnar and his men. and gladden the raven. The blood eagle purportedly involved carving open the victim's back, cutting the ribs away from the spine, and then pulling out the lungs through the opening to display them on the outspread ribs. "Class War" is Back in the Headlines. In TheOrkneyingaSaga, Hdlfddn(Halfdan) underwent the Blood Eagle after he was defeated in battle: "Next morning they found Hdlfddn Hdlegg on Kinar's Hill. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. Either way, the rituals appearance in these texts is intended to send a message tied to honor and revenge. Around 1300 AD in the saga Norna-Gests, another reference appears, but it, too, is vague: Now the blood eagle This would be sufficient if the ritual was merely the carving of an eagle into the victim's back, then folding back large flaps of skin and muscle to either side of the body to make "wings." The Oxford English Dictionary provides a very brief description of the method: A Viking method of killing someone, usually the slayer of a mans father, by cutting out the ribs in the shape of an eagle. Horik then told Ragnar to reestablish their alliance with Borg, and after the latter accepted the offer, Ragnar captured him and sentenced him to death by blood eagle (in season 2s episode appropriately titled Blood Eagle). After that, his exposed lungs would be pulled out of his body and spread over his wings, offering witnesses the sight of a final bird-like fluttering as he died.
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