Blood eagle
The blood eagle was a ritual execution purportedly performed by the Norse as offerings to Odin.[1]
Description[edit | edit source]
According to translations of skaldic verses, victims would be laid prone[1] before having their ribs severed from their spine, followed by the executioner(s) pulling their lungs through the wounds to display a macabre set of "wings".[2]
History[edit | edit source]
In 867, the Vikings Ivarr the Boneless, Ubba Ragnarsson,[3] and their brothers[2] used this torture method to kill King Ælla of Northumbria in retaliation for his execution of their father, Ragnar Lothbrok.[4] Around 873, Ivarr condemned the Brittonic king Rhodri ap Merfyn to the same fate and forced Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan to watch, much to her displeasure at his sadism.[5] Despite her own misgivings on the practice, Eivor was not above relying on its brutal reputation through implied threats, as she once did in 875 by describing how to perform a blood eagle in order to dissuade two unruly Lincolnscire locals from instigating a fight.[6]
Following the death of Eivor's cousin King Bárid mac Ímair of Dublin in 881 after a surprise attack by Abbot Eogan mac Cartaigh's army,[7] Bárid's son Sichfrith threatened to blood-eagle the traitorous clergyman. However, Eivor discouraged this rash action, instead advising that he back Flann Sinna's bid as High King of Ireland, and in doing so, support and earn favor from a stronger ally who had greater odds at avenging Bárid by bringing Eogan to justice.[8]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
Modern scholars question the historical authenticity of this practice. While it is a recurring element in 13th century Norse sagas, with every subsequent mention of it also refining the torture details,[2] some academics believe the idea was created by later Christian historians who misinterpreted certain metaphorical saga verses.[1]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Echoes of History – Vikings (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
- Wrath of the Druids (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers
- The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
Blood eagle on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Echoes of History – Vikings – Thor's Hammer
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Database: Ivarr and Ubba
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers – The Dust Settles
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – King Killer
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – A Noble Escort
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wrath of the Druids – The Mask of Diplomacy
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wrath of the Druids – The Wages of War
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