Thus, Ragnar was said to have set sail for England with only two ships in tow in order to conquer the land and prove himself better than his sons. It was here that Ragnar was overwhelmed by the forces of King Aella and was thrown into a pit of snakes where he foretold the arrival of the Great Heathen Army of 865 AD with his famous quote, “How the little piglets would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers.”
Indeed, in 865 AD, Britain was subjected to the largest ever Viking invasion at the time – led by Ivar the Boneless, whose remains now lie in a mass grave in Repton – which would precipitate the beginning of Danelaw.
Yet, how much of our history really owes its existence to this legendary Viking King who had such a profound and lasting effect on this country we call England?
The evidence to suggest Ragnar ever lived is scarce, but, crucially, it does exist.
Two references to a particularly eminent Viking raider in 840 AD appear in the generally reliable Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which speaks of ‘Ragnall’ and ‘Reginherus’. In the same way that Ivar the Boneless and Imár of Dublin are considered the same person, Ragnall and Reginherus are believed to be Ragnar Lothbrok.
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