CHAPTER XXVIII. 



SOME EXPEDITIONS AND DEEDS OF GREAT VIKINGS. 



{Continwd.} 



Kagnar Lodbrok His voyages and wars His death in England The sons 

 of Ragnar Lodbrok Ivar revenges his father's death Wide extent of the 

 expeditions of Kagnar's sons Ivar king in England. 



AFTER King Hring's death his son Ragnar assumed the 

 sovereignty of Sweden and Denmark, whereupon several 

 kings threw off their subjection and claimed independence, 

 because he was a young man and appeared to them little fitted 

 for counsels or ruling the land. 



There was then a jarl in Western Gautaland called Herraud ; 

 he was the jarl of King Ragnar. He was a wise man and a 

 great warrior. He had a daughter, who was called Thora 

 Borgarhjort (the hart of the burgh). Ragnar Lodbrok l was 

 married to Thora. Their children were Agnar and Eirik, and 

 Alof, 3 who was married to Hunda-Steinar Jarl in England. 

 Their son was Bjorn, 3 father of Auclim Skokul, father of 

 Thora Moshals, mother of Ulfhild, who was married to Gud- 

 brand Kula ; their daughter was Asta, mother of St. Olaf. 



1 Lod-Br6k = Hairy breeches. He 

 made a dress of hairy breeches and a 

 hairy cloak, which he boiled in pitch 

 and then hardened : this was done in 

 order that he should be able to attack 

 the serpent which watched over Thora, 

 who was said , to surpass all other 

 women in beauty as the hart does other 

 animals, and was most accomplished in 

 all handiwork. Afterwards he appears 

 to have married Aslaug, the daughter 

 of Sigurd Fafnisbani by Brynhild. They 

 begat several children. The oldest, 

 Ivar, had no bones in his body, but 



was very wise ; the others were Bjorn, 

 Hvitserk, Rognvald, and Sigurd (Snake- 

 eye). 



2 From Landnama we find that Ragnar 

 had been previously married, and had 

 other children in addition to those already 

 enumerated. 



3 Another son of Hundasteinar and 

 Alof was named Eirik, father of Sigurd 

 Bj6daskalli, father of Vikinga Kari, 

 father of Bodvar, Vigfiis and Eirik, who 

 was the father of Astrid, mother of King 

 Olaf Tryggvason. (Landnama, p. 234.) 



