Lagertha, according to

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

, was a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

ruler and

shield-maiden A shield-maiden ( ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and Norse mythology, mythology. The term most often shows up in fornaldarsögur such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks''. However, female warriors are also mentioned in the Latin ...

from what is now

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and the onetime wife of the famous Viking

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Saxo in the 12th century. According to the historian

Judith Jesch Judith Jesch (born 1954) is a British scholar of Old Norse language and literature, runology, and the Viking Age. She is Professor of Viking Age Studies at the University of Nottingham. Jesch is chair of the international Runic Advisory Group an ...

, Saxo's tales about warrior women are largely fictional; other historians wrote that they may have a basis in tales about the Norse deity Thorgerd. Her name as recorded by Saxo is . It has also been recorded as Lagertha, Ladgertha, Ladgerda or similar.

Life according to Saxo Grammaticus

Lagertha's tale is recorded in passages in the ninth book of the ''

Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essentia ...

'', a twelfth-century work of Danish history by the Christian historian

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

.
Latin original
) According to the ''Gesta'' (¶ 9.4.1–9.4.11), Lagertha's career as a warrior began when

Frø Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especi ...

, king of Sweden, invaded

and killed the Norwegian king Siward. Frø put the women of the dead king's family into a brothel for

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

. Hearing of this,

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king. Chief among them, and key to Ragnar's victory, was Lagertha. Saxo recounts:

Ladgerda, a skilled
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
, who, though a maiden, had the courage of a man, and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose over her shoulders. All marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks flying down her back betrayed that she was a woman.

Impressed with her courage, Ragnar courted her from afar. Lagertha feigned interest and Ragnar arrived to seek her hand, bidding his companions wait in the

Gaular Gaular is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the villa ...

valley. He was set upon by a bear and a great hound which Lagertha had guarding her home, but killed the bear with his spear and choked the hound to death. Thus he won the hand of Lagertha. According to Saxo, Ragnar had a son with her, Fridleif, as well as two daughters, whose names are not recorded. After returning to Denmark to fight a civil war, Ragnar (who, according to Saxo, was still annoyed that Lagertha had set beasts against him) divorced Lagertha in order to marry Thora Borgarhjört (Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr), daughter of King Herraud (Herrauðr) of Sweden. He won the hand of his new love after numerous adventures, but upon returning to Denmark was again faced with a civil war. Ragnar sent to Norway for support, and Lagertha, who still loved him, came to his aid with 120 ships, according to Saxo. When at the height of the battle, Ragnar's son Siward was wounded, Lagertha saved the day for Ragnar with a counter-attack:

Ladgerda, who had a matchless spirit though a delicate frame, covered by her splendid bravery the inclination of the soldiers to waver. For she made a sally about, and flew round to the rear of the enemy, taking them unawares, and thus turned the panic of her friends into the camp of the enemy.

Upon returning to Norway, she quarrelled with her husband, and slew him with a spearhead she concealed in her gown. Saxo concludes that she then "usurped the whole of his name and sovereignty; for this most presumptuous dame thought it pleasanter to rule without her husband than to share the throne with him".

Scholarship

Saxo's sources

According to

, the rich variety of tales in the first nine books of Saxo's ''Gesta'', which include the tale of Lagertha, are "generally considered to be largely fictional". In portraying the several warrior women in these tales, Saxo drew on the legend of the Amazons from classical antiquity, but also on a variety of Old Norse (particularly Icelandic) sources, which have not been clearly identified. Saxo's depiction of women warriors is also colored by

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

: Like most churchmen of the time, Saxo thought of women only as sexual beings. To him, the Viking shieldmaidens who refused this role were an example of the disorder in old heathen Denmark that was later cured by the Church and a stable monarchy. A woman called ''Hlaðgerðr'', who rules the ''Hlaðeyjar'', also appears in the sagas of the 6th century

Scylding The Scyldings ( OE Scyldingas) or Skjǫldungs ( ON Skjǫldungar), both meaning "descendants of Scyld/Skjǫldr", were, according to legends, a clan or dynasty of Danish kings, that in its time conquered and ruled Denmark and Sweden together with ...

king

Halfdan Halfdan (, , Medieval : "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded hi ...

. She gives him twenty ships to help defeat his enemies.

Hilda Ellis Davidson Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson (born Hilda Roderick Ellis; 1 October 1914 – 12 January 2006) was an English folklorist. She was a scholar at the University of Cambridge and The Folklore Society, and specialized in the study of Celtic and G ...

, in her commentary on the ''Gesta'', also notes suggestions in the literature that the name was used by the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, for instance by

Luitgarde of Vermandois Luitgarde of Vermandois ( – 9 February 978) was a noblewoman from the Herbertian dynasty who lived in West Francia. She was a countess consort of Rouen and Normandy by her first marriage, and a countess consort of Blois and Chartres by her ...

(c. 914–978), and that the tale of Lagertha could have originated in Frankish tradition. When Saxo describes Lagertha as "flying round" () to the rear of the enemy, he ascribes to her the power of flight, according to Jesch, indicating a kinship with the

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

s. The tale notably recalls that of

Kára In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, th ...

, the valkyrie lover of

Helgi Haddingjaskati Helgi Haddingjaskati (Old Norse: , meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar") was a legendary Norse hero of whom only fragmentary accounts survive. It is said in the end section of ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', a poem of the ''Poetic Edda'', t ...

, who flies above Helgi in battle as a swan, casting spells in his support.Davidson, 154.

Identity with Thorgerd

Davidson deems it possible, as

Nora K. Chadwick Nora Kershaw Chadwick CBE FSA FBA (28 January 1891 – 24 April 1972) was an English philologist who specialised in Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Old Norse studies. Early life and education Nora Kershaw was born in Lancashire in 1891, the first da ...

considered very probable, that Lagertha is identical with Thorgerd (Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr), a goddess reflected in several stories. Thorgerd was worshipped by, and sometimes said to be wed to, the Norwegian ruler

Haakon Sigurdsson Haakon Sigurdsson ( , ; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the '' de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful (), though the '' Ágrip'' and '' Historia Norw ...

(c. 937–995), who lived at ''Hlaðir'' (

Lade Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE, ) is an airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. It is owned by the government of Argentina and operated by the Argentine Air Force. It provides domestic scheduled services, mainly in Patagonia. Hist ...

). This may be the origin of Lagertha's likely name in her native

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

, ''Hlaðgerðr''. ''Gaulardal'', the

valley – where Lagertha lived according to Saxo – lies nearby and was the center of Thorgerd's cult. It was also, according to

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

, the abode of Haakon's wife Thora.Davidson, 152. Finally, the description of Lagertha coming to Ragnar's aid with flying hair is similar to how the ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, Flatey") is an important medieval Iceland, Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and p ...

'' describes Thorgerd and her sister Irpa assisting Haakon.

Portrayals in fiction

Christen Pram Christen Henriksen Pram (4 September 1756 – 28 November 1821) was a Norwegian/Danish economist, civil servant, poet, novelist, playwright, diarist and magazine editor. He is held as the first Norwegian people, Norwegian novelist, although his ...

's historical drama ''

Lagertha Lagertha, according to legend, was a Viking ruler and shield-maiden from what is now Norway, and the onetime wife of the famous Viking Ragnar Lodbrok. Her tale was recorded by the chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, Saxo in the 12th century. According t ...

'' (1789) is based on Saxo's account. The choreographer

Vincenzo Galeotti Vincenzo Galeotti (5 March, 1733 – 16 December, 1816) was an Italian-born Danish dancer, choreographer and ballet master, who was influential as the director of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1775 until his death. Life Vincenzo Tomasselli was ...

based his

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

'' (1801), the first ballet to feature a Nordic theme, on Pram's work. Set to music by

Claus Schall Claus Nielsen Schall (28 April 1757 – 10 August 1835) was a Danish violinist and composer living much of his life as a subject of Denmark–Norway. Life and Career Niels Pedersen Schall's father, initially a cobbler's apprentice, later ...

, the ballet was a significant success for Galeotti's Royal Theater. It was conceived as a ''

Gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

'' incorporating song,

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, dance, and originally also dialog parts. More recently, Lagertha (played by

Katheryn Winnick Katheryn Winnick (born December 17, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles in the television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2020), ''Wu Assassins'' (2019), and '' Big Sky'' (2020–2023), and her recurring role on the telev ...

) is a main character in the 2013 TV series ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

''. Broadly based on Saxo's account, the series portrays her as a shield-maiden and as Ragnar's first wife, who later rules as a

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

and then as a queen in her own right.

References

{{Authority control Ragnar Lodbrok 9th-century Norwegian women Viking warriors Women in medieval European warfare Legendary Norsemen Germanic women warriors 9th-century Vikings