SDCC17: Ragnar’s Death Will Be Celebrated With A Viking Funeral, But How Were The Vikings Really Buried?


Season 4 of Vikings saw the deaths of some important Vikings, including the main character, Ragnar Lothbrok. In honor of their passing, the History Channel will be conducting a Viking funeral during San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. This event, to be held on Friday evening, will include a “45-foot replica Viking long-ship with pyrotechnic display,” according to the press release.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 4 of History Channel’s Vikings. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

During Season 4, a fiery Viking funeral was replicated with the death of Ragnar’s wife, Aslaug. She was dressed in her finest, placed in a longboat, and surrounded by all the things she would need in the afterlife. The longship was then cast out to sea and set alight. For many fans of the show, this is the usual scenario they imagine when asked what a Viking funeral entails.

But how accurate is this compared to a real Viking burial?

The problem with finding out the truth about the Vikings is that they kept very few written records of their lives. In fact, most of these documents were written years after events occurred during the Viking age, or were written down by other groups of people about the Vikings, so they may be inaccurate or biased in opinion.

However, there is some evidence that the Vikings’ funerals really did involve putting their dead on a longship and setting them on fire. However, this type of Viking funeral was rare and usually reserved for extremely important Vikings, because, let’s face it, building a longship by hand is an arduous task. It is unlikely you would build ships just to burn them, rather than use them to raid other countries.

According to an article by History, most Vikings were either cremated or buried after death. However, some that were cremated would also be buried still. These types of burials, however, more likely occurred on a funeral pyre, rather than on a longship. The belief was that cremation would “help carry the deceased to their afterlife.”

A Viking burial site in Norway [Image by swedewah/iStock]

While many Vikings were not actually buried via a longship, it didn’t mean ships weren’t still involved with their burial. After all, the longship and travel on them were an integral part of the Viking lifestyle and religious structure. As a result, if you were a Viking that was not important enough to be buried at sea on a burning longship, it was possible still to have your burial involve a ship — just one made from stone. When a Viking died, quite often the burial site had stones placed around it in the shape of a boat to represent a longship (as seen in the image above). There are still plenty of these Viking burial sites that survive today.

A replica Viking funeral of a Scandinavian warrior from Lokrume settlement (the island of Gotland). Late 10th – Early 11th centuries. The apparel is based on archaeological sites in Lokrume and graphic sources – Gotland’s stones with men and valkyries. [Image by IgorIgorevich/iStock]

What about women? Did they get Viking burials in longships too?

While the Vikings have been considered uncouth for many years, thanks to their reputation for raping, murdering, and pillaging, among their own kind, women were quite often treated more equally to men than other women of the era. The Oseberg ship is a fine example of this.

This ship was found in 1904, but believed to have been built sometime prior to 800 AD. However, the mound it was found buried in dates to around 834 AD. The archaeological dig at this site in Norway discovered that this ship was used to bury women, after the remains of two women were discovered on board. While the History Channel article points out female slaves were quite often sacrificed and placed with their masters during burial, the Oseberg ship indicates these women were not slaves, thanks to the remnants of expensive fabric found with them.

In fact, according to USA Today, these women could have been priestesses dedicated to the cult of Freyja, who was a Nordic goddess. So, it is possible this burial was a ritual sacrifice.

Some people also suggest one of these women was Queen Asa of the Yngling clan. She is known to be the mother of Halfdan the Black and grandmother of Harald Fairhair (who are brothers in History Channel’s Vikings). This theory has yet to be proven, however.

What is known about these women buried is that both were over the age of 50. One was, potentially, more significant than the other. According to the Viking Ship Museum, this woman probably died of cancer. If this is the case, it is possible the younger woman may have been sacrificed in order to accompany the other to the Viking afterlife, since no cause of death for her has yet been identified.

A replica of the Oseberg ship has since been made and can been seen sailing the historic city of Tonsberg. The actual ship and its contents can be seen at the Viking Ship Museum in Norway.

The Oseberg ship [Image by Peulle (Own work) | Wikimedia Commons | Resized | CC BY-SA 4.0]

For those who will be attending San Diego Comic-Con this weekend and want to see History Channel’s version of a Viking funeral, the details to honor Ragnar Lothbrok and his fellow Vikings who succumbed in Season 4 are below.

“A one-day event to honor Ragnar Lothbrok and other beloved characters who have recently risen to Valhalla. The Vikings funeral will begin with a procession throughout the Gaslamp Quarter in the early afternoon from noon – 5:45 p.m. The funeral will conclude with a waterfront ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. featuring a floating 45-foot replica Viking long-ship with pyrotechnic display. Cast will be in attendance. Ceremony will be held behind the Convention Center at Embarcadero Marina Park South (200 Marina Park Way).”

Vikings has been confirmed by History Channel as returning in 2017 with Season 5. It is expected the premiere date for Season 5 will be made during the Vikings panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 21.

For those attending San Diego Comic-Con, the details of the Vikings panel are below.

Vikings favorites return to introduce new faces to SDCC. Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha), Gustaf Skarsgard (Floki), Alexander Ludwig (Bjorn), and Alex Hogh Andersen (Ivar) along with Michael Hirst (writer/creator) reveal an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming season. Panel to be held Friday, July 21, 2017 5.45 p.m. — 6.45 p.m.”

Will you be attending San Diego Comic-Con this year? Will you be checking out the Viking funeral while you are there? Let us know by commenting below.

History Channel has also released a brand new trailer for Season 5 of Vikings.

[Featured Image by AndrewJShearer/iStock]

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