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‘Vikings’ Tonight: Ragnar Lothbrook Dies, But Is This Depiction Accurate?

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 03:33 PST, Dec 28, 2016

Based on the previews, it looks like Vikings tonight will finally feature the end of The Ragnar Lothbrok Farewell Tour, as King Ecbert (Linus Roache) turns his frenemy Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) over to King Aelle (Ivan Kaye) for his eminent demise. But even though History Channel’s Vikings has gotten a lot of credit for being accurate in their depictions of Ragnar Lothbrok and true Vikings history, the question remains: is Vikings, tonight, going to show an accurate depiction of the death of the legendary Scandinavian king?

According to The International Business Times, on Vikings tonight, we will see the result of what happens when King Ecbert turns Ragnar over to King Aelle. In the previews, we see that Ragnar is savagely beaten and trapped before, ultimately, being tossed into a pit of poisonous snakes, who, upon biting the Scandinavian raider, fill the king’s blood with venom, leading him to his death.

This, ultimately, will conclude Ragnar’s part in the saga of the Viking raids on Francia (France) and Saxony (England) in the 9th century. However, there’s some evidence that suggests that not only is this not an accurate depiction of what happened to Ragnar Lothbrok, but there’s also a chance that Ragnar Lothbrok never existed at all!

According to DanishNet, when you watch Vikings tonight and see Travis Fimmel play Ragnar Lothbrok, you’re looking, not at a real man, but at a composite sketch of several different historical figures.

The real “Ragnar Lothbrok” (or, as he’s sometimes known, Ragnar Lodbrok) was, at the very most, a local Scandinavian farmer. However, over the ages, his tale has been conflated to make people think he’s a bigger figure in Viking history than he really was.

“Ragnar was a powerful Lord, under Danish King Horik II. Although the visual backgrounds of the TV series appears to place him in Norway, it is more likely that he was from Denmark or Sweden. On the whole, the television series is great fun, but viewers should explore some historic sources to learn more about the Viking era.”

Furthermore, the site points out that while the show — and the Scandinavian saga — depicts Ragnar dying at the hands of King Aelle in a pit of snakes, the chronology of actual history (that is, when Ivar the Boneless and Bjorn the Ironside raided Saxony in vengeance) indicates that this may not be so.

Still, according to Australian Network News, seeing Ragnar Lothbrook on Vikings tonight may not be the last time we see him, after all.

The outlet suggests that even though the upcoming episodes — and seasons — of the hit History Channel show will focus on the younger generation (that is, make the focus about Bjorn the Ironside and Ivar the Boneless), we will see Ragnar, even if only in flashback.

“It’s been speculated that Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar Lothbrok will meet his last following the aftermath of his fall in the current season of Vikings. However, the latest Vikings update condemns such reports. Michael Hirst, the show creator/writer, has denied these claims. Does this mean actor Travis Fimmel is going to reprise his role in Vikings Season 5? Travis Fimmel is coming back for the fifth season of the History series. The news has been confirmed by Michael Hirst.”

Will you be watching Vikings tonight when it airs on The History Channel?

[Featured Image by History Channel]

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