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From: alt.fan.jai-maharaj@googlegroups.com

Blood Eagle: The Viking Torture Method So Grisly Some
Historians Don't Believe It Actually Happened

By William DeLong
All that's Interesting, allthatsinteresting.com
Published October 23, 2018; updated November 5, 2018

Viking sagas describe the ritual execution of blood eagle,
in which victims were kept alive while their backs were
sliced open so that their ribs, lungs, and intestines could
be pulled out into the shape of bloody wings.

[Caption] A blood eagle execution.

The Vikings didn't come into towns walking on moonbeams and
rainbows. If their sagas are to be believed, the Vikings
cruelly tortured their enemies in the name of their god
Odin as they conquered territory. If the suggestion of a
blood eagle was even uttered, one left town and never
looked back.

Viking sagas define blood eagle as one of the most painful
and terrifying torture methods ever created. The story
describes:

"Earl Einar went to Halfdan and carved blood-eagle on his
back in this wise, that he thrust a sword into his trunk by
the backbone and cut all the ribs away, from the backbone
down to the loins, and drew the lungs out there...."

The History Of Blood Eagle Executions

[Caption] History Channel's show The Vikings describes the
blood eagle in a season 2 scene.

One of the earliest accounts of the use of the blood eagle
is thought to have occurred in 867. It began a few years
before, when Aella, king of Northumbria (present-day North
Yorkshire, England), fell victim to a Viking attack. Aella
killed the Viking leader Ragnar Lothbrok by throwing him
into a pit of live snakes.

[Caption] A statue of Ragnar Lothbrok.

In revenge, Lothbrok's sons invaded England in 865. When
the Danes captured York, and Lothbrok's son who was also
the most feared Viking of his day, Ivarr the Boneless, saw
to it that Aella would be killed.

Of course, killing him wasn't good enough. Ivarr's father
Ragnar had -- allegedly -- met a gruesome fate by a pit of
snakes.

Ivarr the Boneless wanted to make an example out of Aella
and to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.

Thus, he committed the damned king to the blood eagle.

How It Worked

Modern scholars debate how Vikings performed this ritual
torture and in fact whether they even performed the
gruesome method at all. The process of the blood eagle is
indeed so cruel and grisly that it would be difficult to
believe that it could actually be carried out. Regardless
of whether it is merely a work of literary fiction, there
is no denying the fact that the ritual was stomach-
churning.

The victim's hands and legs were tied to prevent escape or
sudden movements. Then, the person seeking vengeance
stabbed the victim by his tailbone and up towards the rib
cage. Each rib was then meticulously separated from the
backbone with an ax, which left the victim's internal
organs on full display.

The victim is said to have remained alive throughout the
entire procedure. What's worse, the Vikings would then
literally rub salt into the gaping wound in the form of a
saline stimulant.

As if this wasn't enough, after having all of the person's
ribs cut away and spread out like giant fingers, the
torturer then pulled out the lungs of the victim to make it
appear as if the person had a pair of wings spread out on
his back.

Thus, the blood eagle was manifested in all its gory glory.
The victim had become a slimy, bloody bird.

[Caption] The Vikings more than describes the torture
method. You can also watch it reenacted -- but be warned.

The Ritual Behind The Blood Eagle

King Aella was not the last royal to face the blood eagle.
One scholar believes that at least four other notable
figures in Northern European history suffered the same
fate. King Edmund of England was also a victim of Ivarr the
Boneless. Halfdan, son of King Haraldr of Norway, King
Maelgualai of Munster and Archbishop Aelheah were all
believed to victims of blood eagle torture because they
were victims of the merciless and bloodlusty Ivarr the
Boneless.

That means the torture method could have occurred in
England, Ireland, and France. There were two main reasons
Vikings used the blood eagle on their victims. First, they
believed it was a sacrifice to Odin, father of the Norse
pantheon of gods and the god of war.

Second, and more plausibly, was that the blood eagle was
done as a punishment to honorless individuals. According to
the Orkneyinga saga of the Vikings, Halfdan was defeated in
battle at the hands of Earl Einar who then tortured him
with a blood eagle as he conquered Halfdan's kingdom.
Similarly, Aella was tortured in vengeance.

Continues at:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/blood-eagle

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

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