Sigurð Snake In The Eye | Warrior Reincarnation?

Welcome to the video, don't forget to hit that bell icon for weekly videos on historical figures and stories. If you enjoy the content be sure to subscribe. A lot of you may have heard of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye from his portrayal in Vikings. In the show he has somewhat of an underwhelming presence compared to his brothers and ended up being killed by his brother Ivar But this couldn't be further from the truth, in this video we will be delving into Sigurd's life according to the old Norse and Icelandic sources and we will discover the mystery of the magical snake in his eye and the meaning behind it. This is his story. First, let's look at Sigurd's ancestry and early life. Sigurd's father was the legendary warrior and king Ragnar Lothbrok, so in order to make his mark on the world, Sigurd would need to be great, just like his father. But his mythical and magical blood would come from his mother, You see, Sigurd's name would tie in to the deeds of his grandfather on his mother's side. Oslog's father was also called Sigurd and he would become a legend all across Scandinavia and the Germanic regions. By slaying the dragon Fafnir, he did this by lying in a pit and stabbing it in the heart from underneath it. According to the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, Oslog would say to Ragnar, You know that I am with child. It will be a male child that I have, and a snake will lie within the boy's eyes. I want the boy to be called after my father, as within his eye will be the mark of glory. Oslog would soon after go into labour, and after Sigurd was born, he would be laid on the lap of Ragnar's cloak. When Ragnar saw the boy, he would speak a verse, Sigurd the boy will be called, he will conduct himself in battle much like the father of his mother, after whom he is called. Thus will the greatest of Odin's race be named, the snake-eyed one, and he will bring much death. The snake in the eye that was attested to Sigurd's name was a physical characteristic. He was born with a mark in his eye, describing the image of an Ouroboros. This ancient symbol depicts a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. In Norse mythology, the Ouroboros appears as the serpent Jormungandr, one of the children of Loki. This serpent grew so large that it could encircle the whole world. It's very similar to the biblical Leviathan, being a singular creature with no mate, its tail placed in its mouth encompassing the whole world. The serpent can also symbolise the transmigration of souls. So was part of Sigurd the Dragonslayer's inside his grandson Sigurd's snake in the eye. The phenomenon of Sigurd having this mark in his eye is unheard of and is no doubt attested to his magical mother and legendary ancestry. It has been suggested that the mark in his eye refers to the eye condition known as nystagmus, but this cannot be verified. But how would Sigurd's life compare to his grandfather's and were they similar in nature? Sigurd would be born in the early 9th century, but we do not have an exact date. As a boy, Sigurd was already rash and bold, being a lot younger than his brothers Ivar and Bjorn. He would miss out on fighting alongside his brothers, but he would still speak his mind. In the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, when Sigurd was just a boy, his half-brothers Erik and Agnar were killed by the Swedish king Eystein Belli. Sigurd's mother was distraught even though they were not her children, she cried blood and asked her sons to avenge their dead brothers as that was the Viking way. But the Swedish king controlled Uppsala and a holy cow named Siblija and Ivar the Boneless believed that the gods were on Eystein's side and feared the magic that ruled there. Ivar thought it unwise to attack Eystein, but a young Sigurd said they must fight, and his older brother Bjorn Ironside spoke a verse. Though little is said in speech, a man may turn over to vengeance in his heart, in his hawk's swift chest. We do not have a serpent, nor a shining snake in our eyes, but my brothers gladdened me. Bjorn's verse conveyed that Sigurd was special as he was referring to him being unique by having a shining snake in his eye, and how he motivated his older brothers to fight, portraying his need for vengeance. After Sigurd's uplifting words, his brothers carried out their vengeance on Eystein. Once Sigurd had become a man, he would become very close with his father Agnar and would go with him to raid in Scotland. Here alongside his father, Sigurd would have a taste of battle and would slay many Scottish warriors. He was even named as the Earl of Pictland and of the island they called the Southern. Sigurd had now earned himself the position of Earl through conquering, along with his father Agnar. He would soon grow restless however, and the adventurer and warrior in him longed to see distant and fabled lands. According to the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, Sigurd and his brothers would go on an extremely dangerous voyage to the Hellespont, which is a waterway in southwestern Turkey. It seems like the sons of Ragnar would stay in this part of the world for a considerable amount of time, raiding and pillaging. Eventually, Sigurd and his brothers would sail to a town called Luna, which resides in Spain. So Sigurd and his kin did travel far and wide. By this time, they had broken into many towns and castles and were so famous in the region that there was no child however young that did not know their name. There was even talk of going to Romaborg, which can be translated to Rome. However, the brothers knew that this endeavour could end badly as they had heard great tales of Rome and how it was mighty, famous and rich. So they decided against it and instead would raid minor towns for guaranteed wealth. In due course, the sons of Ragnar would leave the Mediterranean and would sail home to Scandinavia, but their actions had made them famous. Ragnar would try to compete with his sons by conquering Northumbria with two ships and the impossible odds allowed him to get captured and then killed. The tidings of Ragnar's death would soon reach his sons and as Sigurd was hearing what had happened to his father, he cut himself to the bone with a knife that he held in his hand. Sigurd and his brothers then swore they would avenge their father by killing King Ella of Northumbria, the man that had executed their father. In 865 Sigurd and his brothers would unite many of the Viking chiefs and clans under the banner of vengeance as Ragnar was well loved and all wished to avenge him. They would soon set sail for England and they would become known to history as the Great Heathen Army due to the devastation that it caused. According to the Gesta Dnorum, Sigurd and Bjorn Ironside sailed to England together with a fleet of 400 ships and with open challenge, declared war against King Ella. Ivar however, asked for land as compensation for the death of his father. King Ella would oblige him as he saw this to be a reasonable request. But this was all part of Ivar's masterful plan. He would begin building a small city with strong walls and he also made alliances with all the people of the country, especially with the leaders and eventually, all the chiefs around pledged loyalty to him and his brothers. Meanwhile, Hafdan and Abba would also answer his call to war. Once the armies had met, the Northumbrian earls abandoned King Ella and went over to the sons of Ragnar. King Ella then saw he was severely outnumbered, battle would commence and it was a complete slaughter with most of King Ella's men perishing while he himself was taken captive. He was then killed with the ritualistic execution known as the Blood Eagle. After the campaign in England, Sigurd would inherit much of his father's lands, many Danes assembled and voted for Sigurd as the sovereign to receive Ragnar's empire. Once Sigurd became king, he was reported to have changed from a savage warrior into a man of leisure, having seen much war and would think and brood on his past victories and triumphs. Sigurd would end up marrying King Ella's daughter, Blaedja and they would have a son called Harth Cnut. His descendants would later be the kings of Denmark, they included Gorm the Old, Harald Bluetooth, Sweyn Falkbeard and Cnut the Great, who are arguably the most influential and powerful kings in the North Sea. In the Gesta Dnorum, it states that no foe would attack Sigurd when he was king and that he had no enemies, suggesting a time of peace once he inherited Ragnar's empire. This would convey that he died due to natural causes and not in war, this is why there might be no record of his death. In the show Vikings, they portrayed Sigurd to be a lesser version of what he was according to the sources, as in the old sagas, he is shown to be similar to his grandfather the Dragonslayer, restless, brave and bloodthirsty, while in the show he was shown as weaker and then ended up being killed, which has no historical basis to it at all. Due to this, I thought I would shed some light on Sigurd Snake in the Eye, as his story and nickname is fascinating and has a lot of magical context surrounding it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the video and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.