Random Details About The Blood Eagle (5 items)

• 

  (#5) The Method Was Also Described As The 'Blood Owl'

  The conventional term for this ancient form of persecution refers to eagles, though it has also been historically associated with owls. According to Saxo, the term eagle was used by men who rejoiced in "[crushing] their most ruthless foe by marking him with the cruellest of birds."

  Frithiof's Saga mentions that the method could be called "Blood Owl," a term used by later antiquarians and authors who wrote about the Vikings.  
• 

  (#2) Those Who Used This Method Would Rub Salt In The Wounds

  According to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum, after the previously detailed mutilation, the flesh was rubbed with salt.

  "For the slayer by a cruel death of their captive father, Ragnar's sons act the blood-eagle on Ella, and salt his flesh." 

  Saxo, who wrote during the late 12th and early 13th centuries, recorded oral traditions and history as well as events from his own time.  

  The use of salt was later adopted by writers; they described the process as a "saline stimulant" intended to inflict additional pain and suffering, usually applied before the lungs were spread. 
• 

  (#1) The Back Was Carved, And Organs Were Pulled Out

  The conventional interpretation of the Blood Eagle stipulates that the shape of an eagle was carved onto the victim's back, after which the skin was pulled back and the ribs were detached from the spine. The lungs were then pulled out and over the ribs, mimicking the image of the wings of a spread eagle. 

  According to some translations of the Viking saga, a less invasive Blood Eagle could be performed by simply carving an eagle with outstretched wings on the victim's naked body; however, for added cruelty, the eviscerating method could be performed from the front.
• 

  (#4) To Be Subjected To The Blood Eagle, You Had Commit A Crime That Revoked Your Honor

  In the numerous sagas that mention the Blood Eagle practice, revenge and pure disdain often preceded its usage. In Frithiof's Saga, Bjorn swears to subject his comrade's killer to the Blood Eagle:

  "Fall'st Thou, War Brother! I'll 'venge Thee well;
  Blood-Eagle lines on Thy foe shall be flowing."

  In The Orkneyinga Saga, Hdlfddn (Halfdan) underwent the Blood Eagle after he was defeated in battle:

  "Next morning they found Hdlfddn Hdlegg on Kinar's Hill. The Earl made a blood eagle be cut on his back with the sword, and had his ribs severed from the back-bone, and his lungs pulled out."

  The Saga goes on to explain that the Earl Einar subjected Hdlfddn to the Blood Eagle because he had killed the Earl's father.
• 

  (#3) The Technique Was Designed As An Offering To Odin

  The Norse god Odin was traditionally the recipient of Blood Eagle sacrifices before and after battles. Hdlfddn's death in The Orkneyinga Saga was as much an act of revenge as an offering to Odin, though writers later omitted the reference to the Norse god.

  Some scholars believe that the Blood Eagle was connected to earlier human sacrifices made to Odin, although whether or not those sacrifices every took place remains controversial.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking