From Farmer to Earl: the Beginning of an Era

Hej! Welcome y’all to the very first post of this blog! I know you’ve been waiting impatiently for this moment to come, I know… but here it is! You shall wait no more. For today’s post, I’ll tell you about how Ragnar became Earl, because how does a simple farmer end up being one of the most powerful Earls in Scandinavia? Well, keep reading and find out!

Earl Haraldson of Kattegat was a man that liked to be comfortable. He sent his men to plunder lands that were already known to them, where they had been plundering for years and years. And Ragnar thought it was high time for a change. In the end, what logic did it have to go to a land that had nothing new to offer? So Ragnar proposed publicly to Haraldson to go to the West, where he had heard about a rich land with a new pagan God. But, and as you can imagine, this proposition didn’t sit right with Earl Haraldson – he took it as an insult and a challenge to his position as Earl and threatened him to never do that again or that there would be consequences. However, Ragnar, stubborn as he was, decided that if his Earl didn’t support him, he would go to the West alone. So he asked his friend Floki to build him a new type of boat that would endure such a journey and his ally Erik to gather men willing to go.

In this video, you can see Haraldson threatening Ragnar for challenging him with his proposal to go to the West.

When they came back from Lindisfarne (a very successful trip, if you ask me), they showed all the riches they managed to steal to Earl Haraldson. And as Earl Haraldson liked shiny things a little bit too much, he kept the treasure all for himself, letting the men involved in the trip keep just one item. And Ragnar, already thinking ahead, kept the Christian monk Aethelstan for knowledge that would be useful for future trips. So when he proposed to Haraldson a second trip to England, he accepted on one condition – to take with him one of his men.

The monk Aethelstan

So this second trip to England takes place and it’s very successful with only one exception: Knut, Haraldson’s man, has been killed by Lagertha, Ragnar’s wife, after he tried to rape her. So when Haraldson asks about him, Ragnar takes the blame for it and he’s arrested. Rollo’s testimony sees him exonerated and while celebrating, Haraldson’s men (sent by him, of course) attack them and kill Erik. Ragnar, blind with anger and grief, swears Haraldson won’t get away with it, and even before he manages to fulfill his vengeance, Haraldson attacks Ragnar’s farm. Ragnar tried to save his family from this attack but he was fatally wounded. While recovering in Floki’s hut, he finds out that Haraldson has taken hold of Rollo, his brother, and is torturing him to learn where is Ragnar hiding. Ragnar, who cannot get angrier and without being fully recovered, challenges Haraldson for a duel, knowing that he can’t refuse if he doesn’t want to see his reputation lost (classy). So Haraldson accepts and they fight, and Ragnar ends up killing the Earl. And what happens if you kill the Earl? You become Earl. And that’s how Ragnar Lothbrok became Earl of Kattegat.

Ragnar about to be freed after Rollo's testimony

Haraldson and Ragnar fighting

What do you think? Do you think he became Earl for a rightful reason, or maybe he let himself be carried off a little bit too much? Leave a comment! And keep posted to learn more about this wonderful warrior!

Bye! See you in our next post!

Written by Laura Sanz