10 Weirdest Deaths In History

If anything else, this is a lesson about the perils of gloating, showboating, and bragging after a victory, for no matter how sweet and hard-fought that victory may have been, all events have yet to unfold. Above all else, this is a tale about the need for humility.

Sigurd the Mighty was a pivotal figure in the Viking conquest of Scotland. In 872 or thereabout, the Battle of Hafrsfjord unified Norway under Harald Fairhair. After Rognvald Eysteinsson helped Fairhair subdue a group of exiled Vikings-turned-pirates, he was gifted the Orkney and Shetland Islands, where these pirate Vikings had been hiding out.

After his son's death, Rognvald handed the islands over to his brother, Sigurd, granting him the title of second Earl of Orkney. During his reign, he expanded his territory into the mainland. In 892, he challenged native Pictish leader, Máel Brigte the Bucktoothed, to a battle. Each was supposed to bring 40 men, but the deceptive Sigurd brought 80. He defeated and beheaded the Bucktoothed, so all's well that ends well, right?

Wrong.

Sigurd had Máel's head strapped to his saddle as a trophy. On the ride back to his settlement, Máel's legendary buck-tooth scratched Sigurd's leg. The wound got infected, and not long after, this infection claimed Sigurd's life.

Moral of the story: win with grace. It's best that way.