6 Awesome Legends Behind 6 Bad Ass Vikings Characters

6. Ragnar Lothbrok

Brilliantly portrayed by Travis Fimmel, the History Channel's version of Ragnar Lothbrok is a somewhat likeable one. A farmer turned King, this anti-hero leads his people across the North Sea in search of new, prosperous lands that might not even exist for all he knows. He follows his gut, however, and turns out to be right, becoming to scourge of England and France with a series of raids. Not content with his plunder, however, Ragnar wants something more valuable than gold and silver, something with more longevity - land to farm. He claims to be a descendant of the Norse god Odin, a deity associated with royalty, healing, death and battle to name but a few. With this knowledge spurring him on, Ragnar rises to the rank of Earl of Kattegat and, eventually, the King of Denmark. It might surprise fans of the show to learn that 'Lothbrok', which is a nickname rather than a second name, actually means 'hairy breeches'. Despite some English writings claiming that it meant simply what it sounded like - loathesome brook - in actual fact the Old Norse translation is very different. According to Ragnar's Sage, a 13th century Icelandic text, Ragnar got his nickname when he took his cowhide pants, boiled them in pitch and rolled them in sand, making them harder to slash through. Even more surprising is that Ragnar's character is not based on one Viking alone, but many. Dr. Elizabeth Rowe, a Lecturer in Scandinavian History of the Medieval Period at the University of Cambridge, believes that the main inspiration behind the legend was a particularly vicious Viking King known as Reginheri, who hanged over one hundred Christians after he successfully laid siege to Paris in the year 845. Reginheri died a death unworthy of such a King soon after the attack, suffering terribly from diarrhea and eventually succumbing to dysentery. This was a plot twist that the show played with but they never followed through. No pun intended.