faq 5
Todd A. Farmerie
just can't restrain myself . . .
(for somewhere in the viking section)
What was the 'Blood Eagle' and did the vikings actually do this to
people?
The 'Blood Eagle' is a form of torture that vikings are said to have
meted out to captured kings. The earliest description relates that the
victors had the back of the vanquished "scored with an eagle". This has
variously been interpreted as meaning that an eagle was used as a
weapon, being held behind the captive such that it would cut the victim
with its talons, or alternatively that they cut the figure of an eagle
on the back of the recipient. Later traditions add details, for example
the captors rubbing salt in the wounds. In the most elaborate version,
the back was cut, exposing the ribs, which were then cut to separate
them from the spine. The lungs were then pulled out and spread, such
that they would appear like the wings of an eagle. (One almost can see
the smile on the author's face as he imagined with delight the ingenuity
of his ancestors.)
Whether it actually happened is still subject to debate. Some cases, on
close examination, show themselves to be reflections of the martyrdom of
St. Sebastian, with no involvement of an eagle as either weapon or body
art. The later renditions can also safely be dismissed, appearing as
they do in late sagas not know for historical accuracy. This returns us
to the "scored with an eagle" phrasing of the near-contemporary source
material. As this appears in the abstract verse of the skaldic poets,
another alternative needs be considered. Roberta Frank has suggested
that this is nothing more than an obscure reference to defeat in battle,
the loser being left, face down on the field, for his back to be scored
by carrion birds. Thus we are left with the possibility that the 'Blood
Eagle' is the result of a too literal reading combined with a too
fertile imagination.
taf