History Literature / RagnarLodbrokAndHisSons

* ArcherArchetype: Ivar the Boneless has crippled legs which make him unsuited for melee combat, but he is a good archer. He is also cunning, prefers stratagems over blunt force and is described as emotionally cold.

But Thora dies young, and Ragnar takes another wife--Kraka, a mysterious girl raised by a poor couple, who will eventually reveal a lofty heritage. Thora’s sons are Erik and Agnar; Kraka’s sons are [[AwesomeMcCoolName Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside, Hvitserk, Rognvald, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye.]] In time, the sons follow in the footsteps of their father and take up careers as viking raiders and conquerors--and soon, father and sons find themselves competing against each other in a quest for glory that ravages half of Europe, drips of blood, and entertains the reader.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Your mileage may vary on "Ivar the Boneless", but "Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye" and "Bjorn Ironside" definitely have a nice ring to it.

* {{Asexuality}}: According to "Tale of Ragnar's Sons", Ivar the Boneless "had no children, because of the way he was: with no lust or love". This seems to be saying that he was an aromantic asexual.

* DefiantToTheEnd: As Ragnar lies dying in Aella's snake pit his FamousLastWords are: "How the piglets would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffered!", referring to how his sons are not going to take the news of his death lightly.

* CinderellaCircumstances: Aslaug/Kraka, a princess, is raised by the poor couple who murdered her foster father, who shave her hair, dress her in bad clothes, and make her do the "worst work".

The sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons are among those medieval works that deal explicitly with viking expeditions (even if they are not strong on the realism), and portrayal of Vikings in fiction often takes inspiration from them. This begins, of course, with all the fictional Viking chiefs called Ragnar. The 1958 Hollywood epic ''Film/TheVikings'', the 2010s TV series ''Series/{{Vikings}}'', and novels such as the ''[[Literature/TheHammerAndTheCross Hammer and the Cross]]'' trilogy and the ''[[Literature/TheSaxonStories Saxon Stories]]'' series (adapted for TV as Series/TheLastKingdom) are loosely based on the sagas. Ragnar and his sons are also playable in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'': Ragnar is the heir of Sigurdr of Uppland at the 769 AD start date in the "Charlemagne" DLC, while "The Old Gods" starts during the Norse invasion of Britain with all the brothers featured.

* DefiantToTheEnd: As Ragnar lies dying in Aella's snake pit his FamousLastWords are: "How the piglets would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers!", referring to how his sons are not going to take the news of his death lightly.

Ragnar succeeds his father as king of UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} and UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}. While he is still a youngster, he kills a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent giant snake]], wearing special clothes made of fur for protection, which earns him his unique nickname ''Loðbrók'' (a.k.a. Lodbrok, Lothbrok, or Lodbrog, depending on transliteration)--"Hairy-Breeches"[[note]]Or "Shaggy-pants". There are numerous translations of ''Loðbrók'' but most often it is left untranslated.[[/note]]--and also the [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses jarl’s daughter]] that the monster guarded, Thora Hart-of-the-Town.