A hugely popular commercial that aired in the early 70s admonished that it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. As an aside, the actress who played Mother Nature, Dena Dietrich, died of natural causes just last year (2020) at the age 91, but we digress.
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History is replete with stories of dogs who couldn’t be fooled, or who “outed” a villainous act through their loyalty. We add a faithful Greyhound to the list.
Our story begins with Edmund, the King of East Anglia in the 9th century. His grisly death at the hand of the Danes (they beat him, shot him with arrows, then beheaded him) for refusing to renounce Christ lead to a sainthood.
Enter Ragnar Lothbrok, a legendary Danish and Swedish king. On the occasion that Ragnar and his hawk set sail in a small boat off the coast of Denmark, he was surprised by a sudden storm and carried out to sea. He drifted to the English coast where villagers found him and presented him to Edmund, their king. Ragnar ended up living at Edmund’s court for some time. He learned the language, acquired a Greyhound, and keen to learn Saxon ways of hunting, attached himself to Bjorn, an unsavory huntsman in Edmund’s court.
Ragnar got good at hunting. Really good. He soon became a favorite of the King, and Bjorn’s jealousy of him grew to a poisonous hate. One day when Ragnar and Bjorn were hunting together, Bjorn attacked Ragnar and killed him. He left Ragnar’s body in bushes and returned home with his own dogs while Ragnar’s Greyhound stayed by his master’s body.
The next day at court, the King inquired about the missing Ragnar, and Bjorn lied that Ragnar had chosen to stay behind. Right then, the hungry Greyhound entered the hall and wagged his tail. Thinking that Ragnar was right behind him, the King had the dog fed. The hound, however, returned to his dead master as soon as he finished eating. This repeated three days later, and by now, the jig was up as servants had discovered Ragnar’s body. After an inquiry, Bjorn was found guilty of murdering Ragnar and for his crime, he was set to sea in Ragnar’s old boat without provisions, oars, or a sail.
What were the odds that Bjorn actually made it all the way to Denmark?
Bjorn, however, was not out of the proverbial woods. Ragnar’s family recognized their father’s boat and beat Bjorn until he told the truth about their father. Bjorn, however, lied yet again and claimed that he had been falsely accused of murdering Ragnar. Incensed, Ragnar’s sons assembled an army (sometimes referred to as the “Great Heathen Army of Vikings”) and invaded England to avenge their father’s death.
As legends go, it’s unfulfilling: Edmund died a grim death, Ragnar was murdered, and the bad guy, Bjorn, seems to have faded away. History, however, suggests a very different conclusion to Ragnar Lothbrok’s life.
The popular TV series, Vikings (2013) took many details from the legends of the great Ragnar, but also from the writings of the Danish historian, Saxo Grammaticus (later recounted in the Icelandic works, Ragnars saga loðbrókar and Þáttr af Ragnarssonum). According to Saxo, Ragnar had been captured by the Northumbrians and their leader, King Aelle, ordered him to be thrown into a pit full of poisonous vipers. The scene is vividly recreated in the TV show.
Several historians, however, opine that the persona of Ragnar Lothbrok may have been based on three different men: Viking leader Reginherus, King Horik I of Denmark, and King Reginfrid. The “real” Ragnar died in different ways depending upon which legend is believed.
Shoulder shrug. We’ll take the Greyhound story any day.
Our image is of a detail from a “Viking Greyhounds” collar created by The War Horse incorporating Celtic or Viking knots along with Greyhounds. The pull-stop collar was inspired by the Urnes style of the Vikings.