Lagertha
Lagertha, according to
Her name as recorded by Saxo is Lathgertha. It has also been recorded as Lagertha, Ladgertha, Ladgerda or similar.[1] In Old Norse, it was probably Hlaðgerðr.
Life according to Saxo Grammaticus
Lagertha's tale is recorded in passages in the ninth book of the Gesta Danorum, a twelfth-century work of Danish history by the Christian historian Saxo Grammaticus.[2] According to the Gesta (¶ 9.4.1–9.4.11), Lagertha's career as a warrior began when Frø, king of Sweden, invaded Norway and killed the Norwegian king Siward. Frø put the women of the dead king's family into a brothel for public humiliation. Hearing of this, Ragnar Lodbrok came with an army to avenge his grandfather Siward. Many of the women Frø had ordered abused dressed themselves in men's clothing and fought on Ragnar's side.[1] Chief among them, and key to Ragnar's victory, was Lagertha. Saxo recounts:
Ladgerda, a skilled Amazon, who, though a maiden, had the courage of a man, and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose over her shoulders. All marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks flying down her back betrayed that she was a woman.
Impressed with her courage, Ragnar courted her from afar. Lagertha feigned interest and Ragnar arrived to seek her hand, bidding his companions wait in the
After returning to Denmark to fight a civil war, Ragnar (who, according to Saxo, was still annoyed that Lagertha had set beasts against him) divorced Lagertha in order to marry
Ladgerda, who had a matchless spirit though a delicate frame, covered by her splendid bravery the inclination of the soldiers to waver. For she made a sally about, and flew round to the rear of the enemy, taking them unawares, and thus turned the panic of her friends into the camp of the enemy.[2]
Upon returning to Norway, she quarrelled with her husband, and slew him with a spearhead she concealed in her gown. Saxo concludes that she then "usurped the whole of his name and sovereignty; for this most presumptuous dame thought it pleasanter to rule without her husband than to share the throne with him".[2]
Scholarship
Saxo's sources
According to Judith Jesch, the rich variety of tales in the first nine books of Saxo's Gesta, which include the tale of Lagertha, are "generally considered to be largely fictional".[3] In portraying the several warrior women in these tales, Saxo drew on the legend of the Amazons from classical antiquity, but also on a variety of Old Norse (particularly Icelandic) sources, which have not been clearly identified.[3] Saxo's depiction of women warriors is also colored by misogyny: Like most churchmen of the time, Saxo thought of women only as sexual beings. To him, the Viking shieldmaidens who refused this role were an example of the disorder in old heathen Denmark that was later cured by the Church and a stable monarchy.[3]
A woman called Hlaðgerðr, who rules the Hlaðeyjar, also appears in the sagas of the 6th century
When Saxo describes Lagertha as "flying round" (circumvolare) to the rear of the enemy, he ascribes to her the power of flight, according to Jesch, indicating a kinship with the valkyries.[5] The tale notably recalls that of Kára, the valkyrie lover of Helgi Haddingjaskati, who flies above Helgi in battle as a swan, casting spells in his support.[6]
Identity with Thorgerd
Davidson deems it possible, as Nora K. Chadwick considered very probable,[1] that Lagertha is identical with Thorgerd (Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr), a goddess reflected in several stories.
Thorgerd was worshipped by, and sometimes said to be wed to, the Norwegian ruler
Portrayals in fiction
Christen Pram's historical drama Lagertha (1789) is based on Saxo's account.
The choreographer Vincenzo Galeotti based his ballet Lagertha (1801), the first ballet to feature a Nordic theme, on Pram's work. Set to music by Claus Schall, the ballet was a significant success for Galeotti's Royal Theater. It was conceived as a Gesamtkunstwerk incorporating song, pantomime, dance, and originally also dialog parts.[8]
More recently, Lagertha (played by
References
- ^ ISBN 9781107686557.
- ^ a b c d e Saxo Grammaticus. "The Danish History, Book IX". Translated by Oliver Elton. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2013. (Latin original Archived 2 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ ISBN 9780851153605.
- ^ ISBN 9780859915021.
- ^ Jesch, 179.
- ^ Davidson, 154.
- ^ Davidson, 152.
- ISBN 9788763505802.
- ^ "Interview with Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha)". Sky HISTORY TV channel. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.