Ragnar Lodbrok exists in one of history’s most frustrating gray areas: too vivid to ignore, too legendary to confirm. His story comes primarily from Icelandic sagas written in the 13th century, centuries after the events they describe. In those accounts, Ragnar is a larger-than-life warrior who defeats monsters, marries the shieldmaiden Lagertha, and earns his nickname “Lodbrok,” meaning “hairy breeches,” after wearing fur-lined trousers to survive a serpent’s venom. He fathers sons who would be