Aslaug Sigurdsdóttir was a legendary Danish queen also known as Aslög, Kráka and Randalín. She was the wife of the Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok according to various sagas of Norse mythology such as the Edda, the Völsunga and the Ragnars saga loðbrókar.
The story of Aslaug was written during the 13th century and she is presented as the daughter of the legendary hero Sigurd (or Siegfried) and the Valkyrie Brunhild (Brunhilda). Aslaug was the mother of at least five children of the famous Ragnar Lodbrok.
It has been taken as the center of various works of art throughout history such as poetry, paintings and songs. He was recently one of the main characters in the series Vikings by History Channel.
Aslaug Sigurdsdóttir was the daughter of the Norse hero Sigurd and the Valkyrie Brunhild. The sagas tell that Aslaug's parents met after Sigurd killed the dragon Fafnir..
Supposedly, the legendary Sigurd found Brunhild asleep on a hill and dressed in armor that appeared to be attached to her body. He stripped her of her armor and she woke up.
After that the hero asked her to marry him and they confirmed their engagement at the court of Heimir, Brunhild's brother-in-law. However, Sigurd left and continued on his way to the court of King Gjuki of the Burgundians..
Upon reaching his destination Sigurd took a magic potion supplied by Gjuki's wife that made him forget about Brunhild. Then the hero agreed to marry the daughter of the king of Burgundia named Gudrun.
Then the marriage was arranged between Gunnar, another of Gjuki's sons, and Brunhild. Following a dispute between Gudrun and Brunhild, the latter requested Gunnar to assassinate Sigurd and later committed suicide. After being orphaned little Aslaug was adopted by Heimir.
Heimir feared for Aslaug's safety so he ordered a large harp built for him in which the girl could hide..
Later he began to travel with her through Norway, but not as a powerful king, but as a poor harpist with the intention of going unnoticed. One day Heimir came to the farm of a couple whose names were Åke and Grima.
The spouses realized that a small treasure was hidden inside the harp as they noticed that a very fine piece of cloth was sticking out. They both murdered Heimir to steal it.
When they managed to open the harp they found Aslaug inside and were surprised by the beauty of the little girl. They nicknamed him Kráka (raven) and covered his face with soot to hide his graceful features that could reveal that he came from royalty..
Åke and Grima raised Aslaug as a farmer and forced her to work hard every day. Furthermore, they only allowed her to wear black clothing that covered her face so that no one could see her beauty..
While Viking King Ragnar Lodbrok was traveling in Norway he found the farm where Aslaug was raised. Grima suggested to the men that her daughter could help them cook bread.
That day she had bathed so her beauty was exposed before the eyes of the visitors.
They were so entertained by admiring Aslaug that they let the loaves that the girl helped prepare them burn. Ragnar remained in his ship, but when his men returned they brought him the news of the beauty of the young woman they had met..
Ragnar could not believe what they told him and he extended an invitation to the girl with specific conditions: she could not go dressed or naked, she could not go hungry or satisfied and finally, she could not go alone or accompanied by someone.
Aslaug heeded Ragnar's call wrapped in a fishing net, biting a raw onion and with a dog, thus fulfilling all the requirements of the Viking..
He was impressed and asked her to accompany him on his journey. She refused and told him to finish his affairs in Norway.
After a while Ragnar returned and again asked Aslaug to go with him. She complied and cursed Åke and Grima, as well as revealing to them that she knew the identity of Heimir's killers..
Aslaug and Ragnar were married when they came to the Viking kingdom. Since then she bore numerous children to Ragnar including:
Aslaug's (Alyssa Sutherland) character in Vikings is presented as a princess of Götaland.
As in the traditional story, she is the daughter of Sigurd and Brunhild, but in the television series Ragnar's men met her after spying on her while she was taking a bath..
Aslaug demanded an apology from Ragnar, who invited her to his camp with the same riddle that is traditionally presented in the narration of this encounter: she could not go dressed or naked, hungry or full, alone or in company..
The two became lovers during their brief encounter, unlike the sagas in which Aslaug does not agree to have sex with Ragnar until after marriage. She became pregnant with the Viking king and appeared months later before him in Kattegat.
Lagertha, Ragnar's wife, was greatly offended by Aslaug's presence in her kingdom and even more because her husband proposed that the three of them live together. Ragnar and Lagertha divorced and she left Kattegat.
Aslaug and Ragnar married and had several children, the first being Ubbe, followed by Hvitserk, and then Sigurd (the one who, as Aslaug prophesied, was born with the image of the dragon Fafnir in his eye).
While Aslaug was pregnant with her last child, Ivar, she told Ragnar that they could not be intimate for three days or the creature she was expecting would be a monster. He did not listen to her and the child was born with misshapen legs.
Ragnar abandoned the child to die but Aslaug saved him and raised him with excessive care due to his special condition..
Aslaug had an affair with a traveler named Harbard who supposedly had magical powers and cured little Ivar of his physical pains.
After a while, during one of Ragnar's travels, Harbard returned to Kattegat and began a relationship with Aslaug, but when she realized his infidelities she rejected him. Disappointment led her to be a much more ruthless and unpleasant person.
Ragnar returned from his trip to Paris defeated and abandoned Aslaug, his children and his kingdom for nine years, during which she remained at the head of the Kattegat administration..
Aslaug was killed by Lagertha, who never forgave him for stealing Ragnar's love. First, Lagertha's army of female warriors took control of Kattegat and then Aslaug was promised safe conduct to reach the destination of his choice..
However, Lagertha drove an arrow into Aslaug's back and became queen of Kattegat. After that a funeral appropriate to Aslaug's noble status was arranged. His body was put in a boat which was later set on fire.
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