‘Vikings’: What Were Ragnar Lothbrok’s Last Words?

In the hit series Vikings, King Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) returns to Kattegat after being gone for many years. He has one thing on his mind: revenge, and he plans to get it at any cost. After a devastating defeat trying to raid Paris again and his own brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), allying himself with against him, it’s all too much for Ragnar, who walks away from his responsibilities as king. But when he returns, he gets a rude awakening from everyone, but that doesn’t stop Ragnar from heading back to England, where he dies. What were his last words? We have all the details.

Ragnar Lothbrok returns to England for revenge

Ragnar returns to Kattegat to get revenge for the destroyed settlement in Wessex orchestrated by King Ecbert (Linus Roache) years previously. But he quickly realizes the people won’t follow him or fight for him anymore. He left many years previous, and they’ve recently learned about the destroyed settlement in Wessex. 

Ragnar determines the only way to make it over to England is to bribe a small amount of warriors with treasure to return to England. It works, and together with his son, Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen), they travel to Wessex. Ragnar knows he doesn’t have enough warriors to exact his revenge, so he comes up with another plan.

Ragnar decides Ivar will return to Kattegat and tell the story of Ragnar’s death (which he plans out ahead of time), prompting his sons to return with a large army to get revenge on England’s kings. Ragnar plans to have his revenge whether he’s alive or not, and it works out exactly as he hoped.

He makes it back to Wessex despite a treacherous sea, and many of his warriors die in the process. Together, Ragnar and Ivar kill the remaining warriors that helped bring them there, and they head to find King Ecbert.

What were Ragnar Lothbrok’s last words?

Ragnar convinces Ecbert to give him over to King Aelle (Ivan Kaye), who has him beaten and carves a cross into his head. But first, he makes sure Ivar is allowed to go home and bring revenge on both Ecbert and Aelle with his death. Ragnar plans out every detail. Even his final speech is planned out for his sons to learn of later.

Before being given to Aelle, Ragnar admits to Ecbert that he doesn’t believe in the gods anymore, but his sons still do, so he plans to say a speech about them and Valhalla before dying, knowing it will be carried to his sons.

Here are Ragnar’s last words: “It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a feast. Soon I shall be drinking ale from curved horns. This hero that comes into Valhalla does not lament his death. I shall not enter Odin’s hall with fear. There I shall wait for my sons to join me. And when they do, I will bask in their tales of triumph. The aesir will welcome me. My death comes without apology. And I welcome the Valkyries to summon me home.”

But how did Ragnar die in Vikings? He’s thrown in a pit of snakes and is bitten by many of them, dying from the venom. His sons soon learn of his death, and they return to England with the Great Heathen Army. They have their revenge on the kings of England just as Ragnar envisioned. Ecbert is allowed to choose the method of his death, and he dies by suicide. But Aelle is killed by Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig), one of Ragnar’s sons.

In the end, Ragnar’s plan for revenge is enacted, but he dies in the process.