The Raven Banner. by Matteo Baldo

In this article I will unveil some of the secrets behind the Raven Banner; today this symbol has become famous mainly thanks to its representation in a contemporary key in the television series: Vikings, where it is used as the symbol of the protagonist Ragnar Lothbrok, and, later, as the war flag of the Great Heathen Army: the army commanded by the Sons of Ragnar, who, in the television series, invade the island of England with the aim of killing the Anglo-Saxon ruler of the kingdom of Northumbria: King Hella, Ragnar's murderer, and thus obtain revenge for their father's death. The “Raven Symbol” also appears in a second TV series related to the history of the Vikings in England: The Last Kingdom, where it is often depicted as a symbol painted on Viking shields during the first season. Interestingly, outside of the TV series, there are numerous sources and references related to this artefact.

The story of the ‘Viking flag’, known as the Raven's Banner, in the historical sources that were compiled in the island of England during the Middle Ages, turns out to be linked not to Ragnar Lothbrok, but to one of his sons: Hubba; he is known today as one of the protagonists of the TV series Vikings and even as the main antagonist of the first season of the series The Last Kingdom. Contrary to other fictional characters featured in both television products, several historical documents attest that there really existed a Norse leader named Hubba, who was one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army; the Norse army that undertook a military campaign to invade and conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, between the years 865 and 878 (also known as Great Danish Army). In the television series The Last Kingdom, the story of which is based on Bernard Cronwell's series of historical novels, ‘The Saxon Stories’, Hubba turns out to be one of the commanders of the Viking army; at the end of the first season, he is defeated and killed by the main character: Uthred of Bebbanburg. Hubba's death occurred, in a duel to the death, when the Viking army was taken unawares by the Saxon army, during what would later be remembered as the Battle of Cynuit. Like most of the events described in Bernard Cornwell's series of novels, this episode is not the product of fantasy but is the author's interpretation of a battle that actually took place in the south of England during the year 878, when the Norse army suffered a major defeat. The author of the novels, with regard to the story and the figure of the character called Hubba, was in fact, freely inspired by real characters and events, in particular by what is reported in the manuscripts known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, in which, with regard to the events that took place during the 9th century, they dwell on the story of the campaign of invasion and conquest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, by the Great Heathen Army. The name Hubba is in fact present within the Manuscript [F] and not only; Hubba is in fact mentioned in the 12th century Latin work called Liber Eliensis: ‘In the days when the Danes ravaged England, the year before the Incarnation of the Lord, eight hundred and sixty six. A great clan of pagans under king Inguar with the brothers Halfdane and Ubba together with the commanders the three kings Hosten, Bagseg and Guthrum, came to Britain with an innumerable number of valiant warriors and invaded the kingdom called East Anglia’. (Liber Eliensis, Ad Fidem Codicum Vriorum, Vol.1 Londini:Impensis Societatis, M.DCCC.XLVIII. Historia Eliensis, Liber Primus, 42, pag.84) The biographer of King Alfred of Wessex: The Monk Asser, in his chronicle work entitled Vita Alfredi, also tells of Hubba and, in particular, of his death during a battle. ‘The brother of Hinwar and Halfdane, having slaughtered the Christians [...] with one thousand two hundred others, found a miserable death, having been slain, while committing his misdeeds.’ (Asser’s Life of King Alfred, Translated from the Text of Stevenson’s Edition, by Albert S. Cook, Ginn & Company, Boston, 1906 54.The Danes Defeaded at Cynwit) A further work recounts the fall of the Viking commander: History of the English People, a 12th century text by Godfrey of Gamair in whose verses these words are quoted: 'A brother of Iware and Healifene was slain in the Wood of Penis, Hubbe was his name, a wicked man. Over him the Danes erected a great mound when they found him. They called him Ubbelawe. The mound is in Davonshire.... There was a great slaughter and eight hundred and forty perjurers died.’ (Maistre Geffrei Gaimar, Thomas Duffus Hardy, Charles Trice Martin, Le Storie des Engles, solum la Transalacion, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1888) Returning to the historical facts, all the aforementioned annals sources continue the narration by praising the success achieved by the Saxon army, which, on that occasion (878d C. ), not only achieved a great triumph against the Great Heathen Army, killing one of its leaders, king and ‘Son of Ragnar Lothbrok’ (Hubba), but also succeeded in taking possession of a great treasure of the Viking army: the War Flag of the Great Pagan Army, known as the Raven Banner. Godfrey of Gaimair's text, ‘History of the English People’, uses such words: 'It was taken Hubba’s war banner called the RAVEN’ It is precisely in this source that, for the first time in a historical document, reference is made to what is now known as the ‘Raven's Banner’. It is also mentioned in the Asser’s Chronicle: ‘The Christians, inspired by heaven, attacked the pagans, even killed their king, and obtained a great booty, the banner called ‘Raven’, for it is said that the three sisters of Hingware and Hubba, daughters of Lodbroch, wove that banner’. (Giles J.A. Six Old English Chronicles: Ethelwerd, Asser’s Life of King Alfred, Geoffrei of Monmouth, Gildas, Nennius & Richard of Cirencester, 1848) As we have seen, there are several texts in which the Raven vessil is referred to as the personal banner of a specific Viking leader: Hubba. The Raven Banner is reported to be ‘The first flag flown in England to be fixed to the pole’. It is no coincidence that the annal collections dwell on mentioning it as a ‘war trophy’; at the time there was a strong belief that such a banner had magical powers. From an iconographic and symbolic point of view, for the Vikings, the raven is an animal directly related to Odin, who was, by them, worshipped as the ‘god of war’; this symbolism is explained in the text by Hrafnhildur Bodvarsdottir, entitled: The Function of War Beasts in Old English Poetry. In his analysis, the author writes: ‘It can be assumed that the Danes regarded the symbol of the raven as signifying that the god of war, Óðinn, was on their side and that this conception was also known to their enemies, the Saxons; they would identify the depiction of the raven as a representation of a powerful symbol’. In the collections of annals, the Saxon chroniclers emphasise the magical aspect of this banner. It is plausible, therefore, to support the thesis that the Saxons had the notion that the banners carried to war by the Danes were imbued with the evil powers derived from their pagan idols. the Saxons were aware of Odin and his connection to the ravens, which is present in Norse mythology. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, referring to the year 878, also mention: ‘In the winter of this same year the brother of Ingwar and Healfden landed in Wessex, Devonshire, with twenty-three ships, and there he was slain, and eight hundred men with him, and forty of his army. There was also taken the flag of war, which they called the RAVEN.’ (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles Manuscripts: [E],[B],[C],[D]) It is curious, for our analysis, to underline the fact that, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, there is no ‘magical’ element attached to this banner, on the contrary, the text: Annals of St. Neots, with regard to the Raven Flag, emphasises its ‘supernatural’ characteristics: ‘It is also said that, if they wanted to win a battle in which they followed that signum, they would see, in the centre, a raven, happily flapping its wings. But, if they were defeated, the crow would fall still. And this has always proved to be true'. (Annals of Saint Neots) A similar interpretation to the previous one is present, again, in Asser's work: “Life of King Alfred”; in the text, in reference to the fall of Hubba, it is said that in any battle the ‘sign’ (understood as the banner) was carried in front of them (the army) and that, if they achieved victory, the magical powers of that banner would be manifested, as ‘a living raven would be seen in the midst of the sign in flight’ but that, on the contrary, in the event of defeat, the raven depicted ‘remained upright without movement’. Monk Asser's text, just like the “Annals of St Neots”, asserts that this ‘magic’ proved true on every occasion.

Due to the popularity of the Vikings also outside the academic field, it is a common idea of our days to consider that such a banner represents what we might call the ‘Viking flag’ par excellence, used by all Norse kings and armies. It is important to bear in mind that such a banner does not correspond to the contemporary representation of the flag, which is rectangular in shape with a symbol in the centre. Written works are not the only sources that have come down to us about the Raven's Banner, it is depicted in the form of an illustration in the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth from Normandy or England, dating back to the second half of the 11th century, in which scenes representing the conquest of the island by William the Conqueror in the year 1066 are depicted. Among the various scenes depicted in the Tapestry is a small detail that historians and art experts have identified as the Raven Banner. This work, of inestimable value both historically and artistically, is today preserved and exhibited in France, in the city of Bayeux. In the fabric, there is in fact a flag with a semicircular/triangular shape, inside which is a creature identifiable as a crow. The presence of the Raven Banner in the Bayeux Tapestry may not seem congruent with the scenes depicted, which tell the story of the conquest of England by William of Normandy, however, it seems that this banner also had a strong influence during William's conquest, who had a strong connection with his Viking ancestors. The banner is also mentioned in works whose origin is Norman: Encomium Emmae Reginæ, a work commissioned by Queen Emma of Normandy; written in Latin, in the second half of the 11th century. In this text, the standard is mentioned in reference to the Battle of Assedun, which took place in the year 1016, in which King Canute's Viking army used a ‘Raven Standard’ against the English army, which would therefore not correspond to the same one used more than a hundred years earlier, by Hubba. ‘The Danes had a banner endowed with marvellous property, though it was woven of very plain and lustrous silk and had no embroidered figure; nevertheless, always in time of war there seemed to appear a raven, which in victory opened its beak and flapped its wings, restless in its feet, but very silent and drooping all over its body in defeat’. (Encomium Emmae Reginæ) Particular is the detail in which it is explained that this banner, used by King Canute, had no embroidered figure in the centre but that by ‘magic’ the Raven appeared. Not only English and Norman chronicle sources mention the ‘Raven’s Banner’, it is also mentioned in texts of Scandinavian origin, known as the Icelandic Sagas; in particular, the author Snorri Sturlusson, mentions this banner in the verses of the Saga of Harald Sigurðarsonar, a 13th century work narrating the story of the Norwegian ruler Haraldr “Hardrada”; the last Viking ruler who tried to conquer the island of England. In Snorri's text, in chapter twenty-two, there are such words, linked to a banner depicting the raven: it is called by a particular name: Landøyðan, whose translation, from Icelandic, would correspond to ‘Land-Waster’. This specific flag, referred to as the War Banner of King Haraldr Hardrada, is also mentioned in Chapter 85, when the sovereign went to war against the Anglo-Saxons near York: ‘Thus, when King Haraldr saw that the formation of English men had descended along the dyke in front of them, he blew the trumpets of war and forcefully incited the army by then advancing the Landøyðan banner, and there was launched an attack so strong that nothing stood up’. (Snorri Sturlusson, Heimskringla, The Saga of King Haraldr Hardrade) After observing references to a Raven's Ensign in collections of annals and literary sources, as well as in the Bayeux Tapestry, the question remains as to whether there is also some material evidence to confirm the historical existence of a hypothetical Raven's Banner. Archaeological excavations conducted at the city of York have brought to light a particular coin, at the centre of which there seems to be a symbol corresponding to the Raven Flag. This coin was minted at the city of York during the 10th century, when the city was ruled by the viking king Røgnvaldr Guðrøðsson (943-944). The symbol depicted in the centre of the coin is identified as the Raven: the Danish War Standard. The banner seems to be identifiable with the raven's head pointing upwards towards the top of the banner pole, its wings extended and its tail down. Although it cannot be said with certainty that this is a raven, it is certainly tempting to think so. The design appears to show a border framing the edge of the banner, with rectangular tabs or tassels hanging from the lower edge. This depiction of the triangular flag with tabs corresponds to the depiction of the Standard of the Raven in the Bayeux standard. Whatever the meaning and symbol depicted, this specimen is the only intact coin of King Ragnald Guthfrithsson to date. This coin belongs to a private individual and was sold at auction for a sum of £25,000. Finally, the Vessel of the Raven is present in a second scene, embroidered within the Bayeux tapestry, which corresponds almost identically to the depiction of the Vessel coined within the Viking coin. The scene depicted here has strong links not only with the iconography on the York coin, but also with the description of the banner found in the verses of Snorri's saga: A horseman on horseback, standing behind the commander, William, has a banner in his lance, in the centre of which is a bird, the banner has decorated tabs or ‘tassels’ at the end, thus finding some similarities with the depiction on the two coins. Some historians have wondered why a banner identifiable with the ‘Raven’ is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, since this is depicted in the spear of a Norman at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in the year 1066, at the twilight of the Viking Age. Both literary and historical documents make no mention of Viking troops among the invading Norman forces, let alone a hypothetical Norse ruler. There are therefore three theories of ‘analysis’ concerning the representation of the Standard in the Bayeux Tapestry. The first would identify the presence of an unregistered Viking leader among William's troops, the Raven Banner is in fact recorded in several sources as a war flag, belonging to a specific commander, but as analysed above, more than one leader was found to have a raven as a symbol depicted on his banner. The second theory, on the other hand, would identify the presence of the banner as an indirect reference to the origin of the Normans as Vikings under Hrolf der Ganger (Rollo). A final hypothesis is that the banner is a reference to Harald harðráði's Landøyðan and his defeat at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, which helped create the conditions that allowed the Norsemen to conquer the island of England. The second depiction of a hypothetical Raven Vessel, present in the two previous images, is set in a scene in which the brothers of Harold Godwinsson (Harold II King of England, the one who defeated Haraldr Hardrada) are killed. The scene features an interesting banner, which falls under the hooves of horses. This banner is triangular and resembles the one depicted on King Ragnall's coin, although no design is shown on the face of the banner; however, the triangular shape and the ribbons at the end match perfectly. Bibliography: Asser John, Stevenson William Henry, Asser’s Life of King Alfred, Togheter with the Annals of Saint Neots, Erroneously Ascribed to Asser, Andesite Press, London, 2016. Baldo Matteo, Ragnar Lothbrok & La Vendetta della Grande Armata Pagana, Casa Editrice Odoya, Bologna, 2024. Blake E.O. Liber Eliensis, Royal Historical Society, London, 1962.Thomas of Ely, Richard of Ely, Steward David James, Liber of Eliensis, Ad Fidem Codicum Variorum, Impencis Societatis, London, m.dccc. XLVIII, 1848. Bodvarsdottir Hrafnhildur, The Function of the Beast of Battle in Old English Poetry, tesi di dottorato, 1976, Università di New York a Stony Brook, Ann Arbor: Università Microfilms International, 1989. Gaimar Goffrei, Short Ian, Estoire des Engles, History of the English, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2019. Lukman Niels Clausen, The Raven Banner and the Changing Ravens: A Viking Miracle from Carolingian Court Poetry to Saga and Arthurian Romance, in: Classica et Medievalia Revue denoise d’Historie et de Philologie, vol.19, Copenhagen,1958. Sturlusson Snorri, Hermskringla, Volume iii, Harald Saga Sigurdarsonn. Snorri Sturlusson, Magnus Olaffson to Magnus Earlingsson, Translated by Alson Finlay and Anthony Faulsk, Hermskringla, Volume III, Harlad Saga Sigurdarsonn, University of Cambridge, in Memory of Dorothea Coke, Skjaeret, 1951, Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London, 2015. Wild Leon, The Raven Banner at the Clantarf: The Context of an Old Norse Legendary Symbol, in: Viking and their Enemies: Proceeding of a Symposium Held in Melburne, 24 novembre 2007, Viking Research Network, 2008.