Eric Bloodaxe The Viking: 'I Shall Die Laughing'

Eric Bloodaxe (or Brother-Slayer) might well claim to be the last of the Vikings. His career a real-life episode of Game of Thrones. His life a true Norse saga, realities being teased out by the author from sparse chronicle sources, enigmatic and often contradictory sagas. But the whole picture encapsulates the very tenor, essence and history of the Viking Age. Saga sources tell us that by the age of 12, Eric was already a warrior and a fearsome one, leading terrible raids against the Balts...