"Ahhh, a fine but bloody tale. I can do that one."

―The bards of Skyrim^[src]

Ragnar the Red is the name of a Nordic song, popular in Skyrim. Bards who will play it upon request include Karita in Dawnstar's Windpeak Inn, Sven in Riverwood, Mikael at The Bannered Mare in Whiterun, and others such as Talsgar the Wanderer. There are also times that the carriage drivers will start singing this as a passenger gets on.

ContentEdit

Oh, there once was a hero named Ragnar the Red
Who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead

And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade
As he told of bold battles and gold he had made

But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red
When he met the shield-maiden Matilda, who said;

"Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead
Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!"

And so then came clashing and slashing of steel
As the brave lass Matilda charged in, full of zeal

And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no more-
When his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!

TriviaEdit

• The name Ragnar the Red is possibly a reference to Ragnar Redbeard, the pseudonym of the author of the book Might is Right.
• The name Ragnar the Red may also be a reference to the Magic: The Gathering Card "Ragnar" a Legendary Creature from the Legends set. He has a very Nordic look, and the background of the card is a bright red.
• The name Ragnar can also be associated with the character Ragnar McRyan from Dragon Quest IV, due to his hot-pink/bright red armor which he commonly wears; to see this as a negative or informal connotation can be plausible, since the game director, Todd Howard, shows a strong disliking towards the JRPG genre.
• In the French version of Skyrim, the skeevers are called "ragnards". Whether it was intentional or not, remains unknown.
• The Headless Horseman could be the spirit of Ragnar, based on the lyrics saying he was riding to Whiterun on a horse, and that his head was rolling on the floor, meaning that his head was chopped off.
• The name Ragnar the Red could be a reference to Ragnar Lodbrok, a legendary Norse hero from the Viking Age.

AppearancesEdit

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (First appearance)