Which Viking leader was supposedly thrown into a pit of snakes as punishment?

Which Viking leader was supposedly thrown into a pit of snakes as punishment? Ragnar Lodbrok is the legendary leader associated with that fate.

According to Icelandic saga traditions, Ragnar was captured after a failed invasion of Northumbria and brought before King Ælla. The king supposedly ordered him thrown into a pit filled with venomous snakes, where he died. Ragnar is also said to have delivered a defiant death song while awaiting death.

The story helped explain the subsequent attack on England by Ragnar’s sons, traditionally identified with the leaders of the Great Heathen Army in 865. Historical evidence does not establish that Ragnar was a single real person, or that the snake-pit execution actually occurred. He may represent a composite of several Viking leaders.

A common mix-up is confusing Ragnar with Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, one of his legendary sons. The snake pit belongs to Ragnar’s death story; the son’s name refers to a mark or feature associated with his eye, not to the execution.