blood eagle

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English[edit]

Noun[edit]

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blood eagle (plural blood eagles)

  1. A method of Viking ritual execution, in which the ribs are opened from the back, and the lungs pulled out and arranged to resemble wings.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Some historians maintain that blood eagle executions were actually never carried out, and that the concept is based on misinterpretation of the Norse sagas.

Translations[edit]