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The last thing medieval Europeans wanted to see coming ashore were Vikings, and no wonder, considering the well-earned reputations of these mighty warriors.

TopTenz stokes a little historical terror with this list, the names alone of which should make the faint of heart tremble.

10. Eric Bloodaxe

From age twelve through his teen years, Eric did what Vikings do and raided along the Baltic and European coasts. His father was the King of Norway and had plenty of sons to inherit the throne, so Eric solved that problem by murdering his brothers, which earned him his nickname “Bloodaxe.”  One brother remained, though, and after a brief rule, Eric was driven out of Norway. The Norse sagas tell of Eric returning to raiding before settling in Northumbria and becoming its king. Northumbria was a hotly contested kingdom, though, and Eric was ultimately killed in battle.

9. Freydis Eriksdottir

Daughter of Erik the Red and half-sister to Leif Eriksson, Freydis earned her Viking warrior princess mantle by chasing off some hostile Vinland natives by herself, armed with only a sword, while pregnant. She was also an explorer; Freydis and her husband led the Viking’s fourth expedition to Vinland. While there, Freydis decided she wanted more than her share, so she lied to her husband, telling him that their partners had attacked her and demanded he kill them. (In fact, she threatened to divorce him if he didn’t.) He did but refused to murder their wives and children, so Freydis took an axe and did the job herself. When word got out about what she’d done, she was shunned, but since she was Leif’s sister, she got away with murder.

Full story at TopTenz.

Bloody characters of history.