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Start · York · 867
The Blood Eagle of King ÆllaViking legend says his ribs were cut from his spine and his lungs spread like wings across his own back.
380 m on · York · 1537
The Rebel Leader Hanged in Chains Over YorkHe led 30,000 men against the King and nearly won — until false promises brought him back to the city he'd once commanded.
78 m on · York, North Yorkshire · 867
Ivar the Boneless and the Army That Came for a KingA Viking warlord nicknamed 'the Boneless' led the Great Heathen Army across England. The sagas say he had Ælla's ribs spread like wings. A mound at Repton may hold his bones.
same spot · York · 1739
The Horse-Thief Turned Into A Folk HeroA violent burglar and horse-thief understood one thing perfectly: how to command an audience at his own execution.
same spot · York · 1809
The Poisoner Whose Skin Was Sold as CharmsAfter she was hanged for poisoning a client, her skin was tanned into good-luck charms and sold to the public.
same spot · York · 867
The Viking Execution Carved Into LegendRibs pulled outward like wings and lungs drawn through the back; historians still debate if this ritual was ever real.
same spot · York · 865
The Viking Legend Who Died Laughing In A Snake PitThrown into a pit of vipers, the legendary Viking king reportedly laughed as he died, and his sons avenged him with an army.
119 m on · York · 1586
The Pearl Of York, Pressed To DeathA well-liked butcher's wife converted to Catholicism, and Elizabethan York crushed her slowly beneath a door for it.
279 m on · York, North Yorkshire · 1190
The Massacre Beneath Clifford's TowerIn March 1190 York's Jews took refuge in the royal castle keep as a mob closed in. About 150 died there, most by their own hands, as the wooden tower burned.
Coordinates mark the place of each story, and some are approximate. Check opening times and access before you go.