Blood eagle

The blood eagle was a method of ritual execution as detailed in late skaldic poetry. According to the two instances (both loosely derived from one source which merely mentions that the victim had been "touched by an eagle" – which makes no zoological sense as eagles are not carrion birds) mentioned in the Christian sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, their ribs severed from the spine with a sharp tool, and their lungs pulled through the opening to create a pair of "wings". There has been continuing debate about whether the rite was a literary invention of the original texts, a mistranslation of the texts themselves, or an authentic historical practice.