Kattegat refers, in the TV show, to the village (and its kingdom), located on the shores of a fjord in southern Norway, near Ragnar Lothbrok's land where he used to reside with his family.
In Vikings
Kattegat is where Earl Haraldson resided, and the geographic center of his powers. Events like The Thing and other meetings among the Vikings are held in Kattegat, and it's also the center of commerce for the area, especially considering its location in a fjord and its access to sea travel. Farmers like Ragnar, and producers of various goods, rely on a village like Kattegat as the primary market by which to sell their goods. Later, after Haraldson is slain in single combat by Ragnar, the Lothbrok family abandons their farm, which has been put to the torch by the earl's henchmen, and relocates to Kattegat where Ragnar rules as the new earl.
The Lagertha banner after her ascension as the Queen of the Kattegat, has been changed by adding the color red of ragnar banner.
As Ragnar rises in status Kattegat becomes the seat of his power and the center of his lands. His numerous raids bring much wealth to the town, though it also suffers through several battles. Over time it is shown to expand several times over. In the first episode of season four, Kattegat has expanded to fill the valley of the fjord and is now able to host the many ships fresh back from the raid on Paris. The wealth of the city pours into Kattegat and feeds the flourishing trade. After the defeat of Ragnar in Paris, Aslaug became the sole ruler of Kattegat and transformed it into a city. She was killed by Lagertha when she came back to reclaim Kattegat; Lagertha subsequently built extensive fortifications around the city.
Description
When King Ragnar was in Wessex, Aslaug was killed by Lagertha in cold blood briefly after surrendering. The current Queen is the Shield-maiden Lagertha. The heir to the throne is, presumably, Ragnar and Lagertha's son, Bjorn Ironside.
After the acension of Ragnar Lothbrok, the colors of the house of Haraldsson have been keept but changed to a chevrony-pattern.
The court of Kattegat is composed:
- Queen Lagertha;
- Prince Bjorn;
- Prince Ubbe;
- Prince Hvitserk;
- Prince Ivar;
- Princess Torvi;
- Margrethe;
- Astrid;
- Erik;
- Refil;
- Guthrum;
- Floki;
- The Seer.
Former members of the court:
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Succession
The banner of Kattegat, featuring the colors of the house of Haraldsson in a party per saltire-pattern.
List of rulers of Kattegat (Earldom > Kingdom):
- Earl Haraldson †;
- Earl Ragnar Lothbrok †;
- King Horik † (via Earl Ragnar †);
- Jarl Borg †;
- King Ragnar Lothbrok †;
- Queen Consort Aslaug †;
- Queen Lagertha.
Geographical Description
The Kattegat (Danish: [ˈkʰad̥əɡ̊ad̥]) or Kattegatt (Swedish: [ˈkatːəˈɡatː]) is a 30,000 km2 sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark to the south and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden in the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits. The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the Baltic Sea or the North Sea or, as in traditional Scandinavian usage, neither of these.
Trivia
- The name Kattegat is given by Dutch sailors. It's Dutch for cat hole, presumably because it was such a narrow passage that you would need to be a cat to be able to navigate and manoeuvre safely through it.
- A possible name for the sea region in contemporary times, as suggested in the Knytlinga Saga, may have been Jotlandshaf (Jutland Sea).
- Nowadays, Kattegat is the strait between Denmark and Sweden.
- The tie-in book The World of Vikings confirms that Kattegat is located in Norway and in-universe in season 4.
- Kattegat is filmed on location Co. Wicklow, Ireland.