blood eagle

== English == === Noun === blood eagle (plural blood eagles) 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 ==== Some historians maintain that blood eagle executions were actually never carried out, and that the concept is based on misinterpretation of the Norse sagas. ==== Derived terms ==== blood-eagle ==== Translations ====