The Blood Eagle is a torture method where a person is cut by the ribs from the spine, breaking the victims ribs so they resembled blood-stained wings, and having their lungs pulled out. Salt was also sometimes sprinkled in the wounds. The torture method was mostly mentioned in Norse saga literature. King Ælla of Northumbria, Halfdan son of King Haraldr Hárfagri of Norway, King Edmund, King Maelgualai of Munster, and possibly Archbishop Ælfheah of Canterbury are all believed to have been victims of the torture method.