19. Sigurd Eysteinsson, Earl of Orkney, was felled by the severed head of his enemy after he contracted an infection from a resultant scratch on his leg
Sigurd Eysteinsson, also known as Sigurd the Mighty, reigned as the second Earl of Orkney from 875 until his death in 892. With the island becoming a popular refuge for exiled Vikings after the Battle of Hafrsfjord and the unification of Norway under Harald Fairhair, Orkney served as a base from which to conduct raids against their former homelands until King Harald pacified the inhabitants and granted an ally dominion over the territory. Seeking to expand his holdings, Sigurd repeatedly attempted to acquire a foothold on the northern Scottish mainlands, garnering a fearsome reputation as a warrior and raider during his lifetime.
Challenging a native ruler, Máel Brigte the Bucktoothed, to a 40 versus 40 man battle, Sigurd, in an act of great dishonor and deceit, secretly brought 80 men to the field. Easily besting his opponent and winning the unfair battle, he beheaded his defeated opponent. Strapping the head of Máel Brigte to his saddle as a trophy, at some point during his ride home the famed buck-tooth of his enemy scratched Sigurd’s leg. The resultant wound became infected as a result of intimate contact with the necrotic tissue, with Sigurd dying soon after from the contracted illness in an apropos display of karmic vengeance.