One of my favorite authors Thomas Harris (“Silence of the Lambs”, “Hannibal”) has a scene where Hannibal Lecter uses an ancient Norse method of execution called the “Bloody Eagle”.
In the Dark Ages, the Viking “Ivarr the Boneless” created a gruesome precursor to being drawn and quartered, an execution called “att rista blodvrn”, translated into the “bloody eagle” or the “blood eagle”.
The victim lies face-down his ribs are cut away while he is still alive.
His lungs are then yanked from his cheat and spread apart to resemble to wings of an eagle, and they continued to fill and contract from the heavy breathing of the victim.
“They caused the bloody eagle to be carved on the back of Ælla, and they cut away all of the ribs from the spine, and then they ripped out his lungs.”
This form of death by "blood Eacgle" could take many hours as the victim slowly bled to death
