Ivar the boneless ragnarsson biography images

The skeleton was at the center of the mound, with signs of high status weapons, armor, sacrifices, etc. The archeologists were eager to tie this magnificent find to the legend of Ivar the Boneless. If so, Ivar's moniker was ironic — since his gigantism gave him prominent knuckles and bony features, his peers called him "boneless" as a joke. It is our opinion that while the Repton man is certainly an interesting discovery and must have been a fearsome warrior, the links between him and the story of Ivar the Boneless have significant flaws.

As in the case of the shield maidens, we find some modern experts refusing to accept what the Vikings themselves accepted enough to include in their stories. Unfortunately, there is no way to solve the mystery. Still, it is vital to keep an open mind to all possibilities. Because medical conditions and injuries change over time, it is also possible to reconcile several different theories.

Ivar may have been both a mighty warrior and litter-bound at different points in his life. Whatever his disabilities might have been, by the time Ivar was planning to avenge his father, he was already a highly-respected leader. Assuming that Ivar Norse sources , Imar Irish sources , and Ingvar English sources are all the same person, he had been leading Vikings for years.

Though Ireland was a magnet for raiders because it was the center of medieval monasticism, it was a very rough neighborhood even by Dark Age standards. How many years Ivar was active is another mystery. The most commonly regurgitated date of his birth is — but the math on this does not work out well. In any case, when Ivar joined his brothers and landed in the English kingdom of East Anglia in , he was well-prepared to accomplish what no Viking had before him.

Compiling various sources, this "Great Heathen Army" was gathered from far and wide. So it is reasonable to conclude that Danes were the majority, though our early sources tend to be indiscriminate. The army also included significant representation from Ivar's Ireland-based crews as well as Vikings from as far east as the Danube.

Whatever the particular make-up or organization, this Great Heathen Army was so big that most early chroniclers do not even try to count it. It was under a number of leaders all the sons of Ragnar and then many more though Ivar quickly became the most conspicuous leader of the early years of the war. These were mainly defended by fyrds citizen-soldiers that only mobilized for 40 days at a time.

The English were neither expecting nor prepared for the Vikings that landed on their east coast in According to the Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok , Ivar's bonelessness was the result of a curse. Aslaug suggested that she and her husband wait for three nights before consummating their marriage after a long separation while he was in England raiding. However, Ragnar was passionate after such a long separation and did not heed her words.

As a result, Ivar was born with weak bones. Another hypothesis is that he was actually known as "the Hated", which in Latin would be exosus. A medieval scribe with only a basic knowledge of Latin could easily have interpreted it as ex without os bone , thus "the Boneless", [ 5 ] although it is hard to align this theory with the direct translation of his name given in Norse sources.

While the sagas describe Ivar's physical disability, they also emphasise his wisdom, cunning, and mastery of strategy and tactics in battle. The identification of the king of Laithlind as Gothfraid i. The cause of death—a sudden and horrible disease—is not mentioned in any other source, but it raises the possibility that the true origin of Ivar's Old Norse nickname lay in the crippling effects of an unidentified disease that struck him down at the end of his life.

In , a farm labourer named Thomas Walker discovered a Scandinavian burial mound at Repton in Derbyshire , close to a battle site where the Great Heathen Army overthrew the Mercian king Burgred. The number of partial skeletons surrounding the body—over —signified that the man buried there was of very high status. It has been suggested that such a burial mound is possibly the last resting place of Ivar.

According to the saga, Ivar ordered that he be buried in a place that was exposed to attack, and prophesied that, if that was done, foes coming to the land would be met with ill-success. This prophecy held true, says the saga, until "when Vilhjalm bastard William I of England came ashore[,] he went [to the burial site] and broke Ivar's mound and saw that [Ivar's] body had not decayed.

Then Vilhjalm had a large pyre made upon which Ivar's body was] burned Thereupon, [Vilhjalm proceeded with the landing invasion and achieved] the victory. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. He remains an important figure in Ireland, however, and is worth knowing to better understand Irish-Scandinavian culture. Facebook 0 Twitter.

Planning a trip? Download our free guide! Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our free ebook! Discover the essentials of the country, its culture, history and must-see sights! Choose a county! Find your accommodation in Ireland! Irish news. Go to Ireland. Interestingly, the Gesta Danorum makes no mention of Ivar being boneless either. According to the Norse sagas, Ivar is often depicted as leading his brothers into battle whilst carried on a shield, wielding a bow.

Ivar the boneless ragnarsson biography images

Whilst this could indicate he may have been lame, at the time, leaders were sometimes borne on the shields of their enemies after victory. According to some sources, this was the equivalent of sending a middle-finger to the defeated side. His death became an incentive to rouse many of his sons to align and establish a unified front with other Norse warriors against several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms — and to retake lands previously claimed by Ragnar.

Having met little resistance, they moved north to Northumbria, capturing York in Both were killed, marking the start of Viking occupation in parts of England. Ivar is said to have installed Egbert, a puppet ruler, in Northumbria, then led the Vikings to Nottingham, in the kingdom of Mercia.