Ivar the Boneless is a Viking who lived in the 9th century AD . Known by his legendary progenitor, Ragnar Lothbrok , Ivar the Boneless did indeed exist.
Viking and mad warrior , Ivar the Boneless marches on England, Ireland, Denmark and even Sweden. But then who was he really and what is his story, the real one?
Who is Ivar the Boneless?
Ivar the Boneless, real name Ivar Ragnarsson , is a Viking warrior born around the year 794 AD . The legend gives him as father the mythical Ragnar Lothbrok. But if the existence of the latter is absolutely not proven today, that of Ivar, it is indeed.
History and texts give Ivar four brothers : Ubbe Ragnarsson , Halfdan Ragnarsson , Sigurd Serpent's Eye and Björn 1st .
His mother would be Aslaug , legendary queen and character from Norse mythology.
Where does the nickname Ivar the Boneless come from?
Several theories try to explain the nickname of Ivar Ragnarsson, often called Ivar the Boneless.
The first would be linked to a curse : when they get married, Aslaug warns Ragnar of a certain curse. They could not have sexual intercourse during the three days following their marriage , at the risk of their unborn child being cursed. Despite the warnings of his brand new wife, Ragnar could not wait and when Ivar comes into the world, the child seems to have cartilage instead of bones. In such a way that the viking could never walk properly.
A second theory explains that the Viking warrior died of a brittle bone disease . A form of osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as “brittle bone disease”. Which could also explain his nickname.
Ivar the Boneless and the Conquest of Northern Europe
In the fall of 865 , Ivar Ragnarson landed in England with his two brothers, Halfdan and Ubbe. It was first in the region of East Anglia that the three men and their large army engaged in looting. Then they go back to York the following year to march on the city, then in full civil war. Ivar the Boneless, his brothers and their large army then set out to conquer Danelaw , before coming face to face with the men of Alfred the Great , King of Wessex .
In 868 , Ivar the Boneless and his troops returned to York . Once in East Anglia, they soon encountered resistance from King Edmund . They then capture him before cruelly slaughtering him: hanging from a tree, the king would have received arrows in the body until death followed. The British writer Simeon of Durham writes of Ivar's reign in England: “The army burst in here and there and filled every place with bloodshed and grief. »
But England is not the first and only place to have passed into the hands of Ivar the Boneless. According to the texts, the Vikings would also have set foot in Ireland, Denmark and Sweden . And this before leaving the command of the Grand Army and emigrating to Ireland.
Ivar the Boneless, a beast-warrior with impressive exploits
Ivar the Boneless is reputed to be a berserker . Namely a warrior-wild. When fury rises in the Viking, his strength becomes supernatural and the damage he causes, like the exploits he achieves, is impressive.
One of his best-known fights , especially due to his fury, remains that against Aelle, king of Northumbria , who had put his father, Ragnar, to death. The texts tell that once King Aelle was captured, the sons of Ragnar made him endure the worst of tortures: the Blood Eagle.
The truth about the death of Ivar the Boneless
According to the texts, Ivar the Boneless died in 873 , in Great Britain. Again, several theories try to explain the disappearance of the Viking.
For some, Ivar Ragnarsson would have died of a sudden illness . In any case, this is what is written in the fragmentary Annals of Ireland: “The King of Lochlainn has succumbed to a sudden and hideous illness. So he has more to God. For others, the Viking warrior would simply have died in battle .
The tomb of Ivar the Boneless discovered in the 17th century
In 1686 , Thomas Walker , an agricultural worker, discovered in Repton (England) a Scandinavian mound not far from a field. And it was on this very spot that, a few centuries earlier, the Great Danish Army of Ivar Ragnarson had taken the kingdom from King Burgred of Mercia.
A century later, archaeologist Martin Biddle and his wife discover the full body of a warrior in the graveyard at Repton . With the bones are also found a sword, a small hammer of Thor and a boar's tusk. Not to mention the bodies of fifty women and nearly 200 warriors. To possess such a tumulus , the researchers considered that it was necessary to possess a strong notoriety , such as that of Ivar Ragnarsson .
The bones of the whole body found (Ivar, according to the Biddle couple) are therefore analyzed, and the examination reveals a brutal death for the man whose remains have been dug up. The viking would have suffered blows to the head, disembowelment, as well as genital mutilation . Following these analyses, Martin Biddle then contradicts the theory of broken bone disease.
Despite his true existence, however, there is little written about Ivar Ragnarsson. After the year 870, there is no longer any mention of the Viking in the archives.
Who is Ivar the Boneless in the Vikings series?
The character of Ivar the Boneless appears in season 2 of the series Vikings and remains there until the end of the series.
As a child, he is first played by James Quinn Markey , then by Alex Høgh Andersen when he becomes an adult. In the television series, Ivar Ragnarsson appears as the most dangerous son of Ragnar Lothbrok and even becomes one of the main characters over the seasons.
He is strong , clever and manipulative . In an interview, Alex Høgh Andersen, who plays Ivar Ragnarsson, said of his character that he “is brought up in a world that doesn't embrace his disease at all. So he became a perverted young man and not easy to live with”. He says of his character that he is also very determined. “I admire him in that regard as an actor. But he is a special child (…). A very broken boy on the outside but probably an even more broken boy on the inside. »
