The Vikings played a role in Britain from the 8th to the 11th centuries, conducting raids, as well as settling and trading there. There impacts were large and played a significant role in Britain over centuries. Caleb M. Brown explains.

The Vikings at sea - Folio 9v of from the Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund.

In June of 793 AD, a notable Viking raid occurred at a monastery on the Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne. While this was not the first raid on the British Isles, it was the most important up to that time. The monastery was home to numerous monks and a vast array of sacred items. Monasteries across the British Isles were inadequately defended, making them easy targets for Viking attacks. The raid on Lindisfarne was dramatic and instilled fear in the people of Britain to such an extent that many believed God was punishing them. This marked only the beginning of what would come to be known as the Viking Age. The Vikings established trade routes and even settlements in the British Isles, referred to as Danelaw. What began as Viking expeditions in search of treasure and fame ultimately led to the conquest of new lands for settlement and farming. The kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, and East Anglia would forever be changed as a result of the Scandinavian invaders.

The historiographical material we have today about the raid at Lindisfarne primarily relies on the written records of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, particularly the accounts by Alcuin, who documented the attack at the time through letters to the bishops and the king himself. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles also serve as a primary source for recording the battles between the kingdoms and the Vikings in the subsequent century. Additionally, we can examine art from the period of the Lindisfarne raid. The Viking Doomsday Stone depicts warriors wielding traditional Viking weapons. While the Norse Icelandic sagas are narratives shared by the Nordic people, they can also provide information based on similar material found in various written sagas, enhancing their credibility as evidence. Next, we can look at secondary sources, which are essential because further examination of the primary sources has supplied us with more detailed information. In the time following the Lindisfarne raid, we begin to see increased written evidence of the Viking attacks and the battles fought between the kingdoms and the Norse people. These sources delve deeper into the battles and the individuals involved on both sides. Secondary sources also provide a wealth of books on the subject of the Vikings that have been produced by scholars in the field.

Transformation

The Vikings profoundly transformed the British Isles. They conquered three of the four kingdoms before being halted by the King of Wessex. Even then, they continued to influence the British Isles through the Treaty of Wedmore, which granted them lands to settle. This area became known as the Danelaw, established near York. The sagas provided by the Vikings give us tales of heroes and bravery but also savagery. The impact of the Vikings was one of great influence upon the world at the time. The Nordic people integrated into the fabric of what would become Great Britain, and the lineage of the Vikings can still be observed today, not only in England but throughout Europe. Eventually, history witnessed the conversion of most of the Nordic people to Christianity, allowing for deeper integration.

The research process for the raid on Lindisfarne was challenging due to the scarcity of primary sources. This impacted my thesis, as I needed to find additional sources, which ultimately led me to examine the overall impact of the Vikings on Britain’s history. Initially, this report was intended to focus solely on the raid at Lindisfarne; however, due to the lack of sources, I had to broaden my research, leading me to consider the Vikings' overall influence. The volume of research and reading required to complete this proposal was considerable. Historical research and evidence to support a thesis can be difficult to locate when navigating the vast array of available sources. I often found myself returning to the same materials, merely presented through different studies. The study of the Nordic people and their global influence is an even larger field, and I encountered new information being discovered daily that is reshaping history as we know it.

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References

Accounts of the Raid on Lindisfarne. (n.d.). https://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/HUM1BS17/Lecture_10%20Medieval%20Universities%20Readings.pdf

Cambell, J. G., Hall, R., Jesch, J., & Parsons, D. N. (2016). Vikings and the Danelaw. Oxbow Books, Limited.

Ellis, C. (2018). Alfred Versus the Great Viking Army . Liberty University

Firth, A. (2023, April 24). The Viking Attack at Lindisfarne - The Primary Sources MancHistorian. MancHistorian. https://manchistorian.com/the-viking-attack-at-lindisfarne-the-primary-sources/

Giles, J. A. (1914). Anglo Saxon Chronicles. London G. Bell and Sons, LTD. https://ia801601.us.archive.org/25/items/anglosaxonchroni00gile/anglosaxonchroni00gile.pdf

Hadley, D. M., Richards, J. D., Craig-Atkins, E., & Perry, G. (2023). TORKSEY AFTER THE VIKINGS: URBAN ORIGINS IN ENGLAND. The Antiquaries Journal, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003581522000269

Haywood, J. (2016). Northmen. Macmillan.

Lindisfarne. (2024). Uchicago.edu. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/lindisfarne/lindisfarne.html

Nordeide, S., & Edwards, K. (2019, June 30). The Vikings. Arc Humanities Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/reader.action?docID=5841981&query=&ppg=59

Story, J. (2019). The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne. English Heritage. https://www.englishheritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory/History/viking-raid/

Ivar the Boneless, youngest son of Ragnar Lothbrok and Princess Aslaug, was a powerful Viking leader. He was considered to be the wisest, strongest and most skillful of warriors; in fact, despite an inability to walk, he led raiding conquests across Northern Europe… The mind of Ivar was considered a much stronger weapon than those swords and shields carried by other Vikings. Bakhtawar Jamil explains.

A 12th-century illustration depicting Danes invading England.

The saga behind his name

The origin of the nickname ‘boneless’ is uncertain and historians have long been arguing over what it actually means. The Danish historian Knud Seedorf enlivened this debate with the convincing theory that the signs and symptoms of Ivar’s condition, as described in the Scandinavian sagas, are consistent with ‘brittle bone disease’. The disease is a dominant congenital disorder that causes the bones to become extremely fragile and is most frequently caused by a defect in the gene that produces collagen, an important building block of bone. Knud Seedorf wrote of his theory:

Of historical personages the author knows of only one of whom we have a vague suspicion that he (Ivar) suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta. He is reported to have had legs as soft as cartilage (lacking bones), so that he was unable to walk and had to be carried about on a shield. There are less extreme forms of this disease where the person affected can lack use of their legs, but be otherwise normal, as was probably the case for Ivar the Boneless. (1)

Another theory by Celtic lecturer Clare Downham from the University of Liverpool explains when translated from Latin, Ivar’s sobriquet could have been described as ‘despicable’ and not ‘boneless’ as the two Latin words are very similar. But, another theory suggests that the epithet is interpreted as ‘the hated’, which when translated into Latin would mean ‘exosus’. When this word is further simplified syllable by syllable it is deciphered as ‘ex’ meaning without and ‘os’ meaning bone, thus ‘without bones’.

However, more prosaic explanations that account for Ivar's nickname can be found in Nordic legends and traditions. To further emphasize, some traditions narrate that the Vikings were well-known in giving ironic names to their warriors. In much the same way as we may, cynically, would call a short man ‘gigantic’ or a tall man ‘tiny’, a larger than average person - say seven-feet with a huge bone structure - might be called ‘boneless’. (2)

A mid-twelfth-century poem called Hattalykill explains he was actually without bones and it also narrates that Ivar was a skilled warrior with a physical form as flexible as a snake. (3) Keeping these two interpretations of Hattalykill in mind, one can say Ivar gave the impression that he lacked bones. Yet according to sources Ivar died childless, so perhaps he was impotent — that is, unable to have an erection — therefore, ‘boneless.’ According to a different legend, it was believed that Ivar’s epithet was the result of a curse foreseen by his mother who had the power of foresight. It is written that Aslaug warned Ragnar to wait three days before consummating their marriage, disclosing that the gods would be displeased and their child born would be cursed:

Three nights together, but yet apart,

Shall we bide, nor worship the gods as yet

From my son this would save a lasting harm,

For boneless is he thou wouldst now beget (4)

Ragnar refused to believe in the curse and immediately made love to his new wife; hence, Ivar was born bearing legs without a bone structure. Ivar grew up unable to walk and had to be carried everywhere on poles or on the back of a shield. Consequently, during his childhood he was often ridiculed by his own brothers for his disability. His siblings were Bjorn, Halfdan, Ubba, Hvitserk and Siggurd. Aslaug was known to be over protective of him while Ragnar always saw the true warrior that Ivar was. Ragnar favored him just as he did his other sons, and he always believed that Ivar’s greatest weakness could be turned into his greatest strength. The lore narrates his crippled condition, but in battle Ivar was cunning and strategic – in a way unlike any other Viking of his era.

A berserker among Vikings

Berserkers were Viking warriors who went into a state of fury when they fought and Ivar was known for transforming into such a state. One could argue that his rage originated from his childhood when people mocked him for his crippled body, and he would respond with sheer anger and violence.
Norse sources mention Ivar being carried on a shield by his army, leading to speculation that he was lame. This however is unlikely considering Ivar was a renowned warrior; other sources from the period mention chieftains being ceremonially borne on the shields of enemies following victory. (5)

In 865 AD the mighty Viking army appeared out of the mists of the North Sea from Scandinavia and landed on the East Anglian coast in England. Their aim was nothing less than the total conquest of Anglo-Saxon England and the British Isles. Numbering some 10,000 to 15,000 men the Great Heathen Army was the largest invasion force since Roman Legions had landed on the shores of Britannia back in 43 AD. During a fourteen year reign of terror they left a brutal trail of destruction in their wake. At its head the army was led by the vengeful sons of Viking adventurer, Ragnar Lothbrok. The mastermind behind the invasion became one of the most feared and cruel generals of the Viking age - none other than Ivar. His stature was such that he dwarfed all his contemporaries and in battle he was always in the vanguard. So strong were his arms that the bow and arrows he used in battle had to be made heavier and more durable than those of his companions. His shadow cast a dark cloud over the British Isles that ultimately led to the unification and creation of the state of England. The Norsemen were well aware of the civil war that had weakened the great northern kingdom in England and as warriors they were extremely opportunistic.

While the East Anglians made peace with the invaders and provided them with horses, the Norse consolidated their forces as they came in and wintered in East Anglia. To protect their realm and as an opportunity to see their rivals in Northumbria attacked, East Anglia made a peace agreement with the Norse army. They allowed the Norsemen to use their land to prepare their army and provided them with horses. The Norsemen, then, used it as a staging point for their invasion into Northumbria. (6)

The legend in the sagas of Ragnar claims the attention towards England by Ivar was because of the death of his father, who was killed by King Aelle of Northumbria. During a raid Ragnar was taken prisoner and thrown into a snake pit and in his dying breath, the Viking declared ‘the little pigs would grunt now if they knew how it fares with the old boar’. (7) His words prophesied the violent revenge that would be exacted by his children. Bloody retribution was, indeed, forthcoming.

On March 21, 867 the Vikings stormed the city walls of York and gained entry to the city. They then slaughtered those in the city and routed those who were outside. Upon capture, King Aelle was subjected to the agonizing death of the Blood Eagle, a gruesome Viking method of torture; mentioned in the Nordic sagas. (8) It was performed by breaking his ribs, so they resembled blood-stained wings and pulled the lungs out through his back. Salt was sprinkled in the wounds and in the end the Northumbrian king suffered till his dying breath. What was left of the Northumbrian court fled north, and Ivar installed Egbert as the puppet king.

Marching forward

The Great Heathen Army progressed into Mercia fixing their winter-quarters at Nottingham. Burgred, the King of Mercia, sought aid from Ethelred the King ofWessex and his brother Alfred, who had led an army into Mercia and besieged Nottingham. However the Vikings, who were heavily outnumbered, refused to fight. Henry of Huntingdon, wrote almost 250 years later regarding the situation at Nottingham:

Ivar then, seeing that the whole force of England was gathered, and that his host was the weaker, and was there shut in, betook himself to smooth words — cunning fox that he was — and won peace and troth from the English. Then he went back to York and abode there one year with all cruelty. (9)

The Mercians settled on paying the Vikings off, who agreed to leave and returned to Northumbria in the autumn of 868. They spent the winter in York and then returned to East Anglia. When King Edmund of East Anglia led resistance against the Norse he was captured and brutally executed in the village of Hoxne. Viking religious beliefs encouraged cruelty towards the followers of the 'White Christ' who they saw as cowards. King Edmund bravely refused to become the vassal of pagans or renounce his religion, declaring that his religion was dearer to him than his life. He was beaten with clubs as he called upon the name of Jesus, and then tied to a tree where the Vikings shot arrows into him until he died. It is narrated in the 10th-century Passio Sancti Eadmundi that Edmund’s body was thoroughly scourged and then used for target practice by Danish archers ‘until he was all covered with their missiles as with bristles of a hedgehog’. (10)

The warriors left Edmund's corpse unburied and his head was thrown into deep brambles. Monasteries were razed to the ground, monks slaughtered and plundering took place on a massive scale.

Fury from within

One of the reasons for Ivar’s infamous status is the brutal way in which he led his attacks. He is described by many as a merciless, cruel and unconquerable leader with his army using brutality to force their victims into submission. The religion of the Anglo-Saxons was a complete culture clash with that of the Vikings too. The belief in ideas such as ‘help for one’s neighbor’ contrasted with the worship of a war god. For the Vikings, the sacrificing of prisoners was needed to please their god. This can be seen when looking at Ivar’s revenge on King Aelle. However, it is not just the barbarity for which Ivar is known. Many of his battles used innovative strategies that did not rely on sheer force. In many instances, Ivar is said to have employed concepts such as using half of his armed forces in upfront battle. To the competitors, this would make the army seem small - an easy defeat. But, little did they know that the other half of the soldiery would sneak up and attack them from behind. (11) Historians have contrasting views about whether Ivar’s tactics should be seen as a good reason for him becoming a commander of the Viking army because many believed his disability rendered him unable to do so. What can be concluded, however, is that Ivar the Boneless was indeed one of the greatest Viking warriors to have ever lived and whose tales are told to this day…

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