Was Ivar The Boneless a Cripple?

a lot of you may know Ivar the Boneless from the show Vikings where he is presented to us as a man who cannot walk but is this the truth historically Ivar was the son of Ragnar Lothbrok and princess elslog and was considered to be the wisest and most skillful of Warriors Icelandic sagas even said he was a famous Berserker so it seems pretty far-fetched that a feared King of the Vikings who led men into battle didn't have the use of his legs today I will be presenting accounts from different sources to determine whether Ivar was a hulking Warrior or if indeed he was a man who was a the guest of the norm meaning the Deeds of the Danes is a work of Danish history by the author saxo grammaticus written between the years of 1185 and 1220 in contrast either the Boneless was born in the 9th century dying in the year 873. in the guest of denorum ragnos Throne had been usurped and many men had betrayed him resulting in him needing to borrow the help from folk of every age the guest at anorum States here too Ivar who was in his seventh year fought splendidly and showed the strength of a man in the body of a boy this passage clearly conveys that Ivar could fight incredibly well as a boy portraying his future Viking Warrior status the book also States Ragnar took Ivar to guide him since he was acquainted with the country gave orders for a fleet and approached a harbor called York here he disembarked his forces and after a battle which lasted three days he made Ella who had trusted in The Valor of the ghouls desirous to fly this passage reflects that ival was already an avid traveler having already been to England as he was already acquainted with York we can also assume that when Ragnar disembarked his forces the eyeball was also fighting during the three-day battle so once again we can see that Ivar is the epitome of a Viking being a traveling Warrior Ragnar completed a year of conquest and then summoning his sons to help him he went to Ireland slew its king melbrick besieged Dublin and received its surrender Ragnar summoning his sons could very well mean Ivar was there helping him in Ireland conquer the land but this account of Ragnar and Ivar in Ireland could mean a number of things the first could mean that Ragnar could have been godfraid of Lachlan a key figure in the emergence of Norse influence in Scotland and one of the early Kings of the Isles that dominated the Irish sea in the Early Middle Ages very little is known of him including his Origins and the true nature of his kingdom however in the annals of Ireland it states that imar is the son of Godfrey imar was a viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid late 9th century that many historians believed to be either the Boneless he founded the oui imar Dynasty which ruled much of the Irish sea region the kingdom of Dublin the western coast of Scotland and some Northern parts of England imar is mentioned in the annals in the 860s but disappears from the Irish historical record in between the years of 864 and 870 coinciding with the great Heathen Army's conquest of England which Ivar LED this is further evidence that imar and Ivar are in fact the same person and if this is the case he would have stood side by side with his fellow Warriors and forged his kingdom in blood The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and the tale of Ragnar's Sons a two 13th century Icelandic sagas telling the story of a prestigious clan of Viking warlord Kings set in the 9th century at the height of the Viking age the author is unknown according to the tale Ivar's name boneless was the result of a curse Ivar's mother alslog would warn Ragnar that the pair must wait three nights before consummating their marriage Ragnar disregarded this and he was overcome with lust and either was conceived that night however the consequences of what happened is that Ivar was born boneless 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 woulds now beget the origins of Ivar's epithet of boneless are largely debated the name could have originated anywhere from Ivar having a hereditary disease to a mistranslation or misinterpretation of perhaps an ironic nickname the Danish historian Canad seedorff described Ivar symptoms in the sagas as being consistent with brittle bone disease another theory is that Ivar's nickname should be interpreted as the hated as the Latin word for hated and boneless are very similar another simple explanation for Ivar's nickname could be the in-nosed Legends and traditions they gave ironic nicknames to Warriors so Ivar may have been a very large man as is attested in the sagas with obviously huge bones however according to the volsunga Saga a late 13th century Icelandic poem Ivar was very handsome and had strong broad shoulders but his lower limbs were so weak that he had to be carried about a mid-12th century poem called The hatal Kill explains Ivar was actually without bones It also says that he was a skilled warrior with a physical form as flexible as a snake with these two sources conveying Ivar had weak bones it's evident why many people believe he was unable to walk according to The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons Ivar the Boneless was King in England for a long time he had no children because of the way he was with no lust or love but he wasn't short of cunning or cruelty this passage in The Saga could perhaps convey that Ivar was impotent however this is not possible if Ivar is the same person as imar as IMO had several children and founded the uemar dynasty other theories suggest that since his brother sigurd was known as snake in the eye boneless may have referred to his physical flexibility and Agility According to some Norse sagas Ivar is depicted as leading his brothers into battle whilst being carried on a shield wielding a bow while this could indicate he was lame in the early medieval periods leaders were sometimes born on the shields of their enemies after Victory which was an act of disrespect to the defeated side this very well could have been the case when it comes to Ivar Ivar's father would die that hands of King Ella of northumbria in the year 865 a mighty Viking Army would appear out of The Mists of the North Sea and landed on the East anglian Coast this was the largest invasion of England since Roman Legions had landed on the shores of Britannia back in 43 A.D according to the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons Ivar he who held a court at York had an eagle hacked into kingella's back King Ella was sacrificed with the blood eagle and Ivar then made himself King over that part of England could a man who was weak in body be trusted to act as one of the leaders of the great Heathen Army there could be an argument as the sagas often describe Ivar as being masterfully intelligent and cunning in the guest of denorem it even states that Ivar was cunning and tricked King Ella into giving him land he was also The Mastermind behind Ella's destruction would the Vikings had followed a man who was a strategist and not a fighter this is uncertain for a warrior culture who above all respected strength the English chronicler and monk Simeon of Durham wrote of Ivar's Reign of Terror far and wide it destroyed churches and monasteries with fire and sword when it departed from a place it left nothing standing but ruthless walls the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that Ivar fought the army of King Edmund and the great Heathen Army crushed his forces elfrik of enchant an English Abbot described what happened after King Edmond's defeat King Edmund against whom Ivar Advanced stood inside his Hall and mindful of the Savior throughout his weapons the impious one then bound Edmund and insulted him and beat him with rods and afterwards LED The Devout King to a firm living tree and tied him there with strong bonds and beat him with whips in between the whiplashes Edmund called out with true belief in the savior Christ because of his belief because he called to Christ to Aid him the heathens became furiously angry they then shot Spears at him as if it were a game until he was entirely covered with their missiles like the bristles of a hedgehog when Ivar the Empire's pirate saw that the noble king would not forsake Christ but with Resolute Faith called after him he ordered Edmund beheaded and the heathens did so while Edmonds still called out to Christ the Heathen dragged the holy man to his death and with one stroke struck off his head and his soul journeyed happily to Christ after the death of King Edmund he became known as Saint Edmund the Martyr due to his bravery against the villainous Viking Invaders he was well loved with a cult flourishing after his death the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also describes the devastation they came to Madison Steed and burned it down slew Abbott's monks and all that they found there and that place before was rich they reduced to nothing these accounts of Ivar slaughtering Kings and religious figures may have led to his nickname being the hated as he would brutally kill many people whether it be in battle raids or ceremonially executing Kings as he did with King Edmund and King Ella who were both brutally murdered in different ways Edmund was filled with javelins and was then beheaded and Ella was killed with the blood eagle a ritual form of execution saved for the most hated of enemies where the victim would essentially have all of their ribs hacked down and their lungs would be pulled out of their body so that they resembled an eagle all of the accounts in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from the different chronicler monks have all said the same thing Ivar was spreading Terror and death across the land this could reinforce the theory that Ivar's epithet means the hated due to a mistranslation as the word for boneless and hated in Latin are very similar Ivar gave great cause for the English to hate him during the Great Heathen Army's initial occupation of England and this is reflected in the Chronicles so there is a good argument for his name being the hated in which case he would have been able-bodied after much Devastation in England in the year 870 Ivar's Brothers sued for peace and Ivar again disappears from English records imar would re-emerge in Scotland in the Kingdom of outcult this further proves that Ivar and imar are the same person either would take on the ambitious task of taking dumb baton Rock a castle that was the only surviving britonic Kingdom outside of Wales either would besiege the castle for four months and starve his opponents out the annals of Ulster record that once The Siege had ended many prisoners were transported to Dublin to be sold into slavery as at this time Dublin was a leading slave market in Europe after this Ivar returned to Dublin and was known as king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britannia and also being the king of Dublin if Ivar and imar are indeed the same person then imar's Kingdom in Dublin being the capital of the slave trade in Europe as well as him destroying the last platonic Kingdom in Scotland who were a group of ancient people of the Celtic language who inhabited Britain from the Iron Age this would have made him hated to many people reinforcing the theory that his nickname actually translates to the hated and not boneless the annals of Ulster record imar's death in 873 and Ivar disappeared from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 870 however the later Icelandic Source said Ivar the Boneless was King in England for a long time and he died of an old age in England and was buried there the life of Ivar the Boneless remains a complete mystery even down to his death Professor Martin Biddle of Oxford University has made a compelling case claiming the skeleton of an eight foot five tall Viking Warrior discovered during excavations at Repton maybe Ivar the Boneless which contradicts the theory that Ivar suffered from brittle bone disease the body was surrounded by the bones of 250 bodies conveying he was an important Viking Warlord the excavations revealed the Warrior died a Savage and brutal death as was Ivar's way according to Legend Ivar's body was brought back to England at his own request and was buried on the coast to act as a Talisman to prevent further conquests of his kingdom 13th century Icelandic sagas describe William the conqueror's actions he went to the burial site and broke the mound and saw that Ivar's body had not decayed William had a large pyre made upon which Ivar's body was burned after burning the Warrior's body William himself a descendant of Viking Chieftain roller of Normandy went on to conquer all of England William the Conqueror burning Ivar's body means the examination of the alleged corpse would be impossible so many Mysteries surround Ivar's life was he a or a Berserker that was famed amongst his warlord Brothers was he also imar the king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britannia was his name a mistranslation and does it actually mean they're hated and finally was Ivar the eight foot five Viking corpse which is claimed by Professor Martin Biddle all was his body burned by William the Conqueror all has his body simply not been found I personally think based on all this evidence I have read that Ivar was a viking Berserker and was also a very capable Warrior I also think he was the same person as imar that was depicted in the Irish Chronicles but I'm unconvinced about the skeleton Theory and the William the Conqueror Legend the mystery surrounding many aspects of Ivar the Boneless from his name to his death are intriguing anyway let me know your thoughts and arguments down below I hope you all enjoyed the video if you did make sure to like subscribe and share and I'll see you all soon for another history profile

Channel: History Profiles

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Keywords: History Profiles, Lost History, Forgotten History, Interesting History, Ivar the Boneless, Imar, Ragnar Lothbrok, Was ivar a cripple, was ivar disabled, berserker, Bjorn Ironside, Ragnar, King Ivar, Sigurd, Hvitserk, Ubba, Great Heathen Army, Ivar blue eyes, Vinland Saga, Vikings Valhalla, The Last Kingdom, Gesta Denorum, Volsunga Saga, Annals of Ireland, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Annals of Ulster, Tale of Ragnar Lothbrok, Viking Kingdom, Norsemen

Id: Fy8NbFBQZxg

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 16 2023