The Great Heathen Army

There was an invasion in England in 865 by a coalition of Scandinavian warriors referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the Great Heathen Army or the Viking Great Army. It was supposedly commanded by Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubba, who were three of the five sons of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok. For 14 years they fought the resident Anglo-Saxons, starting from their landing spot in East Anglia and moving north to York and then south through Nottingham and Cambridge down to London. Let's talk about the three brothers.

Ivar the Boneless was actually discussed over a decade ago in this post. Although "Boneless" (see the link, although there are several theories) he was considered wise and cunning, and a master of battle strategy. Ivar and Ubba are credited with killing Edmund the Martyr when the army returned to East Anglia in 869. Ivar died in 870.

Ubba's existence and role in the Great Heathen Army are fairly sketchy. From the Historia de sancto Cuthberto ("History of Saint Cuthbert") we are told that he was a dux ("leader, duke") of the Frisians, but that the army was Scaldingi, meaning they were either Scyldings (an ancient designation mentioned in the poem Beowulf from which the kings of Denmark claimed descent), or they were from the river Scheldt, meaning Ubba was from an island in the mouth of the Scheldt in Northern France that was granted to a Viking named Herioldus in 841 by King Lothair I.

The Battle of Arx Cynuit, mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Vita Alfredi, was a loss for the Heathen Army. The army's leader was killed according to the chronicles, but not named; he is only designated the brother of Ivar and Halfdan. Contemporary records do not say that Ivar and Ubba were brothers; that link comes later in the 11th-century Annals of St. Neots.

Halfdan is better attested in history, because he became King of Jorvik (York), King of Dublin, and co-ruler of Denmark. I'll explain how he managed all that tomorrow.