Björn Ironside
According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of notorious Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok and lived in the 9th century AD, attested in 855 and 858.
[4] Icelandic sagas claim that Björn was the ancestor of the house of Munsö, the line of kings that ruled in Sweden until c. 1060.
He and his men took up winter quarters at the so-called Givold's Grave, which served as base for an assault against Paris, which was plundered around the new year 856–857.
King Charles eventually resolved to meet the unruly Seine Vikings with all his available forces and besieged Oissel in July.
[13] A number of Frankish, Norman, Arab, Scandinavian and Irish sources mention a large Viking raid into the Mediterranean in 859–861, co-led by Hastein, Björn Ironside and possibly one or more of his brothers.
After raiding down the Iberian coast and fighting their way through Gibraltar, the Norsemen pillaged the south of France, where the fleet stayed over winter, before landing in Italy where they captured the city of Pisa.
The early 11th century Fragmentary Annals of Ireland say that two sons of Ragnall mac Albdan, a chief who had been expelled from Lochlann by his brothers and stayed in the Orkney Islands, headed the enterprise.
[15] William of Jumièges refers to Björn as Bier Costae ferreae (Ironside) who was Lotbroci regis filio (son of King Lodbrok).
Later on Hastein got the idea to make Björn the new Roman Emperor and led a large Viking raid into the Mediterranean together with his protégée.
To gain entry a tricky plan was devised: Hastein sent messengers to the bishop to say that, being deathly ill, he had a deathbed conversion and wished to receive Christian sacraments and/or to be buried on consecrated ground within their church.
When they realised that Luni was not Rome, Björn and Hastein wished to investigate this city but changed their minds when they heard that the Romans were well prepared for defense.
That is certainly possible, citing the fact that their contemporaries, the Viking Rollo and King Harald Fairhair of Norway lived comparable lifespans.
[18] The story of Björn and his brothers, the sons of the Scandinavian king Ragnar Lodbrok, was retold in different versions throughout the Middle Ages.
The Tale of Ragnar's Sons (Ragnarssona þáttr) is an Icelandic Fornaldar Saga from about the 14th century that combines traditional Norse oral history with legendary themes.
It states that Björn was the son of Ragnar and Aslaug[19][20] and that his brothers were Hvitserk, Ivar the Boneless, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye.
While he was still alive, Björn and his brothers left Sweden to conquer Zealand, Reidgotaland (here Jutland), Gotland, Öland and all the minor islands.
In Zealand, Björn, Aslaug and Hvitserk, who had been playing tafl, became upset and sailed to Sweden with a large army.
[21] The partly legendary Danish chronicle of Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum (c. 1200), is the first text to mention Björn Ironside as a King of Sweden.
"Björn, having inflicted great slaughter on the foe without hurt to himself, gained from the strength of his sides, which were like iron, a perpetual name [i.e., Ironside]".
In due time Ragnar appointed Björn regent of Norway, while Sweden was handed over to another son, Eric Weatherhat.
The kingships of Björn is at times historically problematic since it is not supported by older sources and presents insurmountable chronological inconsistencies.
