Ivar Vidfamne

[2] 12th and 13th century sources like Heimskringla and Hervarar saga, attributed to Ivar Vidfamne kingship of a wider empire that included parts of Norway, Saxony and England.

Scania was ruled by a set of brothers, Guðröðr and Halfdan the Valiant, sons of a Gothic princess called Hervor (or Hild).

[6] While Guðröðr married Åsa, daughter of the Swedish king Ingjald Illruler, Halfdan's queen was Moald Digra, an aunt of the Anglo-Saxon aristocrat Kinrik (Cynric).

Apart from the Danish lands, he conquered "a great deal of Saxland, all the East Country (Austrríki), and a fifth part of England".

[9] In that way Ivar conquered much of Scandinavia and parts of north Germany and England (sometimes specified as Northumbria), earning the cognomen Vidfamne (Wide-fathoming).

It relates that he gave Auðr in marriage to king Hrœrekr Ringslinger of Zealand, in spite of the fact that she wanted to marry Hrœrek's brother Helgi the Sharp.

[12] When Ivar learnt that Auðr had married without his permission, he marshaled a great leidang from Denmark and Sweden and led the fleet to Gardariki to attack Ráðbarðr.

However, when they had arrived at the borders of Raðbarð's kingdom, Karelia (Karjálabotnar), he had a strange dream and asked his foster father Hord to interpret it.

After Ivar's demise the chiefs of his fleet convened and agreed that they had no feud with Ráðbarðr, and sailed back to their own lands.

[14] The archaeologist Birger Nerman (1925) argued for the historicity of Ivar and a comprehensive but loosely structured Baltic realm in the late 7th century.

Map showing an interpretation of the attributed extent of Ivar Vidfamne's realms. The kingdom of Ivar Vidfamne (outlined in red) and other territories paying him tribute (outlined in purple), as it may be interpreted from the stories about Ivar Vidfamne in the sagas.