Halfdan (King of Dublin)

He was the son of a concubine Ragnar, whose name is unknown. The name Halfdan means “Semi-Dane,” and this apparently indicates that his mother was not from Denmark.

Halfdan was one of the leaders of the Great Pagan Army, which invaded England in 865 . According to the Norwegian sagas, the sons of Ragnar Lodbrock ( Björn Ironbrow , Ivar Beskostny , Halfdan, Sigurd Snake-eyed and Ubba ) organized an invasion of England to avenge the king of Northumbria Ella for the murder of their father. In 865, the king of Northumbria, Ella defeated and captured Ragnar Lodbroka , ordering him to be thrown into a pit with snakes.

In the fall of 865, the “Great Army of the Gentiles” landed in East Anglia, where it remained during the winter, preparing for an offensive inland. The following year, the Vikings marched north and invaded Northumbria, where there was a civil war between the two co-rulers Ella and Osbert over the royal throne. At the end of 866, the Vikings conquered Northumbria and occupied York , the capital of the kingdom. In the following years, kings-co-rulers, brothers Ella and Osbert , having put aside their differences, united against the Vikings and tried to return York . In March 867, the Vikings defeated the army of Ella and Osbert, who fell in this battle, in a battle. The Danish Vikings created the Kingdom of Jorvik and subjugated Northumbria to their power, seizing Sub-King Egbert I (867–872) on the throne, in order to manage and levy taxes on the local population on his behalf.

Later that year, the Vikings moved south and invaded the kingdom of Mercia , captured the city of Nottingham , where they spent the winter. Burgred (852–874) turned to King Wessex Ethelred I for help. Having united their forces, the Allies besieged the city of Nottingham, but could not recapture it. A truce was concluded, according to which the Vikings promised to retreat to York , but in reality they remained in the city, collecting forces for a further offensive.

In 869, the Danish Vikings invaded East Anglia, intending to conquer it. They captured Thetford, where they spent the winter. In 870, the King of East Anglia Edmund (855-870), who was defeated by the Vikings , opposed the invaders. The king himself was captured and tortured by the Vikings. According to medieval tradition, Edmund became a martyr who, for refusing to bow to pagan idols, was shot from a bow. The commanders of the Danes were named Ivar and Ubba Ragnarsson, halfdan brothers.

After the conquest of East Anglia in 870, Ivar the Boneless , Halfdan's older brother, disappears from English chronicles. Some researchers consider it identical to Ivar (Imaru) , the Scandinavian king of Dublin, who died in 873 . After Ivar left for Ireland, Halfdan became commander in chief of the “Great Army of the Gentiles” and in the same year 870 led the invasion of the kingdom of Wessex . In 870/871, King Bagsegg arrived in England from Scandinavia at the head of the "Great Summer Army", significantly increasing the strength of Halfdan Ragnarsson. According to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, the Danes fought against the Anglo-Saxons nine times, including at the Battle of Ashdown on January 8, 871 . Halfdan was unable to conquer Wessex and was forced to conclude a truce with Alfred the Great , the new king of Wessex .

The Danish army retreated to captured London , where it spent the winter of 871/872. Coins minted in London during this period bear the name of Halfdan, the leader of the Viking army. In the fall of 872, the Vikings returned to Northumbria, where they crushed the rebellion against their puppet king, Ecgbert I. Soon, the “Great Army of the Gentiles” set out on a campaign against the kingdom of Mercia . The Danes wintered at Torxay, and then a year later at Repton. In 874, the Vikings conquered Mercia. The local king Burgred was overthrown by the Vikings from the throne and replaced by the puppet Kölwulf (874–879).

After this victory, the “Great Army of the Gentiles” was divided into two parts - one part under the command of Gutrum marched south to continue the struggle against the kingdom of Wessex , and the second, led by Halfdan, moved north against the Picts and Britons in Strathclyde . According to the Annals of Ulster, the King of Dublin, Einstein Olafsson, was "tricked" by his uncle Albanne, a figure generally similar to Halfdan. His older brother Ivar ruled Dublin until his death in 873 . Halfdan sought to regain his brother's lost kingdom. Despite this, Halfdan did not stay long in Ireland. In 876, he and his army returned to Northumbria, where he settled on its territory commensurate with the old kingdom of Deira . According to sources, from 876, Halfdan had the title of King of York (Yorvik).

It is possible that Halfdan, who was in York , lost control of Dublin . Halfdan returned to Ireland in 877 to try to regain the city, but was greeted by an army of "just Gentiles." This controversial term means the Scandinavian population who already lived in Ireland, in contrast to the newly arrived "black pagans", whose leader was Halfdan. At the battle of Strangford-Loch, Halfdan was defeated and was killed. The soldiers from Halfdan's troops who survived this battle returned to Northumbria via Scotland, where they defeated the King of the Picts Constantine I , who was killed in battle.

• Laud MS Misc. 636 (neopr.) . Bodleian Library . Date of treatment November 22, 2014.