Halfdan was one of six sons ofRagnar Lodbrok named inNorse sagas; his brothers and half-brothers includedBjörn Ironside,Ivar the Boneless,Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye,Ubba andHvitserk. Because Halfdan is not mentioned in any source that mentions Hvitserk, some scholars have suggested that they are the same individual – a possibility reinforced by the fact that Halfdan was a relatively common name among Vikings andHvitserk "white shirt" may have been anepithet or nickname that distinguished Halfdan from other men by the same name.[1]
Halfdan was the first VikingKing of Northumbria and apretender to the throne of theKingdom of Dublin. It is also possible he was for a time co-ruler of Denmark with his brother Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye, because Frankish sources mention a certainSigfred and Halfdan as rulers in 873. He died at theBattle of Strangford Lough in 877 trying to press his Irish claim.
Halfdan was one of the leaders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded the Anglo-Saxonkingdom of East Anglia in 865.[2][3] According to the Norsesagas, this invasion was organised by the sons ofRagnar Lodbrok (Halfdan being one of them), to wreak revenge againstÆlla of Northumbria. Ælla had supposedly had Ragnar executed in 865 by throwing him in a snake pit, but the historicity of this explanation is unknown.[4][5] The invaders are usually identified asDanes, although the tenth-century churchmanAsser stated that the invaders came "de Danubia", which translates as "from theDanube"; the fact that the Danube is located in what was known in Latin asDacia suggests that Asser actually intendedDania, a Latin term forDenmark.[6]
In the autumn of 865, the Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia, where they remained over the winter and secured horses.[7] The following year the army moved northwards and invadedNorthumbria, which was at that time in the middle of a civil war between Ælla andOsberht, opposing claimants for the Northumbrian throne.[8] Late in 866, the army conquered the rich Northumbrian settlement ofYork.[9] The following year, Ælla and Osberht made an alliance to retake the town. The attack was defeated, and both of them fell in the battle.[8] With no obvious leader, Northumbrian resistance was crushed and the Danes installed a puppet-king,Ecgberht, to rule in their name and collect taxes for them.[10]
Later in the year, the Army moved south and invaded the Kingdom ofMercia, capturing the town ofNottingham, where they spent the winter.[9] The Mercian king,Burghred, responded by allying with theWest Saxon KingÆthelred, and with a combined force they laid siege to the town. The Anglo-Saxons were unable to recapture the city, but a truce was agreed whereby the Danes would withdraw to York.[11] where they remained for over a year, gathering strength for further assaults.[8]
The Danes returned to East Anglia in 869, this time intent on conquest. They seizedThetford with the intention of remaining there over the winter, but they were met by an East Anglian army.[12] The East Anglian army was defeated and its commander, KingEdmund, was slain.[13] Medieval tradition identifies Edmund as a martyr who refused the Danes' demand to renounce Christ, and was killed for his steadfast Christianity.[14] Ivar and Ubba are identified as the commanders of the Danes, and the killers of Edmund, and it is unknown what part, if any, Halfdan took.[15]
Following the conquest of East Anglia, Ivar apparently left the Great Heathen Army – his name disappears from English records after 870. However, he is generally considered to be identical toÍmar, a NorseKing of Dublin who died in 873.[16] With Ivar in Ireland, Halfdan became the main commander of the Army, and in 870 he led it in an invasion ofWessex.[11] Sometime after Ivar left the Army, a great number of Viking warriors arrived from Scandinavia, as part of the Great Summer Army, led byBagsecg, bolstering the ranks of Halfdan's army.[17] According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Danes battled the West Saxons nine times, including at theBattle of Ashdown on 8 January 871.[18] However, the West Saxons could not be defeated, and Halfdan accepted a truce fromAlfred, newly crowned king of Wessex.[19]
The Army retreated to the captured town ofLondon and stayed there over the winter of 871/872.[20] Coins minted in London during this period bear the name Halfdan, identifying him as its leader.[18] In the autumn of 872, the Army returned to Northumbria to quell a revolt against its puppet-regent Ecgberht.[19] However, this explanation for the army's move north has been challenged, and it has been suggested the relocation was a result of a war with Mercia.[21] The Army overwintered atTorksey, and was then reported as being in theRepton district a year later. It conquered Mercia in 874, the Mercian King Burghred being deposed and replaced by a Danish-puppet regent,Ceolwulf.[22]
Following this victory, the Army split in two – one half underGuthrum heading south to continue fighting against Wessex, the other half under Halfdan heading north to fight against thePicts andBritons ofStrathclyde.[18] According to theAnnals of Ulster,Eystein Olafsson,King of Dublin was "deceitfully" killed in 875 by "Albann", a figure generally agreed to be Halfdan.[23][24] His brother Ivar had ruled the city prior to his death in 873 and it appears Halfdan's campaigning was an attempt to regain his brother's lost kingdom.[18] Halfdan did not remain in Ireland: in 876, he and his forces returned to Northumbria, and settled an area largely coextensive with the old Kingdom ofDeira, with the northern part of Northumbria remaining underAnglian rule.[18] Sources sometimes title HalfdanKing of Jórvík, beginning in 876.[25]
Halfdan's rule of Dublin was not secure, and he was deposed while away in York.[2] He returned to Ireland in 877 to try to recapture the city, but he was met with an army of "Fair Heathens" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the Viking population who had been in Ireland the longest, as opposed to the newly arrived "Dark Heathens", of whom Halfdan was one.[26] The forces met at theBattle of Strangford Lough, where Halfdan was slain.[27] Those of Halfdan's men who survived the battle returned to Northumbria via Scotland, fighting a battle along the way in whichConstantine I, King of the Picts was killed.[28] The Vikings of Northumbria remained kingless until 883, whenGuthred was made king there.[29]
Halfdan is also thought to be the same as the Danish king mentioned in theAnnals of Fulda in 873 ruling along with his brother Sigfred - most likelySigurd Snake in the Eye.[32] Opinion regarding his supposed father is divided. According toHilda Ellis Davidson, writing in 1979, "certain scholars in recent years have come to accept at least part of Ragnar's story as based on historical fact".[33] Katherine Holman, on the other hand, concludes that "although his sons are historical figures, there is no evidence that Ragnar himself ever lived, and he seems to be an amalgam of several different historical figures and pure literary invention."[34]
In the 2020 video game,Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Halfdan appears along with his brothers, Ivar and Ubba. In the game, he is seen warring against the Picts in Northumbria and reaches out to the game's protagonist, Eivor, who helps him rat out a traitor, and later sees him crowned king of Northumbria. He is portrayed by Norwegian actor, Jeppe Beck Laursen, who also portrays Thor in the game.[citation needed]
Halfdan also appears as a playable historical character in the video gameCrusader Kings III, developed byParadox Interactive. He is playable in the game's867 AD start date and starts at war withÆlla of Northumbria referencing his actions as one of the leaders of the Great Heathen army.[35]
Downham, Clare (2013). "Annals, Armies, and Artistry: 'The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', 865–96".No Horns on their Helmets? Essays on the Insular Viking-age. Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian Studies (series vol. 1). The Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies and The Centre for Celtic Studies,University of Aberdeen. pp. 9–37.ISBN978-0-9557720-1-6.ISSN2051-6509.
Mostert, M (1987).The Political Theology of Abbo of Fleury: A Study of the Ideas about Society and Law of the Tenth-century Monastic Reform Movement. Middeleeuwse studies en bronnen (series vol. 2). Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren.ISBN90-6550-209-2.
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts atUniversity College Cork. TheCorpus of Electronic Texts includes theAnnals of Ulster andthe Four Masters, theChronicon Scotorum and theBook of Leinster as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
^Keynes, Simon (2014). "Appendix I: Rulers of the English, c.450–1066". InLapidge, Michael (ed.).The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-0-470-65632-7.
^Kirby, D. P.The Earliest English Kings. London and New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-4152-4211-0.
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