Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of the Swedish Munsö dynasty. According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of the notorious and historically dubious Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok. His descendants in the male line supposedly ruled over the Swedes until c. 1060. He is first mentioned in the summer of 855.
About Björn Ironside in brief
Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of the Swedish Munsö dynasty. According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of the notorious and historically dubious Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok. He lived in the 9th century, being securely dated between 855 and 858. His descendants in the male line supposedly ruled over the Swedes until c. 1060. He is first mentioned in the summer of 855. 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, BjörnIronside and possibly one or more of his brothers. The early 11th century Annals of Ireland say that two sons of Ragnallapall, a chief of Albagnall, who had been a chief in Ireland, was the leader of the expedition. The Vikings are recorded to have lost 40 ships to a storm at the Straits of Gibraltar, lost 2 ships to fire catults in a surprise raid by Andalusian forces, leaving only 20 intact ships in French waters in 862. The Viking warriors in the Seine continued their raids during the following years and even plundered Paris again in 861. He certainly swore fealty to Charles the Bald in Verberie in 858 but it is not clear if he kept his pledge.
However, the Vikings continued to raid south of France over winter, before landing in Italy where they captured the city of Push with this victory and others around the Mediterranean. The Norsemen were encamped by the lower Seine in 8 61–862, but then split again. Some of them joined the fighting between the ruler of Bretagne and some Frankish counts. Some Norsemen pillaged south of the French coast in the winter of 859-861. A barrow on the island of Munsio was claimed by antiquarians to be BjörN Järnsidas hög or Björne Ironsides’ barrow in the early 18th century. It is believed to be the site of the first Viking settlement in Scandinavia, which dates back to at least the 7th century and possibly as far back as the 6th Century. The oldest text that details his origins is the Norman history of William of Jumièges. According to William, the Danes had a custom of requiring the younger sons of kings to leave the kingdom, to reinforce the king’s authority; thus, after Ragnar Lod Brok became king, he ordered Bjön to leave his realm.
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This page is based on the article Björn Ironside published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 01, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
