Björn Ironside

according to Norse legends, was a Norse Viking chief and Swedish king. 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, between 855 and 858. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of the Swedish Munsö dynasty. In the early 18th century, a barrow on the island of Munsö was claimed by antiquarians to be ''Björn Järnsidas hög'' or Björn Ironside's barrow.Lagerquist 1997:24

Medieval sources refer to Björn Ironside's sons and grandsons, including Erik Björnsson and Björn at Haugi.''The Saga of King Heidrik the Wise'', p. 60
/ref> Icelandic sagas claim that Björn was the ancestor of the house of Munsö, the line of kings that ruled in Sweden until c. 1060.

Björn in Frankish sources

"Berno" was a powerful Viking chieftain and naval commander. He appears in contemporary sources such as ''Annales Bertiniani'' and the '' Chronicon Fontanellense''. He is first mentioned in the summer of 855. The oldest text that details his origins is the Norman history of William of Jumièges (c. 1070). 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 Lodbrok became king, he ordered Björn to leave his realm. Björn left Denmark with a considerable fleet and started to ravage in West Francia. The contemporary annals show that he cooperated with another Viking called Sigtrygg and sailed up the Seine in 855, from which his and Sigtrygg's forces raided the inland. Their combined forces were beaten in Champagne by Charles the Bald of West Francia in the same year, but not decisively. Sigtrygg withdrew in the next year, but Björn received reinforcement from another Viking army and could not be expelled from the Seine area. 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. Björn constructed a fortification on the island Oissel above Rouen which he kept as his stronghold for years. He certainly swore fealty to Charles the Bald in Verberie in 858 but it is not clear if he kept his pledge. King Charles eventually resolved to meet the unruly Seine Vikings with all his available forces and besieged Oissel in July. The siege failed badly, for the pirates defended the fortification with vigour. Moreover, Charles's brother Louis the German of East Francia invaded his lands and many vassals fell from him. Thus the siege was broken off in September.

After Björn's meeting with Charles in Verberie his name is not found in contemporary sources. However, the Viking warriors in the Seine continued their raids during the following years and even plundered Paris again in 861. In his despair Charles the Bald tried to use another Viking chief, Veland, whose men operated in the Somme region, to attack the Seine Vikings at Oissel. However, this scheme backfired since the two Viking armies made a deal and united their forces. The Norsemen were encamped by the lower Seine in 861–862, but then split again. Veland agreed to become a Christian and joined royal service, while the Seine Vikings went to sea. Some of them joined the fighting between the ruler of Bretagne and some Frankish counts.

Expedition to the Mediterranean

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. Flush with this victory and others around the Mediterranean (including in Sicily and North Africa) during the Mediterranean expedition, the Vikings are recorded to have lost 40 ships to a storm. They returned to the Straits of Gibraltar and, at the coast of Medina-Sidonia, lost 2 ships to fire catapults in a surprise raid by Andalusian forces, leaving only 20 ships intact. The remnants of the fleet came back to French waters in 862. Björn Ironside was the leader of the expedition according to the later chronicle of William of Jumièges. 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.

William of Jumièges refers to Björn as ''Bier Costae ferreae'' (Ironside) who was ''Lotbroci regis filio'' (son of King Lodbrok).''Kings and kingship in Viking Northumbria''
by Rory McTurk (University of Leeds) William's account of the Mediterranean expedition centers around Björn's foster-father Hastein. The two Vikings conducted many (mostly successful) raids in France. 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. They proceeded inland to the town of Luni, which they believed to be Rome at the time, but were unable to breach the town walls. 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. He was brought into the chapel with a small honor guard, then surprised the dismayed clerics by leaping from his stretcher. The Viking party then hacked its way to the town gates, which were promptly opened letting the rest of the army in. 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. After returning to West Europe, the two men parted company. Björn was shipwrecked at the English coast and barely survived. He then went to Frisia where William says he died. There are some historical challenges with this account. Hastein appears in the contemporary sources later than Björn, and in order to be his foster-father would have been around his 80s when he died. That is certainly possible, citing the fact that their contemporaries, the Viking Rollo and King Harald Fairhair of Norway lived comparable lifespans. Luni is also known to have been plundered by Saracens.

''The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok'' and ''Tale of Ragnar's Sons''

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 and that his brothers were Hvitserk, Ivar the Boneless, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye. The tale also tells of Björn's half-brothers Eric and Agnar.

The saga portrays Ragnar as the overlord of large parts of Sweden and possibly even Denmark. While he was still alive, Björn and his brothers left Sweden to conquer Zealand, Reidgotaland (here Jutland), Gotland, Öland and all the minor islands. They then settled at Lejre

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