Ivar the Boneless (Ivar inn beinlausi) (c. 794 – 872 in Dublin) was the nickname of Ivar Ragnarsson. He was a Viking chieftain (and by reputation also a berserker), who, in 865 AD, with his brothers Halfdan Ragnarsson (Halfdene) and Ubbe Ragnarsson (Hubba), invaded the East Anglian region of England. An accommodation was quickly reached with the East Anglians. The following year, Ivar led his forces north on horseback and easily captured Jorvik from the Northumbrians who were at that time engaged in a civil war.

Ivar is also attributed with the slaying of St Edmund of East Anglia in 869 AD.

There is some disagreement as to the meaning of Ivar's epithet "Boneless." Some have suggested it was a euphemism for impotence or even a snake metaphor (he had a brother named Snake-Eye). However, the Scandinavian sources describe a condition very similar to a form of osteogenesis imperfecta (see below).

Scandinavian sources

Ivar Boneless was according to the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, the eldest son of Ragnar and Kraka. He had only cartilage in his legs and so he could not walk, but had to be carried on a shield. However, he was fair, big, strong and one of the wisest men who have ever lived. He was consequently always the advisor of his brothers Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-Eye and Hvitserk.

When king Ælla of Northumberland had murdered their father by throwing him into a snake-pit, Ivar's brothers tried to avenge their father, but were beaten. Ivar then went to king Ælla and said that he sought reconciliation. He only asked for as much land as he could cover with an ox's hide and swore never to wage war against Ælla. Then Ivar cut the ox's hide into so fine strands that he could envelope a large fortress (in an older saga it was York and according to a younger saga it was London) which he could take as his own. As he was the most generous of men, he attracted a great many warriors, whom he consequently kept from Ælla when this king was attacked by Ivar's brothers for the second time.

Ælla was captured and when the brothers were to decide how to give Ælla his just punishment, Ivar suggested that they carve the "blood eagle" on his back. This meant that Ælla's back was cut open, the ribs pulled from his spine and his lungs removed. After justice had been served, Ivar became the king of England.

Genetic disease

In 1949, the Dane Knud Seedorf published Osteogenesis imperfecta: A study of clinical features and heredity based on 55 Danish families, where he wrote:

Of historical personages the author knows of only one of whom we have a vague suspicion that he suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta, namely Ivar Benløs, eldest son of the Danish legendary king Regnar Lodbrog. He is reported to have had legs as soft as cartilage ('he lacked bones'), so that he was unable to walk and had to be carried about on a shield.

There are less extreme forms of this disease where the person affected can lack use of their legs, but be otherwise normal, as was probably the case for Ivar the Boneless.

Links

• A site on the disease itself