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very wise ;" who succeeded in each enterprise by craft,
when the courage of his brothers had failed. Eldest
of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok by the daughter of
Sigurd the dragon-slayer, he is the one constant
factor in the varying groups of conquerors, as given
by different sources. His brothers in Ragnar’s Saga
are Sigurd Snake-eye, Hvítserk and Björn Ironside ;
in the English chroniclers, Halfdan and Hubba (Ubbi),
though Symeon distinguishes the last as Dux Frisiorum ;
in the Annals of Roskilde, Ubi, Björn and Ulph ;
and in the Irish Three Fragments, Olaf the
White and Oisla (Háisl). He appears 866-870 as
directing operations in England, Scotland and Ireland,
always with success ; and though the saga leaves him
childless, he must be the father of the great line of
Dublin kings, and the "Old Ivar of the Judgments"
who appears at the head of Hebridean clan-pedigrees.
The rapidity of the conquest, when Ivar took it in
hand, is remarkable. So far, the Vikings had made
no headway ; now, five years sufficed for the completed
and permanent subjugation of East Anglia, Deiral
and northern Mercia : and this was not because
no resistance, or a poor resistance, was offered. It
is true that Northumbria was disturbed by faction ;
king Osberht had been dethroned by a usurper Ælla,
and this was Ivar’s opportunity ; but, unlike the Irish,
the Anglian factions sunk their differences and united
in fierce opposition to the common enemy. Mercia
was a strong power, and had support from Wessex,
but nothing stood against Ivar. Wessex was saved by
Ælfred, but only after Ivar was gone.
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