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- Bj?rn Ironside (Old Norse and Icelandic : Bj?rn J?rns??a, Swedish: Bj?rn J?rnsida) was a legendary Swedish king who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Bj?rn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty, and in the early 18th century a barrow named after a king Bj?rn on the island of Muns? was claimed by antiquarians to be Bj?rn Ironside's grave.
The Annales Bertiniani and the Chronicon Fontanellense tell of a Viking leader named Berno who pillaged on the Seine in the 850s, and c.1070, William of Jumi?ges referred to him as Bier Costae ferreae (Ironside) who was Lotbroci regis filio (son of king Lodbrok).
"Ragnarssona ??ttr" tells that Bj?rn was the son of the Swedish king Ragnar Lodbrok and Aslaug, the daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild, and that he had the brothers Hvitserk, Ivar the Boneless and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and the half-brothers Eric and Agnar. Bj?rn and his brothers left Sweden to conquer Zealand, Reidgotaland (here Jutland), Gotland, ?land and all the minor islands. They then settled at Lejre with Ivar the Boneless as their leader.
Ragnar was jealous with his sons' successes, and set Eysteinn Beli as the "Jarl" (Earl) of Sweden, telling him to protect Sweden from his sons. He then went east across the Baltic Sea to pillage and to show his own skills.
Ragnar's sons Erik and Agnar then sailed into Lake M?laren and sent a message to king Eysteinn that they wanted him to submit to Ragnar's sons, and Erik said that he wanted Eysteinn's daughter Borghild as wife. Eysteinn said that he first wanted to consult the Swedish chieftains. The chieftains said no to the offer, and ordered an attack on the rebellious sons. A battle ensued and Erik and Agnar were overwhelmed by the Swedish forces, whereupon Agnar died and Erik was taken prisoner.
Eysteinn offered Erik as much of Uppsala ?d as he wanted, and Borghild, in wergild for Agnar. Erik proclaimed that after such a defeat he wanted nothing but to choose the day of his own death. Erik asked to be impaled on spears that raised him above the dead and his wish was granted. In Zealand, Aslaug and her sons Bj?rn and Hvitserk, who had been playing tafl, became upset and sailed to Sweden with a large army. Aslaug, calling herself Randalin rode with cavalry across the land. In a great battle they killed Eysteinn.
Ragnar was not happy that his sons had taken revenge without his help, and decided to conquer England with only two knarrs. King Ella of Northumbria defeated Ragnar and threw him into a snake pit where he died.
Bj?rn and his brothers attacked Aella but were beaten back. Asking for peace and wergild, Ivar the Boneless tricked Aella into giving him an area large enough to build the town of York. Ivar made himself popular in England and asked his brothers to attack again. During the battle Ivar sided with his brothers and so did many of the English chieftains with their people, in loyalty to Ivar. Ella was taken captive and in revenge they carved a blood eagle on him.
Later Bj?rn and his brothers pillaged in England, Wales, France and Italy, until they came to the town Luna in Italy. When they came back to Scandinavia, they divided the kingdom so that Bj?rn Ironside took Uppsala and Sweden.
The Hervarar saga tells that Eysteinn Beli was killed by Bj?rn and his brothers as told in Ragnar Lodbrok's saga, and they conquered all of Sweden. When Ragnar died Bj?rn Ironside inherited Sweden. He had two sons, Refil and Erik Bj?rnsson, who became the next king of Sweden.
Erik Bj?rnsson was one of the sons of Bj?rn Ironside and a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the House of Muns?, who would have lived in the early 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga. It says: "The sons of Bj?rn Ironside were Erik and Refil. The latter was a warrior-prince and sea-king. King Erik ruled the Swedish Realm after his father, and lived but a short time. Then Erik the son of Refil succeeded to the Kingdom.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 21 July 2015.
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730 - 800 (~ 69 år)
