Ivar Ragnarsson (known as 'Ivar the Boneless') was a Viking warlord of Danish origin. He ruled over an area covering parts of modern Denmark and Sweden, but is best known for his invasion of several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Since Ivar's presence has been so prominent this season, fans are wondering, did Ivar The Boneless really exist? It turns out that the physically fragile, yet brutal Vikings character is based on a real-life person. According to Britannica, Ivar the Boneless was a Viking chieftain who lived in Ireland in the 800's.
Based on clues given in historical accounts, Hirst decided the Vikings incarnation of Ivar the Boneless would have brittle bone disease (AKA osteogenesis imperfecta or OI). Since that's an actual thing that people still have today, it could have been rocky ground.
Erik the Red
Erik the Red's reputation is probably one of the most bloodthirsty among all of the Vikings. The son of Thorvald, Erik is chiefly remembered for being the Viking who founded the first settlement in Greenland.
Unlike previous Viking raiders who came only to plunder, Ivar sought conquest. Ivar was said to be the son of the Danish king Ragnar Lothbrok, but details of his early life are largely unknown.
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.
Ragnar Lothbrok
Arguably the most famous Viking warrior of them all, not least for his role as the leading protagonist in Vikings, the History Channel's popular drama.
Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, an Arab lawyer and diplomat from Baghdad who encountered the men of Scandinavia in his travels, wrote that Vikings treated their female chattel as sex slaves. If a slave died, he added, “they leave him there as food for the dogs and the birds.”
As the legend says, Ragnar Lothbrok was killed by King Aella of Northumbria, who tricked him and cast him in a pit full of venomous snakes. Yet, his burial place is not known and, as Ragnar is not a historical figure, it might be non-existent.
Ivar the boneless, has blue eyes because he's suffering from 'brittle bone disease' named "Osteogenesis imperfecta" which is characterised by a triad of blue sclera (white portion of the eye), fragile bones and conductive hearing loss.
Is Floki from Vikings based on a real person? Yes - Floki is based on a real person named Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson, who is believed to have been born around 830 AD. The real Floki was the first Norseman to deliberately sail to Iceland and settle there.
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a 9th-century Danish Viking king and warrior known for his exploits, for his death in a snake pit at the hands of Aella of Northumbria, and for being the father of Halfdan, Ivar the Boneless, and Hubba, who led an invasion of East Anglia in 865.
“Don't be afraid,” says Ivar, an almost Christ-like evocation at this, his moment of sacrifice. The soldier stabs him repeatedly, and, as Ivar falls, his bones snap and break. Hvitserk runs to him and cradles his dying body, while Alfred calls for the fighting to stop.
In the show, Ivar is born with a disability which means he can't walk and it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to do so again. Ivar is seen charging into battle on a chariot led by a horse and has to drag himself around when he isn't on it.
"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.
Ragnar Lothbrok's precise history is unclear. But, by reading the romanticized traditional literature it seems he may have been born in 820. And that he died after being cast into a pit of snakes sometime before 865. This puts his age at 45.
Today there is a memorial about Floki located near Ysta-Mó in Skagafjörður fjord in North Iceland.
A wife's adultery was a serious matter, and in some areas the husband had the right to kill both her and her lover if they were caught together. There was no penalty for a man if he kept a concubine or had children outside his marriage.
Sagas and runic inscriptions show that families were formed by monogamous marriages. A man may have had relationships, and children, with several women, but when he died, only one wife was acknowledged.
Viking men would often kidnap foreign women for marriage or concubinage from lands that they had pillaged.
Harald Hardrada is known as the last Norse king of the Viking Age and his death at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 CE as the defining close of that period.
They were particularly nervous in the western sea lochs then known as the "Scottish fjords". The Vikings were also wary of the Gaels of Ireland and west Scotland and the inhabitants of the Hebrides.
1. Norway. As one of the countries where Vikings originated, there's tons of Viking heritage in Norway.