Editing Ivarr the Boneless

{{Era|Individuals}}
{{WP-REAL|Ivar the Boneless}}
{{Spoilerhd|21 February 2021}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Ivarr the Boneless
|image = ACV DB Ivar Ragnarsson render.png
|native = Ivarr the Boneless - Native Name.png
|birth =c. 830
[[Denmark]] 
|death = c. 873<ref name="KingKiller">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[King Killer]]</ref><br>[[Manstone Rock]], [[Shropshire]]
|active = 
|species = [[Human]]
|database =[[Database: Ivarr and Ubba|Ivarr and Ubba]] 
|affiliates = [[Sons of Ragnar]]
*[[Great Heathen Army]]
}}
'''Ivarr the Boneless''' (died c. 873), also known as '''Ivarr Ragnarsson''', was a [[Vikings|Viking]] leader who [[raid]]ed [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[England]] during the 9th century. The son of the legendary [[Ragnar Lodbrok]], he was also the brother to [[Halfdan Ragnarsson|Halfdan]], [[Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye|Sigurd]], [[Björn Ironside|Björn]], and [[Ubba Ragnarsson|Ubba]]. During his time in England, Ivarr cut down four monarchs, making a name for himself as the "King Killer".

==Biography==
===Early life===
According to [[Iceland]]ic {{Wiki|saga}}s, Ivarr was born to the legendary [[Denmark|Danish]] Viking raider Ragnar Lodbrok and his third wife, {{Wiki|Aslaug}}.<ref>{{WP|Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok}} </ref> In 845, Ragnar was killed by [[Ælla of Northumbria|Ælla]] of [[Northumbria]] after being captured in a failed raid and thrown into an [[Ælla's snake pit|execution pit]] filled with venomous [[snake]]s.<ref name="ACV">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla''</ref> Ivarr and his brothers, established Vikings by this time, vowed to avenge their father's death and invade England.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Database: Ivarr and Ubba]]</ref> 

===Great Heathen Army===
The sons of Ragnar, including Ivarr, led the [[Great Heathen Army]]'s [[Viking expansion|invasion]] of England in 865. Around this time, Ivarr successfully avenged his father's death and killed Ælla by subjecting him to Ivarr's favored execution method, the [[blood eagle]]. Following his personal victory, Ivarr also killed two additional lesser kings of the [[Heptarchy]],<ref name="KingKiller" /> Osberht of Northumbria<ref name="KingKiller" /> and [[Edmund the Martyr|Edmund]] of [[East Anglia]],<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Edmund's Arrows]]</ref> earning him the reputation of "King Killer".<ref name="WarWeary">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[War Weary]]</ref>

In 873, Ivarr and Ubba, aided by the [[shieldmaiden]] [[Eivor Varinsdottir]] of the [[Raven Clan]], orchestrated [[Ceolwulf II of Mercia|Ceolwulf II's]] rise to power in [[Mercia]] taking part in the battle that removed King [[Burgred of Mercia|Burgred]] from the throne.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[The Sons of Ragnar]]</ref> After Ceowulf's coronation, Ivarr took [[Ceolbert]], the new king's eldest son, under his wing.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Heavy is the Head]]</ref> 

As Ceobert's military advisor, Ivarr traveled with the young prince to [[Shropshire]]. Ceolwulf had appointed his son as the future [[ealdorman]] of the region as a test of character, and so Ivarr was ordered to help broker a peace treaty with [[Rhodri the Great]], a man with whom he had quarreled with many years prior. Rather than aid Ceobert in his efforts to secure a lasting peace, Ivarr killed Rhodri's brother [[Gwriad ap Merfyn]] during the parlay hosted by Bishop [[Deorlaf]] in the [[church]], and so deliberately escalated the conflict.<ref name="WarWeary" />

With tensions high, Ceolbert left to [[Hunting|hunt]] [[wild boar]], but when he failed to return, Eivor set out from camp to look for him. She soon found him mortally wounded in a [[wolf]] cave, with a [[Britons|Brittonic]] knife stuck in his chest. Eivor carried Ceolbert back to camp as quickly as she could, but had only just set the boy down in time for him to say his last words to Ivarr before he died from his wound. Enraged at his ward's death through the apparent duplicity of the Britons' peace talks, Ivarr used it as justification to [[Siege of Caustow Castle|lay siege]] to Rhodri's stronghold of [[Caustow Castle]]. After successfully incapacitating Rhodri in single combat during the attack,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[The Bloody Path to Peace]]</ref> he requested that Eivor bring the king to [[Manstone Rock]] and be witness to his execution by blood eagle ritual.<ref name="KingKiller" />  

===Death ===
Desiring a grand death to gain entry into [[Valhalla (afterlife)|Valhalla]], Ivarr challenged Eivor to a ''{{Wiki|holmgang}}''. Though the [[Norsemen|Norse]] Viking was initially reluctant to cut down her former associate, Ivarr revealed that he had killed Ceobert in order to force the conflict. Enraged by his depravity, Eivor fought and defeated Ivarr in a grueling ritual combat, delivering a mortal wound and leaving him to bleed out shortly thereafter.<ref name="KingKiller" />

==Legacy==
Immediately after the duel, Eivor descended the peak with Ivarr's body to inform Ubba and Bishop Deorlaf of Ivarr's treachery and his passing. While Ubba was somewhat unsurprised at his brother's actions given his usual temperament, he still mourned Ivarr and arranged a floating funeral pyre to send him to Valhalla.<ref name="KingKiller" />

During his years raiding in the British Isles, Ivarr gained the nickname "King Killer" after personally murdering a number of Britonic and Anglo-Saxon feudal lords. By the time of his death in 873, Ivarr had killed at least half a dozen noblemen, in addition to scores of [[soldier]]s.

====Royal victims====

* King Ælla of Northumbria (killed in 867)
* King Osberht of Northumbria (killed in 867)
*King Edmund of East Anglia (killed in 869)
*King Rhodri "the Great" of Gwynedd (killed in 873)

====Other notable victims====

*Gwriad ap Merfyn, brother of Rhodri (killed in 873)
*[[Ynyr ap Cadfarch]], Brittonic captain (killed in 873)
*Ceolbert, Ealdorman of Shropshire, Prince of East Anglia (killed in 873)

==Personality ==
Ivarr was crass, sadistic, and manipulative, taking genuine enjoyment in killing and hurting others. Unlike his brothers, he had no real desire to establish England as his home, viewing it as little more than his personal killing ground. He was obsessed with glory, hoping to eclipse all others in terms of kills and battlefield victories, and cared more about going to Valhalla than anything else.<ref name="ACV" />

== Trivia==

*There are many theories as to how Ivarr got his moniker "the Boneless".  Several of the sagas describe him as lacking legs or bones at all, having to be carried around on a shield by his men, while ''{{Wiki|Tale of Ragnar's Sons|The Tale of Ragnar's Sons}}'' hints that he was impotent.
*Once more deviating from the game, the ''Sagas'' portray Ivarr as being a reserved and calculating leader.
*In the game, Halfdan is stated to be older than Ivarr. In the ''Sagas'', Ivarr is older.

==Behind the scenes==
In mid-October 2020, ''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''{{'}}s narrative director [[Darby McDevitt]] revealed on Twitter that the voice of Ivarr was provided by [[Eric Johnson]].<ref>{{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/1317068851725651968|Darby McDevitt|quote=Everyone is digging Ivarr the Boneless in our new preview, so give some love to @EricJJohnson79 for his mercurial portrayal of the man. There's more to come!. [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkcrCGEWkAYq1Ej.jpg pic.twitter.com/5Iau8MXEuE]| image=File:ACV Eric voices Ivarr.png}}</ref> Ivarr also makes an appearance in the Spotify podcast ''[[Echoes of Valhalla]]'', where he is voiced by [[Alex Noon|Alex "Arekkz" Noon]].<ref>{{Twitter|arekkz|status/1313377805686788096|Arekkz|quote=So this is something different, never done any sort of voice acting before, but I’m the voice of Ivar the Boneless in this podcast series}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" captionalign="center" position="center">
File:ACV - Ivarr the Boneless concept 1.jpg|Concept art
File:ACV - Ivarr the Boneless concept 2.jpg|Concept art
ACV - Ivarr the Boneless Promo Art.jpg|Promotional art
</gallery>

==Appearances==

*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Echoes of Valhalla]]'' {{C|voice only}}
*[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (manhua)|''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' manhua]] {{mo}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{ACV}}
{{ACHoV}}
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Norsemen]]
[[Category:Vikings]]
[[Category:Jarls]]
[[Category:House of Munsö]]
[[Category:Raven Clan allies]]
[[Category:Regicides]]