Halfdan Ragnarsson

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Halfdan Ragnarsson (died 877) was a Viking leader who served as one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England during the late 9th century. He was the eldest son of Ragnar Lothbrok and his first wife Lagertha, and the half-brother of Ivarr, Sigurd, Bjorn, and Ubba.

Arguably the greatest son of Ragnar's, Halfdan's conquests in northern England gained him fame as the Conqueror of the North. The army he commanded was noted to have sacked Lunden, conquered York, and extorted every petty king from Exeter to Hadrian's Wall.

Halfdan was also the reincarnation of the Isu Thor, who was revered as the Norse warrior god of lightning and thunder.

Biography

Early years

Halfdan was born as the eldest son of Ragnar Lothbroke and his first wife Lagertha. Like his half-brothers, Halfdan followed in his father's footsteps and became seafarers and raiders himself. In 865, Raganar was murdered by ealdorman Ælla in England who threw him into a snake pit. Seeking revenge for their father's death, Halfdan and his brothers led a vast army into England, joining forces with the Great Summer Army led by Guthrum jarl. This coaliton came to be dubbed as the Great Heathen Army.

After landing in East Anglia in the summer of 865, Halfdan and his brothers moved northwards and invaded Northumbria, which was embroiled in a civil war for kingship between Ælla and Osberht. In 866, Ælla was crowned king of Northumbria in York, which was thereafter captured by Ivarr.. Following Ivarr's departure to the south to join Ubba, Halfdan took control of the armies in the north, and appointed Ecgberht as the puppet-king of Northumbria. After reigning for a few years until 872, Ecgberht was disposed and Halfdan appointed Ricsige as king, joined by the Jorvik council consisting of Halfdan's war chief Faravid, and the councilmen Audun and Hjorr Halfsson.

War with the Picts

With Ricsiege ruling York in his stead, Halfdan focused on his wars in the north, and by 874, his army was embroiled in war against the Pictish tribes that inhabited the lands north of Hadrian's Wall. Having learned the reputation of the famed shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir through his brothers, Halfdan sent a letter to Eivor's settlement of Ravensthorpe in Ledecestrescire, requesting for her aid and counsel in Eurvicscire.

Halfdan engaging in battle against the Picts

Halfdan soon met Eivor amidst a snowy skirmish against the Picts. After defeating the enemies, Eivor introduced herself to Halfdan, who cited her achievements involving Ivarr and Ubba in Mercia and Finnr in East Anglia. Halfdan requested to talk to Eivor in private, away from the ears of his right-hand man Faravid, who also partook in the battle. Halfdan later returned to his castle in Donecastre castle, where he engaged in an arguement against Ricsige, who had wanted to end the war quickly rather than strategically. Halfdan dismissed Ricsige and spoke with Eivor and Faravid, who had arrived. In a short exchange, Faravid expressed signs of jealousy towards Halfdan's actions during the previous battle. He then gifted his jarl a goblet, to which Halfdan asked for Eivor's opinion.

Halfdan consuming Moira's medicine

Faravid then left to his forward camp and Halfdan now had the chance to speak in private with Eivor, and told her of his suspicions of Faravid, whom he believed to be plotting treason. Halfdan spoke of rumors in the air about Faravid's treachery, and suspected Faravid to have attempted to poison him. He asked Eivor to investigate his war chief behind his back. Eivor rode off to find Faravid as Halfdan waited at his castle with his caretaker Moira.

Eivor soon returned with another goblet from Faravid, which Halfdan disposed immediately. Eivor suggested Halfdan to be careful of everyone, even Moira, to which Halfdan ordered the Viking to investigate. Halfdan left to travel to the Temple of Brigantia with his dog Beonton in response to signs of a traitor from one of his scouts, Olav.

At the temple, Halfdan looked for his scout as he awaited Eivor's return, though there was no sign of him. Eivor soon arrived and found Olav dead, killed by the traitors. Beonton soon led the two to the Petuaria Ruins, which they explored and found a treasure room filled with Halfdan's stolen war spoils. Upon exiting, Halfdan and his ally were confronted by Ulf, one of Faravid's men. As punishment for his treachery, Ulf was executed. Halfdan soon dismissed Eivor, asking her to follow Faravid to the Wolds.

Halfdan and Eivor overlooking Ricsige's corpse

Upon further investigation, Eivor and Faravid soon found Ricsige to be a traitor, hoarding his riches and allying himself with the Picts. The two led an assault on Magnis Fortress, where Ricsige had fled to. Halfdan knew about this assault and soon joined them, charging his army into battle and seeing to the end of Ricsige's reign.

Halfdan standing above a defeated Faravid

Halfdan, Eivor, and Faravid traveled back to Jorvik, where Halfdan was to be coronated as new king of Jorvik in the Royal Hall. During the coronation, Halfdan praised Eivor for her aid, though things went awry when the new king began to have a coughing fit. Halfdan discovered his drinking goblet to be made of lead, and soon put two and two together, accusing Faravid of poisoning him. Eivor soon stood up to Halfdan and engaged the traitor in combat. Halfdan spectated and commentated as Faravid was brought to his knees, to meet his end at the face of Halfdan's hammer Orthstirr. After the coronation, Halfdan and Eivor secured an alliance.

Legacy

In 886, Toka Sinricsdottir arrived in Ravensthorpe to convince Eivor to help aid in the siege of Paris. Unaware that Halfdan had died in 877 nearly a decade earlier, Toka claimed that she sought his help, immediately arousing both Eivor and Randvi's suspicions regarding the true purpose for her visit.

Behind the scenes

Halfdan is a historical character first introduced in the 2020 Echoes of History podcast episodes on Vikings, though his voice actor is uncredited. He later featured in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, where he was voiced by Norwegian actor Jeppe Beck Laursen, who also provided the voice of Thor.

Valhalla describes Halfdan as Ragnar's eldest son by his first wife Lagertha, however, the sagas say his mother is instead Ragnar's third wife Aslaug, with Ivarr and Bjorn being his older siblings from the same mother.

Despite historically dying in 877 fighting King Bárid mac Ímair of Dublin at the Battle of Strangford Lough in Ireland, no mention or reference of this is made in Valhalla's 2021 downloadable expansion Wrath of the Druids, set in 879.

Appearances

• Echoes of History (voice only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
  • The Siege of Paris (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Geirmund's Saga
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Blood Brothers
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)