Halfdan Ragnarsson

Halfdan was one of six sons of Ragnar Lodbrok named in Norse sagas, though some scholars think he and his brother Hvitserk might be the same person — "white shirt" possibly just a nickname to tell one Halfdan from another. He led forces in the Great Heathen Army's invasion of England in 865, earning the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's cold label "heathen king." By the early 870s he'd seized Northumbria and may have briefly co-ruled Denmark with his brother Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye; Frankish records from 873 name a Sigfred and Halfdan as rulers. He also claimed the throne of Dublin. In 877 he died at th…