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Ubba, also known as Hubba, Ubbe, and Ubbi, was a mid-ninth-century Viking chieftain and one of the commanders of the Great Army, a coalition of Norse warriors that in AD 865 invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex. Contemporary English sources tend to describe the army's men as Danes and heathens, but there is evidence to suggest that a proportion of the force originated in Frisia, and one source describes Ubba as dux of the Frisians. In 865 the Great Army, apparently led by a man named Ivar, overwintered in East Anglia, before invading and destroying the kingdom of Northumbria. In 869, having been bought off by the Mercians, the Vikings conquered the East Angles, and in the process killed their king, Edmund, who was later regarded as a saint and martyr. While near-contemporary sources do not associate Ubba with the latter campaign, some later, less reliable sources associate him with the king's martyrdom. Others associate Ubba and Edmund's martyrdom in traditions concerning the saga-character Ragnar Lothbrok. After the fall of the East Anglian kingdom, leadership of the Great Army appears to have fallen to Halfdan, Ivar's brother. The Vikings then campaigned against the West Saxons and destroyed the kingdom of the Mercians. In 873 the Great Army split in two: Halfdan led one part to campaign in the north before settling in Northumbria; the other part, under a leader named Guthrum, campaigned against the West Saxons. In the winter of 877-78 Guthrum launched a lightning attack deep into Wessex, which may have been coordinated with a separate Viking force campaigning in Devon. According to a near-contemporary source, this force was led by a brother of Ivar and Halfdan, and some later sources identify him as Ubba. Origins and arrival of the Great Army In the mid-ninth century, an invading army descended on Anglo-Saxon England. The earliest version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a near-contemporary source first compiled in the late-ninth century,[2] calls this army "micel here",[3][note 1] an Old English term generally translated as "the Great Army".[4][note 2] The exact origins of this force are obscure, although the Chronicle usually identifies its members as Danes or heathens.[6][7] The tenth-century churchman Asser stated in Latin that the invaders came "de Danubia", which translates into English as "from the Danube".[8] Since the Danube is located in what was known in Latin as Dacia, Asser probably intended Dania, a Latin term for Denmark.[9] The tenth-century chronicler Æthelweard (d. c. 998), in his Chronicon Æthelweardi, reported that "the fleets of the tyrant [Ivar] arrived in the land of the English from the north",[10] implying a Scandinavian origin.[10][note 3] The Great Army may have included Vikings already active in England, as well as men directly from Scandinavia, Ireland and the Continent:[12] a proportion of the army probably originated in Frisia.[13] The ninth-century Annales Bertiniani records that Danish Vikings devastated Frisia in 851,[14][15] and the twelfth-century Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dunelmenses states that a Viking force of Danes and Frisians made landfall on the Isle of Sheppey in 855.[16][17][18] The same source, and the tenth- or eleventh-century Historia de Sancto Cuthberto, describe Ubba - who is associated with Ivar in other sources - as dux of the Frisians.[19][20][21][note 4] Furthermore, while the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls the Viking army micel here, the Latin Historia de Sancto Cuthberto instead uses the term Scaldingi, possibly meaning "people from the River Scheldt".[24][note 5] This suggests that Ubba may have been from Walcheren, an island in the mouth of the Scheldt.[27] The island is known to have been occupied by Danish Vikings over two decades before, when the Frankish emperor Lothair I (d. 855) granted the island to a certain Danish royal dynast named Harald in 841.[28] If Ubba's troops were drawn from the Frisian settlement started by Harald over two decades before, many of Ubba's men might well have been born in Frisia.[27] The considerable time that members of the Great Army appear to have spent in Ireland and the Continent suggests that these men were well accustomed to Christian society,[29] which in turn may partly explain their achievements in England.[27] The Great Army under Ivar In the autumn of 865, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle records that the Great Army invaded East Anglia and overwintered there.[32] That winter the Vikings evidently gained valuable intelligence, and the Chronicle states that, the following spring, they left East Anglia on horses gained from the subordinated population and struck deep into the kingdom of the Northumbrians, which was in the midst of a civil war between the rival kings Ælla (d. 867) and Osberht (d. 867).[33] Late in 866 the Vikings seized York,[34][note 6] one of only two archiepiscopal sees in England and one of the richest trading centres in Britain.[39] Although Ælla and Osberht responded by joining forces against the Vikings, the Chronicle indicates that their attack on York was a disaster and they both died.[34] With the collapse of the kingdom and destruction of its regime, the twelfth-century Historia Regum reveals that the Vikings installed Ecgberht (d. 873) as a Northumbrian puppet king.[40][41][note 7] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that the Great Army attacked Mercia in 867, after which the Vikings seized Nottingham and overwintered there.[42] Although the respective Mercian and West Saxon kings Burgred (d. c. 874) and Æthelred (d. 871) responded by joining forces and besieging the occupied town, both the Chronicle and Asser record that this combined Anglo-Saxon force was unable to dislodge the army.[43][44] In the meantime the Great Army renewed its strength for future forays, and the Chronicle records that it was only through a haggled truce that the Mercians were able to induce the Vikings to withdraw to York.[39][45] Martyrdom of Edmund In 869 the kingdom of East Anglia fell to the Great Army. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's account of the conflict reveals that the Vikings took up winter quarters at Thetford, where they fought and destroyed the East Anglian army and killed King Edmund.[47] Although the Chronicle's account of the conflict suggests that Edmund was slain in battle,[48] and Asser certainly stated as much in his version of events,[49] later hagiographical works portray the king in an idealised light, and depict his death in the context of a peace-loving Christian monarch, who willingly suffered martyrdom after refusing to shed blood in defence of himself.[50] One such account is the Passio Sancti Eadmundi, by the eleventh-century churchman Abbo of Fleury. Despite its obvious hagiographic embellishments, this source appears to be the latest useful source concerning Edmund's demise,[51][note 9] and its claim that Edmund was captured and executed is plausible.[55] In regard to Ubba, Abbo's account states that Ivar left him in Northumbria before launching his assault upon the East Angles.[56][note 10] In contrast to this source, the early twelfth-century F-version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle specifically identifies Ivar and Ubba as the commanders of the king's killers.[58][59] This could be a mistake on the chronicler's part,[58] and later, less reliable literature concerning Edmund's death also associates these two Vikings with it.[note 11] The Great Army under Halfdan After Edmund's death and the destruction of the East Anglian kingdom, Ivar disappears from English sources altogether.[61] In the second half of 870, one of the commanders of the Great Army was Ivar's brother Halfdan, who led it against the kingdom of Wessex.[61] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that, having established itself at Reading in 871, the army fought nine battles against the West Saxons.[62] The most important of these seems to have been an engagement early that year, somewhere on the Berkshire Downs at a place then known as Ashdown.[63] This particular conflict marks Halfdan's first appearance in documentary sources.[64] Despite the particular savagery attributed to these engagements by the Chronicle, the battles seem to have been indecisive, and the Vikings appear to have been taken aback by the West Saxons' stiff resistance.[65] In consequence, the Chronicle records that the Great Army accepted a truce from Alfred, the newly crowned West Saxon king.[62] On the conclusion of the truce, the Chronicle reports that the Vikings withdrew to London and overwintered there.[66] They probably gained control of London as, about a decade later, most versions of the Chronicle appear to indicate that Alfred recovered it from Viking occupation.[67][note 12] In 873, some versions of the Chronicle report that the army marched north into Northumbria,[69] a relocation perhaps undertaken in the context of suppressing a revolt against their Northumbrian puppet king.[70][note 13] On the other hand, the relocation may have been part of a campaign in northern Mercia.[73] The Chronicle indicates that the Vikings overwintered at Torksey in 873, after which they forced Burgred from the Mercian throne and installed Ceolwulf, probably a descendant of King Ceolwulf I of Mercia (821-23), as a puppet king in his place.[74] Through the fall of the Mercian kingdom, the Great Army secured a land-route between East Anglia and Northumbria,[73] and only Wessex lay in the way of total Danish domination of Anglo-Saxon England.[75] At this point the Historia Regum reports that the Great Army split in two, with Halfdan taking his troops northwards deep into Northumbria.[76] According to the Chronicle, in the winter of 874-75, Halfdan based himself on the River Tyne, and waged war against the Picts and Strathclyde Britons.[77] This source appears to be partly corroborated by the Gaelic Annals of Ulster, an Irish source, which refers to a bloody encounter between the Picts and Dubgaill in 875.[78][note 14] But, if the Ímar of Irish sources is identical with the Ivar of English sources, Halfdan had also conducted military actions in the north in conjunction with Ivar's previous northern campaigning.[80] In 876 the Chronicle indicates that Halfdan's army had dispersed, and that he allotted his men Northumbrian lands upon which they settled.[81] Further campaigning under Guthrum While Halfdan consolidated control of Northumbria, the rest of the army under kings Guthrum, Oscetel, and Anwend[86] - men who may have linked up with the Great Army in 871[80] - headed southwards into East Anglia. In 875, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that this army based itself at Cambridge, from where operations were directed against Wessex,[86] and the following year it is stated to have seized Wareham.[87][note 16] Alfred made another truce with the Vikings in 876, but they broke it by stealth in 877 and took Exeter.[87] An approaching Viking fleet, with which Guthrum had apparently planned to link up, was destroyed by a storm, and the Chronicle reports that he was forced to withdraw to Mercia.[89][note 17] Although the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that much of Guthrum's army started to settle in an east-Midland region later known as the Five Boroughs,[91][92][note 18] the Chronicle and Asser indicate that Guthrum launched a surprise attack against the West Saxons in the winter of 877-78.[94] Setting off from their base in Gloucester, the Vikings drove deep into Wessex, where they sacked the royal vill of Chippenham.[95][note 19] It is possible that this operation was coordinated with another Viking attack in Devon that culminated in a battle at Arx Cynuit in 878.[98] Arx Cynuit and the brother of Ivar and Halfdan Most versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle locate the battle to Devon,[99][note 20] and Asser specified that it was fought at a fortress called Arx Cynuit,[101] a name which appears to equate to what is today Countisbury, in North Devon.[102][note 21] Asser's account also states that this Viking force made landfall in Devon from a base in Dyfed, where it had previously overwintered.[104] It probably originated in Ireland.[105] Wind Hill, near Countisbury, Devon, possibly the site of a disastrous Viking defeat at the hands of local men in 878.[106] Some medieval sources claim that Ubba led the vanquished army, and that he was among those slain. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not identify the army's commander by name, but it describes him as a brother of Ivar and Halfdan, and states that he was slain in the encounter.[107] Although Ubba was identified as the slain commander by the twelfth-century chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar in his Anglo-Norman Estoire des Engleis,[108] it is unknown whether Gaimar followed an existing source or if this was an inference on his part.[109][note 22] It is possible that Gaimar's identification was influenced by the earlier association of Ivar and Ubba in the legends surrounding Edmund's martyrdom.[111] Gaimar further specified that Ubba was slain at "bois de Pene" in Devon, and that he was buried by his men in a mound called "Ubbelawe", a word meaning "Ubba's Barrow".[112][note 23] The battle was a West Saxon victory,[117] and Æthelweard names the victorious commander as Odda, an ealdorman of Devon.[118] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle numbers the Viking fleet at twenty-three ships,[119] and most versions number the Viking casualties at eight hundred and forty dead.[120][note 24] It is possible that the Viking commander at Arx Cynuit took the opportunity of Guthrum's simultaneous campaigning to launch a Viking foray of his own against the West Saxons.[126] On the other hand, the location and timing of the engagement at Arx Cynuit may indicate that the slain commander was cooperating with Guthrum. The two Viking armies appear to have coordinated their efforts in an attempt to corner Alfred in a pincer movement after his withdrawal into the wetlands of Somerset.[98] If Vikings at Arx Cynuit were indeed working in cooperation with those at Chippenham, their previous actions in Dyfed could also have been related to Guthrum's campaign against Alfred.[127][note 25] Guthrum was left overextended by the destruction of his counterpart's army at Arx Cynuit, and this appears to have allowed Alfred's forces to assail the Great Army's exposed lines of communication.[128] Although Alfred's position was still perilous, with his contracted kingdom close to collapse,[92] the events at Arx Cynuit foreshadowed a turn of events. A few weeks later in May, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred was able to assemble his troops at Athelney and launch a successful surprise attack against Guthrum at Edington.[129] Following Guthrum's crushing defeat, he was forced to accept Alfred's terms for peace. The Viking king was baptised as a Christian and led the remainder of his forces into East Anglia, where they dispersed and settled.[130] Guthrum kept peace with the West Saxons and ruled as a Christian king for more than a decade, until his death in 890.[131] Association with Ragnar Lothbrok Although Ubba and Ivar were associated with each other by Abbo of Fleury and the eleventh-century churchman Ælfric of Eynsham (d. c. 1010), they do not record that Ubba and Ivar were related in any way.[133] The first source to claim kinship between the two is the Latin Annals of St Neots, a twelfth-century source from Suffolk that claims they were sons of a man whose name was Latinized to "Lodebrochus".[134][135] In a passage concerning battle-spoils won by the English at Arx Cynuit, one item specified by the Annals of St Neots is a magical banner named "Reafan", stated to have been woven by three daughters of Lodebrochus.[136] Although certain versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle note the capture of a raven banner, they do not mention any magical attributes, or refer to Lodebrochus and his progeny.[137][note 26] The source from which the author of the Annals of St Neots drew these details is unknown,[138] and the accounts of Asser and Æthelweard make no reference to a banner.[139] The name "Lodebrochus" appears to be an early reference to Ragnar Lothbrok,[114] a saga-character of dubious historicity, possibly an amalgam of several historical ninth-century figures.[140][note 27] According to Scandinavian sources, Ragnar was a Scandinavian of royal stock, whose death at the hands of Ælla in Northumbria was the catalyst for the invasion of Anglo-Saxon England by his vengeful sons, resulting in the death of Ælla.[145] The only Scandinavian source for Ragnar that refers to Ubba is the Latin Gesta Danorum, composed by Saxo Grammaticus.[146] In this source, Ubba's parents are "Regnerus" and an unnamed daughter of "Hesbernus".[147][note 28] According to the thirteenth- or fourteenth-century Ragnarssona þáttr,[150] an important source for Ragnar, Ivar had two bastard sons, Yngvar and Husto, who tortured Edmund on Ivar's instructions.[151] No other source mentions these sons,[152] and they may be replications of Ivar and Ubba: it may be that the compiler of Ragnarssona þáttr failed to recognise Ivar's name in sources concerning Edmund.[153][note 29] The name "Husto" appears to stem from a misreading,[155] in which "Ubbe" was misread as "Usto".[156] Regarding the bastardy accorded to Yngvar and Husto, this may only serve to reflect the cruelty that they are made to inflict on Edmund in the tale.[154] While medieval Scandinavians sources tend to locate tales of Ragnar in a Northumbrian context, medieval English sources tend to place them in an East Anglian one.[157] The first author to associate Ragnar Lothbrok with East Anglia was Geoffrey of Wells, in his De Infantia Sancti Eadmundi, a Latin account that explains political events through personal motives.[158] In this source, "Lodebrok" is extremely envious of Edmund's fame, and taunts his own sons - Ivar, Ubba, and Wern - for not having achieved as much as Edmund, provoking them to slay Edmund and destroy his kingdom. At one point this account ascribes diabolical powers to Ubba, which enable him to gain victory in battle.[159] By the thirteenth century an alternate rendition appeared, for example in the Latin Flores Historiarum by the thirteenth-century churchman Roger of Wendover (d. 1236): here, "Lothbrocus" washes ashore in East Anglia, where he is honourably received by Edmund. Lothbrocus is then murdered by Bern, an envious huntsman. After Bern is expelled for this crime, he convinces Lothbrocus' sons Ivar and Ubba that it was Edmund who murdered their father, causing them to launch an invasion and destroy Edmund.[160] The theme of revenge in Roger's account appears to have been borrowed from the stories concerning the killing of Ælla.[161] Popular culture[edit] Ubba, along with his brothers Ivar and Halfdan, appears in Bernard Cornwell's novel The Last Kingdom, the first in the nine-part The Saxon Stories series. Ubba is one of the principal characters of the first book, and the novel closes with his death in battle. In the TV adaptation, Ubba is played by Norwegian actor Rune Temte. Notes[edit] Jump up ^ Note that "§" in citations indicates a year or a section in a source; "§§" indicates two or more years or sections. Jump up ^ The earliest form of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the A-version. The Old English term micel hæðen here, meaning "great heathen raiding-army", is accorded to the army in later versions (B, C, D, and E).[5] Jump up ^ In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Ivar came to be remembered in Scandinavian tradition as "Ivar the Boneless".[11] Jump up ^ Annales Bertiniani is a West Frankish source.[14] At least one of the scribes who wrote Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dunelmenses was Symeon of Durham.[22] Historia de Sancto Cuthberto was composed in northern Anglo-Saxon England.[23] Jump up ^ Elsewhere in Historia de Sancto Cuthberto, the term Scald is used to refer to the same river.[25] Other possible meanings of Scaldingi include "shieldmen", "descendant of Scyld", and "men of the punted ship".[26] Jump up ^ The taking of York is dated to 1 November, the Feast of All Saints, by Libellus de exordio atque procursu istius hoc est Dunhelmensis ecclesie,[35] a twelfth-century source often attributed to the churchman Symeon of Durham (d. c. 1128),[36] and the thirteenth-century Flores Historiarum, by the churchman Roger of Wendover (d. 1236).[37] Attacking a populated site on a feast day was a noted tactic of the Vikings. Such celebrations offered attackers easy access to potential captives who could be ransomed or sold into slavery.[38] Jump up ^ Although one manuscript of Historia Regum attributes its composition to Symeon, this identification is debatable.[40] Jump up ^ This miniature is one of several in the manuscript's illuminated copy of Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi. The manuscript is held in Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.[46] Jump up ^ Abbo's account likens Edmund to Jesus Christ and St Sebastian. Specifically, Edmund is mocked and scourged like Christ, and later tied to a tree and shot like St Sebastian.[52] Not long after Abbo wrote Passio Sancti Eadmundi, the eleventh-century churchman Ælfric of Eynsham (d. c. 1010) composed an adapted form of it. Ælfric's version, however, does not offer any further historical details concerning Edmund's demise.[53] Abbo wrote his account at least one hundred and sixteen years after Edmund's death. Abbo claimed that his account-except for the final miracle-was derived from a tale that he had heard told by the elderly Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 988) tell the tale. According to Abbo, Dunstan had heard this tale told, as a young man, from a very old man who claimed to have once been Edmund's armour-bearer.[54] Jump up ^ Abbo's account makes no mention of the Vikings' actions in East Anglia in 865, and implies erroneously that they arrived in Northumbria by sea.[57] Jump up ^ One such example is Estoire des Engleis, by the twelfth-century chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar. Gaimar identifies Ivar and Ubba as prominent Viking commanders, stating that, after the defeat of Edmund and fall of his kingdom, Ivar and Ubba cruelly put the king to death.[60] Jump up ^ Only the A-version of this source fails to refer to this event.[68] Jump up ^ This move into Northumbria is omitted in the D- and E-versions of the Chronicle,[71] and is not mentioned by Æthelweard.[72] Jump up ^ The Gaelic words Finngaill and Dubgaill translate as "Fair Foreigners" and "Dark Foreigners". Although these terms were used to differentiate different groups of Vikings in Gaelic sources, it is uncertain whether the words referred to specific ethnicities or different factions.[79] Jump up ^ Aubrey, in his seventeenth-century Monumenta Britannica, called the site "Hubbaslow", and stated that it was the site "where they say that one Hubba lies buried". Aubrey appears to have assumed that Ubba was slain at the battle of Chippenham. Aubrey himself seems to have been the earliest source to associate Ubba with the site.[82] It is sometimes claimed that the village of Hubberston in Pembrokeshire is named after Ubba, and that he overwintered in nearby Milford Haven. There is no evidence for this assertion,[83] and the name itself does not have Scandinavian roots.[84] It was first recorded in the thirteenth-century as Hobertiston and Villa Huberti, meaning "Hubert's Farm" and "Hubert's manor" respectively,[85] and has only been known as Huberston since the late fifteenth-century.[83] Jump up ^ Oscetel and Anwend are last recorded in 875. It is unknown if they were killed or if they left Guthrum's army.[88] Jump up ^ Æthelweard alluded to a separate Viking force when noting Guthrum's actions at Cambridge and Wareham in the previous year.[90] Jump up ^ This Scandinavian settlement consisted of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, and Stamford. The region is first named in the tenth century.[93] Jump up ^ A vill was an administration unit, roughly equating to a modern parish.[96] Chippenham appears to have been a significant settlement during the period, and might well have been a seat of the West Saxon kings.[97] Jump up ^ The B- and C-versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle do not locate the conflict to any specific place.[100] Jump up ^ Other locations have been suggested, including one near Appledore, where it was claimed that a mound called Ubbaston or Whibblestan existed before being lost to the tide.[103] Jump up ^ Gaimar based much of his Estoire des Engleis on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.[110] Jump up ^ A twelfth-century Latin passage in Pembroke College MS. 82 states that Ubba was slain at Ubbelaw in Yorkshire.[113] This source relates that a brother of Ubba destroyed a church at Sheppey, and was miraculously killed in an act of divine retribution, as he was swallowed alive by the ground at Frindsbury, near Rochester.[114] According to the late-fourteenth- or early-thirteenth-century Liber Monasterii de Hyda, Ubba met his end the same way.[115][116] Jump up ^ The B- and C-versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle state that the Vikings suffered eight hundred and sixty dead.[121] All versions of this source number the Viking casualties in a complex manner, stating that eight hundred "men with him" and a further forty - or sixty - "men of his army" fell.[122] The Old English heres, generally taken to mean "army" in this passage, may be an error for hīredes, a term for a personal retinue.[123] Asser numbered the Viking dead at one thousand two hundred.[124] Æthelweard gave the number of dead as eight hundred, numbered the fleet at thirty ships and, unlike other sources, wrote that the Vikings were victorious.[125] Jump up ^ The King of Dyfed at this time was Hyfaidd ab Bleddri, a man who was an ally of Alfred by 885.[127] Jump up ^ The raven banner is noted in the B-, C-, D-, and E-versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but not in the A- and F-versions.[137] Jump up ^ Forms of the names "Ragnar" and "Lothbrok" were first used in conjunction for this character in the early-twelfth century, in Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók.[141] One possible historical figure from which the literary character may have been drawn from is Reginheri, a Viking leader who raided Paris in 845.[142] Ragnar's Old Norse epithet loðbrók, usually translated as "hairy breeches",[143] may mask the feminine personal name Loðbróka, and thus a feminine historical figure.[144] Jump up ^ At one point in this account, Hesbernus encourages Ubba to revolt against Regnerus, who then slays Hesbernus, overcomes the rebels and makes peace with Ubba.[148] A namesake of Ubba in Gesta Danorum is a particular hero of the legendary Battle of Bråvalla, identified as a Frisian.[149] Jump up ^ The Old Norse forms of Yngvar and Ivar's names are Yngvarr and Ívarr. The first is an older form of the second.[154] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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