of a war with Mercia. The Army overwintered at Torksey, and was then reported as being in the Repton district a year later. It conquered Mercia in 874, the Mercian King Burghred being deposed and replaced by a Danish-puppet regent, Ceolwulf. Following this victory the Army split in two – one half under Guthrum heading south to continue fighting against Wessex, the other half under Halfdan heading north to fight against the Picts and Britons of Strathclyde. According to the Annals of Ulster, Eystein Olafsson, King of Dublin was "deceitfully" killed in 875 by "Albann", a figure generally agreed to be Halfdan. His brother Ivar had ruled the city prior to his death in 873 and it appears Halfdan's campaigning was an attempt to regain his brother's lost kingdom. Halfdan did not remain in Ireland: in 876 he and his forces returned to Northumbria, and settled an area largely coextensive with the old Kingdom of Deira, with the northern part of Northumbria remaining under Anglian rule. Sources sometimes title Halfdan King of Jórvík, beginning in 876. Halfdan's rule of Dublin was not secure, and he was deposed while away in York. He returned to Ireland in 877 to try to recapture the city, but he was met with an army of "Fair Heathens" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the Viking population who had been in Ireland the longest, as opposed to the newly arrived "Dark Heathens", of whom Halfdan was one. The forces met at the Battle of Strangford Lough, where Halfdan was slain. Those of Halfdan's men who survived the battle returned to Northumbria via Scotland, fighting a battle along the way in which Constantine I, King of the Picts was killed. The Vikings of Northumbria remained kingless until 883, when Guthred was made king there. Historicity Halfdan and his supposed brothers are, individually, considered historical figures, although there is no contemporary mention of them being related, and opinion regarding his supposed father is divided. According to Hilda Ellis Davidson, writing in 1979, "certain scholars in recent years have come to accept at least part of Ragnar's story as based on historical fact". Katherine Holman, on the other hand, concludes that "although his sons are historical figures, there is no evidence that Ragnar himself ever lived, and he seems to be an amalgam of several different historical figures and pure literary invention." References Citations Bibliography Subscription