Ivar The Boneless - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• Ivar The Boneless appears in Harry Harrison's Hammer and Cross series which begins with the death of Ragnar and the invasion of the Heathen Army but then departs from historical events through the actions of the imaginary character Shef Sigvarthsson who eventually defeats Ivar in single combat. Different characters offer different explanations for the appellation "the boneless"; some claim it refers to impotence, while others assert that it is because godar in shamanic trances see Ivar in the otherworld as a giant serpent.
• In the 1958 film The Vikings, Ivar has his name changed to Einar and is played by Kirk Douglas
• In the 1989 film Erik the Viking, a character named Ivar the Boneless is portrayed by John Gordon Sinclair. In the film, Ivar is portrayed as a rather weedy, cowardly Viking with a high pitched voice and a tendency to get seasick.
• In The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, Ivar is a king who was formerly a famous berserker, called Ivar the Boneless only behind his back. He was called Ivar the Intrepid until he married the cruel, powerful and beautiful shapeshifter Frith HalfTroll.
• Ivar is a minor character in Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novel, The Last Kingdom. The earl Ragnar the Elder explains that Ivar's sobriquet originated because he was so thin that it appeared that one could use him to string a bow. This joke might also be a play on his name, as the name Ivar is derived from yrr ar, meaning "yew warrior". (Yew was a wood commonly used for making bows.)