Scandinavian-Britain

THE AGE OF ALFRED 89regarded by Ivar as a traitor to the charge which,like Ecgberht in Northumbria, he may have undertakenunder the Danes. We have no mention of hisfather, or pedigree connecting him with native kings.But at least he fell in defence of his country andfaith, and earned the crown of martyrdom. His feastday fixes the date as November 20, 870.From that moment forth, Ivar too disappears fromEngland. He is usually represented as the chiefactor in the death of St. Eadmund, but in all subsequentoperations he is not named. The Annals ofUlster, which often antedate by a year, mention tinder869 "The siege of Alclyde (Dumbarton) by the Northmen: Olaf and Ivar, two kings of the Northmen,besieged that stronghold, and at the end of four monthsthey stormed and sacked " it ;and then, next year,that Olaf (the White) and Ivar came again to Dublinfrom Scotland "and a very great spoil of captives,English, British and Pictish, was carried away toIreland;" and finally, under 872, "Ivar, King ofthe Northmen of all Ireland and Britain, ended hislife." There can be no doubt that this Ivar isthe man who led the army in :England he wouldnot otherwise have been described as king of theNorthmen of all Ireland and Britain ;nor would hehave been able to carry to Dublin "a very great spoilof English captives " as well as of British (or StrathclydeWelsh) who were taken at the sack of Dumbarton,the chief stronghold of Strathclyde. It is curious tofind him acting with Olaf the White, a Norseman ;but he had been with him before in 858 and 862, an4