The
Ynglinga saga and
Sögubrot make clear that his homeland was Scania. The sagas say that the Danish lands were divided into two kingdoms at the time, namely Scania and
Zealand. Scania was ruled by a set of brothers,
Guðröðr and
Halfdan the Valiant, sons of a
Gothic princess called Hervor (or Hild). Hervor's husband was
Harald the Old, son of
Valdar, son of Roar (
Hroðgar) of the house of Skjöldung (
Scylding). While Guðröðr married Åsa, daughter of the Swedish king
Ingjald Illruler, Halfdan's queen was Moald Digra, an aunt of the
Anglo-Saxon aristocrat Kinrik (Cynric). According to
Hversu Noregr byggðist and
Njáls saga he had a son Ivar, and the same paternity is stated in
Ynglinga saga and
Hervarar saga. However, Queen Åsa was not content with the state of things, and therefore incited Guðröðr to kill his brother. Later, she murdered her own husband. The
Ynglinga saga implies that Ivar had to flee Scania after the murder of his father. After the demise of Guðröðr, he however returned home, while Åsa had to flee to her father in Sweden. Ivar hastily gathered an army and approached Sweden to exact revenge on the murderous queen. King Ingjald was at a feast in Raening with his daughter when he heard that Ivar's army was in the neighbourhood. Ingjald and Åsa then committed suicide by burning themselves and their drunk retainers in the feast hall. The
Ynglinga saga,
Historia Norwegiæ,
Hervarar saga and
Af Upplendinga konungum tell that Ivar conquered
Svearike after
Ingjald's suicide, and later returned to take Denmark. Apart from the Danish lands, he conquered "a great deal of
Saxland, all the East Country (Austrríki), and a fifth part of England". In that way Ivar conquered much of Scandinavia and parts of north Germany and England (sometimes specified as
Northumbria), earning the cognomen Vidfamne (Wide-fathoming). Because of his harsh rule, many Swedes fled west and populated
Värmland under its king
Olof Trätälja. According to
Hversu, ''Njal's saga
, the Lay of Hyndla and Sögubrot, Ivar had a daughter named Auðr the Deep-Minded. Sögubrot'' depicts Ivar in the first place as king of Sweden. It relates that he gave Auðr in marriage to king
Hrœrekr Ringslinger of
Zealand, in spite of the fact that she wanted to marry Hrœrek's brother
Helgi the Sharp. Hrœrekr and Auðr had the son
Harald Wartooth. Through cunning intrigues, Ivar made Hrœrekr kill his brother Helgi, and after this, he attacked and killed Hrœrekr. However, Auðr arrived with the Zealand army and chased her father Ivar back to Sweden. The following year, Auðr went to
Garðaríki with her son Harald and many powerful men and married its king
Ráðbarðr, with Harald's consent but not Ivar's. This was the opportunity for Ivar to conquer Zealand. When Ivar learnt that Auðr had married without his permission, he marshaled a great
leidang from Denmark and Sweden and led the fleet to Gardariki to attack Ráðbarðr. He was very old at the time. However, when they had arrived at the borders of Raðbarð's kingdom,
Karelia (
Karjálabotnar), he had a strange dream and asked his foster father Hord to interpret it. A discussion ensued that ended in Hord likening the megalomaniac Ivar to the
Midgard Serpent. The furious Ivar threw himself overboard in order to get at Hord, who was standing at the shore, and was never seen again. Hord also disappeared in the waves, and it is implied that he was no else than
Odin in disguise. After Ivar's demise the chiefs of his fleet convened and agreed that they had no feud with Ráðbarðr, and sailed back to their own lands. Harald Wartooth then returned to
Zealand and
Scania to assume power over the Danish lands. He subsequently conquered back the territories held by his illustrious grandfather. The
Hervarar saga does not mention any daughter named Auðr. Instead it mentions an Alfhild in the same genealogical position. Ivar gave her to
Valdar whom Ivar made subking of Denmark, and she gave birth to Harald Wartooth and
Randver, father of
Sigurd Ring. In the
Lay of Hyndla, dated to the 12th century, Ivar, Auðr, Hrœrekr and Harald appear. Raðbarðr also appears, but there is no information about his relationship with them. Strangely, the comprehensive Danish chronicle of
Saxo Grammaticus does not mention Ivar Vidfamne, and rather makes Harald Wartooth the son of a Halfdan, himself the son of a Scanian chief called Borkar. ==Interpretations==