I was reading a book called “THE VIKINGS” by Frank R. Donovan (N. Y.: American Heritage Publishing Company, 1964), and ran across this paragraph on pages 145-146:

"In the sagas there is an interesting sequel to the Battle of Hastings. It is told that before Ivar the Boneless died in England, he ordered that his body be buried in a mound on the English shore, saying that so long as his bones guarded that section of the coast, no enemy could land there successfully. This prophecy held true, says the saga, until “when Vilhjam bastard [William the Conqueror] came ashore he went there and broke Ivar’s mound and saw that his body had not decayed. Then he had a large pyre made and Ivar burned on it. Thereupon he landed and got his victory.”

I read about Ivar the Boneless in this book for the first time-I’d never even heard of him before-nor had I ever heard of this story in anything else I had ever read about the Norman Conquest, the Battle of Hastings, or William the Conqueror. Does anyone else know anything about this story, or has anyone else even heard of it? If so, it would be interesting if they would post here so I could find out more about it.