Which Viking leader was known as 'Ironside' and raided the Mediterranean?

Which Viking leader was known as “Ironside” and raided the Mediterranean? Björn Ironside was.

Björn Ironside is a Viking leader associated with ninth-century raids and later Scandinavian tradition. His epithet, Járnsíða or “Ironside,” appears in medieval sources, while later sagas identify him as a son of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok. The historical evidence is uneven, so some details of his biography remain uncertain.

Around 859–861, Björn and the Viking commander Hastein are associated with a major expedition into the Mediterranean. The fleet raided along the Iberian coast, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, attacked parts of southern France, and reached Italy. Pisa is traditionally named among the places captured or plundered.

The expedition’s stories blend contemporary reports with later saga material, and historians debate exactly who commanded each stage. That uncertainty does not make the quiz answer wrong: among the listed figures, Björn is the leader specifically linked with the Mediterranean raid and the Ironside nickname.