### Clue: Pirate victory over independent ruler (6)
### Answer: VIKING 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Pirate
 V(abbrev. for "victory") **placed above**(over, in a down clue) [I(abbrev. for "independent", as with an election candidate not belonging to any political party) + KING(a male ruler)].
Defn: … from Scandinavia; one of those who plundered the European coasts in the 8th to 10th centuries.