Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c. 820 – c. Events By Place Asia Tahir, the son of a slave is rewarded with the governorship of Khurasan for supporting the Caliphate 860) (Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian: Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first King of Norway Harald Fairhair and belonged to the House of Yngling. This article is about the year 860 For the area code see Area code 860. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty It can refer to the following clans: The Scylfings ( Old Norse: Skilfingar) the No contemporary sources mention Halfdan, and the details of his life that are provided by later kings' sagas are considered semi-legendary by modern historians. The Kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway Although he has his own saga in Heimskringla, it lacks any skaldic verse, which is normally used by Snorri as supporting evidence and this, combined with its rather legendary character, leads historians to be wary of seeing much veracity in it.
Halfdan is mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (c. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas. 1230), Fagrskinna (c. Fagrskinna is one of the Kings' sagas, written around 1220 It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved Fagrskinna meaning 1220), Ágrip (c. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway written in Old Norse. 1190) and Historia Norwegiæ (late 12th century). Historia Norwegiæ is a short history of the Norwegian past written by a Monk around the second half of the 12th century The most elaborate story is found in the latest saga, Heimskringla. According to the Latin Historia Norwegiæ, Halvdan was a king "in montanis" (in the mountains), which is usually equivalent to Oppland in the Old Norse[1]. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age This conflicts with the version told in Heimskringla.
According to Heimskringla and Fagsrkinna, Halfdan was the son of King Gudrød the Hunter. Gudrød the Hunter ( Old Norse: Guðrǫðr veiðikonungr, Norwegian Gudrød Veidekonge) was a semi-legendary king in south-east Norway, during Heimskringla also names his mother, as Åsa, daughter of King Harald of Agder, and his half-brother as Olaf Geirstad-Alf. Agder is a historical district of Norway in the southernmost region of Norway, corresponding to the two counties ( fylker) Vest-Agder Olaf Gudrødsson, or as he was named after his death Olaf Geirstad-Alf, was a legendary Norwegian king of the House of Yngling from the Ynglinga saga. Heimskringla relates that when Halfdan's father was killed, Åsa took the 1 year-old Halfdan and returned to Agder, where Halfdan was raised. Agder is a historical district of Norway in the southernmost region of Norway, corresponding to the two counties ( fylker) Vest-Agder When he was 18 or 19 years old, Halfdan became king of Agder. He quickly began adding to his kingdom, through political negotiation and military conquest. He divided the kingdom of Vestfold with his brother Olaf and, through military action, persuaded King Gandalf of Vingulmark to cede half his kingdom. is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg. Gandalf Alfgeirsson ( Old Norse: Gandálf Álfgeirsson) was a legendary king of the petty kingdom Vingulmark, in south-eastern Norway. Vingulmark is the old name for the area which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike) and eastern parts
Next, Halfdan subdued an area called Raumarike. Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. To secure his claim to Raumarike, Halfdan first defeated and killed the previous ruler, Sigtryg Eysteinsson, in battle. Sigtryg Eysteinsson was king of the Norwegian Petty kingdoms Raumarike and Hedmark before he was killed by Halfdan the Black in the He then defeated Sigtryg's brother and successor Eystein, in a series of battles. Eystein is the name of Eystein Halfdansson (fl c 730 king of Romerike and Vestfold in what is now Norway Eystein Magnusson (1088? &ndash This established Halfdan's claim not only to Raumarike, but also to half of Hedmark, the core of Sigtryg and Eystein's kingdom. is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. These details are only mentioned in Heimskringla.
Fagrskinna and Heimskringla both agree that Halfdan's first wife was Ragnhild, daughter of King Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard) of Sogn. Community in Sogn Norwayjpeg|right|200px|thumb|Shore community in Sogn Norway]] Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (Vestlandet. Halfdan and Ragnhild had a son named "Harald" after his grandfather, and they sent him to be raised at his grandfather's court. Harald Gulskeg, being elderly, named his grandson as his successor, shortly before his death. Ragnhild died shortly after her father, and the young king Harald fell sick and died the next spring. When Halfdan heard about his son's death, he travelled to Sogn and laid claim to the title of king. No resistance was offered, and Halfdan added Sogn to his realm.
The narrative in Heimskringla then adds another conquest for King Halfdan. In Vingulmark, the sons of Gandalf of Vingulmark, Hysing, Helsing, and Hake, attempted to ambush Halfdan at night, but he escaped into the forest. After raising an army, he returned to defeat the brothers, killing Hysing and Helsing. Hake fled the country, and Halfdan became king of all of Vingulmark.
According to Heimskringla, Halfdan's second wife was also named Ragnhild. Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was the daughter of Sigurd Hjort, king of Ringerike. Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was the daughter of Sigurd Hart of the Dagling clan and Aslaug the daughter of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, one of the sons Sigurd Hart or Sigurd Hjort was a legendary king of Ringerike in Norway, who appears in Ragnarssona þáttr and in Halfdan Ringerike is a municipality in the county of Buskerud, Norway She was kidnapped from her home by Hake, a "berserker" who encountered her father in Hadeland and killed him. Berserkers (or Berserks) were Norse Warriors who wore coats of wolf or bear skin and who were commonly understood to have fought in an uncontrollable Hadeland is a traditional district in the south-eastern part of Norway. In turn, Halfdan had her kidnapped from Hake, so that he could marry her. Fagrskinna does not mention any of these details, but calls Ragnhild the daughter of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, who in Heimskringlas version is her great-grandfather. Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye ( Old Norse: Sigurðr ormr í auga) was one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and Kraka, but what set him apart from the others Both sagas agree that Ragnhild and Halfdan had a son who was also named Harald. Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c
Heimskringla, Fagrskinna, Ágrip and Historia Norwegiæ all relate that Halfdan drowned when he fell through the ice of lake Randsfjorden on his return home from Hadeland. Randsfjorden is Norway 's fourth largest Lake with an area of 138 km² His horse and sleigh broke though ice weakened by cattle dung near a watering hole dug in the frozen lake. He was buried in a mound at Stein in Ringerike. Ringerike is a municipality in the county of Buskerud, Norway Heimskringlas narrative adds that each of the districts of his kingdom wanted to claim his grave, and that it was agreed to divide his body into four pieces so each district could bury a piece of it, resulting in four different Halfdan's Mounds. According to this version, only his head is buried in Ringerike.
| Preceded by Gudrød the Hunter |
Head of the House of Yngling | Succeeded by Harald Fairhair |
References
- ^ Bergljot Solberg, Jernalderen i Norge, (Oslo, 2000)
External links
- Fagrskinna in Old Norse
- Ágrip in Old Norse
- Heimskringla in Old Norse
- Heimskringla in English, from wikisource
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