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Harald Fairhair
King of Norway
King Harald, in an illustration from the 14th century Flateyjarbók.

King Harald, in an illustration from the 14th century Flateyjarbók. The Flatey Book, (Flateyjarbók 'Flat-island book' is one of the most important medieval Icelandic Manuscripts It is also known as GkS 1005 fol
Reign 872 – 930
Coronation none
Born c. Events By Place Europe Battle of Hafrsfjord: Harald Fairhair becomes the first king of Norway. Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth 850
Birthplace Eastern Norway
Died 933
Place of death Rogaland, Norway
Buried Karmsund
Predecessor none
Successor Eirik Bloodaxe
Wives Ragnhild Eriksdotter
Åsa Håkonsdotter
Svanhild Øysteinsdotter
various concubines
Issue 21 known sons
3 known daughters
Sons include:
Eirik Bloodaxe
Bjørn Farmann
Olaf Geirstadalf
Haakon the Good
Dynasty Fairhair dynasty
Father Halfdan the Black
Mother Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter

Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair (Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre), (c. Events By Place Asia Emperor Montoku succeeds Emperor Nimmyō as Emperor of Japan. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Events By Place Europe Cotentin and Jersey are seized by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy. is a county in Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Karmsund is a Strait dividing Karmøy and Haugesund municipally in western Norway Eirik Bloodaxe ( Old Norse: Eiríkr blóðøx, Norwegian: Eirik Blodøks) (c Ragnhild Erikdotter ?(d 984 She was the daughter of Eric Bloodaxe and his wife Gunhildr. Eirik Bloodaxe ( Old Norse: Eiríkr blóðøx, Norwegian: Eirik Blodøks) (c Bjørn Farmann ("Bjørn the Tradesman" also called Bjørn Haraldsson, Farmand and Kaupman, c Olaf Haraldsson (d 934 was son of Harald Fairhair of Norway. He was made king of Vingulmark by his father and then later inherited Vestfold Haakon I ( Old Norse: Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, Norwegian: Håkon Adalsteinsfostre) (c StOlav dynasty, Hardrada dynasty, Gille dynasty and Sverre dynasty all redirect here Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c 810 – c 860) ( Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first 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 Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language 850 – c. Events By Place Asia Emperor Montoku succeeds Emperor Nimmyō as Emperor of Japan. 933) was the first king (872 – 930) of Norway. Events By Place Europe Cotentin and Jersey are seized by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy. Events By Place Europe Battle of Hafrsfjord: Harald Fairhair becomes the first king of Norway. Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional

Little is known of the historical Harald. The only contemporary sources mentioning him are the two skaldic poems Haraldskvæði and Glymdrápa, by Þorbjörn Hornklofi. Glymdrápa (" Drápa of din" is a skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn hornklofi toward the end of the 9th century Þorbjörn Hornklofi was a 9th century Norwegian Poet. He was the court poet of King Harald Fairhair. The first poem describes life at Harald's court, mentions that he took a Danish wife, and that he won a victory at Hafrsfjord. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The second relates a series of battles Harald has won. He is not mentioned in any contemporary foreign sources. His life was described in several of the Kings' sagas, but the first of these were not written until the end of the 12th century, over 250 years after his death. 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 Their accounts of Harald and his life differ on several points, and much of the content is clearly mythological. He is credited with having unified Norway into one kingdom. Modern historians assume that his rule was limited to the coastal areas of southern Norway.

The saga descriptions

The sagas tell us that Harald succeeded, on the death of his father Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson in A. Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c 810 – c 860) ( Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first D. 860, to the sovereignty of several small, and somewhat scattered kingdoms in Vestfold, which had come into his father's hands through conquest and inheritance. This article is about the year 860 For the area code see Area code 860. is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.

The unification of Norway is, according to a tale, somewhat of a love story. The tale begins with a marriage proposal that resulted in rejection and scorn from Gyda, the daughter of Eirik king of Hordaland. She said she refused to marry Harald "before he was king over all of Norway". Harald was therefore induced to take a vow not to cut nor comb his hair until he was sole king of Norway, and that ten years later, he was justified in trimming it; whereupon he exchanged the epithet "Shockhead" or "Tanglehair" for the one by which he is usually known. A vow ( Lat votum, vow promise see Vote) is a promise or Oath. Most scholars today regard this story as a literary tale inspired by the Romance stories popular at the courts, by the time Heimskringla was written. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas.

In 866, Harald made the first of a series of conquests over the many petty kingdoms which would compose Norway, including Värmland in Sweden, and modern day south-eastern Norway, which had sworn allegiance to the Swedish king Erik Eymundsson. Events By Place Asia Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes regent of Japan, starting the Fujiwara regentship A petty kingdom is an independent realm recognizing no suzerain and controlling only a portion of the territory held by a particular ethnic group or nation is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. Eric Anundsson / Eymundsson (d 882 was a Swedish king who ruled during the 9th century In 872, after a great victory at Hafrsfjord near Stavanger, Harald found himself king over the whole country. Events By Place Europe Battle of Hafrsfjord: Harald Fairhair becomes the first king of Norway. The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as the battle in which Norway for the first time was unified under one monarch is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. His realm was, however, threatened by dangers from without, as large numbers of his opponents had taken refuge, not only in Iceland, then recently discovered; but also in the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Hebrides Islands, Faroe Islands and the northern European mainland. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of See also Hebrides (disambiguation The Hebrides (ˈhɛbrɨˌdiːz "HEB-ri-deez" Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s or Faeroes (Føroyar meaning " Sheep Islands" Færøerne Old Norse However, his opponents leaving wasn't entirely voluntary. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land. At last, Harald was forced to make an expedition to the West, to clear the islands and the Scottish mainland of some Vikings who tried to hide there. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas

It was long thought that Harald thus caused the Norse settlement of Iceland and beyond. According to this view, Iceland was settled by "malcontents" from Norway, who resented Harald's claim of rights of taxation over lands, which the possessors appear to have previously held in absolute ownership. This view has been largely abandoned by modern historians, as archaeological finds have shown that the settlement of Iceland started before Harald's reign in Norway.

Norwegian petty kingdoms ca. A petty kingdom is an independent realm recognizing no suzerain and controlling only a portion of the territory held by a particular ethnic group or nation 820 AD at the death of Gudrød the Hunter. Gudrød the Hunter ( Old Norse: Guðrǫðr veiðikonungr, Norwegian Gudrød Veidekonge) was a semi-legendary king in south-east Norway, during The most important kingdoms were Vestfold (red), Hålogaland (purple), Alvheim (yellow) and Agder (green). is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg. Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. Southern Norway ( Norwegian: Sørlandet) (lit "southern land" is the name of the geographical region ( landsdel) of the Skagerrak
Petty kingdoms ca. 860 AD at the death of Halfdan the Black. Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c 810 – c 860) ( Old Norse: Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first In red is the kingdom inherited by Harald Fairhair. Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair ( Old Norse: Haraldr hárfagri, Norwegian: Harald Hårfagre) (c
Petty kingdoms ca. 872 AD (the unified kingdom shown in red) before the defining Battle of Hafrsfjord. The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as the battle in which Norway for the first time was unified under one monarch
King Harald I's division of the kingdom ca. 930 AD. The yellow areas are petty kingdoms assigned to Harald's sons and kinsmen, the red area remained Harald's territory as High King, the purple is the domain of the earls of Lade, orange is the domain the earls of Møre. LADE - Líneas Aéreas del Estado is an Airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane.
The division of the kingdom after the Battle of Svolder (1000) between Sweden (yellow), Denmark (red) and the jarl of Lade (purple). The naval Battle of Svolder ( Svold, Swold) was fought in September 999 or 1000 somewhere in the western Baltic between King Olaf Tryggvason "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Jarls of Lade ( Modern Norwegian) or Hlaðir ( Old Norse) were a dynasty of Norwegian rulers influential from the 9th century to Lade ( Norse: Hlaðir) is a location in Trondheim, Norway located north-west of the city centre, north of Lademoen on a
Unified Norway during the reign of Saint Olav ca. 1020 AD. In pale red the Finnmarken ("Marches of the Sami") most of which paid tribute to the kings of Norway. or Finnmárku ( Sami language) is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. Mark from the Old English mearc and march (or various plural forms of these words derived from the Frankish word marka ("boundary" The Sami people are the Indigenous people of northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission
Harald Haarfager later in his life.
Harald Haarfager later in his life.

The latter part of Harald's reign was disturbed by the strife of his many sons. He gave them all the royal title and assigned lands to them, which they were to govern as his representatives; but this arrangement did not put an end to the discord, which continued into the next reign. When he grew old, Harald handed over the supreme power to his favourite son Eirik Bloodaxe, whom he intended to be his successor. Eirik Bloodaxe ( Old Norse: Eiríkr blóðøx, Norwegian: Eirik Blodøks) (c Eirik I ruled side-by-side with his father when Harald was 80 years old. Harald died three years later due to age in approximately 933. Events By Place Europe Cotentin and Jersey are seized by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy. The number of sons he left varies in the different saga accounts, from 11 to 20. Twelve of his sons are named as kings, two of them over the whole country.

Harald's children with Åsa, daughter of Håkon Grjotgardsson, Earl of Lade:

Children with Gyda:

Children with Ragnhild Eiriksdotter of Jutland:

Children with Svanhild, daughter of Eystein Earl:

Children with Åshild, daughter of Ring Dagsson:

Children with Snøfrid, daughter of Svåse the Finn:

Children with Tora Mosterstong, his maid:

Other children:

Harald was the grandfather of Harald II. Harald II Greycloak ( Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, Norwegian: Harald Gråfell, Danish: Harald Gråfeld) (died 976

Notes

  1. This Torgils Haraldsson is identical to "Thorgest" in the Irish history. Turgesius (died 845 (also spelled "Turgeis" was a Viking chief active in Ireland who is said to have conquered Dublin. The history of Ireland begins with the first known settlement in Ireland around 8000 BC when Hunter-gatherers arrived from Great Britain and continental Snorre Sturlason, in his Heimskringla, claims that Torgils was Harald's son. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas. This is now thought to be unlikely.

References

Harald Fairhair
Born: c. StOlav dynasty, Hardrada dynasty, Gille dynasty and Sverre dynasty all redirect here 850 Died: c. Events By Place Asia Emperor Montoku succeeds Emperor Nimmyō as Emperor of Japan. 933
Regnal titles
New title King of Norway
872-930		 Succeeded by
Eric Bloodaxe
Events By Place Europe Cotentin and Jersey are seized by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy. Members of Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish royal families have been Norwegian monarchs. Events By Place Europe Battle of Hafrsfjord: Harald Fairhair becomes the first king of Norway. Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth Eirik Bloodaxe ( Old Norse: Eiríkr blóðøx, Norwegian: Eirik Blodøks) (c
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