Harald Fairhair: Difference between revisions

{{short description|LegendaryThe first King of Norway}}

| succession = [[King of Norway]]

| image = Flateyjarbok Haraldr Halfdan.jpg

| caption = Harald Fairhair (left) in an illustration from the fourteenth-century ''[[Flateyjarbók]]''.

| reign = putatively 872–930

| successor = [[Eric Bloodaxe]]

| issue =[[Eric Bloodaxe]]<br />[[Haakon the Good]]{{plainlist|

| place of burial = [[Haraldshaugen]] in [[Haugesund]]

| religion = [[Old Norse religion|Norse Paganismpaganism]]

'''Harald Fairhair'''{{efn|{{lang-non|Haraldr hinn hárfagri}} {{IPA-non|ˈhɑrˌɑldr hinː ˈhɑːrˌfɑɣre|}}<br>{{lang-no|Harald hårfagre}}<br>[[Modern Icelandic]]: {{lang|is|Haraldur hárfagri}} {{IPA-is|ˈhaːrˌaltʏr ˈhaurˌfaɣrɪ|}}}} ([[Old Norse]]: ''Haraldr Hárfagri'') ({{circa|850}} – {{circa|932}}) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in [[Norway]] and [[Iceland]] in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from {{circa}}&nbsp;872 to 930 and was the first [[Monarchy of Norway|King of Norway]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fgk28|title=Early state formation in Scandinavia|date=2009|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|isbn=978-3-7001-6604-7|volume=16|pages=148|jstor=j.ctt3fgk28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lincoln|first=Bruce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yuOBAAAQBAJ|title=Between History and Myth: Stories of Harald Fairhair and the Founding of the State|date=2014|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-14092-6|language=en}}</ref> Supposedly, two of his sons, [[Eric Bloodaxe]] and [[Haakon the Good]], succeeded Harald to become kings after his death.

One possibility advanced is that Harald Fairhair was based on a historical king called Harald, perhaps also known as "hárfagri", who ruled [[Western Norway|Vestlandet]]. The legend of this Harald later grew into the figure of medieval tradition. Historians who accept the early dating of skaldic poetry such as [[Claus Krag]] and [[Hans Jacob Orning]] tend to accept Harald's existence, while remaining skeptical regarding the saga accounts. In 2015, Hans Jacob Orning, building on then-recent archaeology and Krag's work, argued that Harald was based in [[Sogn]], an area which the medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson associated with Harald, and which was a centre of power in the ninth century. In the skaldic poetry (which is generally considered authentic ninth-century work by linguists) the estates mentioned match a convenient network of estates with about a day's traveling distance between them, which would be ideal for a king ruling in Vestlandet, but not all of Norway. This reading could be consistent with the ''Historia Norwegiæ''<nowiki/>'s account. While it is possible that Harald could have controlled other areas through jarls and client kings, this is difficult to prove with available archeology.<ref>{{cite web|last=Orning|first=Hans Jacob|date=November 25, 2015|title=Harald Hårfagre – en vestlandskonge|url=https://www.norgeshistorie.no/vikingtid/0815-harald-harfagre-en-vestlandskonge.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 28, 2021|work=Norges Historie}}</ref> Krag has noted that Snorri's account of Harald's origin in Vestfold might have been propaganda as the area of [[Viken, Scandinavia|Viken]] was disputed between the Norwegian and Danish crown in the thirteenth century. Krag points of that Othere describes Viken as Danish territory and [[Hrafnsmál]]'s description of the battle of Hafrsfjord suggest that Harald was attacked by "eastern" enemies that were routed and fled back east. He proposes that the battle was not part of a war of conquest but Harald defending his own territory from invaders.<ref>{{cite web|last=Orning|first=Hans Jacob|url=https://www.norgeshistorie.no/vikingtid/0822-harald-harfagre-fra-vestfold.html|title=Harald Hårfagre fra Vestfold?|date=November 25, 2015|access-date=February 28, 2021|work=Norges Historie|url-status=live}}</ref> This idea offers a very different reading of the poem where its references to the ''dróttin Norðmanna'' (''lord of the northmen'') might have originally meant referred to the leader of the Norwegians in the battle, but later recontextualised as the lord of all Norwegians.

''[[Hrafnsmál]]'', also known as ''Haraldskvæði'', is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century skald [[Þorbjörn Hornklofi]]. There does not exist a complete copy of the poem, and modern editions of the poem isare based on the compilation of the segments. Through dating of the parts as well as the meter is consistent, they may be separate compositions but scholarly consensus is indecisive. Part of the poem is cited by Snorri in Heimskringla as a source for his narrative of the [[Battle of Hafrsfjord]], while another is cited in Fagrskinna as information about Harald. Both credits Hornklofi as the composer.

The ''Skarðsárbók''-version of ''[[Landnámabók]]'' includes a brief narrative of Harald and his background. Harald is here described as the great-grandson of [[Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye]] through his daughter Áslaug, her son Sigurd Hart and his daughter Ragnhild. The text describes [[Halfdan the Black]]'s death by going through the ice on [[Randsfjorden]], a story also told by Snorri in Heimskringla, and that Harald became king afterwards. He is said to have taken control of [[Sogn]] from Atli jarl due to him never paying taxes. This happened before Harald's conquest of Norway.

''[[Fagrskinna]]'' is thought to have been written around 1220 and is a catalogue of the kings of Norway. The first part describes Harald Fairhair's birth ancestry in form of his paternal grandfather [[Gudrød the Hunter]] and maternal grandfather [[Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye]], and his parents Halfdan the Black and Ragnhildr. The text also describes Halfdan having another son called Harald by another woman named Ragnhildr, daughter of the king Harald Goldbeard of [[Sogn]]. Halfdan's first Harald inherited Sogn after the death of Harald Goldbeard, and then died himself. Halfdan then inherited Sogn from his first son. The story is repeated by Snorri in ''Heimskringla'' and suggests two conflicting stories of Harald's ancestry being combined into one. Harald Fairhair is said to have inherited Halfdan's lands at a young age after the king drowned in the lake Rǫnd in Rykinsvik. The text then sites the poem ''Hrafnsmál'' at length as an example of Harald's nobility and prowess in battle. Harald appointed [[Atli the Slender]] as jarl of [[Fjaler]], but that the two fell out. In this time Harald meet jarl [[Håkon Grjotgardsson]] (called ''Hákon the Old'' in the text) at a feast in Hladir (''Lade'') in [[Trondheim]] and gave him part of Atli's fief. Atli defended his old area with violence and both of the jarl'sjarls were killed. Harald proclaimed he would not cut his hair until having become overlord of Norway and earning tribute from every inland valley and outlying headland, earning him the nickname "''Lufa''", ''shockhead''. Harald said to have fought many battles, including a decisive battle in Hafrfjord against [[Kjotve the Rich]] and Haklang. After this battle, all of Norway is said to paid tribute to Harald. Ragnvald jarl then cut Harald's hair and gave him the nickname ''Fairhair''.

In the ''[[Saga of Harald Fairhair]]'' in ''[[Heimskringla]]'' (written around 1230), which is the most elaborate although not the oldest or most reliable source to the life of Harald, it is written that Harald succeeded, on the death of his father [[Halfdan the Black|Halfdan the Black Gudrödarson]] in [[Rondvatnet]], to the sovereignty of several small, and somewhat scattered kingdoms in [[Vestfold]], which had come into his father's hands through conquest and inheritance.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} His protector-regent was his mother's brother [[duke Guthorm]]. He is described as the descendant of the [[Yngling]]-dynasty, whose history is described earlier in the work.

The 13th century ''[[Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok|Ragnars saga loðbrókar ok sona hans]]'' (''Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons'') mentions Harald Fairhair in chapter 18 as the great -great -grandson of Sigurd Hart through his daughter Aslaug, her son [[Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye]] and his daughter Ragnhild.

Harald's maternal ancestry is elaborated upon in the final chapter of the 14th century ''[[Ragnarssona þáttr]]''. Harald's mother is said to have been [[Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter]], who according to the saga was the great -granddaughter of Sigurd through her mother Inibjorg and he grandmother Aslaug. This story is the same as in Snorri's earlier ''Hálfdanar saga svarta'' in ''Heimskringla'', but contradicts ''Fagrskinna''. Both ''Hálfdanar saga svarta'' and ''Ragnarssona þáttr'' have issues with the traditional dating of the saga events. The marriage of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Blaeja could not have occurred earlier than 867, which would put the dating Harald's ascension to kingship of Norway in 872 into question. ''Fagrskinna'' makes no mention of Blaeja and states that Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye's daughter and not his great -granddaughter, which seems more plausible in regards to the dating of events.

The fourteenth-century ''[[Flateyjarbók]]'' features a [[Þáttr]] called ''Haralds þáttr hárfagra'', literary "Harald Fairhair's Þáttr". The first chapter describes Harald's ascension to the throne at the age of sixteen, in contrast to other accounts which gives the age of ten. He is here given the otherwise unknown nickname "''Dofrafostri''" (''[[Dovre]]-fostered''). Harald's maternal uncle Guthormr is described as his duke and most important ally. Harald's war with [[Gandalf Alfgeirsson]] and his neighboring kings is described as in ''Heimskringla'', through in less detail. Following this Harald's marriage to Gyda is described and his conquest of Norway. Unlike ''Heimskringla'', ''Flateyjarbók'' clearly states that the two were married. Harald's further marriages are described as is his rejections of them and his various concubines in favor of Ragnhild the Mighty. The Þáttr concludes with a description of the fates of Harald's various sons, including Thorgils' and Frodi's career as "west-vikings".

* [[Álof árbót Haraldsdóttir|Ålov Årbot Haraldsdotter]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ålov Årbot (Haraldsdotter) (Ólöf árbót) |url=http://lind.no/nor/index.asp?lang=gb&emne=nor&person=%C5lov%20%C5rbot%20(Haraldsdotter) |access-date=May 25, 2016 |publisher=Det Norske Samlaget}}</ref> (Rogaland, 875 - Giske, Møre og Romsdal, 935), married [[Thorir Rögnvaldarson|Þórir Teiande]], "Thore/Tore den Tause" ("the Silent") Ragnvaldsson (c. 862 - Giske, Møre og Romsdal, a. 935), Jarl av Møre, and had issue

* Gudrød[[Gudröd Ljomethe Radiant|Gudröd the Radiant Haraldsson]]