Harald Hardrada

Harald Hardrada

Harald Sigurdsson (Old Norse: Haraldr Sigurðarson; c. 1015 – 25 September 1066), in the sagas given the epithet Hardrada (harðráði, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") was the King of Norway from 1046 to 1066 as Harald III. He also unsuccessfully claimed the Danish throne until 1064, and the English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald spent a period in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus' and in the Byzantine Empire.

When he was fifteen years old, in 1030, Harald fought in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson. Olaf sought to reclaim the Norwegian throne, which he had lost to the Danish king Cnut the Great two years prior. In the battle, Olaf and Harald were defeated by forces loyal to Cnut, and Harald was forced in exile to Kievan Rus' (Garðaríki). There, he spent some time in the army of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, eventually obtaining rank as a captain, until moving on to Constantinople around 1034. In Constantinople, he quickly rose to become the commander of the Byzantine Varangian Guard, and saw action on the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia Minor, Sicily, possibly in the Holy Land, Bulgaria and in Constantinople itself, where he became involved in the imperial dynastic disputes.

During his time in Constantinople, Harald amassed considerable wealth, which he shipped to Kievan Rus' for safekeeping. He finally left the Byzantines in 1042, and arrived back in Kievan Rus' to prepare his campaign of reclaiming the Norwegian throne. Possibly to Harald's knowledge, the Norwegian throne in his absence had been restored from the Danes to Olaf's illegitimate son Magnus the Good. In 1046, he joined forces with Magnus's rival in Denmark (Magnus had also become king of Denmark), the pretender Sweyn Estridsson, and started raiding the Danish coast. Magnus, unwilling to fight his own uncle, agreed to share the kingship with Harald, if Harald in turn would share his wealth with him. As Magnus died the next year, the co-rule ended abruptly, and Harald became the sole ruler of Norway.

Domestically, Harald crushed all local and regional opposition, and outlined the territorial unification of Norway under a national governance. Despite his absolutist rule, Harald's reign was probably one of relative peace and stability, and he instituted a viable coin economy and foreign trade. Probably seeking to restore Cnut's "North Sea Empire", Harald also claimed the Danish throne, and spent nearly every year until 1064 raiding the Danish coast and fighting his former ally, Sweyn. Although the campaigns were successful, he was never able to conquer Denmark. Not long after renouncing his Danish claim, Tostig Godwinson, brother of the new English king Harold Godwinson, pledged his allegiance to Harald and invited him to claim the English throne. Harald eventually entered Northern England in September 1066, raided the coast and defeated English regional forces in the Battle of Fulford near York. His campaign finally came to its end when he was attacked by Harold Godwinson's forces in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, in which Harald was killed and defeated.

Harald's death at Stamford Bridge, which brought an end to his invasion, is often considered by modern historians as the end of the Viking Age. Harald is also commonly held to have been the last great Viking king, or even the last great Viking.