HARALD III HARDRATH THE SEVERE
King of Norway since 1046. The last semi-legendary Viking hero.
During his lifetime, the Norwegian king (king) Harald Hardrath received the nickname Sigurdarzon, which translated means “Severe Ruler.” His other no less appropriate nickname is Grozny. He became the true last hero of the dying Viking Age. After him, large-scale predatory campaigns practically ceased: the sea robbers of Scandinavia somehow unanimously turned into merchant seafarers.
Coming from a family of royal blood, he saw his bright future in the military field. He was tormented by an insatiable thirst for military booty, glory and power. As a 15-year-old warrior, he took part in the Battle of Stiklstad (Stiklastadir), fighting on the side of his exiled brother Olaf the Saint, who was trying to regain his father's throne. Olaf was killed, and one of the Vikings hid the wounded Harald in the hut of a bonda (peasant) and thereby saved his life.
The young Viking, who had healed his wounds, had to flee his fatherland. In 1031, as part of the Varangian squad, he entered the service of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise. That same year he took part in a campaign against the Polish king. Harald soon had to leave Rus' for two reasons. Firstly, there were strict rules of behavior for warriors. Secondly, the young Viking fell in love with the prince’s daughter Elizabeth, but an ordinary mercenary had no rights to her hand.
Harald moved to Constantinople, where he joined the ranks of the imperial Varangian Guard, the most privileged part of the Byzantine army. Thanks to his fighting qualities, he soon becomes the commander of a squad of 500 warriors. He fought at the behest of the emperor in Bulgaria, Asia Minor, Palestine, Sicily, the Caucasus and the islands of the Aegean Sea, and participated in the suppression of frequent rebellions in the provinces and riots of the capital's mob.
Soon he received the nickname Terrible from the Byzantines. But on his battle banner he wrote another word: “Devastator.”
In one of the Byzantine chronicles, in the “Instructions to the Emperor,” his exploits were described as follows:
"The emperor... ordered him and his soldiers to go to Sicily, because a war was starting there. Aralt (Harald - A.Sh.) fulfilled the order and fought very successfully. When Sicily submitted, he returned with his detachment to the emperor, and he granted his title is "belt wearer".
Then it happened that Delius rebelled in Bulgaria. Aralt set out with a detachment on a campaign, under the command of the emperor, and fought very successfully, as befits such a valiant and high-born husband...
The Emperor, as a reward for his service, awarded Aralt the title of commander of the army."
The monarch, covered in military glory, about whom sagas were written, immediately showed himself to be a stern ruler. He put an end to the liberties of the feudal lords and suppressed the uprisings of the bondsmen who did not want to pay him taxes.
Then Harald III began wars of conquest, going on a campaign against Denmark, which at that time was ruled by King Sven II Estridsen. In that fleeting war, the parties relied more on the fleet with a strong landing force than on the ground forces. In 1050, the Norwegians captured and burned the main trading city of Denmark - Hedeby.
On August 9, 1062, a large naval battle took place near the mouth of the Nissa River. The Norwegian sailors surpassed their enemy, as they say, in all respects: the Danish fleet was destroyed almost entirely. The ships were either sunk or boarded and became trophies. King Sven had to flee to the island of Zealand. In that naval battle he lost many of his foot soldiers, who were part of the ship's crews.
The Norwegian king did not take advantage of the right of the winner and did not declare himself the ruler of Denmark. He soon made peace with the fugitive and made peace with him on terms favorable to himself.
After the victory over Denmark, the "last Viking", aka son-in-law Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise, decided to make a campaign of conquest against England. He was prompted to do this by the brother of the English king Harold, Tostig. However, all their plans collapsed: at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Norwegians suffered complete defeat. Harald Hardrath himself fell on the battlefield, fighting in the front ranks like a simple warrior.
His son-heir, Olaf III Haraldson, nicknamed the Quiet, who succeeded him on the throne of Norway, did not wage a single war during the 27 years of his reign, remembering the sad fate of his father. Under him the country began to prosper.
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Harald III the Severe(Harald Sigurdarson (Old Scand. Haraldr Sigurarson), Harald the Severe Ruler, Harald the Terrible, Harald Hardrde (Norwegian Harald Hardrde); c. 1015 - September 25, 1066) - king of Norway (1046-1066). Killed in battle while trying to conquer the English throne. With the death of Harald, the three-century period of armed expansion of the Scandinavian rulers - the Viking Age - ended.
Biography
Youth
Harald, the son of King Sigurd the Pig of Eastern Norway from the Horfager family and Asta Gudbrandsdottir, was the younger half-brother of King Olaf II of Norway. His father took an active part in Olaf's accession to the throne. Already as a child, Harald was distinguished by his warlike disposition. In 1030, when Harald was 15 years old, King Olaf II died defending the throne from Canute the Great. Harald took part in the Battle of Stiklastadir and was wounded, after which he went into hiding and was treated, and then left Norway, moving to Sweden. Next, he formed a military detachment from those who, like him, were forced to leave the country as a result of the death of Olaf II, and in 1031, together with the detachment, arrived in Kyiv, where he entered the service of Yaroslav the Wise.
Rus' and Byzantium
- In 1031-1034, Harald, together with Eiliw Regnvaldson, the son of the jarl (mayor) of Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga) Regnvald Ulvson, took part in Yaroslav's campaign against the Poles and, according to the Scandinavian sagas, was a co-leader of the army.
- In 1034, Harald and his retinue (about 500 people) entered the service of the Byzantine emperor. Harald's squad became part of an elite mercenary force known as the Varangian Guard. Harald quickly proved himself in battle and won the respect of the guards.
- In 1034-1036, Harald took part in campaigns against pirates in Asia Minor and Syria.
- In 1036-1040, Harald's detachment was part of the Byzantine army of George Maniac in the Sicilian campaign. It is believed that he captured one of the Sicilian cities using the same trick that Princess Olga used in the Drevlyan Iskorosten in 946: “he ordered his bird catchers to catch the birds that build nests in the city and fly into the forest during the day in search of food. Harald ordered pine shavings, smeared with wax and sulfur, to be tied to the birds’ backs and set on fire.”
- In 1041, as part of the Varangian Guard, he took part in the suppression of the Bulgarian uprising of Peter II Delyan. According to the Scandinavian sagas and the Bulgarian chronicle, Harald personally killed the Bulgarian king in battle. After these events, he became commander of the entire guard.
- In 1042, Harald and his Varangians took an active part in palace coup, as a result of which Emperor Michael V Calafate was overthrown and blinded. Then, as a result of intrigue, Harald falls into disgrace. Fleeing from the trial, Harald and his Varangians were forced to flee from Constantinople and took refuge in Kyiv. In the saga of Harald the Severe (XV-XVI verses), after Byzantium Harald returned not to Kiev, but to Holmgrad (this is either Novgorod or a Varangian city between the cities of Ladoga and Kholopy city on the Volkhov River) and he sent the spoils from his Mediterranean campaigns there . It is quite strange that Harald does not mention Kyiv at all, where his beloved Elisif (Elizabeth), daughter of King Yaritsleiv (Yaroslav) in Holmgard, should be located.
During his service in Byzantium, Harald mined a huge amount of gold and precious stones, over the course of these years he sent part of this loot for storage to Yaroslav the Wise.
- In 1043, Yaroslav, “for the murder of one famous Russian in Constantinople” (in Constantinople), sent his son, the Novgorod prince Vladimir, together with Harald on a campaign against Emperor Constantine Monomakh. The campaign ended with peace concluded in 1046.
- In the winter of 1043/1044, Harald became Yaroslav's son-in-law, marrying Elizaveta Yaroslavna (Ellisif in the sagas), with whom he had two daughters - Maria and Ingigerd. Although Harald was a Christian, in 1048 he took Thora, the daughter of Earl Thorberg Arnason, as a concubine, who bore him the future kings Magnus II and Olaf III the Quiet.
Youth
What young Harald, the son of Sigurd the Pig, did until he was 15 years old, when he took the side of his brother Olaf the Saint at the Battle of Stiklastadir, we do not know. In 1030, when the forces of Olav’s supporters were defeated, Harald fled from the battlefield, first to Sweden, and then completely across the sea - to Gardariki, i.e. to Rus'. He spent three winters visiting “King Yaritsleiv”. Yaroslav took the young warrior into service and instructed him to guard the northern borders of Rus' from the Vikings - Harald's fellow tribesmen, who at that time had been terrorizing all of Europe from Ireland to Karelia and from Normandy to Sicily for three hundred years. Information has reached us that in addition to guarding the borders, the future king and his retinue helped Yaroslav in his campaigns against the Poles.
Meeting Elissiv and leaving for Byzantium
During his first visit to Rus' (1031−34), Harald met Elissiv, the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Elizabeth. The warrior was struck by the beauty of the young princess and asked Yaroslav for his daughter’s hand in marriage, emphasizing his noble origin and impeccable behavior. However, Yaroslav asked the ardent lover to wait: although the prince himself was not against their union, he was afraid of the reaction of his entourage if he married his daughter to a poor exile who did not have a throne. The prince suggested waiting until Harald proved himself on the battlefield and gained fame and honor. Soon after this, the Scandinavian guest leaves Rus' and goes to Constantinople. They parted with Yaroslav, as the chronicler writes, “best friends.”
Varangi in the service of the emperor
At the height of 1034, Harald's longships landed in Constantinople, where he was warmly received by the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV and his wife Zoe. Harald hid his origin and hired himself as a squad leader. The Scandinavian guest brought with him a detachment of 500 “brave warriors” and was accepted by the emperor into service, to which he devoted 10 long years. Harald was probably the commander of a special detachment in " foreign legion» Byzantines. In the same 1034, Harald already participated in the Byzantine campaign to clear the Aegean Sea of pirates who had filled the seas of the empire after the invasions of the Arabs and Normans. A few years later he arrived in Sicily, where, as part of the Byzantine army, he was forced to fight the Normans - his relatives from the distant shores of Scandinavia. The Greeks won several high-profile victories and, as chroniclers report, largely thanks to Harald and his warriors.
The brother of Harald the Severe was Olav the Saint - the Baptist of Norway
Harald managed to take part in the war with the Bulgarians and even, according to the chronicles, visited the Holy Land either on a pilgrimage or guarding Christian pilgrims. But after another palace coup, the Varangian, who had matured and enriched himself in campaigns, fell into disgrace, was forced to flee from Byzantium and returned to Rus'.
Varangian guard of the Byzantine emperors "varanga". Image from an 11th century chronicle
Return to Rus'
In Rus', Harald was expected not only by his longtime friend Yaroslav, but also by the enormous wealth of Harald himself, which he sent to Kyiv for safekeeping to the prince, since Harald himself could neither send the wealth home nor keep it with him in Byzantium. Around 1042, Harald and his army returned to Rus', where Yaroslav returned the treasures due to him. The chronicler says this about the size of Harald's fortune: “it was such great wealth that not a single person in the northern countries saw anything like it in the possession of one person.”
Viking poet
In Rus', Harald was probably involved in collecting polyudia, but his main business was marrying the prince’s daughter. It is interesting that, in addition to war and robberies, Harald turned out to be a talented poet and even compiled an entire poetry collection, “Visa of Joy,” the stanzas of which were dedicated to Elizabeth Yaroslavna, which is a completely unique phenomenon for that time.
The end of the Viking Age is associated with the death of Harald
The lyrics of the Norwegian king were popular in Russia back in the 18th century, and dozens of translations and transcriptions of his poems into Russian have reached us, many of which deserve attention as separate literary works(for example, “The Song of Harald and Yaroslavna” by A.K. Tolstoy).
“Muse” Harald Elizaveta Yaroslavna
This is the literary translation of one of the stanzas of “Vis of Joy”:
Trends tripled
In the battlefield,
But we're in the storm of battle
They beat them and chopped them.
Death is a brave lord,
Molod accepted Olav.
I need some thread from Nanna
There is no news from Rus'.
And a literal translation of the same passage:
“The trends turned out to have more troops; we withstood a truly hot battle; When I was young, I parted with the young king who died in battle. However, the girl in Gard does not want to feel inclinations towards me” - here Harald recalls his youth in Norway and the battle of Stiklastadir, where his brother Olav died and talks about the coldness of Princess Elizabeth.
From Greeks to Varangians
Having acquired military glory and rich booty, Harald managed to melt the heart of the proud princess - in the winter of 1043/44 they got married, and in 1044 Harald went to Sweden to compete for the crown of Denmark and Norway. In 1046, he became the king of Norway, but was never able to seize the Danish throne, despite a continuous series of victories; the bonds of Denmark over and over again took the side of the Danish king Sven II.
Harald's poems dedicated to Princess Elizabeth Yaroslavna have reached us.
In 1064, the rivals were reconciled, and Harald renounced his claims to Denmark. In his kingdom, Harald ruled with a firm hand, brutally dealing with all those who were dissatisfied, encouraging trade - in 1048 he founded the small trading settlement of Oslo.
Harald's raid on the Danish coast
March to England and death
After abandoning his claims to Denmark, Harald decided to try his luck in England, laying claim to the English throne. With a large army, he crossed the North Sea and landed in England. Harald's army numbered up to 15 thousand people. At York, the Norwegian forces met the Anglo-Saxons led by King Harold. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold III was killed and his army was routed. Only a tenth of Harold's army returned to their homeland. And just a month after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William the Conqueror defeated Harold at Hastings, and the Viking raids on English lands came to an end.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Such was the end of one of the greatest warriors of his era. A king forced to spend half his life away from home, wandering around other countries. A talented leader and organizer, who also turned out to be an outstanding poet of his time. A man whose life was entirely the fruit of his own labors, who left his descendants a strong state with a strong central government. Harald's death by arrow in the midst of battle marks the decline an entire era- Viking era.
Harald III Sigurdsson, Harald the Severe, Harald the Terrible Norse. Harald Hardråde; 1015-25 September 1066) - king of Norway (1046-1066). Killed in battle while trying to conquer the English throne. With the death of Harald, the three-century period of armed expansion of the Scandinavian rulers - the Viking Age - ended.
Youth
Harald, the son of King Sigurd the Pig and Asta of Eastern Norway, was the younger half-brother of King Olaf II of Norway on his mother's side. His father took an active part in Olaf's accession to the throne. Already as a child, Harald was distinguished by his warlike disposition. In 1030, when he was 15 years old, King Olaf died defending the throne from Canute the Great. Harald took part in the Battle of Stiklastadir and was wounded, after which he left Norway. He formed a military force from those who, like himself, were forced to leave the country as a result of the death of Olaf II. In 1031, Harald and his detachment reached Rus', where he entered the service of Yaroslav the Wise.
Rus' and Byzantium
In 1031-1034, Harald, together with Eiliw Regnvaldson, the son of the jarl (mayor) of Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga) Regnvald Ulvson, takes part in Yaroslav's campaign against the Poles and, according to the Scandinavian sagas, is a co-leader of the army.
In 1034, Harald and his retinue (about 500 people) entered the service of the Byzantine emperor. Harald's squad became part of an elite mercenary force known as the Varangian Guard. Harald quickly proved himself in battle and won the respect of the guards.
In 1034-1036 Harald took part in campaigns against pirates in Asia Minor and Syria.
In 1036-1040, Harald's detachment was part of the Byzantine army of George Maniac in the Sicilian campaign.
In 1041, as part of the Varangian Guard, he took part in the suppression of the Bulgarian uprising of Peter II Delyan. According to the Scandinavian sagas and the Bulgarian chronicle, Harald personally killed the Bulgarian king in battle. After these events, he became commander of the entire guard.
In 1042, Harald and his Varangians took an active part in the palace coup, as a result of which Emperor Michael V Calafate was overthrown and blinded. Then, as a result of intrigue, Harald falls into disgrace.
Fleeing from the trial, Harald and his Varangians were forced to flee from Constantinople and took refuge in Kyiv.
During his service in Byzantium, Harald produced a huge amount of gold and precious stones, and over the years he sent part of this production to Yaroslav the Wise for safekeeping.
In 1043, Yaroslav, “for the murder of one famous Russian in Constantinople” (in Constantinople), sent his son, the Novgorod prince Vladimir, together with Harald, on a campaign against Emperor Constantine Monomakh. The campaign ended with peace concluded in 1046.
In the winter of 1043/1044, Harald became Yaroslav's son-in-law, marrying Elizaveta Yaroslavna (Ellisif in the sagas), from whom he had two daughters - Maria and Ingigerd. Although Harald was a Christian, in 1048 he took Thor, the daughter of Earl Thorberg Arnason, as a concubine, who bore him the future kings Magnus II and Olaf III the Quiet.
Return to Norway
Using funds accumulated in service Byzantine Empire, Harald and his army returned to Sweden in 1045 and immediately became a great threat to the king of Norway and Denmark, Magnus, who was the son of Olaf II the Saint and nephew of Harald. Harald enters into an alliance with Sven II Estridsen, a contender for the Danish throne. Magnus upset this alliance by making Harald his co-ruler in Norway in 1046. However, a year later Magnus died; it is alleged that before his death he himself proclaimed Sven II Estridsen as his heirs in Denmark, and Harald in Norway. Harald, not agreeing with this division, began a war with Sven for the Danish crown. The Danes suffered defeat after defeat, and almost every year Norwegian ships ravaged coastal villages. In 1050, Harald plundered and burned to the ground Hedeby - the main shopping mall Denmark, in 1062, in a major naval battle at the mouth of the Nissan River, Harald defeated Sven's fleet and he miraculously escaped death. However, despite all the victories, Harald fails to conquer Denmark, since the local nobility and ordinary residents (bonds) provided Sven with constant support.
In 1064, Harald renounced his claims to the Danish throne and made peace with Sven. In addition to the long and bloody war with Denmark, Harald in 1063-1065 fought with Sweden, whose king supported the jarls who rebelled against him. At the Battle of Vänern (1063), Harald defeated the combined army of the Swedes and the rebellious Uplanders. Harald brutally suppressed attempts at disobedience within Norway, both by ordinary bondsmen who rebelled against heavy taxes and levies, and by large jarls who were finally subordinated to royal power. Dissenters were either killed or expelled from the country. In an effort to establish centralized royal power, Harald relied on the support of the church. Under him, Christianity was finally established throughout Norway. In addition to waging wars, Harald cared about strengthening trade. It was he who founded the trading settlement of Oslo in 1048, which later became the capital of Norway.
Invasion of England
Harald died on September 25, 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near the city of York, against the army of the King of England, Harold Godwinson. He came to England with a claim to the English throne, which was based on a supposed agreement between Magnus and Hardeknud that if either of them died without an heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway. On the campaign, Harald was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, son Olaf and both daughters. Harald left his eldest son Magnus in Norway, proclaiming him king. Tostig Godwinson, the disgraced brother of Harold II Godwinson, entered into an alliance with Harald and promised to support him. Harald landed in northern England with a force of approximately 15,000 men in 300 ships and, joining forces with Tostig, defeated the first English forces he encountered at the Battle of Fulford, two miles south of York, on 20 September. But 5 days later his army was completely destroyed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, so much so that only 25 of the 300 ships that arrived in England were used to bring survivors back to Norway. The king himself received a mortal wound in this battle: an arrow pierced his throat.
Less than a month later, Harold II Godwinson was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings and also died in action.
Poetry
Harald is credited with the authorship of many vis (poems), including a richly alliterated vis addressed to the “Gerda of coins in Gard” - Elizabeth Yaroslavna. There he glorifies his military exploits and says that they are not expensive, since Yaroslavna “does not want to know him.” This poem was translated and reworked many times by Russian poets (including N. A. Lvov, K. N. Batyushkov, A. K. Tolstoy) in the era of romanticism.
Marriage and children
Wife - Elizaveta Yaroslavna (1025-?) Nothing is known about her fate after the death of Harald.
Son - Magnus Haraldsson (1048-1069) king of Northern Norway in 1066-1069.
Son - Olaf III the Quiet (1050-1093) king of Eastern Norway in 1066-1069, king of Norway 1069-1093.
Daughter - Maria (? -1066) “suddenly died on the very day and at the very hour when her father, King Harald, fell”
Daughter - Ingigerd (? - ?) married the Danish king Olaf I Svenson and became the queen of Denmark.
Harald in contemporary art
He is the main character of Elizaveta Dvoretskaya’s historical story “Harald’s Treasure”
Appears as a negative character in the film "Yaroslav. A Thousand Years Ago." 2010.
Harald III the Severe
Harald III the Severe
Detail of stained glass at Lerwick Town Hall, Shetland Islands
Harald III, king of norway
The Thing is a people's assembly in Scandinavia.
Harald did not agree with his nephew's will. He was going to convene a Thing in Viborg and achieve his proclamation as King of Denmark, but those close to him convinced him that the more important task was to deliver the body to Norway. Harald did so, burying the remains in St. Clement's Church in Trondheim. And then he called the people to the Thing, where he was proclaimed king of Norway. He returned to Denmark, and the Danes proclaimed him king.
Harald was a powerful and firm ruler, strong in mind, so that everyone said that there was no ruler in the Nordic Countries who could equal him in the rationality of his decisions and the wisdom of his advice. He was a great and courageous warrior. The king had great strength and handled weapons more skillfully than any other person. During a bad harvest in Iceland, Harald allowed the export of grain to Iceland on four ships and determined that a ship's pound should not be more expensive than a hundred cubits of homespun cloth. He allowed all poor people who could stock up on food to travel by sea to leave the country. And thus Iceland was able to improve its position.
It is believed that in 1048 Harald founded the city of Oslo, the current capital of Norway, although archaeological research has shown that there was a settlement at the site before the year 1000. Harald lived for a long time in Oslo because it was closer to raiding Denmark from there.
Until his death, Harald did not give up his attempts to subjugate. Almost every year he organized trips to Denmark. Sometimes he won the battles, sometimes Harald was stronger. But they could not destroy each other, nor could they completely defeat the army, because the loser recruited new people each time. The war between Harald lasted 17 years, until finally the kings made peace, and each of them remained with his own.
Meanwhile, in 1066, the king of England, who had peace with him, died, and his brother-in-law became the new king and went with him, as well as his wife and two daughters.
In the autumn of 1066, Harald landed at the mouth of the Humbert with 5 thousand people and on September 20, near Fulford, defeated the Jorvik army. A lot of people really joined Harald, primarily his relatives. Harald then began to prepare for the siege of York and stationed an army at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, he arrived in York with a large army and began preparing for battle. The battle took place on September 25, 1066. Harald died at the very beginning of the battle: an arrow hit him straight in the throat.
But the death of the leader only angered the Norwegians. They were close to victory, but could not put the squeeze on the British, since some of the Vikings had recently disembarked from the ships, and the people did not have time to rest before the battle after the transition. In the evening, the British seized the initiative and put the Norwegians to flight. However, this victory turned out to be pyrrhic. At the same time, he landed in the south of England. was forced, not recovering from the wounds received at Stamford Bridge, with small forces to rush south, where, as you know, at the Battle of Hastings, he was killed.
After the defeat of the Norwegians, who did not take part in the battle (his detachment did not have time to approach the battlefield), he was released home and returned to Norway with 30 ships, while 300 ships sailed to England.
