Erik I. (Norway)

Erik got the nickname "Blood Ax", illustration of the Eriksson saga by Gerhard Munthe (1899)

Erik I. , called "blood ax" ( Old Norse Eiríkr blóðøx ; Norwegian Eirik I. Blodøks Haraldsson ; * around 885 , † 954 ), was the second king of Norway (933-935) and the eldest son of Harald I. Fairhair and the last Viking King of York (Jórvík).

Erik's coin with the inscription "Rex" from England

Gunnhild learns of Erik's death, illustration for the saga of Håkon the Good after Christian Krohg (1899)

His father had made him the sole heir and successor, contrary to the law of inheritance valid at the time, which provided for an equal distribution of the legacy among the heirs. The reason for this award is given that his mother, Ragnhild the Mighty of Jutland , also came from a royal family. His primacy over the other brothers was underlined by his marriage to Gunnhild , the daughter of the Danish King Gorm the Old, who hoped to stabilize the Danish royal power with this marriage. Her brother was the future King Harald Blauzahn , who also became King of Norway. From this marriage came the sons Gamle Eriksson, Guttorm, Harald Graufell, Ragnfred, Erling, Gudrød and Sigurd Sleva. The sons did not respect this decision of the father, and so there was already a fight between them during Harald's lifetime.

After taking power, Erik allegedly began executing his 18 brothers, except for his successor Haakon I , who lived in England. However, he almost certainly did not have 18 brothers, as is explained in more detail in the article about Harald I (fair hair).

All sagas only report that Erik König was in Vestland - and only there. However, he failed so much that in 935 - after two years - he had to leave the country. Håkon then returned from England. Some sagas claim that far-sighted men brought Håkon when they became dissatisfied with Erik, other sagas let Håkon return of his own accord to take over the king.

It is not known where Erik turned when he left Norway, possibly he moved to England. However, there are reports that from 937 he used the Orkneys as a base for raids. In between he tried in vain to regain his reign in Trøndelag . At the end of his life he is reported as king in Jórvík ( York ).

Erik's reign in Jórvík met fierce opposition and he died in 954 in the Battle of Stainmore, Westmorland, England, against his rival King Magnus, son of King Olaf Cuaran of Dublin.

literature

• Ólafia Einarsdóttir: Dateringen af ​​Harald hårfagers død. In: (Norsk) Historisk Tidskrift , Vol. 47, 1968, pp. 15-34.
• Finnur Jónsson (ed.): Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Save tekst. Vol. 1, Gyldendal, København 1912 f.
• Halvdan Koht: Biography. In: Norsk biografisk leksikon . First Edition (NBL1), Vol. 3, 1926.
• Halvdan Koht: Når levde Harald Hårfagre og sønene hans? In: Historisk tidsskrift (HT), Vol. 27, 1927, pp. 146-169.
• P. Sawyer: The Last Scandinavian Kings of York. In: Northern History. Volume 31, 1995, pp. 39-44.
• K. von See: Two Eddish prize songs: Eiríksmál and Hákonarmál. In: ders .: Edda, Saga, Skaldendichtung. Essays on Scandinavian literature in the Middle Ages. Heidelberg 1981, pp. 318-328.
• EM Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford 1975.
• D. Whitelock (red.): English Historical Documents. Volume 1, London 1979.

Web links

• Claus Krag: Eirik 1 Haraldsson Blodøks , article from the Norsk biografisk leksikon , second edition (Norwegian)

predecessor	Office	successor
Harald I.	King of Norway 933–935	Haakon I.

predecessor	Office	successor
Eadred	King of Jórvík 948–949	Olaf II.

predecessor	Office	successor
Olaf II.	King of Jórvík 952–954	-