Harald III. (Norway)

Harald III, King of Norway (historicizing representation in St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall )

Harald III. Hardrade ( dt . Harald III of Harte. , Old Norse Haraldr Sigurðarson harðráði * 1015 in Norway ; † 25. September 1066 at Stamford Bridge , England) was 1047-1066 King of Norway .

Early years and Byzantium

Born Harald Sigurdsson, he was the son of Sigurd Syr , an under -king of Ringerike , Hordafylke and Romerike , and of Åsta Gudbrandsdotter, mother of King Olav II the Holy , and thus his half-brother. In 1030, at the age of 15, he had to flee Norway after participating in the Battle of Stiklestad , in which Olav II was killed. This information is the only one that suggests Harald's year of birth, as there are no other entries in this regard. Harald first went to Novgorod in the service of Yaroslav I , then he first served the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV , the Emperor Michael V , then the Empress Zoe and finally the Emperor Constantine IX. in the Varangian Guard . An 11th-century Byzantine text published in Moscow in 1881 by a Russian historian describes its meaning in Byzantium as follows:

“Araltes was a son of the king in Varagia and had a brother Júlavos (= Olav), who inherited his father's kingdom after the death of his father. ... But when Emperor Mikhael and the subsequent Emperor, his nephew, both died, Araltes wanted to move home to his country during the reign of Emperor Monokahos. He was not allowed to do this, however, and attempts were made to prevent his journey. Nevertheless, he was able to travel secretly and became king in his country in place of his brother Júlavos. He was very happy that he had been appointed Manglabites and Spatharokandidatos , and even as king he maintained loyal and friendly relations with the Romans (= Byzantines). "

Manglabites was a senior member of the imperial bodyguard. He received the title for his successful campaign to Sicily. Spatharocandidatos was the title of officer in the imperial bodyguard. He received this title after he had put down the Bulgarian uprising (1040-1041) under Peter Deljan .

King of Norway

In 1042 he left Constantinople, married Elizabeth of Kiev , daughter of Grand Duke Yaroslav I of Kiev , and returned to Norway to assert his claim to the throne. He initially allied himself with Sven Estridsson of Denmark, but fell out with him when his nephew Magnus I offered to share the rule with him. After the death of Magnus I, Harald was sole ruler of Norway. In the following years he led constant wars and raids to Denmark against Sven. The looting trains were necessary to maintain his army. In 1064 there was a contract with Sven. The peace treaty only referred to the fact that the two of them did not plunder each other during their lifetime.

Harald also got into a conflict with the church. In 1040, Magnus, in agreement with Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen, brought Bishop Bernhard the Sakslandske (= the German) with him. Soon after Harald Hardråde took over the government, he fled to Iceland , where he stayed until Harald's death. According to the historian Adam von Bremen, the conflict had two reasons: On the one hand, Harald installed bishops in Norway who were not consecrated at all . In this conflict, Adalbert received the full support of the Pope, who also wrote a corresponding warning letter to Harald. The other argument was about money: the bishop accused Harald of having appropriated church property. Harald is said to have taken the offerings to Olav the saint to pay for his troops. Harald apparently considered himself the owner of Olav's Church in Nidaros , the construction of which Magnus had started and which he had completed. Harald moved along the traditional lines of the generally recognized church system .

He also waged constant wars at home. At first it went against the districts of the inner east, against the part of the country from which Harald himself came. The uprising of the Opplands was apparently due to the fact that Olav Haraldsson had granted them special privileges during his reign with regard to services to the king and internal self-government, but Harald wanted to remove these privileges again. He also proceeded with fire and sword against the people of Hedemark, Ringerike and Romerike and apparently confiscated large goods in the Ostland.

Battle for England

Harald is fatally hit by an arrow in the battle

With the death of Edward the Confessor , turmoil broke out around the English throne in 1066, as the succession was unclear. The English Earl Harold Godwinsson was crowned king the day after Edward's death. But Duke Wilhelm of Normandy and Harald Hardråde also claimed the crown. Harald Hardråde derived this from the succession of Knut the Great as ruler of the North Sea region . He allied himself with Earl Toste Godwinsson , brother of the English king. He wanted to regain Northumbria , which he had lost after an uprising of his subjects in 1065, whereupon he was forced to go into exile.

Harald Hardråde first sailed with a large army to the Orkneys and probably went ashore in England before mid-September 1066. On September 20, a battle against the troops defending the north of England broke out near Fulford , which Harald won by superiority. Preparing for the submission of York , whose inhabitants had promised the position of hostages, the Norwegian king apparently underestimated the speed of his opponent Harold Godwinson completely. The latter surprisingly arrived on September 25, 1066 at Stamford Bridge, near York, where King Harald and Earl Toste were staying with the greater part of the Norwegian army. The battle broke out in which Harald Hardråde, Toste and most of the Norwegian fighters were killed. The meager rest of the Norwegian army, including Harald Hardråde's son Olav , was allowed to leave unmolested. In the meantime, William of Normandy had landed unhindered in the south of England. Harold's army, which had returned in an express march to the south, was defeated on October 14, 1066 in the battle of Hastings , in which he was also killed. William became the new King of England, which also loosened its ties to Scandinavia and henceforth bound it to France.

Effect on posterity

Harald III. is considered the founder of Oslo . At that time the sea level was 4–5 m higher than it is today, and the mouth of the Alna river formed a wide bay in which ships could easily sail. In fact, archaeological investigations revealed an accumulation of construction work from the 11th century. However, it was also found out that people had settled there before Harald and that there was even a church. It is believed that already Harald Blåtand recognized the strategic importance for the control of the fjord and the east country and established a military base there.

Harald III. was the first Norwegian king to have coins minted on a large scale. He was a good poet with irony and a dash of humor in his poems. He is described as reckless and in breach of contract.

Marriage and offspring

Harald was married twice.

1. ⚭ 1044 Elizabeth of Kiev , daughter of Grand Duke Yaroslav I of Kiev . With her he had the daughter

• Ingegerd , 1. ⚭ Olaf I. Hunger , King of Denmark; 2. ⚭ Philipp Halstensson , King of Sweden

2. ⚭ Thora, daughter of Thorberg zu Giske. With her he had sons

• Magnus II. (1048-1069), regent and fellow-king (1066-1069)
• Olaf III. of silence (1050-1093)

Family connections

Misico v. Poland, Duke

Erik Segersäll

Gunnhild

Sven Gabelbart

Olof Skötkonung

Knut

Estrid

Ulf Jarl

Ingegerd

Yaroslav the Wise

Astrid Olavsdatter

Olav d. Saints

An and Jakob

Sven Estridsson

Gunnhild

Elizabeth of Kiev

Harald Hardråde

Olav Kyrre

Ingerid

Olav hungry

Ingegerd

Filipp Halsteinsson

After Halfdan Koht: Norske Dronninger . Oslo 1926. Bold type: Kings

swell

• Þorstein's þáttr sögufróða , old Icelandic story, part of the royal saga about Harald III.
• Kekänkeos: Vademecum of the Byzantine Aristocrats. The so-called Strategicon of the Kekänkeos. Translated, introduced and explained by Hans-Georg Beck . Styria. Graz et al. 1956 ( Byzantine Historians 5, ZDB -ID 532553-5 ).

literature

• Arnvid Lillehammer (Ed.): Aschehougs Norgeshistorie. Volume 2: Claus Crag: Vikingtid og Rikssamling 800 - 1130. Aschehoug, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-03-22015-0 .
• Charles Jones: The forgotten Battle of 1066, Fulford. Tempus, Stroud 2007, ISBN 978-0-7524-4326-3 .
• Jörg Peltzer : 1066. The fight for England's crown. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-69750-0 .
• Karsten Kjer Michaelsen: Politics bog om Danmarks oldtid . Copenhagen 2002 ISBN 87-567-6458-8 pp. 69, 130

Footnotes

1. ↑ Claus Krag in: Aschehougs Norges historie Vol. 2 p. 173.

predecessor	Office	successor
Magnus I.	King of Norway 1047-1066	Magnus II. Olav III.

Web links

Commons : Harald III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files