The first king of Norway, Harald, the fair-haired ruled the country in 872–930. He united under his rule the previously warring Viking groups and organized several sea voyages to the west. The dynasty that began with Harald ruled Norway until 1319 (as well as Denmark in 1042-1047).
Power struggle
Harald the Fair-haired was born in 850 in the family of Halvdan the Black - king of Westfold. Father died when the boy was ten years old. While Harald was growing up, Uncle Guthorm ruled his army and government affairs. Numerous kungs began to encroach on Halvdan's possessions, but all of them were defeated in turn.
Having reached maturity, Harald the Fair-haired set a goal to unite all the lands of his compatriots. He inherited modern southeastern Norway from his father, but he wanted more. In 872, Harald went to war on the kungs who refused to recognize the supreme power of the Fair-haired. These were the ruler of Hurdland Eirik, the ruler of Rogaland Sulka, as well as Hadd the Stern and Hroald the Pony from Telamerka. All these kungs joined forces to defeat the young son of Halvdan the Black.
First king of norway
Gathering his troops into the Drakkars, Harald the Fair-haired swam along the coast of Norway to the southwest - to the very heart of the possession of his opponents. The decisive battle took place in Havrsfjord - one of the coastal fjords, where today in memory of that important battle there is a monument. The outcome of the battle was decided by the frantic attack of the Berserkers - warriors who were members of the cult of the war god Odin. These foot soldiers fiercely swept away the ranks of the enemies, terrifying them.
So Harald the Fair-haired won the most important victory in his life. His enemies died or fled. Norway no longer resisted the sole power of this young Viking. In 872, he became the first king of Norway.
Travel west
Under Harald, the Norwegians began to populate previously undeveloped territories. New provinces, Helsingjaland and Yamtaland, were developed. At the same time, his countrymen discovered hitherto unknown lands - the Faroe Islands and Iceland. After King Harald the Fair-haired came to power, not only his opponents fled from the country, but also all kinds of robbers, who hunted by robberies. These Vikings settled on the Orkney Islands. Every summer they raided Norway, causing significant damage to the population.
At first, Harald defended his own country, once a year collecting troops and exploring the coast, which suffered most from the robbers. However, this strategy was ineffective. Finally, the Viking Harald the Fair-haired gathered an army and navy, and set off for the western seas. He fought on the Orkney Islands, destroying all the fugitives there. After that, the Norwegians went to Scotland and the Isle of Man. Raids gave them a lot of loot. Thanks to successful campaigns and the acquisition of new lands, Harald gradually strengthened his power.
Quarrel with children
Harald appointed only the most devoted and time-tested people as his governors in the provinces. His sons did not like it. The yarls for them were upstarts that did not belong to the royal family. Each year, the sons more insistently demanded that the father inherit. Harald had a lot of offspring (according to various sources, about 20).
Once the two sons Goodred and Halvdan gathered a large squad and suddenly attacked the Jarl Regnwald. The governor’s house was burned down (60 people died there), and the settlement was looted. Harald had to start a war against his own sons, who started a massacre because of his own obstinacy. Goodred surrendered to his father and was exiled to Agdir.
One of the sons of Harald Regnwald the Straight-leg, who ruled in Hadaland, became interested in witchcraft and magic. The king hated people posing as sorcerers. The pagan faith of the Scandinavians gave rise to many occult practices. They were promoted by tramps and priests. Konung Harald, the fair-haired, considered these people heretics. He instructed his beloved son, Erik the Blood Ax, to go to Hadaland and punish Regnwald. The heir really came into the possession of his younger brother and burned him along with another 80 minions and sorcerers.
Country Section
Around 900, when Harald was 50 years old, he convened a ting (popular assembly). It discussed what to do with the king’s numerous heirs. As expected, all sons received the title of king and inheritance in Norway. So Harald officially secured the feudal order and future fragmentation of the country.
According to the decision of the ting, which was attended by all the willing men of Norway, the title of king was received not only by the sons, but also by all the descendants of the king. The female boys became jarls. Harald’s children were entitled to half of their father’s income in their cities. King’s favorite son was Eirik, nicknamed the Blood Ax. This heir was always with his father and after his death he himself began to rule Norway.
The murder of the son of Harald
The children of Harald received their inheritance and comforted their vanity. However, the relationship between them remained tense. King Björn's son was appointed governor in the province of Westfold, with its capital in Tunsberg. He ran the lucrative trade, for which he received the nickname of Merchant and Sailor.
Once, after another trip to the eastern countries, Eirik returned to his father through the lands of Björn. The older brother demanded that the younger give him taxes for the state treasury. This was contrary to custom. Usually Bjorn himself drove taxes to his father or sent his people. However, Erik did not care - he had to spend a lot of money on organizing and maintaining the last expedition. A conflict broke out between the brothers. The dispute ended when Eirik, who had a violent disposition, burst into the house of Björn with a loyal detachment, and killed Sailor and his nearest Vikings. The elderly Harald did not punish the eldest son.
Renunciation and death
In 930, Harald turned 80 years old. For his era he lived a very long life. Before his death, the monarch went on a move unusual for the Middle Ages - he passed the crown to his son while he was still alive. Having made Eirik king, Harald retired to his estate in Rogaland. In a new capacity, the elderly patriarch of a huge family found the birth of a grandson, who was named after his grandfather. Many years later he will become King of Norway Harald II Gray Skin. The child adopted many character traits of the Fair-haired.
Harald I died three years after his abdication in 933. He was buried in the town of Haugar. Today, not far from that place is a church. To the northwest of it is a mound in which the first king of Norway is buried.
Harald's legacy
For Scandinavia, Harald the Fair-haired and Ragnar Lodbrok are the legendary rulers of the early Middle Ages. The first was the king of Norway, the second - of Denmark. The second half of the 9th century is the period of the emergence of statehood in these countries. Monarchs became leaders of their peoples on the ruins of the former clan system.
Konung Harald the Fair-haired and Ragnar Lodbrok in every possible way suppressed any manifestations of separatism. The future showed that the medieval Scandinavian monarchies remained united only if the ruler was universally respected by the feudal lords. Some of Harald's successors were weak and inexperienced monarchs. Because of this, Norway again and again plunged into the abyss of civil wars. That is why the times of Harald in the mass consciousness of the people were considered a wonderful era, and every king tried to equal him.
The medieval history of Norway gave the descendants many heroes and popular characters in works of art. Among them is Harald the Fair-haired. Actors of different generations played it in several productions. For example, it was the Soviet-Norwegian film "And trees grow on stones" in 1985, as well as the modern Irish-Canadian series "Vikings".