Eric Haakonsson Eric Haakonsson ( Old Norse : " Eiríkr Hákonarson " , ; 960s – 1020s ) , or Eric of Norway or Eric of Hlathir , was earl of Lade , ruler of Norway and earl of Northumbria . Background . Eiríkr was the bastard eldest son of earl Hákon Sigurðarson , and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade . He participated in the Battle of Hjörungavágr , the Battle of Svolder and the conquest of England . The principal sources on Eric ' s youth are " Fagrskinna " and " Heimskringla " . They relate that Eric was the son of Hákon Sigurðarson and a woman of low birth whom Hákon bedded during a sojourn in Uppland . Hákon cared little for the boy and gave him to a friend of his to raise . On one occasion when Eric was eleven or twelve years old he and his foster father had harboured their ship right next to earl Hákon . Then Hákon ' s closest friend , Skopti , arrived and asked Eric to move away so that he could harbour next to Hákon as he was used to . When Eric refused , Hákon was infuriated by the boy ' s pride and sternly ordered him away . Humiliated , Eric had no choice but to obey . In the following winter he avenged the humiliation by chasing down Skopti ' s ship and killing him . This was Eric ' s first exploit , as commemorated by his skald Eyjólfr dáðaskáld who mentions the incident in his " Bandadrápa " . The sagas say that after killing Skopti , Eric sailed south to Denmark where he was received by king Harald Bluetooth . After a winter ' s stay in Denmark , Harald granted Eric earldom over Romerike and Vingulmark - areas in the south of Norway long under Danish influence . In " Heimskringla " this information is supported with a somewhat vague verse from " Bandadrápa " . Battle of Hjörungavágr . The Battle of Hjörungavágr was Eric ' s first major confrontation . The battle was a semi - legendary naval battle that took place in the late 10th century between the earls of Lade and a Danish invasion fleet . The battle is described in the Norse kings ' sagas — such as " Heimskringla " — as well as in " Jómsvíkinga saga " and Saxo Grammaticus ' " Gesta Danorum " . Those late literary accounts are fanciful but historians believe that they contain a kernel of truth . Some contemporary skaldic poetry alludes to the battle , including verses by Þórðr Kolbeinsson and Tindr Hallkelsson . Hákon Sigurðarson was a strong believer in the Old Norse gods , and when Harald Bluetooth attempted to force Christianity upon him , Haakon broke his allegiance to Denmark . A Danish invasion force was defeated at the battle of Hjörungavágr in 986 . According to " Heimskringla " , Eric , apparently reconciled with his father , commanded 60 ships in the battle and emerged victorious . After the battle he gave quarter to many of the Jomsvikings , including Vagn Ákason . Raids in the Baltic . In 995 , as Óláfr Tryggvason seized power in Norway , Eric was forced into exile in Sweden . He allied himself with Olof of Sweden and Sweyn Forkbeard whose daughter , Gyða , he married . Using Sweden as his base he launched a series of raiding expeditions into the east . Harrying the lands of king Vladimir I of Kiev , Eric looted and burned down the town of Staraya Ladoga ( Old Norse " Aldeigja " ) . There are no written continental sources to confirm or refute this but in the 1980s , Soviet archaeologists unearthed evidence which showed a burning of Ladoga in the late 10th century . Eric also plundered in western Estonia ( ON " Aðalsýsla " ) and the island of Saaremaa ( ON " Eysýsla " ) . According to the " Fagrskinna " summary of " Bandadrápa " he fought Vikings in the Baltic and raided Östergötland during the same time . Battle of Svolder . In the Battle of Svolder in 1000 , Eric , Sweyn and Olof , ambushed king Óláfr Tryggvason by the island of Svolder . The place cannot now be identified , as the formation of the Baltic coast has been much modified in the course of subsequent centuries . Svolder was an island probably on the North German coast , near Rügen . During the summer , Olaf had been in the eastern Baltic . The allies lay in wait for him at the island of Svolder on his way home . The Norwegian king had with him seventy - one vessels , but part of them belonged to an associate , Jarl Sigvaldi , a chief of the Jomsvikings , who was an agent of his enemies , and who deserted him . Olaf ' s own ships went past the anchorage of Eric and his allies in a long column without order , as no attack was expected . The king was in the rear of the whole of his best vessels . The allies allowed the bulk of the Norwegian ships to pass , and then stood out to attack Olaf . Olaf refused to flee , and turned to give battle with the eleven ships immediately about him . The disposition adopted was one which is found recurring in many sea - fights of the Middle Ages where a fleet had to fight on the defensive . Olaf lashed his ships side to side , his own , the " Long Serpent " , the finest war - vessel as yet built in the north , being in the middle of the line , where her bows projected beyond the others . The advantage of this arrangement was that it left all hands free to fight , a barrier could be formed with the oars and yards , and the enemy ' s chance of making use of his superior numbers to attack on both sides would be , as far as possible , limited — a great point when all fighting was with the sword , or with such feeble missile weapons as bows and javelins . Olaf , in fact , turned his eleven ships into a floating fort . The Norse writers , who are the main authorities , gave all the credit to the Norwegians , and according to them all the intelligence of Olaf ' s enemies , and most of their valour , were to be found in Eric . They say that the Danes and Swedes rushed at the front of Olaf ' s line without success . Eric attacked the flank . His vessel , the " Iron Ram " ( ON " Járnbarðinn " ) , was " bearded " , that is to say , strengthened across the bows by bands of iron , and he forced her between the last and last but one of Olaf ' s line . In this way the Norwegian ships were carried one by one , till the " Long Serpent " alone was left . At last she too was overpowered . Olaf leapt into the sea holding his shield edgeways , so that he sank at once and the weight of his hauberk dragged him down . Eric captured Olaf ' s ship , the Long Serpent , and steered it from the battle , an event dwelled upon by his court poet Halldórr ókristni . Rule of Norway . After the battle of Svolder , Eric became , together with his brother Sveinn Hákonarson , governor of Norway under Sweyn Forkbeard from 1000 to 1012 . Eric ' s son , Hákon Eiríksson , continued in this position to 1015 . Eric and Sveinn consolidated their rule by marrying their sister Bergljót to Einarr Þambarskelfir , gaining a valuable advisor and ally . " Fagrskinna " relates that " there was good peace at this time and very prosperous seasons . The jarls maintained the laws well and were stern in punishing offences . " During his rule of Norway , Eric ' s only serious rival was Erlingr Skjálgsson . Too powerful and cautious to touch but not powerful enough to seek open confrontation he maintained an uneasy peace and alliance with the earls throughout their rule . According to " Grettis saga " , Eric forbade duelling by law and exiled berserk s shortly before his expedition to England . Religion . According to Theodoricus monachus , Eric pledged to adopt Christianity if he emerged victorious from the battle of Svolder . Oddr Snorrason ' s " Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar " has a more elaborate version of the story where Eric replaces an image of Thor on the prow of his ship with a Christian cross . There is no skaldic poetry to substantiate this but most of the sagas agree that Eric and Sveinn adopted Christianity , at least formally . " Fagrskinna " says : " These jarls had had themselves baptised , and remained Christian , but they forced no man to Christianity , but allowed each to do as he wished , and in their day Christianity was greatly harmed , so that throughout Upplönd and in over Þrándheimr almost everything was heathen , though Christianity was maintained along the coast . " Adopting Christianity was no doubt a politically advantageous move for the earls since they were allied with the Christian rulers of Sweden and Denmark . Instituting freedom of religion was also a shrewd political move after Óláfr Tryggvason ' s violent missionary activity . Eric ' s religious conviction as a Christian was probably not strong . While the court poets of Eric ' s rivals , Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr Haraldsson , censored heathen kenning s from their poetry and praised their lord as a Christian ruler , all surviving court poetry devoted to Eric is entirely traditional . The " Bandadrápa " , composed sometime after 1000 , is explicitly pagan - its refrain says that Eric conquers lands according to the will of the heathen gods . Even the poetry of Þórðr Kolbeinsson , composed no earlier than 1016 , has no indication of Christian influence . According to " Historia Norwegiae " and " Ágrip " , Eiríkr actively worked to uproot Christianity in Norway but this is not corroborated by other sources . Conquest of England . In 1014 or 1015 Eric left Norway and joined Canute the Great for his campaign in England . Judging from Þórðr Kolbeinsson ' s " Eiríksdrápa " their fleets met off the English coast ( in 1015 ) but the chronology of the various sources is difficult to reconcile and some scholars prefer placing their meeting in 1014 in Denmark . At that time Canute was young and inexperienced but Eric was " an experienced warrior of tested intelligence and fortune " ( " Fagrskinna " ) and , in the opinion of Frank Stenton , " the best adviser that could have been found for a young prince setting out on a career of conquest " . The Scandinavian invasion fleet landed at Sandwich in midsummer 1015 where it met little resistance . Canute ' s forces moved into Wessex and plundered in Dorset , Wiltshire and Somerset . Alderman Eadric Streona assembled an English force of 40 ships and submitted to Canute . The " Encomium Emmae " is the only English source which gives any information on Eric ' s actions at this time but its account of his supposed independent raids is vague and does not fit well with other sources . In early 1016 the Scandinavian army moved over the Thames into Mercia , plundering as it went . Prince Edmund attempted to muster an army to resist the invasion but his efforts were not successful and Canute ' s forces continued unhindered into Northumbria where Uhtred the Bold , earl of Northumbria , was murdered . The great north English earldom was given by Canute to Eric after he had won control of the north . After conquering Northumbria the invading army turned south again towards London . Before they arrived King Ethelred the Unready died ( on April 23 ) and Prince Edmund was chosen king . Following Ethelred ' s death the Scandinavian forces besieged London . According to the " Encomium Emmae " the siege was overseen by Eric and this may well be accurate . The " Legendary Saga of St . Olaf " indicates that Eric was present at the siege of London and a verse by Þórðr says that Eric fought a " west of London " with Ulfcytel Snillingr . After several battles , Canute and Edmund reached an agreement to divide the kingdom but Edmund died a few months later . And in 1017 Canute was undisputed king of all England . He divided the kingdom into four parts ; Wessex he kept for himself , East - Anglia he gave to Thorkell , Northumbria to Eric and Mercia to Eadric . Later the same year Canute had Eadric executed as a traitor . According to the " Encomium Emmae " he ordered Eric to " pay this man what we owe him " and he chopped off his head with his axe . Eric remained as earl of Northumbria until his death . His earlship is primarily notable in that it is never recorded that he ever fought with the Scots or the Britons of Strathclyde , who were usually constantly threatening Northumbria . Eric is not mentioned in English documents after 1023 . According to English sources he was exiled by Canute and returned to Norway . This is very unlikely as there are no Norse records of his supposed return . Eric ' s successor as earl , Siward , cannot be confirmed as being earl of Northumbria until 1033 so Eric ' s death can not strictly be placed more precisely than between 1023 and 1033 . According to the Norse sources he died of a hemorrhage after having his uvula cut ( a procedure in medieval medicine ) either just before or just after a pilgrimage to Rome . Sources . The most important historical sources on Eric are the 12th and 13th century kings ' sagas , including " Heimskringla " , " Fagrskinna " , " Ágrip " , " Knýtlinga saga " , " Historia Norvegiæ " , the " Legendary Saga of St . Olaf " and the works of Oddr Snorrason and Theodoricus monachus . The Anglo - Saxon sources are scant but valuable as they represent contemporary evidence . The most important are the 11th - century Anglo - Saxon Chronicle and the " Encomium Emmae " but Eric is also mentioned by the 12th - century historians Florence of Worcester , William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon . A significant amount of poetry by Eric ' s skalds is preserved in the kings ' sagas and represents contemporary evidence . The most important are the " Bandadrápa " of Eyjólfr dáðaskáld and the works of Halldórr ókristni and Þórðr Kolbeinsson . Other skalds known to have composed on Eric are Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld , Gunnlaugr ormstunga , Hrafn Önundarson , Skúli Þorsteinsson and Þórðr Sjáreksson . References . < br > < BR >