Harald Fairhair

Harald Fairhair (c. 850 – c. 932) was the first King of Norway. According to traditions today in Norway and Iceland, during the 12th and 13th centuries, he was king from 872 to 930. Most of what we know about him comes from several sagas, written up to three centuries after he died.Bruce Lincoln, Between History and Myth: Stories of Harald Fairhair and the Founding of the State (Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2014), p. 9

 Life 

He was the son of Halvdan the Black.Historia Norwegie, eds.  Inger Ekrem, Lars Boje Mortensen (København Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003), p. 81 Harald was the first petty king to gain control of the coastal areas of Norway. After the battle of Hafrsfjord in 872 Harald became king of most of Norway.Gerhard Lemmer; Elke Frey; Helga Rahe, Norway (Munich; Nelles; Basingstoke: GeoCenter, 2001), p. 16 It was the last of a series of battles between Harald and other feudal states in Norway. 

Because of Skaldic poems (poems honouring heroes in Scandinavia), we know that he was successful in fighting against his opponents in Norway. Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, his two sons, became King after he died of old age. 

Fairhair may have had as many as 11-20 sons according to different Sagas. Twelve of them became Kings and were all assigned land.

 Notes 

References

 More reading 
Viking Empires by Angelo Forte, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen (Cambridge University Press. June 2005)
The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings Peter Sawyer, Editor (Oxford University Press, September 2001)
 Jakobsson, Sverrir, "Erindringen om en mægtig personlighed : den norsk-islandske historiske tradisjon om Harald Hårfagre i et kildekristisk perspektiv]," Historisk tidsskrift, 81 (2002), 213–30. 
 Raffensperger, Christian, "Shared (Hi)Stories: Vladimir of Rus' and Harald Fairhair of Norway," The Russian Review, 68,4 (2009), 569-582.

Category:850 births
Category:932 deaths
Category:Kings and Queens of Norway