Harald is mentioned in several sagas, some which quotes supposedly older skaldic poetry. If the linguistic dating of the poems are correct, they represent the earliest accounts of Harald Fairhair.
Hrafnsmál Hrafnsmál, also known as
Haraldskvæði, is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century skald
Þorbjörn Hornklofi. There does not exist a complete copy of the poem, and modern editions of the poem are based on the compilation of the segments. Through dating of the parts as well as the meter is consistent, they may be separate compositions but scholarly consensus is indecisive. Part of the poem is cited by Snorri in Heimskringla as a source for his narrative of the
Battle of Hafrsfjord, while another is cited in Fagrskinna as information about Harald. Both credits Hornklofi as the composer. Hrafnsmál largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie and a raven; the two discuss the life and martial deeds of Harald Fairhair. The bulk of the poem seems to describe the Battle of Hafrsfjord, were Harald faced off against Kjotve the Rich and Hakláng. The poem includes elements ubiquitous to later tellings of the king: Harald is described as the son of a
Halfdan and an
Yngling, but does not use his famous nickname
hárfagri (
fairhair), but uses his widely cited previous nickname
Lufa. The poem mentions Ragnhild, who in Heimskringla is presented as Harald's queen and mother of
Eirik Bloodaxe, as well as the following of ulfheðnar warriors that the saga tradition ascribes to Harald.
Glymdrápa Like Hrafnsmál,
Glymdrápa is a praise poem attributed to Þorbjörn Hornklofi about various battles won by Harald. It is dated to the late 9th century, but an exact dating is difficult and due to its fragmentary presentation it may be a compilation of unrelated stanzas. Unlike Hrafnsmál its relation to Harald and the events it supposedly relates to in Heimskringla is ambiguous.
Sendibitr Sendibitr, the last and shortest poem Snorri quotes is attributed to
Jórunn skáldmær (Jorunn the skaldmaiden), one of few female poets mentioned in the sagas. It deals with a conflict between Harald and his son Halfdan, identified in Heimskringla as Halfdan the Black (the Younger), Harald's son by Åsa Håkonsdottir.
Finnur Jónsson dates this poem to the late 10th century. If the dating is correct, it is the first instance of Harald having the epithet "
fairhair" (
hárfagra in the text). However, consensus is that the exact dating is uncertain. It has been suggested that the poem refers to past events, which would mean the poet lived in a later time than the events described in the poem. Linguistic dating of the poem has not been successful.
Íslendingabók The earliest narrative source which mentions Harald, the early twelfth-century
Íslendingabók, differs from later tradition in that Harald is not presented as the cause of the Norwegian migration to Iceland. Rather his reign is primary used as time reference and his role in the settlement is imposing taxes to prevent people from resettling, fearing a depopulation of Norway. The author
Ari Þorgilsson recounts a tradition that
Ingólfr Arnarson first traveled to Iceland in the year 870, "''[I]n the days of Halfdan the Black's son Harald Fairhair, around the time when
Ragnar Lodbrok's son
Ivar killed
Edmund the holy''". Harald is said to have lived to the age of 80 and been king for 70 (a detail elaborated on in later sagas). Ari presents Harald's forefathers as
Olof Trätälja (noted as "king of
Swedes"),
Halfdan Hvitbeinn,
Eystein Halfdansson (given unexplained nickname "fart"),
Halfdan the Mild,
Gudrød the Hunter and Halfdan the Black, his father. It also describes
Olaf Tryggvason's descent from Harald through Harald's son
Olaf Geirstad-Alf and grandson
Tryggve Olafsson, the father of Tryggve. Ari also presents a genealogy between Harald Fairhair,
Saint Olaf and
Harald Hardrada the later two being described as Fairhair's great great grandsons. This is the earliest source to map out these relations. Ari notably does not present Harald as an Yngling, rather putting forward a different genealogy from Halfdan Hvitbeinn which eventually ends with Ari himself. It is the earliest non-skaldic account of Harald to use the nickname
hárfagri. Notably Harald is described as the first of his family to be king of all Norway, but makes it ambiguous if there were other kings before him.
Skarðsárbók The
Skarðsárbók-version of
Landnámabók includes a brief narrative of Harald and his background. Harald is here described as the great-grandson of
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye through his daughter Áslaug, her son Sigurd Hart and his daughter Ragnhild. The text describes
Halfdan the Black's death by going through the ice on
Randsfjorden, a story also told by Snorri in Heimskringla, and that Harald became king afterwards. He is said to have taken control of
Sogn from Atli jarl due to him never paying taxes. This happened before Harald's conquest of Norway.
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum is dated to about 1190. Here Harald is described as having become the first king of all of Norway at the age of 20. It describes a battle in
Hafrsvágr (as opposed of
Hafrifjord) against a king called Skeithar-Brandr (
Skeiðar-Brandr). The text quotes a poem called "
Oddmjór" which describes Harald as a
Scylding were as other sources calls him an
Yngling. He is described to as having waged wars for 10 years before having conquered all of Norway. He is said to have had 20 children, but that only
Eirik Bloodaxe &
Hakon the Good becoming kings. In this account, Eirik is described as Harald's eldest son and Hakon as the youngest. Only one of Harald's wives/concubines is named,
Snjófríthr, daughter of Svási (
Norwegian:
Svåse), a beautiful
sami-woman. She is described as having died three years after their marriage with Harald mourning for her, but the people mourning for him, considering him bewitched. Eirik is said to have succeeded Harald, ruling for five years, with two as a co-ruler with his father. Hákon eventually supplanted the cruel and oppressive rule of Eirik and his wife
Gunnhildr. Hákon is said to be a Christian, but swayed from Christianity due to his unnamed pagan wife and his will to please his people.
Historia Norwegiæ Historia Norwegiæ, which is dated to about 1220, mentions that Iceland was discovered in the time of Harald Fairhair by
Ingólfr Arnarson and
Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. The work describes the history of the
Yngling-dynasty from the legendary king Ingvi as Harald's ancestors and Halfdan the Black was his father. Halfdan is here described as ruling a mountainous region of Norway and having drowned in
Rondvatnet. Harald's rule is said to have lasted for 73 years and his nickname derived from his beautiful hair. Notably, Harald is here described as being the first to rule the entire coastal region of Norway, as opposed to all of Norway. The interior is described to as having been ruled by petty kings, however, it is said that Harald as good as ruled this region as well. This account describes
Eirik Bloodaxe as the oldest son of Harald, unlike in Heimskringla. Hákon is not referred to as "
the good" and is Harald's second son, not his youngest. This account of Hákon suggest that he did not accept Christianity. Like the later Heimskringla, Ragnvald Rettilbeine is described as killed on Harald's orders. In Heimskringla he is burned alive by Eirik Bloodaxe, while Historia Norwegiæ describes Ragnvald as being drowned.
Fagrskinna Fagrskinna is thought to have been written around 1220 and is a catalogue of the kings of Norway. The first part describes Harald Fairhair's birth ancestry in form of his paternal grandfather
Gudrød the Hunter and maternal grandfather
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and his parents Halfdan the Black and Ragnhildr. The text also describes Halfdan having another son called Harald by another woman named Ragnhildr, daughter of the king Harald Goldbeard of
Sogn. Halfdan's first Harald inherited Sogn after the death of Harald Goldbeard, and then died himself. Halfdan then inherited Sogn from his first son. The story is repeated by Snorri in
Heimskringla and suggests two conflicting stories of Harald's ancestry being combined into one. Harald Fairhair is said to have inherited Halfdan's lands at a young age after the king drowned in the lake Rǫnd in Rykinsvik. The text then cites the poem
Hrafnsmál at length as an example of Harald's nobility and prowess in battle. Harald appointed
Atli the Slender as jarl of
Fjaler, but that the two fell out. In this time Harald meet jarl
Håkon Grjotgardsson (called
Hákon the Old in the text) at a feast in Hladir (
Lade) in
Trondheim and gave him part of Atli's fief. Atli defended his old area with violence and both of the jarls were killed. Harald proclaimed he would not cut his hair until having become overlord of Norway and earning tribute from every inland valley and outlying headland, earning him the nickname "
Lufa",
shockhead. Harald is said to have fought many battles, including a decisive battle in Hafrfjord against
Kjotve the Rich and Haklang. After this battle, all of Norway is said to have paid tribute to Harald. Ragnvald jarl then cut Harald's hair and gave him the nickname
Fairhair. The text then described Harald's various sons, describing Eirik Bloodaxe as his most beloved and one of his oldest. Harald named Eirik his heir and died in
Rogaland from old age and was buried in
Haugesund.
Heimskringla In the
Saga of Harald Fairhair in
Heimskringla (written around 1230), which is the most elaborate although not the oldest or most reliable source to the life of Harald, it is written that Harald succeeded, on the death of his father
Halfdan the Black Gudrödarson in
Rondvatnet, to the sovereignty of several small, and somewhat scattered kingdoms in
Vestfold, which had come into his father's hands through conquest and inheritance. His protector-regent was his mother's brother
duke Guthorm. He is described as the descendant of the
Yngling-dynasty, whose history is described earlier in the work. The
unification of Norway is something of a love story. It begins with a marriage proposal that resulted in rejection and scorn from
Gyda, the daughter of
Eirik, king of Hordaland. She said she refused to marry Harald "before he was king over all of Norway". Harald was therefore induced to take a
vow not to cut nor comb his hair until he was "
þjóðkonungr" (
people-king) of Norway, and when he was justified in trimming it ten years later, he exchanged the epithet "
Shockhead" or "Tanglehair" (Haraldr lúfa) for the one by which he is usually known. In 866, Harald made the first of a series of conquests over the many
petty kingdoms which would compose all of Norway, including
Värmland in Sweden, which had sworn allegiance to the Swedish
saga-king
Erik Eymundsson (whose historicity is not confirmed). Marching up through the Uplands and into
Trondheim and then south along the coast Harald subdued many petty kings. Snorri credits his success to excellent leadership by him and his uncle Guthorm, as well as military reforms and his hard tax policy. The taxes demanded by Harald were much higher than other kings and a third of the revenues were given to his jarls. This made jarls and rich farmers flock to his cause to enrich themself. One of these was
Håkon Grjotgardsson of Trondheim who allied with Harald and married off his daughter Åsa to him. Harald established the royal estate of Hlade in Trondheim and Håkon became the first of the
Earls of Lade, a family which would be one of the dominating forces in Norway for the next 150 years. Harald's third principal ally was
Rognvald Eysteinsson, jarl of
Møre. Snorri describes Rognvald as Harald's closest friend and the one to coin the name "Fairhair". Harald is said to have fathered
Bjørn Farmann and
Olav Geirstadalv with Rognvald's sister Svanhild, ancestors of the famous Christian kings
Olav Tryggvason (named after his grandfather Olav Geirstadalv) and
Olav the Holy. is brought before Harald after being defeated in battle. In 872, after a
great victory at Hafrsfjord near
Stavanger against
Kjotve the Rich, Harald found himself king over the whole country, ruling from his
Kongsgård seats at
Avaldsnes and
Alrekstad. His realm was, however, threatened by dangers from without, as large numbers of his opponents had taken refuge, not only in
Iceland, then recently discovered; but also in the
Orkney Islands,
Shetland Islands,
Hebrides Islands,
Faroe Islands and the northern European mainland. However, his opponents' leaving was not entirely voluntary. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land. At last, Harald was forced to make an expedition to the West, to clear the islands and the Scottish mainland of some
Vikings who tried to hide there. Snorri describes Harald's marriage to the daughter of Svási, here called
Snæfrithr, but in his account they are described as
jötnar rather than finns (
sami). Gyda is said to have been made a
friðla (concubine) of Harald after her father Eirik of Hordaland had been killed in battle by Harald's followers. Harald is said to have divorced Åsa and rejected Gyda and several other concubines to marry a Jutish princess called Ragnhild the Mighty. The couple only had one child,
Eirik Bloodaxe, before her premature death. Eirik Bloodaxe was named after Ragnhild's father as was custom in medieval Scandinavia. Likely due to Eirik Bloodaxe royal mother, he was favored above Harald's other sons. Eirik himself had unquestioning loyalty to Harald. Unlike other authors, Snorri does not attribute Eirik's cruelty solely to Gunnhild. When Harald and Snæfrith's son Ragnvald Rettilbeine became known as patron of sorcerers and a practitioner of magic, Harald ordered him to cease such activity. When Ragnvald did not listen Harald sent Eirik Bloodaxe to murder him. Eirik had his half-brother and all of his sorcerers
burned in their hall. When Bjørn Farmann was killed in a conflict with Eirik, Harald stepped in on Eirik's side against his other sons. There are several accounts of large feasting
mead halls constructed for important feasts when Scandinavian royalty was invited. The Värmlandish chieftain Áki (
Swedish Åke jarl) invited both king Harald Fairhair and the Swedish
saga-king
Erik Eymundsson, but had the Norwegian king stay in the newly constructed and sumptuous one, because he was the youngest one of the kings and the one who had the greatest prospects. The older Swedish king, in contrast, had to stay in the old feasting hall. The Swedish king was so humiliated that he killed Áki. Harald drove Erik Eymundsson out of Värmland and inserted Áki's son Ubbi (
Swedish:
Ubbe) as jarl. Harald is then said to have made a punitive raid into
Västra Götaland, to weaken Erik Eymundsson. As Harald's sons came of age their unruly behavior became a source of instability in Norway. Snæfrith's sons
Halfdan Long-Leg and Gudrød Ljome burned Rognvald jarl alive in his hall and took his lands in More and
Orkney. Halfdan Long-Legs was killed on Orkney by Rognvald's son
Torf-Einarr and Gudrød was brought to justice by Harald. The estates in Møre are returned to Rognvald's other son
Thorir the Silent who was given Harald's daughter Ålov in marriage as
compensation. A variation of this story also appears in
Orkneyinga saga. Afterwards, Gudrød was kept in Harald's
hird, in a position where Harald could prevent him from similar transgressions. The account describes Hákon the good as Harald's youngest son, through a servant named Thora.
''Egil's Saga'' The thirteenth-century ''
Egil's Saga presents a broadly similar account to that of Heimskringla
, though its depiction of Harald and his family is much more negative. It has been suggested that Heimskringla
and Egil's Saga'' share Snorri Sturluson as author, or at least share a common source. Given the difference in attitude to the royal family and information regarding Erik Bloodaxe's family, the latter seems more likely. Through the name Harald Fairhair appears, he is mostly irreverently referred to as Haraldr lúfa. Chapter 3 and 4 tells of Harald's conquest of Norway. It repeats Snorri's story of Harald's vow not to cut his hair until he had become king of all of Norway, but no mention is made of Gyda. Harald is said to have first conquered the
Uplands and then taken
Trondheim and become overlord over the
thronds. This accounts differs from
Heimskringla where it is said that Harald made a marriage alliance with
Håkon Grjotgardsson which won him
Trøndelag after they together defeated the petty kings there. The saga then relates the story of the brothers Herlaug and Hrollaug, kings of
Namdalen. When Herlaug heard Harald was coming he committed suicide by closing himself into a mound with 12 men. Hrollaug renounced his kingship and took the title of
jarl instead. Harald accepted Hrollaug's surrender and allowed him to rule Namdalen in his name. This story is also present in
Heimskringla. After this, Namdalen and
Hålogaland were in his grasp. The saga then related how Harald did battle with the combined forces of kings Audbjörn of Firðafylki,
Solvi Bandy-legs of
Møre og Romsdal and Arnvid of
Sunnmøre. They were all defeated in battle by Harald, with only Solvi escaping with his life to live the rest of his life as a roving Viking. The remaining independent rulers of Norway were then crushed by Harald's allies or opportunists that attacked their neighbors and then submitted to Harald like Hrollaug had done. The saga tells how people of Norway were then put under heavy taxes and oppression by Harald. Anyone suspected of wanting to rise in rebellion were given the option of fleeing the country, submitting himself as a tenant or having hands and feet cut off. According to the saga author, most who were given this option chose to flee. Harald is supposed to have confiscated massive amounts of private property and made many previously free farmers his
thralls. Four sons of Harald are mentioned in the saga: Eirikr Bloodaxe (one of the saga's major antagonists), Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri (otherwise called
the Good), Olaf and
Sigurðr (whose name is otherwise usually rendered as
Sigröðr). The saga renders Harald's title as
einváldskonungr (
absolute king).
Grettis saga Not unlike ''Egil's Saga'', Harald's conquest of Norway sets off the plot of
Grettis saga. Gretti's great-grandfather Önundr Wood-foot is said to be one of many people that fled Norway after fighting for king Kjotvi the Rich and Thorir Haklang in the battle of Hafrsfjord. The saga describes how Harald and his elite Úlfhèðnar warriors (famously mentioned in Hrafnsmál) fought and killed Thorir Haklang when he went berserk. Önundr got his name after his leg was crushed beneath the knee by the prow of one of the king's ships and he had to walk on a wooden pegleg for the rest of his life.
Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok The 13th century
Ragnars saga loðbrókar ok sona hans (
Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons) mentions Harald Fairhair in chapter 18 as the great-great-grandson of Sigurd Hart through his daughter Aslaug, her son
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and his daughter Ragnhild.
Ragnarssona þáttr Harald's maternal ancestry is elaborated upon in the final chapter of the 14th century
Ragnarssona þáttr. Harald's mother is said to have been
Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, who according to the saga was the great-granddaughter of Sigurd through her mother Inibjorg and he grandmother Aslaug. This story is the same as in Snorri's earlier
Hálfdanar saga svarta in
Heimskringla, but contradicts
Fagrskinna. Both
Hálfdanar saga svarta and
Ragnarssona þáttr have issues with the traditional dating of the saga events. The marriage of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Blaeja could not have occurred earlier than 867, which would put the dating Harald's ascension to kingship of Norway in 872 into question.
Fagrskinna makes no mention of Blaeja and states that Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye's daughter and not his great-granddaughter, which seems more plausible in regards to the dating of events.
Flóamanna saga Flóamanna saga is traditionally thought of as a 14th-century work and repeats the story of Harald Fairhair's ancestry as told in
Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, and elaborates back to Sigurd Fafnisbani and
Odin through
Aslaug. In old Norse society, the ancestry of both parents was considered of importance for the status of a person. The saga relates the conflict between Atli the Slender and Håkon Grjotgardsson and their deaths. Håkon's son
Sigurd Haakonsson advised Harald to kill Atli's son Hallstein which lead to Hallstein's exile in Iceland.
Vatnsdæla saga In
Vatnsdæla saga Harald's conquest of Norway is described. The saga's initial protagonist Ingimundr recognises that Harald will prevail at Hafrfjord and arranges a meeting with Harald, Ragnvald Mörejarl and their ulfhednar-warriors. Ingimundr offers his loyalty to Harald which Harald graciously accepts, but Ingimundr is suspicious of the king and he and his friend Sæmundr emigrate to Iceland. Harald wins an extrodinary victory at Hafrfjord and makes Ragnvald a jarl.
Orkneyinga saga The
Orkneyinga saga likely dates to in the early thirteenth century and belongs to belongs to the genre of "Kings' Sagas" within Icelandic saga literature, a group of histories of the kings of Norway. It describes in more detail the expedition of Harald Fairhair and Rognvald Mørejarl on an expedition to clear the islands of the Viking refugees of from Harald's conquest of Norway that raided the coast. During the expedition Rognvald's son Ivar was killed so Harald gave governorship of the islands to him. Rognvald wanted to stay in his home in Møre so he passed the jarlship of the Islands to his brother Sigurd. The saga is informed by the Norwegian politics of the day. Once, historians could write that no-one denied the reality of Harald Fairhair's expeditions to the west (recounted in detail in the
Heimskringla), but this is no longer the case. Thomson (2008) writes that Harald's "great voyage is so thoroughly ingrained in popular and scholarly history, both ancient and modern, that it comes as a bit of a shock to realise that it might not be true." The Norwegian contest with the
Kings of Scots over the
Hebrides and the Isle of Man in the mid 13th century is the backdrop to the saga writer's intentions and in part at least the sagas aim to legitimise Norwegian claims to both the Northern Isles and the
Kingdom of the Isles in the west. ===
Flateyjarbók=== The fourteenth-century
Flateyjarbók features a
Þáttr called
Haralds þáttr hárfagra, literary "Harald Fairhair's Þáttr". The first chapter describes Harald's ascension to the throne at the age of sixteen, in contrast to other accounts which gives the age of ten. He is here given the otherwise unknown nickname "
Dofrafostri" (
Dovre-fostered). Harald's maternal uncle Guthormr is described as his duke and most important ally. Harald's war with
Gandalf Alfgeirsson and his neighboring kings is described as in
Heimskringla, through in less detail. Following this Harald's marriage to Gyda is described and his conquest of Norway. Unlike
Heimskringla,
Flateyjarbók clearly states that the two were married. Harald's further marriages are described as is his rejections of them and his various concubines in favor of Ragnhild the Mighty. The Þáttr concludes with a description of the fates of Harald's various sons, including Thorgils' and Frodi's career as "west-vikings".
Later life and
Suðreyjar. According to the saga sources, the latter part of Harald's reign was disturbed by the strife of his many sons. The number of sons he left varies in the different saga accounts, from 11 to 20. Twelve of his sons are named as kings, two of them ruled over the whole of Norway. He gave them all the royal title and assigned lands to them, which they were to govern as his representatives; but this arrangement did not put an end to the discord, which continued into the next reign. When he grew old, Harald handed over the supreme power to his favourite son
Eirik Bloodaxe, whom he intended to be his successor. Eirik I ruled side by side with his father when Harald was 80 years old. In the
Gray Goose Laws, a person above the age of 80 was not allowed to make financial decisions or decisions about inheritance. This co-rulership likely reflected similar laws and would also been way for Harald to force his intended succession. Harald died three years later due to old age in approximately 933. Harald Harfager was commonly stated to have been buried under a mound at Haugar by the Strait of Karmsund near the present-day
Haugesund Church in an area that later would be named the town of
Haugesund and
Haugesund Municipality. The area near Karmsund was the traditional burial site for several early Norwegian rulers. The national monument of
Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the
Battle of Hafrsfjord which is traditionally dated to 872. ==Issue==