Haraldr
description
Haraldr gilli(-kristr) Magnússon, son of Magnús berfœttr, Norw. king (r. 1030-6) -- Ív Sig 13/4, 36/3, Anon Nkt 53/8, 55/2 (see also under Nicknames)
Sagas: Msona, MbHg (Ágr, Fsk, H-Hr, Hkr, Mork).
Haraldr gilli(-kristr) ‘servant (of Christ)’ Magnússon was the son of Magnús berfœttr and an unnamed Irish woman (see Genealogies II.3 and II.4 in ÍF 28). He arrived in Norway from the Hebrides during the reign of Sigurðr jórsalafari. When Sigurðr died in 1130, Haraldr assumed the royal title along with his nephew, Magnús inn blindi Sigurðarson. In 1135 he captured Magnús in Bergen and maimed him, forcing him to take refuge in the monastery on Munkholmen, Trondheim. Haraldr then ruled Norway alone for almost two years until he was killed by his half-brother, Sigurðr slembidjákn (Slembir), and Sigurðr’s men in Bergen on 13 December 1136. See Anon Nkt 53-5, Ágr (ÍF 29, 50-1; Ágr 1995, 74-7), Mork (Mork 1928-32, 391-2, 395-8, 400-14; Andersson and Gade 2000, 352-3, 355-67, 370-2), Fsk (ÍF 29, 320-30; Finlay 2004, 257-65), Hkr (ÍF 28, 265-71, 278-88, 298-302; Hollander 1991, 707-11, 715-24, 732-35), H-Hr (Fms 7, 163-71, 175-86, 196-8, 200-4). See also Knýtl (ÍF 35, 264-5; Hermann Pálsson and Edwards 1986, 141), Orkn (ÍF 34, 130-1, 140-2, 149, 158; Hermann Pálsson and Edwards 1987, 109, 116-18, 123, 129-30).
Events documented in poetry: The battle of Färlev, in present-day Sweden, against Magnús inn blindi on 9 August 1134 and Haraldr’s subsequent exile to Denmark (Hskv Hardr 1-2; Ingimarr Lv; ESk Hardr II, 1); his return to Norway the same autumn and his execution of Magnús’s supporters in Sarpsborg (Hskv Hardr 3); the siege of Bergen December 1134-January 1135 (Hskv Hardr 4; ESk Hardr II, 2); Haraldr’s sole sovereignty in Norway in 1135 (Hskv Hardr 5; ESk Hardr II, 3); two unknown battles near the islands Ven and Læsø in Denmark (ESk Hardr I; ESk Hardr II, 4-5).
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