Viking king (1015-1066). He was raised in the
court of his
half-brother Olaf, the king of
Norway.
Olaf's drive to
Christianize his kingdom was unpopular, and he was forced to flee with his family to
Kiev, where a distant kinsman ruled. Harald was welcomed at the court, but when he was refused the hand of the
princess,
Yelisaveta, he sailed to
Constantinople to join the
Varangian Guard, an
elite company of
Norsemen in the
Byzantine army. He was appointed the
commander of the Guard, where he
defeated many
opponents and amassed a great deal of
money, which he sent back to
Kiev.
He returned to Kiev in 1044 to marry
Yelisaveta and claim his
fortune, then returned to
Norway, where his
wealth and
political skill allowed him to win a share of the
kingship from his nephew
Magnus, who had recently taken the
throne. Magnus died a few years later, and Harald became the
sole ruler. He was quick to
destroy any perceived
threat to his
reign, earning the
nickname "
Hardradi," or "
Hard Ruler."
When
Edward the Confessor of
England died, Harald
invaded with 300 ships and 9,000 men. His forces quickly
crushed the
Northumbrian militias, and he prepared to
negotiate with the city of
York. He took only a lightly armed force to York and was attacked by the newly crowned
King Harold Godwinsson and his army as he neared the
Stamford Bridge. Harald sent for
reinforcements, but they were too far away. Harald was killed by an
arrow, and most of his
army was destroyed.
Harald was an extremely
imposing figure; he stood almost
seven feet tall and was immensely
strong. He was a
savage and
merciless soldier (his
banner, reading "
Landeythan" or "
Land-Waster," was well-known by both
friends and
foes), but he was also a skilled
poet and
patron of
poets. He was the last of the great
Viking warrior-kings, and his
death spelled the end of the
Viking Age.
Research from GURPS Who's Who, compiled by Phil Masters, "Harald Hardradi" by Matthew Rice, pp. 44-45.