The Life Of The Extraordinary Harald Hardrada

 Harald Hardrada is one of the most recognisable names in medieval European history. He was a giant of a man both figuratively and literally. He is best remembered now for his invasion of England in 1066 where he would be defeated and killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge. In this blog post, most of our attention is focused on Harald's early life. He was the son of a minor king named Sigurd who ruled some territories surrounding Oslo. His mother was named Asta who was also the mother of Olaf II who was born during her first marriage. After her first husband was murdered, she went on to marry Sigurd. Harald seems to have been loyal to his half brother Olaf II and fought alongside him at the battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Olaf sought to fully Christianise Norway which was still partly pagan. However, his actions were not universally popular and he met with stiff resistance. This resistance led to a rebellion which saw Olaf being driven out of Norway. He returned but was defeated and killed at Stiklestad.

Harald would have been around 15 at the time of Stiklestad, with his birth date believed to have been around 1015. Given his young age, it can be no surprise that Harald was left deeply upset at the outcome of the battle and the death of his half-brother, so much so that he had to be ushered away from the field by some of Olaf's followers. Olaf was later made a saint, in recognition of his efforts at Christianising the Pagans that remained in Norway. For Harald, the aftermath of the battle saw he and others from Olaf's defeated army take refuge in Sweden. From there, Harald's incredibly extensive journeys across Europe would begin. He and some followers sailed for Kievan Rus where they arrived at the court of Yaroslav The Wise who greeted his guests with hospitality and, perhaps as a result of this, Harald and the others would spend a couple of years in Kievan Rus where, apparently, they enjoyed themselves.

After taking their leave, Harald and his men then sailed for Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Arriving in Constantinople, it wasn't long before Harald made contact with the Byzantine Empress Zoe who ruled jointly with her husband Michael IV and soon he joined the Varangians, the Imperial bodyguards. Harald made quite the impression and there were suggestions he should replace Georgios as commander of the Byzantine army and, unsurprisingly, a rivalry between Harald and Georgios began to emerge. Harald then led a successful Byzantine expedition against Muslim forces in Africa where he made significant captures. Onwards, this remarkable man travelled, to Sicily, Palestine, Jerusalem and even perhaps Bulgaria. The success of Harald's campaigns obviously created jealously in certain quarters and when he returned to Constantinople, he was thrown in prison.

By the time of his return to the Capital, Harald had been away from Scandinavia for over a decade and it was natural for him to be thinking about returning home. However, his resignation from the Varangian guard did not go down well with Empress Zoe who, no doubt urged on by one or two voices of men jealous of Harald's success, made him her prisoner.  Zoe was perhaps reluctant to allow this brilliant leader of men to leave her empire as he had brought so much success in capturing territories for the Byzantines but it's also been suggested that Zoe was interested in marrying Harald as Michael IV had died in 1041. Harald, however, was more interested in Zoe's niece, Maria. When she heard this, Zoe was irate and hence Harald became her prisoner.

However, there was trouble in store for Zoe who was usurped in 1042. This caused uproar across Constantinople and, in the chaos, Harald was released. He had the usurper, Michael V, blinded and sent to a monastery. Zoe reassumed power, this time ruling alongside her sister. Harald still wanted to return home but Zoe remained reluctant to let him leave and so Harald hatched a plan to escape. He kidnapped Maria before stealing two ships and sailed out of the city. Maria was unharmed and sent back to her aunt with an armed retinue. This part of Harald's plan was probably for little more reason than to demonstrate to Zoe that he was not a man she could control.

Harald returned to the court of Yaroslav the Wise in the Kievan Rus, where he would marry Yaroslav's daughter, Elizabeth. The marriage took place in late 1043/early 1044 and, after this, Harald would return to Scandinavia in preparation for the next phase of his extraordinary career which would not only see him become king of Norway but also make a bid to become king of England as well.