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Harald Greycloak (Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, lit. "Harald Grey-hide"; Norwegian: Harald Gråfell; Danish: Harald Gråfeld; c. 935 – c. 970) was a king of Norway from the Fairhair dynasty.
- His Father's Son
- Famous Family, Famous Feuds
- A Christian King
- A Destroyer of Pagan temples?
- A Karmic Kind of Death?
Given that he ruled Norway for almost a decade, in an era where contemporary accounts of kings in Frankia or Byzantium would detail every minute, little is known about this king. What makes this even more shocking is that he is the son of a king, his father was Eric Bloodaxe, and his maternal uncle was the fearsome Harald Bluetooth, the force of na...
Foreshadowing events that would lead to his own downfall years later, Greycloak's father had been involved in bitter family politics, ousted from the throne, and exiled from Norway. According to the traditional historical narrative, his replacement, Haakon the Good, had been slowly introducing Christianity into the country, but modern historians ar...
The reign of King Harald II of Norway has often been portrayed as a time of religious friction and intolerance. This is said to have stemmed from Greycloack's conversion to Christianity sometime in his early years, in exile, in England. It is in these formative years that some historians have argued young Harald may have been converted to Christian...
Whether Harald was a Christian zealot or not, he has been portrayed as decimating the pagan population of Norway and destroying many pagan temples, a sort of early cultural genocide. Harald was intent on trying to strengthen Norway and was said to be the first Norwegian king to not only enjoy support in the hinterlands but also along the long Norwe...
A more nuanced historical view, perhaps, should be offered up in defense of Greycloak. Not only is he credited, in the Heimskringla and among contemporary sources, as being the first ruler of Norway to control the prosperous coastal regions as well as the hinterlands, but his attempts at solidifying and unifying a fractious nation were relatively s...
Nov 11, 2022 · Harald II Greycloak (Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, Norwegian: Harald Gråfell, Danish: Harald Gråfeld) (died 976), was the son of Eirik Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Fairhair. After his father's death, he and his brothers allied with King Harald Gormson of Denmark against King Haakon.
Aug 13, 2016 · Harald II Greycloak (Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, Norwegian: Harald Gråfell, Danish: Harald Gråfeld) (died 970) was a king of Norway. Harald Greycloak was the son of Eirik Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Fairhair. His mother was Gunnhild Gormsdatter, the sister of King Harald Bluetooth.
Harald II Greycloak (Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, Norwegian: Harald Gråfell, Danish: Harald Gråfeld) (died 970) was a king of Norway. Harald Greycloak was the son of Eirik Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Fairhair .
May 9, 2024 · This important event in the life of the Norwegian King Harald Greycloak (b. c. 935, d. c. 970 CE), described in Old Norse by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson in his thirteenth- century history of the Norwegian kings, Heimskringla, appears to lie at the root of some conclusions that have been drawn about the origins of the shaggy pile weave textile...
Career. They fought several battles against King Haakon including the Battle of Rastarkalv near the island of Frei in 955 and the Battle of Fitjar in 961. Harald, by being the oldest, was the most powerful of the brothers.
