The Tale Of The Lone Norwegian Warrior Who, For A Time, Single-Handedly Held Back King Harold Godwinson’s Forces At Stamford Bridge

With the death of King Edward the Confessor in January, 1066, England was plunged into an epic showdown for the vacated throne. Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law, became the Anglo-Saxon champion for England and he was elected to the throne. Foreign claimants, however, would soon arrive from Norway and Normandy in mere months to challenge King Harold Godwinson for the English crown. Of the invaders, the first to arrive was King Harald Hardrada of Norway, an experienced warrior-king who had been a mercenary for the Rus, a Varangian Guardsman in Constantinople, and a Viking raider, before he returned home to become king of Norway around 1045. In September, 1066, Harald Hardrada—with a reported armada of 300 ships—began militarily campaigning in the Northumbria region of England. The Norwegians were aided by Harold Godwinson’s scorned brother, Tostig, and they defeated the Northumbrian regional forces in battle, forcing York to surrender. It was while Harald Hardrada was on this winning streak in the north that King Harold Godwinson pulled together an army and rushed his troops toward York to face the Norwegian threat.

Harold Godwinson’s army moved with such speed that he caught the experienced Norwegian king totally off guard. The Norwegians were divided at the time, with Harald Hardrada and his portion of the army camping near Stamford Bridge (on the River Derwent), while the rest of the army remained at the ships near Ricall and the River Ouse. Most importantly, the Norwegians at the bridge site had reportedly left much of their armor by the ships, as they were not expecting an attack so soon. Therefore, when Harold Godwinson and the Anglo-Saxons fell on the unsuspecting and under-equipped Norwegians camped by Stamford Bridge, the battle turned into a massacre.

While the Scandinavian and English sources disagreed slightly on details of the battle, they both made the same key points—Harald Hardrada and Tostig died in battle and a majority of the Norwegian army was destroyed. According to the Scandinavian tradition, Harald Hardrada’s reserve troops from Ricall made a long and tiring march to Stamford Bridge in hopes of saving their king, yet they were too tired to fight upon arrival. The Anglo-Saxon version (seen as the more accurate account) instead claimed that after Harald Hardrada and Tostig were slain, the Norwegian warriors at Stamford Bridge began a frantic retreat to their ships and reinforcements at Ricall. In both of the scenarios, a single Norwegian warrior was said to have played a major role by making a lone last stand on Stamford Bridge, either (in the English tradition) for covering his comrades’ retreat to the ships or (in the Scandinavian version) by trying to hold the Anglo-Saxons back until the approaching troops from Ricall could arrive.

As the story goes, the unnamed Norwegian warrior was a one-man wrecking crew with near superhuman fighting ability. Buying time for the Norwegian side, the Viking champion took up position at a choke point, reportedly Stamford Bridge itself, and determined to fight to the death. He gave the Anglo-Saxons immense trouble, reportedly besting anyone who came against him in single combat, and he could just as easily deflect or block any arrows shot in his direction. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described the scene, including the English army’s eventual solution for defeating the mighty warrior: “there was one of the Norwegians who withstood the English folk, so that they could not pass over the bridge or gain the victory. Then an Englishman aimed at him with an arrow, but it availed naught; and then came another under the bridge and pierced him through the corselet” (ASC, entry for 1066). With the Norwegian warrior’s death, the Anglo-Saxons were able to rush across the bridge to finish the battle, either by crashing into the regrouping Norwegians or by pursuing the fleeing invaders all the way to their ships. Whichever way the battle really played out, Harold Godwinson won a decisive victory and let the son of the slain Norwegian king lead the survivors home—they reportedly only needed 24 of their original 300 ships to ferry the remnants of Harald Hardrada’s army away.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Battle of Stamford Bridge painted by Peter Nicolai Arbo  (1831–1892), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle translated by Benjamin Thorpe in 1861 and republished by Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Heimskringla, by Snorri Sturluson and translated by Lee Hollander. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964, 2018. 
• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005. 
• https://www.ancient.eu/article/1306/battle-of-stamford-bridge/ 

Harald Hardrada Allegedly Conquered A Sicilian Town By Pretending To Be Dead

Harald “Hardrada” Sigurdsson was the brother of the saint-King, Olaf II (r. 995-1030), and he would eventually become the last great Viking warlord of Scandinavia. Even though that was in Harald’s future, it took him a long blood-stained time to realize his destiny of becoming king of Norway. In the year 1030, Harald had to flee from his homeland after his brother, King Olaf, was killed by rebels in the battle of Stiklestad. For more than a decade, Harald stayed in a self-imposed exile, honing his military skill by becoming a successful mercenary commander, first employed by the Russ and then by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.

In the service of the emperors at Constantinople, Harald Hardrada led mercenaries in campaigns that took him to places such as the Caucuses, Jerusalem, Bulgaria and Sicily. Harald’s military talents were best showcased in the Sicilian campaign. There, Harald Hardrada commanded a section of the army headed by the skilled general, George Maniakes, who, from 1038 to around 1041, brought most of the island of Sicily back under the control of Constantinople. The Greek historians, such as Michael Pseullus and John Skylitzes, largely erased Harald from their accounts of the Sicilian campaign. At most, they would acknowledge that foreign mercenaries were present on the island and that Harald, or “Araltes” as the Greek scholars would sometimes call him, accomplished some impressive feats while on Sicily. They, however, reserved their highest praise for George Maniakes, who, by 1039, had conquered most of the island, and was said to have personally captured thirteen Sicilian cities.

Scandinavian sources gave more credit to Harald for the Sicilian campaign. Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), in his saga about King Harald’s career, wrote of four impressive sieges that Harald orchestrated in Sicily. Unfortunately, Sturluson did not provide any names for the four towns, and the accounts could very well be more folklore than fact. Nevertheless, the tales about Harald’s achievements in Sicily showcase his military ingenuity and gives insight into the fearsome reputation that he achieved in 11th-century Europe.

In the Sicilian campaign, Harald often had too few troops to directly storm a town, so he had to either starve his enemies into submission, or defeat them with cunning. In the case of Harold’s fourth siege, ingenuity was apparently the only available option—the town was too well defended for an assault and too well supplied for a prolonged siege. To add to the frustration, Harald Hardrada fell ill while he was camped outside the city’s walls.

Whether or not he was truly sick is unknown. Did his weakened condition give him inspiration, or was it all a ploy from the beginning? Sturluson did not provide an answer in the saga. Whatever the case, Harald stopped making appearances and stayed in bed. If someone wanted to talk, they had to seek the bedridden commander in his tent. Something was so visibly amiss that even the besieged townspeople believed that Harald was gravely ill.

After more time had passed and Harald still had not been seen or heard, death was on everyone’s minds. Eventually, the grief-stricken mercenaries requested a parlay with the townspeople, proclaiming that their leader was dead. The soldiers explained to the townspeople that Harald had been a Christian prince of Norway, the brother of Saint Olaf, and on his deathbed he had wished for his body to be put to rest in one of the town’s beautiful churches.

As the story goes, the townspeople did not want to deprive the Christian prince of a proper funeral, so they agreed to entomb the body inside their city. Sturluson left much of the agreement vague, but the funeral was apparently quite the ceremonious spectacle. The clergymen of the town were said to have shown up in their robes to the entrance of the gate. There, the clergymen awaited an honor guard of Harald’s best soldiers, who respectfully carried a large coffin on their shoulders. They brought the morbid box out from the mercenary camp and approached the audience at the gate. It is unclear what they had planned—whether the soldiers would have been let inside the town, or if the coffin would have been handed over to the townspeople. It does not matter, the funeral never reached that point.

As the Scandinavian honor guard solemnly marched toward the open gate, their steps became more purposeful and their speed began to gradually increase. When they finally reached the gate, the procession of grieving Scandinavians had transformed into a band of hardened soldiers determinedly charging toward the open doors.  Before the townspeople could react, the mercenary honor guard jammed the gate open with the wooden coffin that they had been carrying. Then, they readied their weapons and kept the gate clear until the whole of Harald’s army came rushing through the open gate into town. Harald supposedly showed no mercy to the inhabitants of the town or to the plentiful wealth that was stashed inside. The loot that Harald Hardrada acquired from this and other conquests gave him such riches that he was able to purchase half of Norway from his nephew, King Magnus the Good, in the year 1045.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (14th-century depiction of the Funeral of Jeanne of Bourbon, wife of Charles V, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• John Skylitzes. A Synopsis of Byzantine History: 811-1057, translated by John Wortley. Original text c. 11^th or early 12^th century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005.  
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/psellus-chrono04.asp 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-III-Sigurdsson 
• http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100130762

The Humorous Escape Of King Sweyn II From The Battle Of Niså, According To Snorri Sturluson

Sweyn Estridsen, or Svein Ulfsson (as the Icelandic sagas called him), was appointed as viceroy of Denmark in 1042, after the Norwegian King, Magnus the Good, inherited the country. Although Magnus’ inheritance of Denmark had come about because of a pact he had made with the late Danish king, Hardecanute (d. 1042), Norwegian control of Denmark was not firm and Sweyn Estridsen quickly rebelled against Magnus by 1043.

During his long war for independence, Sweyn came across an unlikely ally named Harald Hardrada around the year 1045. Harald was an exiled Norwegian prince who had spent the last fifteen years gaining immense wealth and prestige as a mercenary commander fighting battles around the Mediterranean. Sweyn and Harald were said to have done some raiding together, but the alliance was short-lived. Harald Hardrada was King Magnus’ uncle, and Magnus made Harald an offer he could not refuse—half of Norway for half of Harald’s treasure. Before 1045 had ended, Harald accepted the offer and became a co-king of Norway, ruling alongside his nephew and joining the Norwegian side of the war against Sweyn Estridsen.

Magnus the Good died of an illness in 1047 while he and Harald were campaigning in Denmark. The Icelandic historian, Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), wrote that Magnus tried to cede Denmark to Sweyn while he was on his deathbed. Even if that were the case, Harald Hardrada, who took full control of Norway after Magnus’ death, had no intention of giving up Denmark. King Harald would continue the war to subjugate Denmark for more than a decade.

The greatest battle that Harald and Sweyn fought was the Battle of Niså (or Nissa), which occurred on August 9, 1062. According to Snorri Sturluson’s depiction of the battle, Harald had sailed south with an elite seaborne army and clashed in the afternoon against the fleet of King Sweyn II at the mouth of the Nissan River, in modern Halland County, Sweden. Harald allegedly had his seasoned soldiers packed onto 150 ships, compared to Sweyn’s less experienced warriors manning 300 ships. When the two forces met, battle commenced and the fighting carried over into nighttime. Despite being outnumbered, King Harald won the battle by a wide margin. Although the Battle of Niså was a significant defeat for King Sweyn II, he and many of his nobles were able to escape through the cover of darkness to keep up their resistance.

In Snorri Sturluson’s elaborate and undoubtedly embellished account of the battle, King Sweyn’s flagship was overrun during the fight. The king was then forced to abandon the ship by means of a small rowboat in order to save his life. Donning a large hood as a disguise, the king stealthily rowed through the darkness avoiding Norwegian ships and patrols. Even though he was able to evade his enemies, King Sweyn was still surrounded by Harald’s ships. Thinking back to the battle, Sweyn had seen a certain Earl Hakon Ivarsson among Harald’s forces. Earl Hakon was a rival of Harald Hardada and he had once spent time with Sweyn after running afoul of the Norwegian king. At the time of the battle of Niså, Hakon Ivarsson was back with Harald Hardrada, but his loyalty was still tenuous. In fact, Hakon Ivarsson would later abandon Norway for a second time and pledge loyalty to the king of Sweden.

With the aid of night, King Sweyn was able to avoid detection until he rowed up to Earl Hakon’s ship. When the king reached the ship, he told the crew that his name was Vandrad and that he wanted to see the earl. The earl was intrigued when he heard the name; Vandrad was a common alias at the time. Recognizing who the stranger was, Earl Hakon decided that he liked King Sweyn better than King Harald. Therefore, he ordered two of his sailors to join the stranger in the rowboat and to escort the man to shore. Once they reached land, the earl wanted them to lead the stranger to a nearby farmer named Karl.

By this point, dawn was approaching, so Harald’s patrols were beginning to have better visibility. Despite this, the earl’s soldiers were able to pass every checkpoint by announcing who they were and who they served, thus allowing the rowboat, with King Sweyn still hiding inside, to continue along its path toward the shore. The sailors kept rowing until Harald’s fleet was out of eyesight and then they beached their boat on the riverbank. As the sun arose, the king and his escorts traveled from the river to Karl’s farm, arriving just in time for breakfast.

When the group arrived, the soldiers delivered a message, which stated that the man accompanying them should be given provisions, a horse and a guide. Welcoming the weary party generously, Karl invited them all inside to eat. Inside the home were Karl’s wife and son. Before they ate, Karl had everyone wash their hands with a basin and handed out a towel with which they could dry off the drops of water. Sweyn was the last to receive the towel and, not noticing that all of the other guests had only used the edges of the towel, Sweyn dried off his hands with the towel’s center. According to the tale, when Karl’s wife saw this, she yanked the towel from Sweyn’s hands and called him an uncouth and boorish man. After that, they sat down to eat.

As the story goes, the farmer’s wife was in an irritable mood that morning, making the breakfast conversation less than enjoyable. Karl’s wife first complained that she had not been able to sleep because of the clamor of the night’s battle. Then, when she learned that the Danes had lost, she mused that King Sweyn was always losing his battles, and that he had probably run away in the end. Not knowing that King Sweyn was one of the guests at her table, she kept up the insults, going as far as calling the king a wretched coward. At the end of her tirade, all that “Vandrad” could say in response to her criticisms was that the king was not a coward—he was just unlucky.

After that humbling encounter, the king met the farmer outside, where Karl lent Sweyn a horse and sent his son to help the king reach wherever he needed to go. After leaving the farmstead, King Sweyn was able to regroup with his troops in Zealand and continue his war.

Once King Sweyn had firmly reestablished himself, he had Karl summoned to the royal court. According to the tale, when Karl arrived, King Sweyn announced that the farmer was his eternal friend. The king then granted Karl a massive plantation in Zealand, and let the farmer, himself, choose which parcels of land would be included in the gift. There was, however, a catch to the deal—Karl had to find a new bride if he wanted to accept the free land.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Invasion fleet of Duke William of Normandy on Bayeux Tapestry, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sweyn-II-Estridsen
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-I-Olafsson
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hardecanute
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-III-Sigurdsson  

The Future King Of Norway, Harald Hardrada, Supposedly Conquered A City By Playing Sports

From around 1038 to 1041, the Byzantine Empire’s talented general, George Maniakes, carried out a military campaign that led to the momentary conquest of the island of Sicily. Harald Sigurdsson, also known as Harald Hardrada or Harald the Ruthless, was one of the foreign mercenaries that took part in the campaign. He would later become King Harald III of Norway, but for now, he was leading the Varangian Guard, the most renowned mercenary company in the empire that took orders only from the Byzantine emperor.

The Greek historians, such as Michael Pseullus and John Skylitzes, mainly focused on the actions of George Maniakes in their commentaries on the Sicilian campaign. They acknowledged that foreign mercenaries were also present on the island and some admitted that Harald Hardrada accomplished impressive feats while in Sicily. They, however, reserved their highest praise for George Maniakes, who, by 1039, had conquered most of the island, and was said to have personally captured thirteen Sicilian cities.

Nevertheless, the future Norwegian king received more recognition from his Scandinavian peers. The great Icelandic historian and saga writer, Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), wrote a dramatic account of Harald’s war-torn life in King Harald’s Saga. In it, Sturluson claimed that Harald led his band of mercenaries in four successful sieges against Sicilian cities. Although each of these four supposed sieges were accomplished through very unique and memorable means, today we will only focus on the third city that Harald attacked.

After taking one city by setting it on fire, and another by tunneling under its walls, Harald Hardrada came across a third city that was populous and wealthy. The settlement was described as having strong walls, a moat, and enough supplies to last through a long siege. In addition, Harald thought that the local garrison in charge of the defense of the city looked competent enough to repel anyone trying to scale the walls with ladders. According to Sturluson, the defenders lined up on their walls and opened their gate, beckoning the invaders to attack. Still wary, the future king held his troops back and made camp.

Instead of storming the city, Harald marched his men over to a spot that was out of range from enemy projectiles and then had his men remove their equipment to start playing sports and games. Harald kept his troops playing these games (in shifts) for several days. With time, the besieged town took interest in the spectacle and people would crowd the walls to have a look at the ongoing competitions. As the days went on, the city grew lazy with its defense—spectators on the walls were unarmed and they would habitually leave their gate open.

On a certain day, the sporting event was being held as usual. This time, however, the competing mercenaries looked a little bulkier than usual; they had on hoods or large hats, and their clothing was looser than usual. The city defenders realized too late that the athletes were wearing helmets under their headgear and had swords stowed away under their tunics. Each soldier that happened to be playing a sport that day suddenly rushed toward the city’s open gateway. The defenders, unprepared and surprised, managed to keep this first wave of attackers from fully entering the city, but they could not close the gate. Then, as planned, Harald Hardrada charged in with his remaining band of fully equipped mercenaries and pushed his way into the city through the opening. The town fell shortly after that, but the assault was said to have been the most costly attack that Harald enacted in Sicily, primarily because the first wave of his soldier-athletes were wearing very little armor when they entered combat.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (A game from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, c. 1280, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• John Skylitzes. A Synopsis of Byzantine History: 811-1057, translated by John Wortley. Original text c. 11^th or early 12^th century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/psellus-chrono04.asp 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-III-Sigurdsson 
• http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100130762  

Norwegian King Harald Hardrada And The Burning Of Scarborough

Harald “Hardrada” Sigurdsson lived one of the most dramatic lives of the 11th century. At the age of fifteen (in year 1030), Harald was smuggled out of Norway after his brother, the King-Saint Olaf, was killed by rebels in the battle of Stiklestad. For more than a decade, Harald stayed in a self-imposed exile. Yet, the Norwegian prince did not spend those years idly—he became a successful mercenary employed first by the Russ and then by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.

After serving in successful campaigns that took him to places such as the Caucuses, Jerusalem, Sicily and Bulgaria, Harald had enough plunder and prestige fit for a king. In fact, Harald was stashing away so much treasure that the Byzantine emperor had Harald momentarily arrested. Sometime after 1042, when Emperor Michael V was dethroned and blinded (the latter possibly done by Harald, himself), the rich Norwegian prince returned to Scandinavia. In 1045, Harald Hardrada negotiated a deal with his nephew, King Magnus the Good, in which he bought half of Norway in exchange for half of his wealth. Two years later, King Magnus died, leaving Harald with full control of Norway.

By 1066, King Harald had long been the sole king of Norway. At this point, his lengthy, but unfruitful, war against Denmark had also ended. Now, Harald set his sights set on another prize. It was a target that had a storied history of Viking invasions—Britain. With an estimated force of 9,000 troops packed onto 300 ships, Harald landed along the River Ouse around September 20, 1066, obtaining a foothold near the city of York. As he began his maneuvers around northern England, Harald’s first challenge came from the town of Scarborough.

The townspeople of Scarborough allegedly came out of their fortifications to fight the invaders, but they were quickly forced to retreat back into their town. With the townspeople manning their defenses, Harald scanned the countryside for weaknesses and opportunities. According to the sources of the Icelandic historian and saga writer Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), this ability to utilize nature and the environment for his military purposes was one of Harald Hardrada’s specialties. In King Harald’s Saga, Sturluson wrote of the king accomplishing feats such as tunneling under walls to capture cities, carrying ships across land to escape pursuing fleets, and even using birds with makeshift candles to set a fortified town on fire. Whether or not these extravagant feats actually occured as they were reported, Harald’s real reputation for military ingenuity and skill made the tales believable to the medieval Icelanders who wrote about his life. Therefore, when Harald Hardrada saw the huge hills and rocks towering over Scarborough, he undoubtedly had a few ideas.

According to Sturluson’s account, King Harald eventually started gathering firewood and had the pieces of lumber carried up to the top of one of the large rocky hills above the town. When the Norwegians had built a veritable pyramid of firewood, Harald had his soldiers ignite the combustible pile. Then, using pitchforks and other tools, the Norwegians shoveled the live embers and burning sticks down into the helpless town of Scarborough. Harald then looted what remained of the charred town and allegedly killed any survivors that were found. Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxons would have their revenge—within days, Harald Hardrada was killed in battle after being surprised at Stamford Bridge.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Painting of a castle and a city burning, by Aert van der Neer (1604–1677), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005.

The Surprising Defeat That Allegedly Led To The Downfall Of the Scandinavian-Irish King, Margad Ragnvaldsson

King Margad Ragnvaldsson (thought to be the Eachmargach mentioned in sources from the British Isles) was the son of a Viking named Ragnvald Ivarsson and was a man of Scandinavian and Irish blood.  Although not much is known about King Margad’s life, we know he was prominent for much of the mid-11th century. He was recorded as having ruled Dublin from around 1035-1038, and then returned to power from 1046-1052.

The Icelandic historian and saga writer, Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), wrote about Margad’s downfall in his text, King Harald’s Saga. In the saga, Sturluson described the career of the last major Viking King, Harald “Hardrada” Sigurdsson of Norway, who famously died at the battle of Stamford Bridge only days before the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Apparently, a distant member of the Norwegian royal family was a regular companion of King Margad in Dublin, allowing Sturluson to digress away from the tale of Harald in order to spend some time recounting the fall of King Margad.

The link between Margad Ragnvaldsson and Harald Hardrada was a certain Guthorm Gunnhildarson. He was the nephew of the Norwegian king, born to Harald’s sister, Gunnhild. When Guthorm was not with Harald, he liked to go on Viking expeditions and his favorite target was Britain. As such, he became friends with King Margad and was allowed to stay in Dublin between raids.

According to Sturluson’s account, Margad and Guthorm decided to jointly raid Wales in early 1052. The king of Dublin was said to have taken sixteen longships with him on the journey, while Guthorm commanded five independent ships of his own. While pillaging the lands of the Welsh, the two warriors captured an enormous amount of treasure, especially in silver coins. With their ships weighed down by loot, the Vikings sailed to the Menai Strait, which runs between the island of Anglesey and the northwest coast of Wales. There, the ships were anchored and the two Viking forces set about dividing the plunder.

As all of the wealth was being assessed, King Margad was said to have become filled with greed. Very aware that he had a much larger army than Guthorm, the king of Dublin bluntly proclaimed that he was not going to share any of the winnings with the Norwegians. In fact, Sturluson claimed that King Margad even demanded that Guthorm hand over his ships, as well. The Norwegian asked the king to reconsider and to wait three days in order to allow for further negotiations. Margad, however, refused to continue discussions on the matter.

According to Sturluson, this incident took place on July 28, 1052, on St. Olaf’s day, a day that interestingly honored another famous uncle of Guthorm Gunnhildarson. Instead of relinquishing his share of the loot and his ships to King Margad, Guthorm called his troops into battle formation. After asking for divine aid from his sainted uncle, Guthorm and his companions charged against Margad’s larger forces on the banks of the Menai Strait. The Norwegians must have caught the Dublin Vikings off guard, or perhaps Guthorms men were the more seasoned fighters—whatever the case, the smaller Norwegian warband slaughtered the soldiers from Dublin. Sturluson wrote that King Margad died during the battle, yet some other sources claimed that Margad lived on to regain power in the Isle of Man. Either way, King Margad lost control of Dublin in 1052.

After claiming all of the loot for himself, and presumably taking as many ships as his men could control, Guthorm set off for Norway. Once home, he paid thanks to St. Olaf by using a tenth of his captured silver to fund a great statue, supposedly ten feet in height, which was placed in the saint’s church.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Landing of a Viking Fleet at Dublin, by James Ward (1851-1924), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005. 
• https://books.google.com/books?id=vSFzo9-pdT4C&pg=PA162&lpg=PA162&dq=Eachmargach+Isle+of+Man&source=bl&ots=rcQACxBcCW&sig=um4-0DQgpoCV1GsiE3REapVMqa8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSvISI1KvaAhWh0YMKHd9uCo4Q6AEIVTAF#v=onepage&q=Eachmargach%20Isle%20of%20Man&f=false 
• https://books.google.com/books?id=_NySAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT467&lpg=PT467&dq=Echmarcach+mac+Ragnaill&source=bl&ots=6wg8kJUO3Z&sig=y_r7QhNmcOr0_rHf0v9LbMGzWTk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU_rzFy6vaAhUh0oMKHSI4Bhs4HhDoAQgoMAA#v=onepage&q=Echmarcach%20mac%20Ragnaill&f=false  

The Avian Air Force Of The 11th-Century Harald Hardrada

From 1038 to around 1041, the Byzantine Empire’s skilled general, George Maniakes, conquered the island of Sicily. Present with Maniakes in Sicily, was one of the more unique figures from medieval history—Harald Sigurdsson, also known as Harald Hardrada or Harald the Ruthless. He would later become King Harald III of Norway, but for now, he was biding his time as a mercenary in the Byzantine Empire’s Varangian Guard, all the while amassing wealth and prestige from his military exploits.

The Greek historians, such as Michael Pseullus and John Skylitzes, who later wrote about the time period, largely erased Harald from their accounts of the Sicilian campaign. At most, they would acknowledge that foreign mercenaries were present on the island and that Harald, or “Araltes” as they would sometimes call him, accomplished some impressive feats while on Sicily. They, however, reserved their highest praise for George Maniakes, who, by 1039, had conquered most of the island, and was said to have personally captured thirteen Sicilian cities.

Harald Hardrada received more recognition from his Scandinavian peers. The great Icelandic historian and saga writer, Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), wrote a dramatic account of Harald’s war-torn life in his text, King Harald’s Saga. In the saga, Sturluson claimed that Harald led his band of Scandinavian mercenaries in four successful sieges against Sicilian cities. Although each of these four supposed sieges were accomplished through very unique and memorable means, this article focuses only on the first city that Harald attacked.

The first unnamed settlement that Harald was said to have besieged was described as being very large and populous, surrounded by walls that were too well-built to be knocked down with siege engines. Harald could not afford to wait until the population starved, for he had reports alleging that the city was well provisioned in food and water.

As he stared at those impenetrable walls, Harald Hardrada soon realized that the city hosted an abundance of wildlife—birds were constantly flying to and fro between the city and the nearby woods. With a plan in mind, Harald pulled together a team of his best birdcatchers. When his trappers were assembled, Harald told them to go catch as many birds as they could find that had flown from the city to the forest. When the mercenaries had assembled their battalion of birds, Harald was said to have had the poor creatures covered with flammable materials, which had earlier been smeared with wax and sulfur. Sadly for the birds, when the creatures had been given their combustible coverings (presumably set up like a fuse), Harald set them on fire and shooed the poor animals back toward the city.

Acting like mobile candles, the birds were able to fly back into the Sicilian city, where they returned to their nests on the rafters, underneath the flammable medieval roofs. Soon, at least according to the saga, the whole city was ablaze, and the distraught inhabitants evacuated the town and surrendered to the triumphant Harald Hardrada.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Birds in a dark and cloudy sky, [Public Domain] via pxhere.com).

Sources:

• John Skylitzes. A Synopsis of Byzantine History: 811-1057, translated by John Wortley. Original text c. 11^th or early 12^th century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 
• King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Magnus Mangusson and Hermann Pálsson. New York: Penguin Books, 1966, 2005.
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/psellus-chrono04.asp
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-III-Sigurdsson
• http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100130762