Harald Hardrada
King of Norway
"I'll not flee — I came to win England or die."
Biography
Harald Sigurdsson, called Hardrada ('hard ruler'), was perhaps the greatest warrior-king of the Viking age. As a teenager he fled the lost battle of Stiklestad, then served for years in the elite Varangian Guard of the Byzantine emperors, fighting from Sicily to the Holy Land and amassing a fortune before returning north to seize the throne of Norway. His reign was a long, hard struggle to dominate Scandinavia. In 1066, claiming the English crown through an old dynastic agreement and allied with Harold Godwinson's exiled brother Tostig, Hardrada launched the last great Viking invasion of England. He smashed the northern earls at Fulford and took York. But Harold Godwinson's lightning march caught him unprepared at Stamford Bridge, many of his men without their armor. Hardrada was killed by an arrow to the throat amid the slaughter. His death is often taken to mark the end of the Viking age — and his invasion, by drawing Harold north, helped hand England to the Normans instead.
Did you know?
He had fought as far afield as Sicily, North Africa, and Jerusalem during his years in Byzantine service.
Key Battles
Battle of Fulford
Norwegian Invaders victorySeptember 20, 1066 · 5,000 total casualties
Fulford broke the military power of northern England and forced King Harold to march his army the length of the country at desperate speed. It set up the lightning campaign that would exhaust the English even before William's Normans landed in the south — a fateful drain on Harold's strength.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Anglo-Saxon England victorySeptember 25, 1066 · 8,000 total casualties
Stamford Bridge ended the era of Viking invasions of England that had begun nearly three centuries before — but it was a victory won at terrible cost and timing. Harold's army was exhausted and far from the south coast when, three days later, William's Normans landed in Sussex. The triumph helped doom Harold at Hastings.
Life Journey
Timeline
c. 1015
🌅 Birth
Born in Norway
c. 1034
📍 Posting
Serves in the Byzantine Varangian Guard
September 20, 1066
⚔️ Battle
Wins the Battle of Fulford and takes York
September 25, 1066
✝️ Death
Killed at Stamford Bridge — the last great Viking invasion ends