Teague-Earnest Family Tree » Harald I (Fairhair) Hårfagre Halfdansson 1st King of Norway 33rd GGF (850-932)

Personal data Harald I (Fairhair) Hårfagre Halfdansson 1st King of Norway 33rd GGF 

• He was born in the year 850 in Lærdal, Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norja.
• He died in the year 932 in Avaldsnes, Karmøy, Rogaland, Norja, he was 82 years old.
• A child of Halvdan (the Black) Gudrødsson of Yngling King of Vestfold 34th GGF and Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter of Dagling 34th GGM

Household of Harald I (Fairhair) Hårfagre Halfdansson 1st King of Norway 33rd GGF

Child(ren):

1. Sigurd Haraldsson 'Hrise' Rise 33rd GGF  912-937 

Notes about Harald I (Fairhair) Hårfagre Halfdansson 1st King of Norway 33rd GGF

t has been commonly accepted that the province of Vestfold was the starting point of Harald Finehair's unification of Norway. This assumption is ultimately based on the authority of Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, which depicts both Harald and his forefathers in five generations as kings of Vestfold. However, there are indications of this being a view that only emerged after some time, and that the saga-writers of an early phase, such as Saemund and Ari, thought otherwise. They seem to have believed that Harald's forefathers were kings of Upplond, not Vestfold, on his paternale side, - and also, unlike Fagrskinna and Snorri, that his maternal grandfather was king Harald Goldbeard of Sogn. From there Harald Harfagri set out on his conquering expeditions, primarily as a king of Western Norway. Could this development of historical views possibly have a connection with the contemporary political situation in Norway during the late twelfth century? Although no definite conclusions may be drawn, there is at least room for a hypothesis combining the views of the sagas of the second phase with the fact that the Danish kings from around 1160 onwards laid claims to the Norwegian throne, or at least to the Norwegian region of Viken. This claim had a seemingly strong historical basis, especially concerning Viken, and it is a fair assumption that the counterposition of the Norwegian king(s) was considerably strengthened with the establishment, as a 'fact', of Vestfold as the original home of the Norwegian dynasty, and so to speak the core of the Norwegian kingdom. (Claus Krag, Collegium Medievale 1990/2, page 193.)

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Timeline Harald I (Fairhair) Hårfagre Halfdansson 1st King of Norway 33rd GGF

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