The saga of Harald Hardrada is an incredible one.
He was a true viking’s viking. The son of a noble, exiled after battle at just 15, who founded a
mercenary company, embarked on wild adventures, served as a Varangian Guard to the Byzantines,
kidnapped their princess, blinded their emperor, and escaped with enough gold and glory to forge
an Empire that stretched across the North-Sea. Gather round the mead hall
and let us sing of his tale. These adventures would resound
throughout the halls of Scandinavia, inspiring countless generations
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like the iphone 13 airpods pro and more enjoy A brief note on historiography and
context will be needed before we begin. For starters it must be pointed out that the 11th
century life of Harald Hardrada is a patchwork of real and mythical tales cobbled together from
various sources. Some hard facts tie aspects of the story to reality but modern scholarship
casts doubt on the more fanciful aspects of his adventures. For instance, one of our most complete
sources on his life comes from the Heimskringla, written by the Poet-Historian Snorri Sturluson
about 160 years after his death. There is speculation that stories from this saga borrow
from or amalgamate the deeds of other figures while heaping on top of this layers of narrative
flourish which, while entertaining, are of dubious authenticity. Even the name “Hardrada” is just an
Anglicised epithet, originally meaning something like “The Ruthless” or “Harsh-Ruler”, which was
coined by his political opponents in later 13th century sagas. In reality he probably went by
the name “Harald Fairhair” or “Harald Sigurdsson” All this to say is that you should take our
tale today with a healthy grain of salt. But with that being said let’s get started. At the time, the lands of Denmark, Norway, and
England had been united as a grand North-Sea Empire by Sweyn Forkbeard. However the
death of this conqueror in 1014 once again splintered the realm, casting his heirs
against one another. According to tradition, Harald was born around 1015 the following year to
Sigurd Syr, a Norwegian petty King of the upland region of Ringerike. The family was quite well
off politically as Harald’s older half-brother, Olaf the Second, currently sat atop the throne
of Norway following his victory at the battle of Nesjar in 1016. Thus a young Harald was
inspired by the great men of his youth, reportedly displaying a fierce spirit of ambition.
This would serve him well in the days ahead. Across the seas, Cnut the Great had slowly
been piecing back together the North-Sea Empire of his father. In the summer
of 1015 he had re-invaded England, finally claiming victory in 1017. The
following year he took the crown of Denmark, making further moves to fight the Swedes and
consolidate his rule. In 1028 this involved sailing to Norway and bullying Olaf the Second
off the throne. However in 1030, this half-brother of Harald would return to claim what was his, a
move that culminated in the Battle of Stiklestad. Here Olaf fielded a force of some three thousand
men, made up of his remaining loyal troops and new allied contingents. Apparently a 15-year old
Harald had even gathered 600 men from his father’s lands who now took their position on the right.
Against them stood a host roughly twice their size made up of wealthy farmers, rival nobles, and the
bondsmen loyal to or bought off by Cnut the Great. Regardless of this fact, Olaf’s
army bravely charged downhill, slamming into the host. From there, the battle
devolved into a bloody and confused melee. As the battle lines blurred and the ground ran
slick with blood, overhead the sun darkened with an eclipse, casting the entire struggle into
shimmering shadow. According to the sagas, Olaf received a series of severe wounds
culminating with a final spear thrust through his belly and a sword blow to the throat. With this
loss the battle quickly dissolved into a rout. Harald too was wounded in the action but was
thankfully saved by the warrior Rognvald, who had been tasked with protecting the
prince’s life and now dragged him through the forest to safety. The following verse has
been attributed by some to this harrowing escape: Through endless woods I crawl/
on my way now, with little honor./ Who knows but that my name may/
yet be far and wide renowned./ As a close relative to the fallen Olaf and
one who had taken up arms against Cnut, Harald had little hope of safety back home.
He therefore laid low on a remote farm, recovering from his wounds, before escaping east
to Sweden. Here he regrouped with other remnants of the defeated army and plotted their next moves.
They appear to have turned to Olaf’s old political connections for support which eventually
brought them to the land of the Rus in 1031. The arrival of such a band of warriors
was not uncommon in this period as a market for mercenary work had actually
developed across the region. Thus Harald and his warband in exile soon found themselves
in the employ of Prince Jaroslav the Wise. Such mercenary contracts were likely
structured in 12-month rotations. During this time, the Prince would have
sustained the men with basic food and supplies with a handsome payout coming at the end of the
year. In the trade hubs of Kiev and Novgorod these were probably "payments in kind" made with furs
or other valuable goods. This arrangement proved beneficial to both parties and would see Harald
and his men serve loyally for about three years. The young noble was still under 18 years old
and likely served as a lesser officer with command over a small body of troops. These may
have assisted the Grand Prince’s tax gatherers. It was a common but dangerous profession
for mercenary soldiers. Collection could prove difficult and intimidation or a strong arm
was sometimes needed to wrestle coins from the purses of the locals. There was also the matter of
transport. The taxman’s caravan of grain, animals, and coin was a tempting target for the bandits and
steppe raiders who stalked these lands. But this did not seem to phase the ambitious young Harald.
If anything it kept the men sharp and allowed them to show off their military prowess. This seems to
have earned them the Grand Prince’s respect. Their next assignment involved joining him on campaign
against the Poles and various neighboring rivals. Following these campaigns, Harald and his now
veteran company was tasked with assisting in the resettlement and colonization
efforts meant to tame the steppe. This drew the ire of the fierce Pechenegs. They
were powerful, numerous, and hostile. Yet even when faced by raids from these foes, Harald
was said to have led his men to victory. These tours of duty cemented the relationship between
Harald and Jaroslav which would prove critical in the future. However, by around 1033 the now 18
year old Norwegian was ready for his next move. The sagas claim that Harald requested Jaroslav's
daughter, Elisiveta’s, hand in marriage. But the Grand Prince refused him, saying that he first
needed to prove himself as a great warrior by seeking out wealth and prestige of his own. Only
then would Jaroslav allow this exiled Norwegian prince to marry his beautiful daughter. And so
Harald turned south to the riches of distant Miklagard where it was said anything was possible
for a man with a strong arm and quick mind. Packing up their belongings he
and his merry band navigated their way up the river Lovat, portaged over to the
Dnieper, and sailed down to the Black Sea. The journey was long but it proved yet another
opportunity for Harald to win over the former housecarls of King Olaf. Finally they arrived
at their destination. The saga goes as follows: Bleak gales lashed prows
hard along the shoreline. Iron-shielded, our ships
rode proud to harbour. Of Miklagard, our famous prince
first saw the golden gables. Many a sea-ship, fine arrayed,
swept toward the high-walled city. They arrived in the early summer of 1034. Likely
landing in the port of Mamas, they followed in the footsteps of previous mercenaries who
had established a community in the area. Various goods were traded to finally turn their
years of work into hard cash and upgrades were made to their gear. Within a short time, they
resembled the rest of the decked out Varangians. Now it was time to find their new employer.
Currently this would be the freshly remarried Empress Zoe and her low-born husband Michael IV.
Here, the stories diverge. In one version Harald attempted to keep his identity hidden as it might
be dangerous for one with his sort of royal blood and powerful enemies. In another version though,
Harald presents himself to the Empress and Emperor as royalty, and gains their formal recognition,
as well as Zoe’s barely concealed lust. This last part reads as a boastful tale shared
in the mead halls and likely didn’t happen. Either way, he and his company of 500 men were
hired into the Hetairai as the lowest tier of the Sailing Varangians. To newcomers though, this was
a huge step up which allowed them to amass even greater fortunes trolling the sea lanes looking
for pirate ships to plunder in the crown’s name. According to the sagas they filled 4 vessels which
fell under the command of a general named Gyrgir. This may have been the Norse name for
the formidable Byzantine Strategos named George Maniakes. Greek sources describe
him as a man standing nearly ten feet tall, with a deep voice that dominated both the
court and the battlefield. Under his command, Harald’s Varangians spent the year chasing down
sleek Arabic pirate vessels across the Aegean and raiding their bases of support along
Anatolia. This was a Viking’s dream job. By 1035 they seemed to have sufficiently
impressed the Byzantines to the point that they were promoted into the Varangian
Mercenary groups serving with the imperial army. Snorri Sturluson claims that the roughly 20
year Harald was even made leader over all the Varangians owing to his charisma and reputation.
Now these foreigners joined the next Byzantine counter-offensive which pushed the Arabs out
of Anatolia and into northern Mesopotamia. Here, he is reputed to have sacked
and razed ‘twice-forty fortresses.’ We should note that 80 seems to be the generic
Norse term for ‘a lot’ so while he probably didn’t sack 80 Arabic fortresses with just 500
men, what he did manage was no doubt impressive. The following verse was likely written by
Harald himself as a memoir to that campaign. One other time there was, when I
reddened blades from my homeland; the sword singing in the Arab town
– and yet that was long ago For the next 7 years, Harald would find himself
in the thick of every major imperial campaign across virtually every frontier, from the great
warfleet sent to recover the lands of Italy and Sicily in the west to the wars against the Serbs,
Bulgarians and Pechenegs in the north. He is also reported to have been commander of a mission to
Jerusalem, escorting masons and architects who had been dispatched by the Emperor to restore the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher and fighting various battles in the area. All of this action would be
the fodder of later skalds who would sing of the endless adventures of Harald the “ruthless”, the
“hammer”, the “thunderbolt”, the “Bulgar Burner”. Diving further into our sources you also find all
kinds of amazing stories about his adventures. For instance while campaigning in Sicily there
was a series of 4 castles each of which Harald endeavored to take by different ploys. At the
first castle he is said to have observed the comings and goings of small nesting birds from the
fortifications. These he ordered his men to catch. They then tied burning material to their backs,
released them back to their homes, and watched as hundreds of fires broke out across the thatched
roofs of the castle, precipitating its surrender. At the second castle Harald had his men find a
hidden place behind a stream and dig a looooong tunnel beneath the fortifications. When the
moment was right, his men then removed the final bricks above them, bursting into the midst of a
feast, and taking the place by storm from within. At the third castle both attackers and defenders
found themselves in a drawn out stalemate. During this time, Harald had his men disarm and play
games out in the open just out of bow shot. This routine habituated the guards to their innocuous
activity. However one day the Varangians went to their game with hidden weapons. At a sudden
command they dashed for the gatehouse, gaining control after a bloody melee and allowing the rest
of the army to flood in. But to take the fourth and greatest castle required the greatest ruse of
all. What happened is that when Harald fell ill, rumours on both sides abounded that he was on the
verge of death. One day the Varangians announced his passing and parlayed with the priests of the
castle to have him buried inside the local church. They agreed believing that this would bring
them a great wealth of presents in exchange. Thus a small procession was allowed
to carry the coffin of Harald within. However the commander was very much alive
and once inside the group drew their weapons, striking all those around them, and
using the coffin to prop open the gates for the rest of the Varangians
who followed swiftly to take the keep. Through these campaigns Harald’s fame and wealth
grew to unprecedented heights with his vast hordes of plunder being sent back for safekeeping in the
lands of his friend and ally, Yaroslave the Wise. Yet his fortunes would take a sharp turn at the
end of 1041. Michael the 4th died in December, leaving behind his nephew Michael the 5th to rule
alongside Empress Zoe. The new Emperor however was quick to make enemies, countermanding many of his
late uncle’s decisions and coming into conflict with most powerful figures of the realm. Among
his targets was the 27 year old Harald Hardrada who was thrown in prison. The charges vary among
our sources, ranging from that of defiling a noble woman, to committing murder, or the worst sin
of all defrauding the Emperor of his treasure. Around this same time, just 4 months into
his ascension, Michael also deposed the beloved Empress Zoe. This proved too much for the
people of Constantinople who erupted into revolt. Church bells soon rang out as the Patriarch
of Constantinople called the city to arms. In the streets the citizens bayed for blood,
howling for the return of their Empress. This must have brought a smile to
Harald’s face as he sat in his dark cell listening to the riots beyond and
perhaps even singing a gleeful tune. But the Emperor would not go down without a fight.
His Grand Domestic, the commander-in-chief of the army named Constantine, lept into action. Troops
were mobilized to contain the flames of revolt and defend the imperial palace. Armed with
his own cohort of Varangians as well as units of bowmen and ballistae, the streets leading
to the Emperor’s quarters were locked down. Meanwhile a dispatch was immediately
sent to recall the exiled Empress Zoe in hopes that her reappearance would cool the
situation. The surrounded bodyguard of the Emperor managed to hold the line for a few more
hours until being reinforced in the evening by veteran units who cut their way through the
crowds. Night set upon a city under siege. A rising sun brought hope to the
Emperor. However this would be dashed with the escape of Harald from prison. The
sagas disagree with the manner of his escape but the end result was the same. Now freed,
Harald took a stand with the rioters. His release acted as a lightning rod for the opposition,
rallying his followers and even turning loyalist Varangians of the City away from
the Emperor. Together these shock troops now smashed through the remaining imperial cordon
in a three-pronged assault. The streets to the palace were blown wide open and soon a flood of
looters and rioters crashed upon the inner gates. In this frenzied chaos it was reported
that three thousand people died. At the fore of this human wave were Harald and his
Varangians. According to legend, these burst into the imperial bedchambers. Harald himself is said
to have grabben a panicked Michael, castrating the Emperor before blinding him. But rather than
commit regicide, he tossed the still breathing victim to the ground, abandoning him to his fate.
Another account tells of how the Emperor actually fled the scene to a nearby monastery, soon after
to be discovered and blinded by a furious crowd. In the aftermath, Empress Zoe was
restored to the throne. Harald though sensed that the situation was too hot for him and
requested permission to return home to Norway. When this was refused, he again took matters into
his own hands. A saga tells of how one night he and the Varangians scrambled to collect their
goods, even breaking into the imperial apartments to kidnap the sleeping empress' niece, before
running off down the halls. They then hurried to the Varangian docks, commandeered a pair of
galleys, and rowed off. Yet while the northmen had outrun the alarm they now came face to face
with the great sea chains that blocked their exit. Undaunted, Harald would find a way. He ordered
half his men to the back of the ship, tipping its bow up, while the rest rowed as hard as they
could. The ships ran up onto the chain itself. At this point he ordered them all to run to the
front. His own galley creaked and groaned but finally slid past the tipping point, splashing
into the water on the other side. Unfortunately their second vessel cracked in the attempt and
became stuck. What goods and men could be spared were transferred over while the rest was left
behind. Meanwhile the kidnapped princess was dropped ashore and given a farewell message
to relay to the Empress Zoe. They were free! The sagas conclude this chapter as follows:
"Past wide plains we flew,
A dauntless, never-wearied crew; Our viking steed rushed through the sea,
As viking-like fast, fast sailed we. Never, I think, along this shore
Did Norsemen ever sail before; Yet to the Russian queen, I fear,
My gold-adorned, I am not dear." We hope you’ve enjoyed this first episode
on the adventures of Harald Hardrada. It's been an absolute blast to share this
more narrative driven tale of history but let us know what you think of the
format. Stay tuned for the rest of the story! A big thanks to the Patrons for funding the
channel and to the researchers, writers, and artists for making this episode
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