Earl Haraldson (died 794) was the Jarl of Kattegat during the 8th century AD. He was a powerful Norwegian nobleman, controlling his jarldom's fleet of longships and determining which lands his Vikings would strike. However, he faced a young and formidable opponent in Ragnarr Lodbrok, who killed him in single combat in 794.
Biography[]
Earl Haraldson was born in Kattegat, Norway to a family of Norse nobility (and the half-brother of Knut Haraldson), and he established himself as ruler over Kattegat through his control of the village's ships. Haraldson married Siggy and had three children, and he became the respected chieftain and Earl of his community, meting out justice before the Thing with the help of his steward Svein and his executioner Olafur. During the late 8th century, he sent his jarldom's warriors to raid the Baltics and Russia as Vikings, but he refused to follow Ragnarr Lodbrok's advice to raid west, as he did not wish to risk any of his ships being destroyed by the powerful ocean waves.
Rivalry with Ragnarr[]
The Earl in 793
Ultimately, he became enemies with Ragnarr due to his insubordination, sending Olafur to spy on him and discovering that Ragnarr was building a longship in preparation for an expedition to the British Isles. He later had Olafur executed after discovering that Olafur coveted his wife Siggy, and, upon discovering that Ragnarr had set out for Britannia without his permission, Haraldson had the blacksmith responsible for forging the ship's anchor, Hakon Hemingsson, executed. He later granted permission for Ragnarr to return to Britannia after he returned with loads of treasure from his Sack of Lindisfarne, but he punished Ragnarr and his men by only allowing them to take one looted item each.
On Ragnarr's return from his second voyage (the Sack of Hexham), the Jarl had him arrested when he claimed to have killed Knut, whom the Earl had sent to accompany him as his agent; Ragnarr had taken the blame for Lagertha's killing of Knut in self-defense. He later attempted to bribe Ragnarr's brother Rollo Sigurdsson into allying with him, promising him a share of the treasure, recognition for his feats, and marriage to his daughter Thyri if he would turn against his more famous brother. The Earl had Ragnarr tried for the willful murder of Knut, claiming that Ragnarr had killed Knut out of ambition and due to his desire for Knut's share of the spoils. Ragnarr then turned the crowd against the Earl by appealing to their empathy, but Lagertha entered the Thing and said that her husband was innocent. When the Earl accused her of lying, she told him, "May Thor strike you dead" and confessed that she had killed Knut herself. Ultimately, Rollo was called up as a witness by the Earl, who expected him to side with him. However, Rollo affirmed Ragnarr's testimony, forcing the Earl to free Ragnarr and give him half of his treasure.
Angered, Haraldson sent men to kill Ragnar at his victory celebration, but they succeeded only in killing Eric Marteinn before being killed by Ragnarr's friends. Haraldson then sent men to massacre Ragnarr's farmers and burn his farm, and he confronted a wounded Ragnarr and attempted to convince him to accept that he was a criminal worthy of nothing but death. However, Ragnarr killed a guard and fled on horseback, so the Earl ordered that his men burn down his house and bring him back alive. A wounded Ragnarr fell off of a cliff to his apparent death, and Guda Iorundsson and Styrmir Thjodoflsson reported that he was missing. He then had them continue the search, and, shortly after, he brought in the Swedish nobleman Earl Bjarni and had him get to know his daughter Thyri, as he intended for them to marry in exchange for a dowry of 20 pounds of silver. Siggy was not informed of this match and was opposed to it, even though he was wealthy and the cousin of King Horik I. At the wedding ceremony for the two, Rollo approached Haraldson and asked for him to trust him once again, as he sought to take part in raids and war; Haraldson told Rollo that it would take some time to trust him again, but he allowed for him to feast at his expense. He then had him lured in by Siggy's seduction and captured, and he had him tortured in an attempt to find Ragnarr's location; he had Siggy tell Ragnarr's lieutenant Torstein of Rollo's capture with the hope that Ragnarr would come out and face him. However, it was Ragnarr who sought to bring the Earl to battle, sending Hrafna-Floki Vilgertharson to issue a challenge to the Earl at the start of 794 AD. The Earl initially declined, but he then changed his mind and decided to accept the challenge and slay Ragnarr.
Downfall[]
Haraldson preparing to duel Ragnarr
The Earl and Ragnarr met in a public fight, with each man being given two shields and any weapon they desired; if both shields were destroyed, there would be no further replacement. However, Haraldson threw away his shield, and Ragnarr honorably did the same, preparing to fight him on equal terms. However, Haraldson picked up another shield, and Ragnarr did so as well; this meant that, if the shield was destroyed, it would count as their second.
Haraldson's death
Ragnarr's sword broke on the Earl's shield, so he resorted to close-quarters fighting. After both of their shields were destroyed, they both dropped their swords and prepared to fight with small axes. Haraldson slashed Ragnarr across the chest, wounding him, but Ragnarr outmaneuvered him and hacked him in the back, causing Haraldson to collapse. Ragnarr comforted the Earl by telling him that he would soon take his seat at Odin's table, and the Earl then died of his wounds.