
Harald Fairhair (850-932) was King of Viken from 866 to 872 (succeeding Halfdan the Black) and King of Norway from 872 to 932 (preceding Eric Bloodaxe).
Biography[]
Harald Harfagre was born in Viken, Norway in 850, the son of King Halfdan the Black. On his father's death in 866, he inherited the petty kingdom of Viken, but he was jilted by Gyda Eiriksdottir, the daughter of Eirik of Hordaland, as she said that she refused to marry him before he was king of all of Norway. Harald vowed not to cut or comb his hair until he was the sole king of Norway, and he was nicknamed "Tanglehair" (Iufa). From 866 to 872, he oversaw the unification of Norway, and, after defeating a coalition of his rival kings at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872, he became the first King of Norway. Many of his rival chieftains fled to the British Isles, so Harald led an expedition across the North Sea to conquer Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, and the Faroe Islands. He then made Rognvald Eysteinsson, one of his vassals, Jarl of Orkneyar before returning to Norway, where he cut his hair, married Gyda, and became known as Harfagre, meaning "Fairhair". When he grew old, he made his favorite son Eric Bloodaxe his heir, and Eric consolidated his rule by killing his brothers Bjorn Farmann, Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, and Sigrod Haraldsson. Harald died in 932 at the age of 82.