Horik I (died 854) was King of Denmark from 813 to 854, succeeding Harald Klak and Reginfrid and preceding Horik II.
Biography[]
Horik was the son of King Gudfred, and, in 810, his father was assassinated and was succeeded by his nephew Hemming. Hemming diied in 812, leading to civil war. Horik and the other sons of Gudfred fled to Sweden after Harald Klak and Reginfrid seized power, but, while the brothers were busy fighting rebels in Vestfold in Norway, Horik and his brothers deposed them in 813. In 814, Reginfrid and Horik's oldest brother were slain in battle, and Harald was forced to flee to the lands of his Frankish allies. Horik then became King of Denmark, and, after Louis the Pious persuaded the Saxons and Obotrites to invade Denmark in 815, Horik retaliated with Viking raids against the Frankish Empire. In 819, he invited Harald Klak to share power with him due to a civil war with his own brothers, but the alliance broke down in 823 when Horik and his brothers threatened to expel Harald from the kingdom. In 827, they permanently expelled Harald, and, in 828, Harald invaded Denmark and plundered and burned several villages. Horik and his brother crossed the Eider and defeated the invading Frankish army, and Horik became the sole ruler of Denmark soon after. Horik continued to permit or sanction Viking raids against the Franks, especially on Frisia, but Horik occasionally punished raiders when they grew too powerful. In 845, Horik's vassal Ragnarr Lodbrok sacked Paris, and the same fleet sacked Hamburg on the way home. Unfortunately for Horik, he was unable to control the powerful Viking sea kings, and, in 854, his nephew Guttorm decided to seize power. Horik, Guttorm, and a great many chiefs were killed in the same battle, leading to a distant relative ascending to the throne as "Horik II".