Everything about Halfdan The Black totally explained
Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (c.
820 – c.
860) (
Old Norse:
Hálfdan svarti, Norwegian:
Halvdan Svarte) was the father of the first King of Norway
Harald Fairhair and belonged to the
House of Yngling. No contemporary sources mention Halfdan, and the details of his life that are provided by later
kings' sagas are considered semi-legendary by modern historians. Although he's his own saga in Heimskringla, it lacks any skaldic verse, which is normally used by Snorri as supporting evidence and this, combined with its rather legendary character, leads historians to be wary of seeing much veracity in it.
Halfdan is mentioned in
Snorri Sturluson's
Heimskringla (c. 1230),
Fagrskinna (c. 1220),
Ágrip (c. 1190) and
Historia Norwegiæ (late 12th century). The most elaborate story is found in the latest saga,
Heimskringla. According to the
Latin Historia Norwegiæ, Halvdan was a king "in montanis" (in the mountains), which is usually equivalent to
Oppland in the
Old Norse. This conflicts with the version told in
Heimskringla.
According to
Heimskringla and
Fagsrkinna, Halfdan was the son of King
Gudrød the Hunter.
Heimskringla also names his mother, as Åsa, daughter of King Harald of
Agder, and his half-brother as
Olaf Geirstad-Alf. Heimskringla relates that when Halfdan's father was killed, Åsa took the 1 year-old Halfdan and returned to
Agder, where Halfdan was raised. When he was 18 or 19 years old, Halfdan became king of Agder. He quickly began adding to his kingdom, through political negotiation and military conquest. He divided the kingdom of
Vestfold with his brother Olaf and, through military action, persuaded
King Gandalf of
Vingulmark to cede half his kingdom.
Next, Halfdan subdued an area called
Raumarike. To secure his claim to Raumarike, Halfdan first defeated and killed the previous ruler,
Sigtryg Eysteinsson, in battle. He then defeated Sigtryg's brother and successor
Eystein, in a series of battles. This established Halfdan's claim not only to Raumarike, but also to half of
Hedmark, the core of Sigtryg and Eystein's kingdom. These details are only mentioned in
Heimskringla.
Fagrskinna and
Heimskringla both agree that Halfdan's first wife was Ragnhild, daughter of King
Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard) of
Sogn. Halfdan and Ragnhild had a son named "Harald" after his grandfather, and they sent him to be raised at his grandfather's court. Harald Gulskeg, being elderly, named his grandson as his successor, shortly before his death. Ragnhild died shortly after her father, and the young king Harald fell sick and died the next spring. When Halfdan heard about his son's death, he travelled to Sogn and laid claim to the title of king. No resistance was offered, and Halfdan added Sogn to his realm.
The narrative in
Heimskringla then adds another conquest for King Halfdan. In Vingulmark, the sons of Gandalf of Vingulmark,
Hysing,
Helsing, and Hake, attempted to ambush Halfdan at night, but he escaped into the forest. After raising an army, he returned to defeat the brothers, killing Hysing and Helsing. Hake fled the country, and Halfdan became king of all of Vingulmark.
According to
Heimskringla, Halfdan's second wife was also named Ragnhild.
Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was the daughter of
Sigurd Hjort, king of
Ringerike. She was kidnapped from her home by Hake, a "
berserker" who encountered her father in
Hadeland and killed him. In turn, Halfdan had her kidnapped from Hake, so that he could marry her.
Fagrskinna doesn't mention any of these details, but calls Ragnhild the daughter of
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, who in
Heimskringlas version is her great-grandfather. Both sagas agree that Ragnhild and Halfdan had a son who was also named
Harald.
Heimskringla,
Fagrskinna,
Ágrip and
Historia Norwegiæ all relate that Halfdan drowned when he fell through the ice of lake
Randsfjorden on his return home from Hadeland. His horse and sleigh broke though ice weakened by cattle dung near a watering hole dug in the frozen lake. He was buried in a mound at Stein in
Ringerike.
Heimskringlas narrative adds that each of the districts of his kingdom wanted to claim his grave, and that it was agreed to divide his body into four pieces so each district could bury a piece of it, resulting in four different
Halfdan's Mounds. According to this version, only his head is buried in Ringerike.
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