Harald Klak
Encyclopedia
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland
(and possibly other parts of Denmark
) around 812–814 and again from 819–827.
(d. 837). An 837 entry in the Annales Fuldenses
calls Hemming a son of Halfdan. This is the only mention of their father in a primary source. The identification relies on the 'widely made assumption' that the Hemming mentioned in 837 was the same Hemming mentioned in chronicle entries from two decades before. Stewart Baldwin, a modern genealogist, pointed that they could also be two people with the same name, although Baldwin himself favors their identification.
The relation of this Halfdan with other Danish rulers is also uncertain. An 812 entry in the Royal Frankish Annals
mentions "Anulo nepos Herioldi". The Latin "nepos" can be translated as both "nephew" or "grandson", making Anulo and his siblings nephews or grandsons of a senior Harald. This would make Halfdan a brother or son of this Harald. The Frankish Annals vaguely mention this elder Harald as king. Also, a King Sigifrid (Siegfried) is mentioned in 777, granting refuge to the Saxon duke Widukind
. In 782, an emissary by the name of Halfdan was sent by Sigifrid to Charlemagne
. The last mention of Sigifrid in the Annals is in 798, when Charlemagne sent an envoy to him. In 804, Gudfred
is mentioned as King of the Danes, exchanging envoys with Charlemagne. Harald could be related to Sigifrid and Gudfred. His reign occurring between 798 and 804 or placed prior to that of Sigifrid. The time and extent of the rule of these earlier kings are uncertain, but the area they ruled presumably included the region closest to the Frankish realm, i.e. around Hedeby
. Although they are historical figures insofar as that they are mentioned in historical sources, the details of their rule mostly belong to the realm of the legendary Danish kings
.
The Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke assumes Sigifrid and the senior Harald to be brothers, both kings of Hedeby
. The Europäische Stammtafeln further mentions several theories on their family line. The elder Harald is assumed to have succeeded his brother as King of Hedeby in 798. The book places his death in 804, "killed in battle in the Irish Sea
". Their children supposedly included not only Halfdan, "third" King of Hedeby (father of Harald Klak and his siblings) but two other sons. The first identified as another Harald ("fourth" King of Hedeby) and the second as Holger.
Further Sigifrid and the senior Harald are given two further siblings in Europäische Stammtafeln. The third brother is identified as Halfdan the Mild
, a ruler of the Yngling
dynasty depicted in the Heimskringla
. Their only sister is identified with Geva, wife of Windukind. The former in way of explanation of why Windukind sought refuge among the Danes. None of the theories regarding Harald's family and lineage in ES are well supported by sources.
According to the Annales Bertiniani
, Harald was an uncle of Rorik of Dorestad. The Annales Xantenses
mention Rorik being the brother of a "younger Harald
". Several modern scholars have seen this as a contradiction and chosen to identify Rorik as an apparent fifth son of Halfdan. However, Simon Coupland in From poachers to gamekeepers: Scandinavian warlords and Carolingian kings and K. Cutler in Danish Exiles in the Carolingian Empire--the Case for Two Haralds have since argued that Rorik and the "younger Harald" were brothers, both nephews of Harald Klak. The theory has gained some acceptance since the 1990s as it would explain why Harald Klak gets a mostly positive assessment in the Frankish chronicles while Rorik's brother is depicted as a raider and enemy of the Franks. This would also mean Rudolf Haraldsson, a nephew of Rorik mentioned in the Annales Xantenses, was a son of the "younger Harald".
. The entries in 811 end by mentioning the death of Charles the Younger (4 December 811) and Charlemagne
wintering in Aachen
. The entries in 812 begin with mention of the situation in Denmark: "Not much later the news arrived that Hemming, king of the Danes had died. Sigifrid, the nephew of King Godofrid
, and Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king, both wished to succeed him. Being unable to agree on who should be king, they raised troops, fought a battle, and were both killed. The party of Anulo won, however, and made his brothers Heriold and Reginfrid their kings. The defeated party out of necessity had to go along with Anulo's party and did not reject the brothers as their kings. They say that ten thousand nine hundred and forty men died in that battle." Heriold usually translated to Harald. The name Anulo is thought to be related to Annulus (or anulus), being the Latin
and French
word for "ring
". The name has been translated to "Ring". Since his fallen foe was named Sigefrid (Sigurd), there is a theory that the two rivals merged in later tradition to the figure of Sigurd Ring
. The original Scandinavian form is theorised to have been "Ole", a common male name in Norway and Denmark. The vague Latin phrase "Herioldi, et ipsius regis" has been translated variously as "Harald, and the king himself" and "Harald, previous king". Conversely, this could mean Anulo was "nepos" of both the senior Harald and the other King mentioned in the same phrase, Hemming.
The story is repeated in an 812 entry of the Annales Fuldenses
. This is not surprising as the entries of the Annales Fuldenses from 714 to the 830s were adopting material from earlier sources, including the Royal Frankish Annals. The Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
by Adam of Bremen
mentions "Sigafrid et Anulo, nepotes Godafridi", which would make both Anulo and Sigifrid "nepotes" (plural of nepos) of Gudfred. The Royal Frankish Annals then note "Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, send an embassy to the emperor [Charlemagne], asking for peace and requesting that their brother Hemming be released." The text makes clear that Hemming was held prisoner by Charlemagne but leaves unclear when was Hemming captured and under what circumstances.
In 813, the Royal Annals mention a general assembly at Aachen. The occasion was Charlemagne crowning his son Louis the Pious
as co-emperor of Francia and naming his grandson Bernard
as ruler of the Kingdom of Italy
. The text then turns its attention to the relations with the Danes. "From this assembly several Frankish and Saxon nobles were sent beyond the Elbe
to the borders of the Norsemen. They came to make peace, at the request of the Danish Kings, whose brother they intended to return. When an equal number -they were sixteen- of Danish magnates met them at the stipulated place, peace was sworn by mutual oaths and the brother of the kings was returned. The Kings themselves at this time were not at home but had marched with an army toward Westarfolda
, an area in the extreme northwest of their kingdom across the northern tip of Britain
, whose princes and people refused to submit to them. When they returned after conquering the Britons
and received their brother, who had been sent from the emperor, the sons of king Godofrid were assisted by not a few of the Danish nobles who for some time after leaving their homeland had been in exile with the Swedes. Since hosts of their countrymen joined the sons of Godofrid from all over the land of the Danes, they easily drove the kings from the kingdom after a battle".
The Chronicle of Moissac
also reports: "Afterwards the sons of Godofrid came with their army and expelled Heriold and Reginfrid and also Hemming from their own kingdom; and they fled into secrecy. Thereupon the militia of the imperial lord Charlemagne received from them many presents, and he sent him [Hemming] back to his brothers with regards and support, in order that they should acquire their kingdom again.
The Annales entries of 814 start with the death of Charlemagne. Louis the Pious became sole emperor and turned to diplomatic relations with other European powers. The Royal Annales then mention the continuation of the conflict among the Danes and that Harald Klak sought refuge in the court of Louis. "Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, had been defeated and expelled from their kingdom the year before [813] by the sons of Godofrid, against whom they regrouped their forces and again made war. In this conflict Reginfid and the oldest son of Godofrid were killed. When this had come to pass, Heriold despaired of his cause, came to the emperor [Louis], and put himself under his protection. The emperor received him and told him to go to Saxony
and to wait for the proper time when he would be able to give him the help which Heriold had requested."
exile, seeking refuge and military assistance in the court of a Christian
ruler. Coupland notes that Louis granting refuge and preparing said military assistance did not mean this was an "innovative step". Charlemagne, Louis' father, had signed such unorthodox alliances before. The historian lists a number of examples. Charlemagne had supported Abdellah, an exiled Mauritania
n ruler in 797. Theodor, ruler of the Huns
, fled an invasion by Slavic peoples
and was granted refuge by Charlemagne in 805. Eardwulf of Northumbria
when deposed c. 808, was also granted refuge and promised help in recovering his throne.
The 815 entries of the Royal Annals focus on the campaign for restoring Harald to his throne. "The emperor [Louis] commanded that Saxons
and Obodrites
should prepare for this campaign, and twice in that winter the attempt was made to cross the Elbe. But since the weather suddenly turned and made the ice on the river melt, the campaign was held up. Finally, when the winter was over, about the middle of May, the proper time to begin the march arrived. Then all Saxon counts and all troops of the Obodrites, under orders to bring help to Heriold, marched with the imperial emissary Baldrich across the River Eider
into the land of the Norsemen called Silendi. From Silendi they went on and, finally, on the seventh day, pitched camp on the coast at [name missing in surviving manuscripts]. There they halted for three days. But the sons of Godofrid, who had raised against them a large army and a fleet of two hundred ships, remained on an island three miles of the shore and did not dare engage them. Therefore, after everywhere laying waste the neighboring districts and receiving hostages from the people, they returned to the emperor in Saxony, who at that time was holding the general assembly of his people at Paderborn
."
While the campaign resulted in the looting
of some areas held by the Danes, the main objective was not achieved. Harald was among the returning troops, the Danish throne eluding him. The Royal Annals report the conclusion of the assembly. "He [Louis] settled the affairs of the Slavs and of Heriold, and, leaving Heriold behind in Saxony, returned to his palace in Frankfurt." Harald apparently continued operations against his rivals. An 817 entry of the Royal Annals reports "Because of the persistent aggression of Heriold, the sons of Godofrid, king of the Danes, also sent an embassy to the emperor [Louis], asked for peace, and promised to preserve it. This sounded more like hypocrisy than truth, so it was dismissed as empty talk and aid was given to Heriold against them."
A next attempt in 819, again with help from the Obotrites, met with more success and some kind of settlement seems to have been reached with the sons of Gudfred, since Harald was joint king with two of them in 821. One of them probably was Horik the Elder
. The Royal Annals report
"On the emperor's [Louis] order Heriold was taken to his ships by the Obodrites and sailed back to his homeland to take over the kingdom. Two of the sons of Godofrid are said to have made an alliance with him to share the throne; two others were driven out of the country. But this is believed to have been done by trickery." An 821 entry mentions "Everything was quiet on the Danish front in this year, and Heriold was received as partner in the rule by the sons of Godofrid. This is believed to have caused the peaceful relations among them at this time." In 822, the general assembly was held in Frankfurt. The relevant entry mentions "Embassies from Nordmannia were also at this assembly , from Heriold as well as from the sons of Godofrid".
In 823, tensions had appeared in Harald's relations with his co-rulers. Louis was asked to mediate. The Royal Annals report "Also Heriold came from Nordmannia, asking for help against the sons of Godofrid, who threatened to drive him out of his country. To explore this matter more thoroughly Counts Theothari and Hruodmund were sent to the sons of Godofrid. Traveling ahead of Heriold they carefully studied the dispute with the sons of Godofrid as well as the condition of the whole kingdom of the Norsemen and informed the emperor of all they could find out in these lands. They returned with archbishop Ebo of Rheims, who had gone to preach in the land of the Danes on the counsel of the emperor and with the approval of the Roman pontiff
and had baptized many converts to the faith during the previous summer." Coupland notes that the entry reveals two things. First that "the political situation in Denmark remained extremely tense" and second that Louis continued to interfere in Danish affairs. The motivation behind his interest in the country is not stated in primary sources. The book "An Introduction to the Viking History of Western Europe, Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland" (1940) by Haakon Shetelig
, presented the theory that Louis was laying the groundwork for a "military invasion and occupation of Denmark". While the theory has its merits, Coupland notes that it ignores its context. The "neighbouring Slav lands" of Francia were in the process of becoming dependent territories
, their rulers subordinating themselves to Louis. The emperor may have envisioned Denmark as another protectorate
of Francia.
An 826 entry, reads "At the same time Heriold came with his wife and a great number of Danes and was baptized with his companions at St. Alban's
in Mainz
. The emperor presented him with many gifts before he returned home through Frisia
, the route by which he had come. In this province one county was given to him, the county of Riustringen
, so that he would be able to find refuge there with his possessions if he were ever in danger." The Vita Hludovici
mentions "Heriold (Latin:Herioldus) with his wife and many Danes appeared from the regions of the Norsemen, he was baptized at Saint-Albans in Mainz with all his companions and he was flooded by the emperor with many gifts. For the pious emperor was afraid that he would be refused to live in his homeland, he gave him a county in Frisia, called Rüstringen, where he and his company could recover if necessary." The Annales Xantenses
also note "The emperor Louis held an episcopal synod at Ingelheim
, and here a great number of Norsemen came to him, and a leader of them named Haraldr (Latin: Heriodus) and his wife were baptized, and with them more than 400 people of both sexes."
According to the Vita Ansgari
by Rimbert
, "After this it happened that a king named Heriold (Latin:Herioldus), who ruled over some of the Danes, was assailed by hatred and malignity, and was driven from his kingdom by the other kings of the same province. He came to his serene majesty the emperor Ludovic and asked that he might be thought worthy to receive his help so that he might be able to regain his kingdom. While the emperor kept him at his court he urged him, by personal persuasion and through the instrumentality of others, to accept the Christian faith
, because there would then be a more intimate friendship between them, and a Christian people would more readily come to his aid and to the aid of his friends if both peoples were worshippers of the same God
. At length, by the assistance of divine grace, he brought about his conversion, and when he had been sprinkled with the holy water
of baptism
he himself received him from the sacred font and adopted him as his son. When, then, he desired to send him back to his own land in order that he might, by his assistance, seek to recover his dominions, he began to make diligent enquiry in order that he might find a holy and devoted man who could go and continue with him, and who might strengthen him and his people, and by teaching the doctrine of salvation might induce them to receive the faith of the Lord."
During the reign of Louis the Pious, the Frankish Empire had no effective fleet, and this made the coast of Frisia a weak point in the defense of his realm. The motivation for granting Harald a fief in Frisia possibly had to do with Harald committing himself to defending the Frisian coastline against future Viking raids. The center of his fief was located in northwestern Germany, west of Oldenburg
. This may have been the first piece of Frankish territory given to a Dane.
Adam of Bremen placed the baptism following another deposition of Harald. "The king of the Danes, Haraldr (Latin:Haraldus), despoiled of his kingdom by the sons of Godofrid, came to Louis a suppliant. And on being instructed thereupon in the doctrine of the Christian faith, he was baptized at Mainz with his wife and brother and a great multitude of Danes. The emperor lifted him from the sacred font and, resolved to restore him to the kingdom, gave him a fief across the Elbe, and, to withstand the pirates, granted his brother Harekr [Latin:Horuch) a part of Frisia. (This territory the Danes still claim as if it were legitimately their own.)" This Harekr is not mentioned elsewhere.
and a group of monks and it may have been in this time that a church in Hedeby
was first built, as well as a school were twelve Danish boys (some of whom were from Harald's household) were to be educated as priests. The Vita Ansgari reports: "The two monks [volunteering to travel with Harald] were subsequently brought before the king, who was gratified by their willingness and desire to undertake this task, and who gave them whatever was necessary for the performance of their ministerial functions, also writing cases, tents and other things that would be helpful and which seemed likely to be needed on their great journey. He bade them to go with Harald and commanded them to devote the utmost care to his profession of faith and by their godly exhortations to confirm in the faith both Harald and his companions who had been baptized together with him, for fear lest at the instigation of the devil
they should return to their former errors, and at the same time by their preaching to urge others to accept the Christian religion. Having been then dismissed by the emperor they had none to render them any menial service, as no one in the abbot's household would go with them of his own accord, and he would compel no one to go against his will."
"Harald, to whom they had been committed, was as yet ignorant and untaught in the faith, and was unaware how God's servants ought to behave. Moreover, his companions who had been but recently converted and had been trained in a very different faith, paid them little attention. Having started then with considerable difficulty they arrived at Cologne
. At that time there was a venerable bishop there named Hadebald. He had compassion upon their needs and presented them with a good boat in which they might place their possessions and in which there were two cabins which had been suitably prepared for them. When Harald saw the boat he decided to remain with them in it, so that he and they could each have a cabin. This tended to promote an increase of friendship and goodwill between them; his companions also, from this time forward, paid careful attention to their wants. On leaving the boat they passed through Dorestad
and crossing the neighbouring territory of the Frisians
came to the Danish borders. As King Harald could not for the time being obtain peaceful possession of his kingdom, the emperor gave him a place beyond the River Elbe [Rüstringen] so that if it were necessary he might halt there."
In the second year after his return to Denmark, however, in 827, he was once again expelled by the surviving sons of Gudfred. One of them was Horik I
. The Royal Annals mention in 827: "The emperor [Louis] held two assemblies. One was at Nijmegen because Hohrek (Latin:Hohrici), son of Godofrid, the king of the Danes, had falsely promised to appear before the emperor." Later in the year the Annals mention the deposition of Harald. "In the meantime the kings of the Danes, that is, the sons of Godofrid, deprived Heriold of his share of the kingship and forced him to leave Nordmannia." The reason for the deposition is not mentioned. His introduction of Christianity may have also made him unpopular with his subjects. Harald probably retreated to his lands in Rüstringen.
The war continued the following year. The Royal Annals mention: "Near the border of Nordmannia in the meantime negotiations were planned to ratify the peace between Norsemen and Franks and to discuss the affair of Heriold. For this business counts and margraves came from almost all of Saxony. But Heriold was too thirsty for action. He broke the peace that had agreed upon and confirmed by hostages, and burned and pillaged some small villages of the Norsemen. Upon hearing this the sons of Godefrid immediately gathered troops. Our people were stationed on the bank of the River Eider, not expecting any trouble. The sons of Godefrid advanced towards the march, crossed the river and attacked the Franks, driving them out of their castle and putting them to flight. They took everything from them and retreated with all their forces to their camp. Then they deliberated how to ward off revenge for this action. They dispatched an embassy to the emperor and explained that need had compelled their will to do this, that they were ready to give satisfaction, and that it was entirely up to the emperor how amends should be made in order to preserve peace between the two parties."
The Vita Hludovici also blames the impatience of Harald in breaking the negotiations. "In the meanwhile the sons of the former king of the Danes Godefrid had expelled Heriold from his kingdom. The emperor wanted to help Heriold, but he also had entered a peace treaty with the sons of Godefrid, so he dispatched Saxon counts together with Heriold himself and instructed them to negotiate with the envoys that they should let him participate in their alliance, like before. But Heriold was impatient about this delay, he burned down some villages without our knowledge and carried off booty. The Danes immediately raided our people by surprise, as they believed it were our deeds, they crossed the River Eider and drove the supposed perpetrators away from the stronghold, took everything with them and withdrew to their own camp. As they recognized the real situation and feared an appropriate revenge, they first dismissed messengers to those they inflicted such a defeat, then to the emperor, they declared their deception and offered for conciliation a suitable satisfaction. They left the manner of this satisfaction to the desire of the emperor as long as peace was maintained, which the emperor granted them according to their wish and petition."
The war on the border continued into at least 829. Later that year a rumor was current that the Danes were preparing to invade and Louis gathered an army to meet this threat, but the rumor turned out to be false. It may well have been Harald who spread this rumor. However Harald disappears from the Frankish sources by the late 820. He had certainly failed to regain his throne but probably kept on living among the Franks.
from unidentified Viking
raiders. The Annales Fuldenses report "The Norsemen came to the island of Walcheren to collect tribute and on June 17 they killed Eggihard, the count of this place, and Hemingr, the son of Halfdan, with many others, and laid waste Dorestad and went back after they received tribute from the Frisians. The emperor[Louis] gave up his journey to Rome
and stayed the winter at Aachen. The Annales Bertiniani
mention the attack but not Hemming. "The Norsemen at this time fell on Frisia with their usual surprise attack. Coming upon our unprepared people on an island called Walcheren, they slaughtered many of them and plundered even more. They stayed on the island for a while, levying as much tribute as they wanted. Then they fell on Dorestad with the same fury and exacted tribute in the same way. When the Emperor heard about these attacks, he postponed his planned journey to Rome and wasted no time in hurrying to the fort of Nijmegen close by Dorestad. When the Norsemen heard of his arrival there, they withdrew immediately. Now the Emperor summoned a general assembly and held an inquiry in public with those magnates to whom he had delegated the task of guarding that coast. It became clear from the discussion that partly through the sheer impossibility of the task, partly through the disobedience of certain men, it had not been possible for them to offer any resistance to the attackers. Energetic abbots and counts were therefore dispatched to suppress the insubordinate Frisians. Now too, that from then on he would be better able to resist their incursions, he gave orders that a fleet should be made ready to go more speedily in pursuit in whatever direction might be required."
The Annales Fuldenses mention in 852: "Haraldr the Norseman had in earlier years fled the anger of his lord Horekr [Horik I], king of the Danes, and went to King Louis, by whom he was well received. He was baptized and received into the Christian faith, and held in honour among the Franks for many years. At length he became suspect to the leading men of the northern regions and the warders of the Danish march as of doubtful loyalty and a possible treachery, and was therefore killed by them." Harald the younger, his supposed nephew, was already mentioned deceased in 850. Unless this is a second entry for the same event, the dead man was probably Harald Klak. Though it could be argued that it was Harald the nephew or another namesake who died, the royal reception by Louis seems to only match Harald Klak. Coupland notes that this Harald was killed "on nothing more substantial than the suspicion of potential disloyalty". It seems that, in the years between 829 and 852, Harald had remained a figure of some influence in the region, but he never again managed to launch a serious attempt to regain the Danish throne, nor did the Frankish monarchs seem interested in sending more armies to fight his cause. He died two years before his rival King Horik the elder.
mention a Godfrid Haraldsson
who was baptized at Mainz. He has been identified as a son of Harald Klak. King Sigifrid of Denmark, reigning later in the 9th century, and his brother Halfdan are considered "nepotes" of either Rorik of Dorestad or Horik II
, based on various interpretations of the Annales Vedastini
. If the former they could be indirect successors to the claims of Harald on the throne of Denmark. An 891 entry of the Annales Fuldenses mentions Sigifrid killed along with his co-ruler Godafrid. Their deaths are also mentioned in the "Gesta quorundam regum Francorum". The name of the co-ruler suggests he was also a member of the family line.
The next mentioned ruler of Denmark is a Svend (Sweyn) who was king following the conquests of Olof the Brash
. He is mentioned by Adam of Bremen
as father of Harthacnut of Denmark
. Between the reigns of Svend and Harthacmut, Adam places a brief one by Sigerich. They could be descendants of the same family line but the relations are unclear.
According to Geschiedenis van Nederland (1995) by Gerlof Verwey, Harald Klak had another nephew, Hemming, Count in Frisia
. Verwey argues he was a brother of Rorik of Dorestad and Harald the younger.
According to "Ragnarssona þáttr
", Klakk-Harald was the father of Thyra
and father-in-law of Gorm the Old
. "Gorm took the kingship after his father. He married Thyri, who was called Denmark's Saviour, daughter of Klakk-Harald, who was king in Jutland
. But when Harald died, Gorm took all of Harald's realm under his rule too. King Gorm went with his host over the whole of Jutland and abolished all the petty kings as far south as the River Schlei, and thus seized much of Wendland
, and he fought great battles against the Saxons and became a mighty king. He had two sons. The eldest was called Knut, and the younger one Harald
. Knut was the most handsome man ever seen. The king loved him above any other man, and so did all the people. He was called The Love of the Danes. Harald resembled his mother's kin and his mother loved him no less than Knut." However the Gesta Danorum
by Saxo Grammaticus
offers a contradictory parentage for Thyra. "This man [Gorm] was counselled by the elders to celebrate the rites of marriage, and he wooed Thyra, the daughter of Ethelred, the king of the English, for his wife. She surpassed other women in seriousness and shrewdness, and laid the condition on her suitor that she would not marry him till she had received Denmark as a dowry. This compact was made between them, and she was betrothed to Gorm." This Ethelred was probably Ethelred of Wessex
according to the context.
The "Ragnarssona þáttr" also names Harald Klak as father of Ingeborg and father-in-law of Sigurd Hart
. "When Sigurd was twelve, he killed the berserk Hildibrand in a duel, and he single-handedly slew twelve men in that fight. After that Klakk-Harald gave him his daughter, who was called Ingibjorg. They had two children: Gudthorm and Ragnhild
." The narrative then identifies Ragnhild as the wife of Halfdan the Black
and mother of Harald I of Norway
. The Heimskringla
changes the name of Harald Klak's daughter but the given lineage remains the same. "Ragnhild's mother was Thorny, a daughter of Klakharald king in Jutland, and a sister of Thrye Dannebod who was married to the Danish king, Gorm the Old, who then ruled over the Danish dominions."
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
(and possibly other parts of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) around 812–814 and again from 819–827.
Family
The identity of Harald's father is uncertain. He had at least three brothers. Anulo (d. 812), Ragnfrid (d. 814) and Hemming HalfdanssonHemming Halfdansson
Hemming Halfdansson was "of the Danish race, a most Christian leader". He was probably a son of Halfdan, a leading Dane who became a vassal of Charlemagne in 807. He was probably related to the Danish royal family, as "Hemming" was one of their favoured names...
(d. 837). An 837 entry in the Annales Fuldenses
Annales Fuldenses
The Annales Fuldenses or Annals of Fulda are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the accession of the child-king, Louis III, in 900...
calls Hemming a son of Halfdan. This is the only mention of their father in a primary source. The identification relies on the 'widely made assumption' that the Hemming mentioned in 837 was the same Hemming mentioned in chronicle entries from two decades before. Stewart Baldwin, a modern genealogist, pointed that they could also be two people with the same name, although Baldwin himself favors their identification.
The relation of this Halfdan with other Danish rulers is also uncertain. An 812 entry in the Royal Frankish Annals
Royal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
mentions "Anulo nepos Herioldi". The Latin "nepos" can be translated as both "nephew" or "grandson", making Anulo and his siblings nephews or grandsons of a senior Harald. This would make Halfdan a brother or son of this Harald. The Frankish Annals vaguely mention this elder Harald as king. Also, a King Sigifrid (Siegfried) is mentioned in 777, granting refuge to the Saxon duke Widukind
Widukind
Widukind was a pagan Saxon leader and the chief opponent of Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars. Widukind was the leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne...
. In 782, an emissary by the name of Halfdan was sent by Sigifrid to Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. The last mention of Sigifrid in the Annals is in 798, when Charlemagne sent an envoy to him. In 804, Gudfred
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
is mentioned as King of the Danes, exchanging envoys with Charlemagne. Harald could be related to Sigifrid and Gudfred. His reign occurring between 798 and 804 or placed prior to that of Sigifrid. The time and extent of the rule of these earlier kings are uncertain, but the area they ruled presumably included the region closest to the Frankish realm, i.e. around Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
. Although they are historical figures insofar as that they are mentioned in historical sources, the details of their rule mostly belong to the realm of the legendary Danish kings
Legendary Danish kings
The legendary kings of Denmark are the predecessors of Gorm the Old, half history and half legend. The accounts of the Danish kings are confusing and contradictory, and so this presentation tries to separate the various sources from each other...
.
The Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke assumes Sigifrid and the senior Harald to be brothers, both kings of Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
. The Europäische Stammtafeln further mentions several theories on their family line. The elder Harald is assumed to have succeeded his brother as King of Hedeby in 798. The book places his death in 804, "killed in battle in the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
". Their children supposedly included not only Halfdan, "third" King of Hedeby (father of Harald Klak and his siblings) but two other sons. The first identified as another Harald ("fourth" King of Hedeby) and the second as Holger.
Further Sigifrid and the senior Harald are given two further siblings in Europäische Stammtafeln. The third brother is identified as Halfdan the Mild
Halfdan the Mild
Halfdan the Mild was the son of king Eystein Halfdansson, of the House of Yngling and he succeeded his father as king, according to Heimskringla. He was king of Romerike and Vestfold....
, a ruler of the Yngling
Yngling
The Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty. It can refer to the clans of the Scylfings , the semi-legendary royal Swedish clan during the Age of Migrations, with kings such as Eadgils, Onela and Ohthere...
dynasty depicted in the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
. Their only sister is identified with Geva, wife of Windukind. The former in way of explanation of why Windukind sought refuge among the Danes. None of the theories regarding Harald's family and lineage in ES are well supported by sources.
According to the Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani, or The Annals of St. Bertin, are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the monastery of St. Bertin, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus continuing the Royal Frankish Annals , from which, however, it has circulated...
, Harald was an uncle of Rorik of Dorestad. The Annales Xantenses
Annales Xantenses
The Annales Xantenses or Annals of Xanten are a series of annals written, probably at Lorsch for the period 832 to 852 and at Cologne for the period until 873. The Lorsch author is probably Gerward, a royal chaplain, but the continuator is unknown...
mention Rorik being the brother of a "younger Harald
Harald the Younger
Harald the Younger was a Viking leader and a member of the Danish royal family. He has sometimes been mistakenly identified with Harald Klak, who was in fact his uncle and probable namesake...
". Several modern scholars have seen this as a contradiction and chosen to identify Rorik as an apparent fifth son of Halfdan. However, Simon Coupland in From poachers to gamekeepers: Scandinavian warlords and Carolingian kings and K. Cutler in Danish Exiles in the Carolingian Empire--the Case for Two Haralds have since argued that Rorik and the "younger Harald" were brothers, both nephews of Harald Klak. The theory has gained some acceptance since the 1990s as it would explain why Harald Klak gets a mostly positive assessment in the Frankish chronicles while Rorik's brother is depicted as a raider and enemy of the Franks. This would also mean Rudolf Haraldsson, a nephew of Rorik mentioned in the Annales Xantenses, was a son of the "younger Harald".
The Civil War of 812–814
There is first mention of Harald and his siblings in the Royal Frankish AnnalsRoyal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
. The entries in 811 end by mentioning the death of Charles the Younger (4 December 811) and Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
wintering in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
. The entries in 812 begin with mention of the situation in Denmark: "Not much later the news arrived that Hemming, king of the Danes had died. Sigifrid, the nephew of King Godofrid
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
, and Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king, both wished to succeed him. Being unable to agree on who should be king, they raised troops, fought a battle, and were both killed. The party of Anulo won, however, and made his brothers Heriold and Reginfrid their kings. The defeated party out of necessity had to go along with Anulo's party and did not reject the brothers as their kings. They say that ten thousand nine hundred and forty men died in that battle." Heriold usually translated to Harald. The name Anulo is thought to be related to Annulus (or anulus), being the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for "ring
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
". The name has been translated to "Ring". Since his fallen foe was named Sigefrid (Sigurd), there is a theory that the two rivals merged in later tradition to the figure of Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Ring
Sigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
. The original Scandinavian form is theorised to have been "Ole", a common male name in Norway and Denmark. The vague Latin phrase "Herioldi, et ipsius regis" has been translated variously as "Harald, and the king himself" and "Harald, previous king". Conversely, this could mean Anulo was "nepos" of both the senior Harald and the other King mentioned in the same phrase, Hemming.
The story is repeated in an 812 entry of the Annales Fuldenses
Annales Fuldenses
The Annales Fuldenses or Annals of Fulda are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the accession of the child-king, Louis III, in 900...
. This is not surprising as the entries of the Annales Fuldenses from 714 to the 830s were adopting material from earlier sources, including the Royal Frankish Annals. The Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is a historical treatise written between 1075 and 1080 by Adam of Bremen. It covers the period from 788 to the time it was written. The treatise consist of:*Liber I...
by Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
mentions "Sigafrid et Anulo, nepotes Godafridi", which would make both Anulo and Sigifrid "nepotes" (plural of nepos) of Gudfred. The Royal Frankish Annals then note "Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, send an embassy to the emperor [Charlemagne], asking for peace and requesting that their brother Hemming be released." The text makes clear that Hemming was held prisoner by Charlemagne but leaves unclear when was Hemming captured and under what circumstances.
In 813, the Royal Annals mention a general assembly at Aachen. The occasion was Charlemagne crowning his son Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
as co-emperor of Francia and naming his grandson Bernard
Bernard of Italy
Bernard was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's Ordinatio Imperii made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair...
as ruler of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....
. The text then turns its attention to the relations with the Danes. "From this assembly several Frankish and Saxon nobles were sent beyond the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
to the borders of the Norsemen. They came to make peace, at the request of the Danish Kings, whose brother they intended to return. When an equal number -they were sixteen- of Danish magnates met them at the stipulated place, peace was sworn by mutual oaths and the brother of the kings was returned. The Kings themselves at this time were not at home but had marched with an army toward Westarfolda
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
, an area in the extreme northwest of their kingdom across the northern tip of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, whose princes and people refused to submit to them. When they returned after conquering the Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
and received their brother, who had been sent from the emperor, the sons of king Godofrid were assisted by not a few of the Danish nobles who for some time after leaving their homeland had been in exile with the Swedes. Since hosts of their countrymen joined the sons of Godofrid from all over the land of the Danes, they easily drove the kings from the kingdom after a battle".
The Chronicle of Moissac
Chronicle of Moissac
The Chronicle of Moissac is an anonymous compilation that was discovered at the abbey of Moissac, but is now thought to have been compiled in the Catalan monastery of Ripoll in the end of the tenth century. Like most chronicles, it begins with Adam, but gains increasing interest for historians as...
also reports: "Afterwards the sons of Godofrid came with their army and expelled Heriold and Reginfrid and also Hemming from their own kingdom; and they fled into secrecy. Thereupon the militia of the imperial lord Charlemagne received from them many presents, and he sent him [Hemming] back to his brothers with regards and support, in order that they should acquire their kingdom again.
The Annales entries of 814 start with the death of Charlemagne. Louis the Pious became sole emperor and turned to diplomatic relations with other European powers. The Royal Annales then mention the continuation of the conflict among the Danes and that Harald Klak sought refuge in the court of Louis. "Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, had been defeated and expelled from their kingdom the year before [813] by the sons of Godofrid, against whom they regrouped their forces and again made war. In this conflict Reginfid and the oldest son of Godofrid were killed. When this had come to pass, Heriold despaired of his cause, came to the emperor [Louis], and put himself under his protection. The emperor received him and told him to go to Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
and to wait for the proper time when he would be able to give him the help which Heriold had requested."
Harald's alliance with Louis the Pious
Simon Coupland, a modern historian, has noted that Harald was a paganPaganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
exile, seeking refuge and military assistance in the court of a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
ruler. Coupland notes that Louis granting refuge and preparing said military assistance did not mean this was an "innovative step". Charlemagne, Louis' father, had signed such unorthodox alliances before. The historian lists a number of examples. Charlemagne had supported Abdellah, an exiled Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
n ruler in 797. Theodor, ruler of the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, fled an invasion by Slavic peoples
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
and was granted refuge by Charlemagne in 805. Eardwulf of Northumbria
Eardwulf of Northumbria
Eardwulf was king of Northumbria from 796 to 806, when he was deposed and went into exile. He may have had a second reign from 808 until perhaps 811 or 830. Northumbria in the last years of the eighth century was the scene of dynastic strife between several noble families, and, in 790, the...
when deposed c. 808, was also granted refuge and promised help in recovering his throne.
The 815 entries of the Royal Annals focus on the campaign for restoring Harald to his throne. "The emperor [Louis] commanded that Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
and Obodrites
Obotrites
The Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
should prepare for this campaign, and twice in that winter the attempt was made to cross the Elbe. But since the weather suddenly turned and made the ice on the river melt, the campaign was held up. Finally, when the winter was over, about the middle of May, the proper time to begin the march arrived. Then all Saxon counts and all troops of the Obodrites, under orders to bring help to Heriold, marched with the imperial emissary Baldrich across the River Eider
Eider River
The Eider is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea...
into the land of the Norsemen called Silendi. From Silendi they went on and, finally, on the seventh day, pitched camp on the coast at [name missing in surviving manuscripts]. There they halted for three days. But the sons of Godofrid, who had raised against them a large army and a fleet of two hundred ships, remained on an island three miles of the shore and did not dare engage them. Therefore, after everywhere laying waste the neighboring districts and receiving hostages from the people, they returned to the emperor in Saxony, who at that time was holding the general assembly of his people at Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
."
While the campaign resulted in the looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
of some areas held by the Danes, the main objective was not achieved. Harald was among the returning troops, the Danish throne eluding him. The Royal Annals report the conclusion of the assembly. "He [Louis] settled the affairs of the Slavs and of Heriold, and, leaving Heriold behind in Saxony, returned to his palace in Frankfurt." Harald apparently continued operations against his rivals. An 817 entry of the Royal Annals reports "Because of the persistent aggression of Heriold, the sons of Godofrid, king of the Danes, also sent an embassy to the emperor [Louis], asked for peace, and promised to preserve it. This sounded more like hypocrisy than truth, so it was dismissed as empty talk and aid was given to Heriold against them."
A next attempt in 819, again with help from the Obotrites, met with more success and some kind of settlement seems to have been reached with the sons of Gudfred, since Harald was joint king with two of them in 821. One of them probably was Horik the Elder
Horik I
Horik I reigned as sole King of Denmark from 827 to his violent death in 854. His reign was marked by Danish raids on the Franco-German empire of Louis the Pious, son and successor of Charlemagne....
. The Royal Annals report
"On the emperor's [Louis] order Heriold was taken to his ships by the Obodrites and sailed back to his homeland to take over the kingdom. Two of the sons of Godofrid are said to have made an alliance with him to share the throne; two others were driven out of the country. But this is believed to have been done by trickery." An 821 entry mentions "Everything was quiet on the Danish front in this year, and Heriold was received as partner in the rule by the sons of Godofrid. This is believed to have caused the peaceful relations among them at this time." In 822, the general assembly was held in Frankfurt. The relevant entry mentions "Embassies from Nordmannia were also at this assembly , from Heriold as well as from the sons of Godofrid".
In 823, tensions had appeared in Harald's relations with his co-rulers. Louis was asked to mediate. The Royal Annals report "Also Heriold came from Nordmannia, asking for help against the sons of Godofrid, who threatened to drive him out of his country. To explore this matter more thoroughly Counts Theothari and Hruodmund were sent to the sons of Godofrid. Traveling ahead of Heriold they carefully studied the dispute with the sons of Godofrid as well as the condition of the whole kingdom of the Norsemen and informed the emperor of all they could find out in these lands. They returned with archbishop Ebo of Rheims, who had gone to preach in the land of the Danes on the counsel of the emperor and with the approval of the Roman pontiff
Pope Paschal I
Pope Saint Paschal I was pope from January 25, 817 to February 11, 824. A native of Rome and son of Bonosus, he was raised to the pontificate by the acclamation of the clergy, shortly after the death of Pope Stephen IV, and before the sanction of the emperor Louis the Pious had been obtained - a...
and had baptized many converts to the faith during the previous summer." Coupland notes that the entry reveals two things. First that "the political situation in Denmark remained extremely tense" and second that Louis continued to interfere in Danish affairs. The motivation behind his interest in the country is not stated in primary sources. The book "An Introduction to the Viking History of Western Europe, Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland" (1940) by Haakon Shetelig
Haakon Shetelig
Haakon Shetelig was a Norwegian archaeologist, historian and museum director. He was a pioneer in archaeology known for his study of art from the Viking Age in Norway...
, presented the theory that Louis was laying the groundwork for a "military invasion and occupation of Denmark". While the theory has its merits, Coupland notes that it ignores its context. The "neighbouring Slav lands" of Francia were in the process of becoming dependent territories
Dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
, their rulers subordinating themselves to Louis. The emperor may have envisioned Denmark as another protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of Francia.
An 826 entry, reads "At the same time Heriold came with his wife and a great number of Danes and was baptized with his companions at St. Alban's
Alban of Mainz
Saint Alban of Mainz was a priest, missionary, and martyr.Rabanus Maurus wrote in his Martyrology about Alban, who was sent to Gallia as a missionary by Ambrose of Milan. In Mainz, Alban helped bishop Aureus of Mainz to regain his bishopric...
in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. The emperor presented him with many gifts before he returned home through Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
, the route by which he had come. In this province one county was given to him, the county of Riustringen
Rüstringen
Rüstringen or Rustringen was an old Frisian gau which lay between the modern district Friesland and the Weser river in modern Lower Saxony. Nowadays, only a small part of the original territory remains, namely the Butjadingen peninsula...
, so that he would be able to find refuge there with his possessions if he were ever in danger." The Vita Hludovici
Vita Hludovici
Vita Hludovici or Vita Hludovici Imperatoris is an anonymous biography of Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Franks from AD 814 to 840.-Author:...
mentions "Heriold (Latin:Herioldus) with his wife and many Danes appeared from the regions of the Norsemen, he was baptized at Saint-Albans in Mainz with all his companions and he was flooded by the emperor with many gifts. For the pious emperor was afraid that he would be refused to live in his homeland, he gave him a county in Frisia, called Rüstringen, where he and his company could recover if necessary." The Annales Xantenses
Annales Xantenses
The Annales Xantenses or Annals of Xanten are a series of annals written, probably at Lorsch for the period 832 to 852 and at Cologne for the period until 873. The Lorsch author is probably Gerward, a royal chaplain, but the continuator is unknown...
also note "The emperor Louis held an episcopal synod at Ingelheim
Ingelheim am Rhein
Ingelheim am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on the Rhine’s west bank. The town calls itself the Rotweinstadt and since 1996 it has been Mainz-Bingen’s district seat....
, and here a great number of Norsemen came to him, and a leader of them named Haraldr (Latin: Heriodus) and his wife were baptized, and with them more than 400 people of both sexes."
According to the Vita Ansgari
Vita Ansgari
Vita Ansgari is the biography of Ansgar, written by Rimbert, his successor as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen. Written in about 875 CE, the Vita is an important source in not only detailing Ansgar's missionary work in Scandinavia but in its descriptions of the everyday lives of people during the...
by Rimbert
Rimbert
Saint Rimbert was archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg from 865 until his death.A monk in Turholt , he shared a missionary trip to Scandinavia with his friend Ansgar, whom he later succeeded as archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen in 865...
, "After this it happened that a king named Heriold (Latin:Herioldus), who ruled over some of the Danes, was assailed by hatred and malignity, and was driven from his kingdom by the other kings of the same province. He came to his serene majesty the emperor Ludovic and asked that he might be thought worthy to receive his help so that he might be able to regain his kingdom. While the emperor kept him at his court he urged him, by personal persuasion and through the instrumentality of others, to accept the Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, because there would then be a more intimate friendship between them, and a Christian people would more readily come to his aid and to the aid of his friends if both peoples were worshippers of the same God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. At length, by the assistance of divine grace, he brought about his conversion, and when he had been sprinkled with the holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
of baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
he himself received him from the sacred font and adopted him as his son. When, then, he desired to send him back to his own land in order that he might, by his assistance, seek to recover his dominions, he began to make diligent enquiry in order that he might find a holy and devoted man who could go and continue with him, and who might strengthen him and his people, and by teaching the doctrine of salvation might induce them to receive the faith of the Lord."
During the reign of Louis the Pious, the Frankish Empire had no effective fleet, and this made the coast of Frisia a weak point in the defense of his realm. The motivation for granting Harald a fief in Frisia possibly had to do with Harald committing himself to defending the Frisian coastline against future Viking raids. The center of his fief was located in northwestern Germany, west of Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
. This may have been the first piece of Frankish territory given to a Dane.
Adam of Bremen placed the baptism following another deposition of Harald. "The king of the Danes, Haraldr (Latin:Haraldus), despoiled of his kingdom by the sons of Godofrid, came to Louis a suppliant. And on being instructed thereupon in the doctrine of the Christian faith, he was baptized at Mainz with his wife and brother and a great multitude of Danes. The emperor lifted him from the sacred font and, resolved to restore him to the kingdom, gave him a fief across the Elbe, and, to withstand the pirates, granted his brother Harekr [Latin:Horuch) a part of Frisia. (This territory the Danes still claim as if it were legitimately their own.)" This Harekr is not mentioned elsewhere.
Return to Denmark and later life
On his return to Denmark Harald was probably accompanied by Saint AnskarAnsgar
Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North".-Life:After his mother’s early death Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid...
and a group of monks and it may have been in this time that a church in Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
was first built, as well as a school were twelve Danish boys (some of whom were from Harald's household) were to be educated as priests. The Vita Ansgari reports: "The two monks [volunteering to travel with Harald] were subsequently brought before the king, who was gratified by their willingness and desire to undertake this task, and who gave them whatever was necessary for the performance of their ministerial functions, also writing cases, tents and other things that would be helpful and which seemed likely to be needed on their great journey. He bade them to go with Harald and commanded them to devote the utmost care to his profession of faith and by their godly exhortations to confirm in the faith both Harald and his companions who had been baptized together with him, for fear lest at the instigation of the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
they should return to their former errors, and at the same time by their preaching to urge others to accept the Christian religion. Having been then dismissed by the emperor they had none to render them any menial service, as no one in the abbot's household would go with them of his own accord, and he would compel no one to go against his will."
"Harald, to whom they had been committed, was as yet ignorant and untaught in the faith, and was unaware how God's servants ought to behave. Moreover, his companions who had been but recently converted and had been trained in a very different faith, paid them little attention. Having started then with considerable difficulty they arrived at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. At that time there was a venerable bishop there named Hadebald. He had compassion upon their needs and presented them with a good boat in which they might place their possessions and in which there were two cabins which had been suitably prepared for them. When Harald saw the boat he decided to remain with them in it, so that he and they could each have a cabin. This tended to promote an increase of friendship and goodwill between them; his companions also, from this time forward, paid careful attention to their wants. On leaving the boat they passed through Dorestad
Dorestad
In the Early Middle Ages, Dorestad was the largest settlement of northwestern Europe. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long, situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht in the Netherlands near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede...
and crossing the neighbouring territory of the Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
came to the Danish borders. As King Harald could not for the time being obtain peaceful possession of his kingdom, the emperor gave him a place beyond the River Elbe [Rüstringen] so that if it were necessary he might halt there."
In the second year after his return to Denmark, however, in 827, he was once again expelled by the surviving sons of Gudfred. One of them was Horik I
Horik I
Horik I reigned as sole King of Denmark from 827 to his violent death in 854. His reign was marked by Danish raids on the Franco-German empire of Louis the Pious, son and successor of Charlemagne....
. The Royal Annals mention in 827: "The emperor [Louis] held two assemblies. One was at Nijmegen because Hohrek (Latin:Hohrici), son of Godofrid, the king of the Danes, had falsely promised to appear before the emperor." Later in the year the Annals mention the deposition of Harald. "In the meantime the kings of the Danes, that is, the sons of Godofrid, deprived Heriold of his share of the kingship and forced him to leave Nordmannia." The reason for the deposition is not mentioned. His introduction of Christianity may have also made him unpopular with his subjects. Harald probably retreated to his lands in Rüstringen.
The war continued the following year. The Royal Annals mention: "Near the border of Nordmannia in the meantime negotiations were planned to ratify the peace between Norsemen and Franks and to discuss the affair of Heriold. For this business counts and margraves came from almost all of Saxony. But Heriold was too thirsty for action. He broke the peace that had agreed upon and confirmed by hostages, and burned and pillaged some small villages of the Norsemen. Upon hearing this the sons of Godefrid immediately gathered troops. Our people were stationed on the bank of the River Eider, not expecting any trouble. The sons of Godefrid advanced towards the march, crossed the river and attacked the Franks, driving them out of their castle and putting them to flight. They took everything from them and retreated with all their forces to their camp. Then they deliberated how to ward off revenge for this action. They dispatched an embassy to the emperor and explained that need had compelled their will to do this, that they were ready to give satisfaction, and that it was entirely up to the emperor how amends should be made in order to preserve peace between the two parties."
The Vita Hludovici also blames the impatience of Harald in breaking the negotiations. "In the meanwhile the sons of the former king of the Danes Godefrid had expelled Heriold from his kingdom. The emperor wanted to help Heriold, but he also had entered a peace treaty with the sons of Godefrid, so he dispatched Saxon counts together with Heriold himself and instructed them to negotiate with the envoys that they should let him participate in their alliance, like before. But Heriold was impatient about this delay, he burned down some villages without our knowledge and carried off booty. The Danes immediately raided our people by surprise, as they believed it were our deeds, they crossed the River Eider and drove the supposed perpetrators away from the stronghold, took everything with them and withdrew to their own camp. As they recognized the real situation and feared an appropriate revenge, they first dismissed messengers to those they inflicted such a defeat, then to the emperor, they declared their deception and offered for conciliation a suitable satisfaction. They left the manner of this satisfaction to the desire of the emperor as long as peace was maintained, which the emperor granted them according to their wish and petition."
The war on the border continued into at least 829. Later that year a rumor was current that the Danes were preparing to invade and Louis gathered an army to meet this threat, but the rumor turned out to be false. It may well have been Harald who spread this rumor. However Harald disappears from the Frankish sources by the late 820. He had certainly failed to regain his throne but probably kept on living among the Franks.
Death
His brother Hemming seems to have died in 837 defending WalcherenWalcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
from unidentified Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raiders. The Annales Fuldenses report "The Norsemen came to the island of Walcheren to collect tribute and on June 17 they killed Eggihard, the count of this place, and Hemingr, the son of Halfdan, with many others, and laid waste Dorestad and went back after they received tribute from the Frisians. The emperor[Louis] gave up his journey to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and stayed the winter at Aachen. The Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani, or The Annals of St. Bertin, are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the monastery of St. Bertin, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus continuing the Royal Frankish Annals , from which, however, it has circulated...
mention the attack but not Hemming. "The Norsemen at this time fell on Frisia with their usual surprise attack. Coming upon our unprepared people on an island called Walcheren, they slaughtered many of them and plundered even more. They stayed on the island for a while, levying as much tribute as they wanted. Then they fell on Dorestad with the same fury and exacted tribute in the same way. When the Emperor heard about these attacks, he postponed his planned journey to Rome and wasted no time in hurrying to the fort of Nijmegen close by Dorestad. When the Norsemen heard of his arrival there, they withdrew immediately. Now the Emperor summoned a general assembly and held an inquiry in public with those magnates to whom he had delegated the task of guarding that coast. It became clear from the discussion that partly through the sheer impossibility of the task, partly through the disobedience of certain men, it had not been possible for them to offer any resistance to the attackers. Energetic abbots and counts were therefore dispatched to suppress the insubordinate Frisians. Now too, that from then on he would be better able to resist their incursions, he gave orders that a fleet should be made ready to go more speedily in pursuit in whatever direction might be required."
The Annales Fuldenses mention in 852: "Haraldr the Norseman had in earlier years fled the anger of his lord Horekr [Horik I], king of the Danes, and went to King Louis, by whom he was well received. He was baptized and received into the Christian faith, and held in honour among the Franks for many years. At length he became suspect to the leading men of the northern regions and the warders of the Danish march as of doubtful loyalty and a possible treachery, and was therefore killed by them." Harald the younger, his supposed nephew, was already mentioned deceased in 850. Unless this is a second entry for the same event, the dead man was probably Harald Klak. Though it could be argued that it was Harald the nephew or another namesake who died, the royal reception by Louis seems to only match Harald Klak. Coupland notes that this Harald was killed "on nothing more substantial than the suspicion of potential disloyalty". It seems that, in the years between 829 and 852, Harald had remained a figure of some influence in the region, but he never again managed to launch a serious attempt to regain the Danish throne, nor did the Frankish monarchs seem interested in sending more armies to fight his cause. He died two years before his rival King Horik the elder.
Heirs
The Annales BertinianiAnnales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani, or The Annals of St. Bertin, are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the monastery of St. Bertin, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus continuing the Royal Frankish Annals , from which, however, it has circulated...
mention a Godfrid Haraldsson
Godfrid Haraldsson
Godfrid Haraldsson was the son of the Danish king Harald Klak. In 826 he was baptized together with his parents in Mainz in the Frankish Empire, with crown prince Lothair standing as a godparent....
who was baptized at Mainz. He has been identified as a son of Harald Klak. King Sigifrid of Denmark, reigning later in the 9th century, and his brother Halfdan are considered "nepotes" of either Rorik of Dorestad or Horik II
Horik II
Horik II, also known as Erik Barn , was King of Denmark from the murder of Horik I in 854 to c. 860s. After a brief civil war which nearly wiped out the branches of the royal family, legend has it that a single royal child was left alive, hence the name Erik the Child. The problem with the story...
, based on various interpretations of the Annales Vedastini
Annales Vedastini
The Annales Vedastini or Annals of St-Vaast are a series of annals written in the early tenth century at the Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras. They are an important source for the ninth century. The years from 874 to 900 are covered with a strong bias for Lotharingian and West Frankish affairs...
. If the former they could be indirect successors to the claims of Harald on the throne of Denmark. An 891 entry of the Annales Fuldenses mentions Sigifrid killed along with his co-ruler Godafrid. Their deaths are also mentioned in the "Gesta quorundam regum Francorum". The name of the co-ruler suggests he was also a member of the family line.
The next mentioned ruler of Denmark is a Svend (Sweyn) who was king following the conquests of Olof the Brash
Olof the Brash
Olaf, according to the Danish king Sweyn Estridson and Adam of Bremen, was a Swedish chieftain who conquered Denmark in the late 9th century or early 10th century and founded the House of Olaf....
. He is mentioned by Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
as father of Harthacnut of Denmark
Harthacnut of Denmark
Harthacnut or Cnut I was a legendary King of Denmark. He is alternatively given as the son of an otherwise unknown "Sweyn," or, as presented by Ragnarssona þáttr, of the semi-mythic viking chieftain Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, himself one of the sons of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok...
. Between the reigns of Svend and Harthacmut, Adam places a brief one by Sigerich. They could be descendants of the same family line but the relations are unclear.
According to Geschiedenis van Nederland (1995) by Gerlof Verwey, Harald Klak had another nephew, Hemming, Count in Frisia
Hemming (count in Frisia)
A Dane named Hemming was a count in the area of Rüstringen in East Frisia in the 9th century. He and some others of his family were installed in this region by Emperor Lothair I.-History:...
. Verwey argues he was a brother of Rorik of Dorestad and Harald the younger.
According to "Ragnarssona þáttr
Ragnarssona þáttr
Ragnarssona þáttr, Þáttr af Ragnars sonum or the Tale of Ragnar's sons is a short story on Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons.-Ragnar Lodbrok:When Sigurd Ring dies, Ragnar succeeds him as the king of Sweden and Denmark...
", Klakk-Harald was the father of Thyra
Thyra
Thyra was the consort of King Gorm the Old of Denmark. She is believed to have led an army against the Germans. Gorm and Thyra were the parents of King Harald Bluetooth....
and father-in-law of Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old , also called Gorm the Sleepy , was the first historically recognized King of Denmark, reigning from to his death . He ruled from Jelling, and made the oldest of the Jelling Stones in honour of his wife Thyra. Gorm was born before 900 and died .-Ancestry and reign:Gorm is the reported...
. "Gorm took the kingship after his father. He married Thyri, who was called Denmark's Saviour, daughter of Klakk-Harald, who was king in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
. But when Harald died, Gorm took all of Harald's realm under his rule too. King Gorm went with his host over the whole of Jutland and abolished all the petty kings as far south as the River Schlei, and thus seized much of Wendland
Wendland
Wendland may refer to either of the following regions or people:*Wendland may refer to a region once inhabited by Wends, an old Germanic term for Slavic tribes living in close proximity to the Germanic tribes:...
, and he fought great battles against the Saxons and became a mighty king. He had two sons. The eldest was called Knut, and the younger one Harald
Harald I of Denmark
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. He died in 985 or 986 having ruled as King of Denmark from around 958 and King of Norway for a few years probably around 970...
. Knut was the most handsome man ever seen. The king loved him above any other man, and so did all the people. He was called The Love of the Danes. Harald resembled his mother's kin and his mother loved him no less than Knut." However the Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...
by Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
offers a contradictory parentage for Thyra. "This man [Gorm] was counselled by the elders to celebrate the rites of marriage, and he wooed Thyra, the daughter of Ethelred, the king of the English, for his wife. She surpassed other women in seriousness and shrewdness, and laid the condition on her suitor that she would not marry him till she had received Denmark as a dowry. This compact was made between them, and she was betrothed to Gorm." This Ethelred was probably Ethelred of Wessex
Ethelred of Wessex
King Æthelred I was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. He was the fourth son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex...
according to the context.
The "Ragnarssona þáttr" also names Harald Klak as father of Ingeborg and father-in-law of Sigurd Hart
Sigurd Hart
Sigurd Hart or Sigurd Hjort was a legendary king of Ringerike in Norway, who appears in Ragnarssona þáttr and in Halfdan the Black's saga....
. "When Sigurd was twelve, he killed the berserk Hildibrand in a duel, and he single-handedly slew twelve men in that fight. After that Klakk-Harald gave him his daughter, who was called Ingibjorg. They had two children: Gudthorm and Ragnhild
Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter
Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was the daughter of Sigurd Hart of the Dagling clan.-Family :According to the Ragnarssona þáttr, Ragnhild was a daughter of Sigurd Hart and his wife Ingeborg . Her paternal grandparents were Helgi the Sharp and Aslaug. Her maternal grandfather was Harald Klak. The identity of...
." The narrative then identifies Ragnhild as the wife of Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black was a ninth-century king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.-Biography:...
and mother of Harald I of Norway
Harald I of Norway
Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...
. The Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
changes the name of Harald Klak's daughter but the given lineage remains the same. "Ragnhild's mother was Thorny, a daughter of Klakharald king in Jutland, and a sister of Thrye Dannebod who was married to the Danish king, Gorm the Old, who then ruled over the Danish dominions."