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In Vikings season six, part A, Harald Finehair was crowned the King of Norway. He also allied with his enemy, King Bjorn Ironside (played by Alexander Ludwig) but is King Harald (Peter Franzén) based on a real person? Express.co.uk has everything you need to know.
Is King Harald Finehair based on a real person?
Vikings on History and Amazon Prime Video tells the story of Viking warrior and Scandinavian King Ragnar Lothbrok (played by Travis Fimmel) and his sons.
The series was created by the mind behind The Tudors, Michael Hirst.
To tell the story of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, Hirst has blended historical fact and fiction, with many characters inspired by or loosely based on historical figures.
King Harald Finehair is based on the real King Harald of Norway, also known as King Harald Fairhair.
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Harald Finehair is believed to have been the first King of Norway, reigning from 872 until 930.
As seen in the TV series Vikings, Harald Fairhair was appointed as the first King of Norway.
Harald had two sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good who succeeded him following his death in 930.
Unfortunately, details about his life and reign are scarce, with many historical accounts being written three centuries after his lifetime.
The majority of information about King Harald Fairhair can be found in the Kings’ sagas, a series of Old Norse Sagas about semi-legendary Norse Kings.
According to the Kings’ Sagas, Harald Fairhair was responsible for unifying Norway into one Kingdom.
The Saga of Harald Fairhair in the Heimskringla details how Harald became King of ‘all of Norway’ after his marriage proposal to Gyda, the daughter of Eirik, King of Hordaland, was rejected.
According to the Saga, Gyda refused to marry him on the grounds he was not the King “over all of Norway.”
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Harald then took a vow to not cut or brush his hair until he was the sole King of Norway, which he achieved 10 years later.
His conquest began in 866 when he successfully took over many petty Kingdoms which would later compose all of Norway.
He faced a backlash from wealthy Norwegians and enemies in present-day Iceland and Scotland but was ultimately successful, achieving his goal of uniting Norway.
However, there is debate amongst historians regarding King Harald’s existence.
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In 1976, historian Peter Sawyer began to cast doubt on the existence and in the early 2000’s revision historians suggested Fairhair did not exist in the way he appeared in the sagas.
For example, revisionist historians pointed to other sagas failing to mention Harald and the reliability of the sagas detail as they were written 250 years after Harald’s supposed death.
Regardless of his true existence, Harald Fairhair became an important figure in Norweigan nationalism in the nineteenth century as Norway fought for independence from Sweden.
In Norway, a national monument to Harald stands in Haraldshaugen, a pre-historic burial ground in the town of Haugesund where Harald is believed to be buried.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence or mention in the sagas of King Harald and Bjorn Ironside ever crossing paths.
The series also depicts Halfdan the Black (Jasper Pääkkönen) as Harald’s brother.
In reality, Halfdan the Black was Harald’s father, a ninth-century King who ruled over Vestfold.
Vikings is streaming on Amazon Prime Video now
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