King Harald Finehair allegedly unified Norway, for the first time, in the ninth century. He’s not to be confused with Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark, who lived in the tenth. Neither Harald Fairhair nor Harald Bluetooth should be confused with Harald Hardrada ("the Ruthless"), who died invading England in the eleventh.
Two of these Haralds remain candidates for the Scandinavian 81. Finehair was a recent cut. If I‘m to consider him, then I must consider his near- contemporaries, Eric the Victorious, who unified Sweden, and Gorm the Old and Thyri the Restorer, who unified Denmark. There's no room for them, even though these monarchs are arguably more important than Harald Finehair, since Sweden and Denmark went on to occupy greater roles in world history. Norway, for most of its existence, was just a colony of one or the other.
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ReplyDeleteWhat I think would be both interesting and helpful for these really old records is to say which book and in what chapter the dates are mentioned. I don't think this is necessary for post-medieval persons, but people that figure in saga history I think it'd be great to say in which sagas they were mentioned.