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United Kingdom - Viking Kings
Early Kings - The Vikings
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Egill Skallagrimsson was born in Iceland , the son of Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir, and the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr ("Evening Wolf"). When Grímr arrived in Iceland, he settled at Borg, the place where his father's coffin landed. Grímr was a respected chieftain and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway .
Egill composed his first poem at the age of three years. He exhibited berserk behaviour, and this, together with the description of his large and unattractive head, has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget's disease . This is corroborated by an archeological find of a head from the Viking era which is likely to be Egill's.
At the age of seven, Egill was cheated in a game with local boys. Enraged, he went home and procured an axe, and returning to the boys, split the skull of the boy who cheated him, to the teeth. After Berg-Önundr refused to allow Egill to claim his wife Ásgerðr's share of her father's inheritance, he challenged Önundr to a holmgang .
Later, after being grievously insulted, Egill killed Bárðr of Atley, a retainer of King Eirik Bloodaxe and kinsman of Queen Gunnhildr, both of whom spent the remainder of their lives trying to take vengeance. Seething with hatred, Gunnhildr ordered her two brothers to assassinate Egill and his brother Þórólfr, who had been on good terms with her previously. However, Egill slew the Queen's brothers when they attempted to confront him.
That same summer, Harald Fairhair died. In order to secure his place as sole King of Norway, Eirik Bloodaxe murderered his two brothers. He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill, but was killed in his attempt to do so. Before escaping from Norway, Egill also slew Rögnvaldr, the son of King Eirik and Queen Gunnhildr. He then cursed the King and Queen, setting a horse's head on a Nithing pole and saying,
"Here I set up a níð-pole, and declare this níð against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr," - he turned the horse-head to face the mainland - "I declare this níð at the land-spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreak King Eiríkr and Gunnhildr from the land." He set up the pole of níð in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he carved runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (ch. 57).
Gunnhildr also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again.
Soon afterwards, Eiríkr and Gunnhildr were forced to flee to the Kingdom of Northumbria by Prince Hakon. In Saxon England , they were set up as King and Queen of Northumbria in rivalry with King Athelstan of England. Ultimately, Egill was shipwrecked in Northumbria and came before Eiríkr's court, where he was promptly sentenced to death. However, Egill had already composed a drápa in Eiríkr's praise the night before. Therefore, when Egill recited it the King's presence, Eiríkr grudgingly allowed his mortal enemy to leave with his head still on his shoulders (see "Head Ransom", below).
Egill also fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in the service of King Athelstan.
Ultimately, Egill returned to his family farm in Iceland , where he remained a power to be reckoned with in local politics. He lived into his eighties and died shortly before Iceland converted to Roman Catholicism. Before Egill died he buried his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær . In his last act of violence he murdered the servant who helped him bury his treasure.
When a Roman Catholic chapel was constructed at the family homestead, Egill's body was re-exumed by his son and re-buried near the altar.
880-950 - Eric the Victorious (VI), Old Norse: Eiríkr inn sigrsæli, Modern Swedish: Erik Segersäll, (950?- 994 or 995), was king of the Swedes during the second half of the 10th century.
The extent of his kingdom is disputed. In addition to the Swedish heartland round lake Mälaren it may have extended down the Baltic Sea coast as far south as Blekinge.
The Norse sagas relate that he was the son of Björn Eriksson and that he ruled together with his brother Olof Björnsson. He married Sigrid the Haughty, the daughter of the legendary Viking Skagul Toste, but would later divorce her and give her Götaland as a fief. Before this happened, his brother Olof died, and a new co-ruler had to be appointed. The Swedes refused to accept his rowdy nephew Styrbjörn Starke as his co-ruler and the controversy was settled when Eric suggested that the new co-ruler would be his and Sigrid's unborn child, on condition that it was a son. Styrbjörn was given 60 longships by Eric and sailed away to live as a Viking. Styrbjörn would become the ruler of Jomsborg and an ally and brother-in-law of the Danish king Harold Bluetooth. Styrbjörn returned to Sweden with a major Danish army, which Eric defeated in the Battle of the F?risvellir at Old Uppsala.
According to Adam of Bremen, Eric would conquer Denmark and chase away its king Sweyn Forkbeard and proclaimed himself the king of Sweden and Denmark which he ruled until his death which would have taken place in 994 or 995. He is said to have been baptised in Denmark, but later returned to the Norse gods.
In all probability he founded the town of Sigtuna, which still exists and where the first Swedish coins were stamped for his son and successor Olof Skötkonung.
Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid (murdered June 885) was a Danish Viking leader of the late ninth century. He had probably been with the Great Heathen Army , descended on the continent, and became a vassal of the emperor Charles the Fat , controlling most of Frisia between 882 and 885.
In 880, Godfrid ravaged Flanders using Ghent as his base. In 882, Godfrid ravaged Lotharingia and the cities of Maastricht , Liège , Stavelot , Prüm , Cologne , and Koblenz were devastated. After the Siege of Asselt forced him to come to terms, Godfrid was granted the Kennemerland , which had formerly been ruled by Rorik of Dorestad , as a vassal of Charles, according to the Annales Fuldenses . Godfrid swore oaths to Charles promising never to again lay waste his kingdom and accepted Christianity and baptism, at which Charles stood as his godfather. In return, Charles appointed him Duke of Frisia and gave him Gisela, daughter of Lothair II , as his wife.
However, Godfrid did nothing against a Danish raid which pillaged large parts of the Low Countries. In 885, he was summoned to Lobith for a meeting after being accused of complicity with Hugh, Duke of Alsace , in an insurrection. In an act of treachery he was killed by a group of Frisian and Saxon nobles at the connivance of Henry of Franconia . The local count Gerulf took over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish after the murder.
This Godfrid has sometimes been confused with Godfrid Haraldsson .
Godfrid Haraldsson (c. 820 - c. 856) 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.
After his baptism, Godfrid stayed in Lothair's retinue, until they fell out sometime in the 840's, and Godfrid returned to Denmark. There he teamed up with Rorik, the son of his father's brother (his cousin). In 850 they united against Lothair and raided Dorestad. Rorik took possession of Frisia. Godfrid continued to plunder Flanders and Artois, and returned to Denmark for the winter. In 851 he was back, raiding in Frisia and around the Rhine, then sailed up the Scheldt to attack Ghent and the abbey of Drongen .
After another winter in Denmark, Godfred returned again in 853 to Francia. On 9 October 853 he sailed up the Seine. The fleet advanced beyond Rouen, as far as Pont-de-l'Arche, and encamped on an island near Les Andelys. Charles the Bald summoned his army as well as that of the Middle Kingdom of Lothar, Godfred's godfather. The two sides faced each other the whole winter, the Frankish land army lacking boats to attack the Vikings. The stalemate was resolved in the spring of 853 when Godfred sailed away, probably with a tribute.
In 855 Godfred and his cousin Rorik tried to gain power in Denmark after the death of king Horik I. The attempt failed, and they returned the same year, taking back Dorestad and a large part of the area of what is now The Netherlands. After this, the sources are silent about this Godfred. He probably died soon afterwards.
Although how Guthrum consolidated his rule as king over the other Danish chieftains of the Danelaw (Danish ruled territory of England) is unknown, what is known is that by 874 he was able to wage a war against Wessex and its King, Alfred. By 876, Guthrum had been able to acquire various parts of the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and then turn his attention to acquiring Wessex, where his first confrontation with Alfred took place on the south coast. Guthrum sailed his army around Poole Harbour and linked up with another Viking army that was invading the area between the Frome and Trent rivers which was ruled by Alfred. According to the historian Asser, Guthrum’s initial battle with Alfred resulted in a victory, as he was able to capture “the castellum” as well as the ancient square earthworks known as the “Wareham” where a convent of nuns existed. Alfred was able to broker a peace settlement, but by 877 this peace was broken as Guthrum led his army raiding further into Wessex, thus forcing Alfred to confront him in a series of skirmishes that Guthrum continued to win. At Exeter, which Guthrum had also captured, Alfred made a peace treaty with the result that Guthurm left Wessex to winter in Gloucester.
Surprise attack
On Epiphany, 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise night-time attack on Alfred and his court at Chippenham, Wiltshire. It being a Christian feast day the Saxons were presumably taken by surprise--indeed it is possible that Wulfhere, the Ealdorman of Wiltshire, allowed the attack either through negligence or intent, for on Alfred's return to power later in 878 Wulfhere was stripped of his role as Ealdorman.
Alfred fled the attack with a few retainers and took shelter in the marshes of Somerset, staying in the small village of Athelney. Over the next few months he built up his force and waged a guerrilla war against Guthrum from his fastness in the fens. After a few months Alfred called his loyal men to Egbert's Stone, and from there they travelled to Ethandun to fight the invaders.
Defeat by Alfred
Guthrum might have succeeded in conquering all of Wessex if he had not suffered a defeat at the hands of Alfred at the Battle of Edington in 878. At the Battle of Edington, Guthrum’s entire army was routed by Alfred's and fled to their encampment where they were besieged by Alfred's fyrd for two weeks. According to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Guthrum’s army was able to negotiate a peace treaty known as the Treaty of Wedmore. The Anglo Saxon Chro
Halfdan, (flourished 9th century), founder of the Danish kingdom of York (875/876), supposedly the son of Ragnar Lodbrok, the most famous Viking of the 9th century.
After participating in raids on Anglo-Saxon lands to the south, Halfdan and his followers invaded the mouth of the Tyne (874) and engaged in warfare with both Picts and the Britons of Strathclyde. In 876 he distributed the large region of York among his men and may then have left to join Viking campaigns in northern Ireland; he may be the Danish king “Albann” who was slain near Strangford Lough in 877. By another account he remained in York until 883.Halfdan was the ruler of London 871-872 where he had coins made. In 875, he joined his brothers in conquering the Kingdom of Northumbria . He was widely unpopular due to his alleged cruelty. He was expelled from York and died during a new Viking expedition in 877
Egill composed his first poem at the age of three years. He exhibited berserk behaviour, and this, together with the description of his large and unattractive head, has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget's disease . This is corroborated by an archeological find of a head from the Viking era which is likely to be Egill's.
At the age of seven, Egill was cheated in a game with local boys. Enraged, he went home and procured an axe, and returning to the boys, split the skull of the boy who cheated him, to the teeth. After Berg-Önundr refused to allow Egill to claim his wife Ásgerðr's share of her father's inheritance, he challenged Önundr to a holmgang .
Later, after being grievously insulted, Egill killed Bárðr of Atley, a retainer of King Eirik Bloodaxe and kinsman of Queen Gunnhildr, both of whom spent the remainder of their lives trying to take vengeance. Seething with hatred, Gunnhildr ordered her two brothers to assassinate Egill and his brother Þórólfr, who had been on good terms with her previously. However, Egill slew the Queen's brothers when they attempted to confront him.
That same summer, Harald Fairhair died. In order to secure his place as sole King of Norway, Eirik Bloodaxe murderered his two brothers. He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill, but was killed in his attempt to do so. Before escaping from Norway, Egill also slew Rögnvaldr, the son of King Eirik and Queen Gunnhildr. He then cursed the King and Queen, setting a horse's head on a Nithing pole and saying,
"Here I set up a níð-pole, and declare this níð against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr," - he turned the horse-head to face the mainland - "I declare this níð at the land-spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreak King Eiríkr and Gunnhildr from the land." He set up the pole of níð in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he carved runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (ch. 57).
Gunnhildr also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again.
Soon afterwards, Eiríkr and Gunnhildr were forced to flee to the Kingdom of Northumbria by Prince Hakon. In Saxon England , they were set up as King and Queen of Northumbria in rivalry with King Athelstan of England. Ultimately, Egill was shipwrecked in Northumbria and came before Eiríkr's court, where he was promptly sentenced to death. However, Egill had already composed a drápa in Eiríkr's praise the night before. Therefore, when Egill recited it the King's presence, Eiríkr grudgingly allowed his mortal enemy to leave with his head still on his shoulders (see "Head Ransom", below).
Egill also fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in the service of King Athelstan.
Ultimately, Egill returned to his family farm in Iceland , where he remained a power to be reckoned with in local politics. He lived into his eighties and died shortly before Iceland converted to Roman Catholicism. Before Egill died he buried his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær . In his last act of violence he murdered the servant who helped him bury his treasure.
When a Roman Catholic chapel was constructed at the family homestead, Egill's body was re-exumed by his son and re-buried near the altar.
880-950 - Eric the Victorious (VI), Old Norse: Eiríkr inn sigrsæli, Modern Swedish: Erik Segersäll, (950?- 994 or 995), was king of the Swedes during the second half of the 10th century.
The extent of his kingdom is disputed. In addition to the Swedish heartland round lake Mälaren it may have extended down the Baltic Sea coast as far south as Blekinge.
The Norse sagas relate that he was the son of Björn Eriksson and that he ruled together with his brother Olof Björnsson. He married Sigrid the Haughty, the daughter of the legendary Viking Skagul Toste, but would later divorce her and give her Götaland as a fief. Before this happened, his brother Olof died, and a new co-ruler had to be appointed. The Swedes refused to accept his rowdy nephew Styrbjörn Starke as his co-ruler and the controversy was settled when Eric suggested that the new co-ruler would be his and Sigrid's unborn child, on condition that it was a son. Styrbjörn was given 60 longships by Eric and sailed away to live as a Viking. Styrbjörn would become the ruler of Jomsborg and an ally and brother-in-law of the Danish king Harold Bluetooth. Styrbjörn returned to Sweden with a major Danish army, which Eric defeated in the Battle of the F?risvellir at Old Uppsala.
According to Adam of Bremen, Eric would conquer Denmark and chase away its king Sweyn Forkbeard and proclaimed himself the king of Sweden and Denmark which he ruled until his death which would have taken place in 994 or 995. He is said to have been baptised in Denmark, but later returned to the Norse gods.
In all probability he founded the town of Sigtuna, which still exists and where the first Swedish coins were stamped for his son and successor Olof Skötkonung.
Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid (murdered June 885) was a Danish Viking leader of the late ninth century. He had probably been with the Great Heathen Army , descended on the continent, and became a vassal of the emperor Charles the Fat , controlling most of Frisia between 882 and 885.
In 880, Godfrid ravaged Flanders using Ghent as his base. In 882, Godfrid ravaged Lotharingia and the cities of Maastricht , Liège , Stavelot , Prüm , Cologne , and Koblenz were devastated. After the Siege of Asselt forced him to come to terms, Godfrid was granted the Kennemerland , which had formerly been ruled by Rorik of Dorestad , as a vassal of Charles, according to the Annales Fuldenses . Godfrid swore oaths to Charles promising never to again lay waste his kingdom and accepted Christianity and baptism, at which Charles stood as his godfather. In return, Charles appointed him Duke of Frisia and gave him Gisela, daughter of Lothair II , as his wife.
However, Godfrid did nothing against a Danish raid which pillaged large parts of the Low Countries. In 885, he was summoned to Lobith for a meeting after being accused of complicity with Hugh, Duke of Alsace , in an insurrection. In an act of treachery he was killed by a group of Frisian and Saxon nobles at the connivance of Henry of Franconia . The local count Gerulf took over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish after the murder.
This Godfrid has sometimes been confused with Godfrid Haraldsson .
Godfrid Haraldsson (c. 820 - c. 856) 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.
After his baptism, Godfrid stayed in Lothair's retinue, until they fell out sometime in the 840's, and Godfrid returned to Denmark. There he teamed up with Rorik, the son of his father's brother (his cousin). In 850 they united against Lothair and raided Dorestad. Rorik took possession of Frisia. Godfrid continued to plunder Flanders and Artois, and returned to Denmark for the winter. In 851 he was back, raiding in Frisia and around the Rhine, then sailed up the Scheldt to attack Ghent and the abbey of Drongen .
After another winter in Denmark, Godfred returned again in 853 to Francia. On 9 October 853 he sailed up the Seine. The fleet advanced beyond Rouen, as far as Pont-de-l'Arche, and encamped on an island near Les Andelys. Charles the Bald summoned his army as well as that of the Middle Kingdom of Lothar, Godfred's godfather. The two sides faced each other the whole winter, the Frankish land army lacking boats to attack the Vikings. The stalemate was resolved in the spring of 853 when Godfred sailed away, probably with a tribute.
In 855 Godfred and his cousin Rorik tried to gain power in Denmark after the death of king Horik I. The attempt failed, and they returned the same year, taking back Dorestad and a large part of the area of what is now The Netherlands. After this, the sources are silent about this Godfred. He probably died soon afterwards.
Although how Guthrum consolidated his rule as king over the other Danish chieftains of the Danelaw (Danish ruled territory of England) is unknown, what is known is that by 874 he was able to wage a war against Wessex and its King, Alfred. By 876, Guthrum had been able to acquire various parts of the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and then turn his attention to acquiring Wessex, where his first confrontation with Alfred took place on the south coast. Guthrum sailed his army around Poole Harbour and linked up with another Viking army that was invading the area between the Frome and Trent rivers which was ruled by Alfred. According to the historian Asser, Guthrum’s initial battle with Alfred resulted in a victory, as he was able to capture “the castellum” as well as the ancient square earthworks known as the “Wareham” where a convent of nuns existed. Alfred was able to broker a peace settlement, but by 877 this peace was broken as Guthrum led his army raiding further into Wessex, thus forcing Alfred to confront him in a series of skirmishes that Guthrum continued to win. At Exeter, which Guthrum had also captured, Alfred made a peace treaty with the result that Guthurm left Wessex to winter in Gloucester.
Surprise attack
On Epiphany, 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise night-time attack on Alfred and his court at Chippenham, Wiltshire. It being a Christian feast day the Saxons were presumably taken by surprise--indeed it is possible that Wulfhere, the Ealdorman of Wiltshire, allowed the attack either through negligence or intent, for on Alfred's return to power later in 878 Wulfhere was stripped of his role as Ealdorman.
Alfred fled the attack with a few retainers and took shelter in the marshes of Somerset, staying in the small village of Athelney. Over the next few months he built up his force and waged a guerrilla war against Guthrum from his fastness in the fens. After a few months Alfred called his loyal men to Egbert's Stone, and from there they travelled to Ethandun to fight the invaders.
Defeat by Alfred
Guthrum might have succeeded in conquering all of Wessex if he had not suffered a defeat at the hands of Alfred at the Battle of Edington in 878. At the Battle of Edington, Guthrum’s entire army was routed by Alfred's and fled to their encampment where they were besieged by Alfred's fyrd for two weeks. According to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Guthrum’s army was able to negotiate a peace treaty known as the Treaty of Wedmore. The Anglo Saxon Chro
Halfdan, (flourished 9th century), founder of the Danish kingdom of York (875/876), supposedly the son of Ragnar Lodbrok, the most famous Viking of the 9th century.
After participating in raids on Anglo-Saxon lands to the south, Halfdan and his followers invaded the mouth of the Tyne (874) and engaged in warfare with both Picts and the Britons of Strathclyde. In 876 he distributed the large region of York among his men and may then have left to join Viking campaigns in northern Ireland; he may be the Danish king “Albann” who was slain near Strangford Lough in 877. By another account he remained in York until 883.Halfdan was the ruler of London 871-872 where he had coins made. In 875, he joined his brothers in conquering the Kingdom of Northumbria . He was widely unpopular due to his alleged cruelty. He was expelled from York and died during a new Viking expedition in 877
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