Harald_Hildetand Harald_Hildetand

Harald Hildetand - Definition and Overview

Harald Hildetand at the Battle of Bråvalla
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Harald Hildetand at the Battle of Bråvalla

Haraldr hilditönn, Harald Wartooth or Harald Hildetand was the king of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Wendland. He was the son of the Skjöldung Rurik of Leire and Ivar Vidfamne's daughter Aud Djupaugda (Saxo Grammaticus, however, gives two different sets of parents: first he names the Scanian chief Borkar and his wife Gro as parents, and later the parents are Borkar's son Halfdan and his wife Gyrid, Gyrid was the last member of the Skjöldungs).

He is said to have grown up in Gardarike (the Swedish colonies in Rus'). After the death of his maternal grandfather Ivar Vidfamne he returned to his father's native Scania, from which he conquered Sweden, Denmark, Norway and northern Germany. When he was old he made his half-brother Randver's son Sigurd Ring the viceroy of Sweden. One of Harald's sons was Östen Beli who was to be Ragnar Lodbrok's viceroy in Sweden.

When Harald realised that he was about to die of old age (he was 150 years old), he suggested to Sigurd Ring that a great battle should be fought between them. The place was chosen to be at the moor of Bråvalla, and so the legendary Battle of Bråvalla came to be. Harald hoped to die in this battle and go to Valhalla, instead of dying in his bed and end up in Niflheim.

He was inherited by Sigurd Ring, the father of Ragnar Lodbrok.


Preceded by:
Ivar Vidfamne
Semi-legendary king of Sweden
Succeeded by:
Randver



Norse mythology
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Elder Edda | Younger Edda | Skald | Sagas | Later influence


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