From the icy shores of Norway to the majesty of Constantinople, Harald Hardrada’s life was a whirlwind of adventure. Harald Sigurdsson, better known as Harald Hardrada, was born in 1015 to King Sigurd Syr and Åsta Gudbrandsdatter. At the age of 15, he fought alongside his half-brother, King Olaf, against Cnut the Great, but was defeated and exiled from Norway to the Kyivan Rus. Serving under the Grand Prince of Kyiv, Yaroslav the Wise, Harald honed his skills as a Viking warrior.

Seeking greater prestige and glory, Hardrada sailed to Constantinople in 1034 and joined the feared Varangian Guard, the elite Viking bodyguards of the Roman Empire, where he would eventually become its commander. It was during his service in the guard that Hardrada truly made his mark, becoming legendary for his ferocity, loyalty, and resilience. He fought against the Saracen Emirate in Sicily, Lombard and Norman revolts in Italy, uprisings in Bulgaria, and in campaigns as far east as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq.

After amassing great wealth from his exploits, and from taking part in three polutasvarf, ritual plunderings of the imperial palace following the deaths of Emperors Romanos III, Michael IV, and Michael V, Harald secured enough funds to finance a campaign to reclaim his birthright and seize the Norwegian throne. Despite being denied permission by Empress Zoe to return home, Harald managed to escape across the Bosphorus River in June 1042 and returned to the Kyivan Rus, where he married Yaroslav’s daughter, Elisiv of Kyiv. The couple would have two daughters.

In 1046, Harald returned to Norway and, without a costly war, secured the Norwegian throne by agreeing to rule jointly with his nephew, King Magnus I, better known as Magnus the Good. But this arrangement was short-lived, as Magnus died in 1047. Despite a failed invasion of Denmark and minor squabbles with the Norwegian nobility, Harald’s reign as sole ruler of Norway was relatively peaceful. He also strengthened Christianity in his kingdom by building more churches and importing bishops and priests from the Kyivan Rus and the Roman Empire.

Harald also took a second wife, the Norwegian noblewoman Tora Torbergsdatter, with whom he fathered two sons, the future kings Magnus II and Olaf III, also known as Olaf the Peaceful. In 1066, the childless English king Edward the Confessor died, opening up a power vacuum. Although Edward’s brother-in-law Harold Godwinson claimed the throne, his brother Tostig offered his allegiance to Harald and invited him to seize the crown for himself.

Arriving in England in September of that year, Harald joined forces with Tostig. Together, they launched a series of raids and defeated the Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Fulford on September 20. Following the victory, Harald and Tostig marched their combined forces to Stamford Bridge to meet the army of Harold Godwinson. Despite all his prowess, Harald met his end there on September 25, 1066, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, when he was struck down by an arrow to the throat. Though his life was cut short, Harald Hardrada’s legacy lives on, forever etched in the annals of history…

Watch an abridged version of Harald Hardrada’s story come to life on UnRecalled History’s YouTube Channel in History’s Most Fascinating Figures: Volume 1

History's Most Fascinating Figures: Volume 1

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