Harald Klak

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Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (born probably c. 785 - died after 829, probably murdered in 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827.

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[edit] The Civil War of 812-814

After the death of Hemming, King of the Danes, in 812, a dispute over the succession erupted. One of the claimants was Sigifrid, a nephew (or grandson) of King Gudfred who had been murdered in 810. The other claimant was Anulo (this was his name in the Frankish sources, his actual name might have been Ring or a form of Ole). Anulo (son of Halfdan) is variously described as a nephew or grandson of "Harald, previous king" or, as a nephew or grandson of "Harald, and the king himself". The ensuing conflict was won by Anulo's party, but since both of the claimants had been killed in the fighting, his brothers Harald and Ragnfrid were installed as joint kings.

In 813 the new kings re-affirmed the peace with the Franks and their brother Hemming, who had been living among them, came back to Denmark. Later, after they returned from putting down a revolt in Vestfold however, the sons of Gudfred, who had been exiled to Sweden in 810 (presumably by King Hemming), came back to Denmark with an army and expelled Harald and his brothers. They retaliated, but failed to regain their thrones and Ragnfrid as well as one of the sons of Gudfred were killed.

[edit] Harald's alliance with Louis the Pious

After this, in 814, Harald was forced to seek the protection of Emperor Louis, who sent an army to help him against the sons of Gudfred in 815. With this army, which was mostly made up of Saxons and the Obotrites and led by a legate named Balderic, Denmark was invaded on Harald's behalf, but the campaign initially accomplished little. A next attempt in 819, again with help from the Obotrites, met with more success and some kind of settlement seems to have been reached with the sons of Gudfred, since Harald was joint king with two of them in 821. One of them probably was Horik the Elder.

During the reign of Louis the Pious, the Frankish Empire had no effective fleet, and this made the coast of Frisia a weak point in the defense of his realm. For this reason, in 826, Louis invited Harald to his palace for negotiations. Harald, whose position in Denmark may have been weakening by this time, obliged and traveled to Mainz. Harald, his wife, his son Godfrid, other family members and a multitude of his attendants were received with all splendor at the Ingelheimer imperial palace, and emperor Louis negotiated with King Harald over the unrest on the borders of the Frankish realm and an agreement was reached. Harald, his family and entourage were baptized there on 24 June. Harald and his wife were presented with ornate crowns and other gifts. After this, the emperor invested Harald with the county of Rüstringen in Frisia as a fief in return for Harald committing himself to defending the Frisian coastline against future Viking raids. The center of his fief was located in northwestern Germany, west of Oldenburg. This may have been the first piece of Frankish territory given to a Dane.

[edit] Return to Denmark and later life

On his return to Denmark Harald was probably accompanied by Saint Anskar and a group of monks and it may have been in this time that a church in Hedeby was first built, as well as a school were twelve Danish boys (some of whom were from Harald's household) were to be educated as priests. In the second year after his return to Denmark, however, in 827, he was once again expelled by the surviving sons of Gudfred. His introduction of Christianity may have also made him unpopular with his subjects. Harald probably retreated to his lands in Rüstringen, but the war on the border continued into at least 829. Later that year a rumor was current that the Danes were preparing to invade and Louis gathered an army to meet this threat, but the rumor turned out to be false. It may well have been Harald who spread this rumor.

In 852 a certain Harald was killed by the Frankish nobles controlling the border region on the suspicion of treachery. These accusations were unproven. This Harald was said to, after having fled from King Horik and having commended himself to emperor Louis and being baptized, have lived among the Franks faithfully for many years. It seems that, in the years between 829 and 852, Harald had remained a figure of some influence in the region, but he never again managed to launch a serious attempt to regain the Danish throne, nor did the Frankish monarchs seem interested in sending more armies to fight his cause. He died two years before his rival King Horik the elder.

[edit] Family

Harald was the uncle of Rorik of Dorestad and of the Harald who held Dorestad and large parts of Friesland with him in the 840s. They were probably sons of his brother Hemming (who was killed in a battle on Walcheren in 837), but this is not certain. This second Harald had also been baptized at Mainz and together with his cousin Godfrid Haraldsson, stayed at the imperial court for a number of years. He probably died while he was with Lothar I's army in the civil war of the early 840s. The second Harald was also the father of the Viking leader Rodulf who was killed in a raid on Frisia in 873. It is chronologically not possible that Harald was the father of Thyra, the wife of Gorm the Old (Harald Bluetooth was born some time after 910) as described in Ragnarssona þáttr (below). The same saga also names Harald as the great-grandfather of Harald Fairhair (as father of Harald's grandmother Ingeborg). Harald was born around 853-860 so, although this parentage isn't verified by any sources outside the sagas, the chronology does not present the same problem as it does for Harald Bluetooth's supposed descent. This descent is shown in italics.

  • Halfdan (died before 812)
    • Anulo (killed in battle 812)
    • Ragnfrid (killed in battle 814)
    • Hemming (killed in battle 837)
    • One of the above three brothers was the father of (Harald the Younger and Rorik of Dorestad were brothers and Hemming probably was as well);
      • Hemming (died after 841)
      • Harald the younger (died soon after 842)
        • Rodulf (killed in battle 873)
      • Rorik of Dorestad (died soon after 873)
    • Harald (murdered 852)

[edit] Klak-Haraldr in Ragnarssona þáttr

Ragnarssona þáttr informs that his two daughters married two grandchildren of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye (Ragnar Lodbrok's son). Harald's daughter Thyra married Gorm the Old, the son of Harthacanute and grandson to Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye. When Harald died, Gorm took his kingdom too.

Harald's daughter Ingeborg married Sigurd Hjort, the son of Aslaug who was the daughter of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye. Sigurd Hjort and Ingeborg had the children Guttorm and Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter. When his uncle king Fróði of Ringerike died, Sigurd went to Norway to succeed him as king. Ragnarssona þáttr and Ynglinga saga relate that a berserker from Hadeland named Haki killed Sigurd, but lost a hand in the fight. Then Haki went to Sigurd's residence at Stein and took Sigurd's children Ragnhild and Guttorm. Haki returned with the children and all the loot to Hadeland. Before Haki recuperated from his wounds and could marry the 15 year old Ragnhild, she was captured a second time, by Halfdan the Black. Halfdan and Ragnhild were the parents of Harald Fairhair.

[edit] References