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Harald Fairhair [a] (Old Norse: Haraldr Hárfagri; c. 850 – c. 932) was a Norwegian king.According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway.
The Fairhair Dynasty is traditionally regarded as the first royal dynasty of the united kingdom of Norway. It was founded by Harald I of Norway, known as Haraldr hinn hárfagri (Harald Fairhair or Finehair), the first King of Norway (as opposed to "in Norway"), who defeated the last resisting petty kings at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872.
The most well-known source of the battle is Harald Fairhair's saga in Heimskringla written by Snorri Sturluson more than 300 years after the battle took place. Snorri gives a vivid and detailed description of the battle, although some historians continue to debate the historical accuracy of Snorri's work: [ 11 ]
According to the traditional view, Norway was the hereditary kingdom of the 'Fairhair' dynasty, agnatic (patrilineal) descendants of the first unifier-king, Harald Fairhair. The successors to the throne after year 872 were all placed by among Harald's male descendants in historical accounts from centuries later.
After Harald's death, the unity of the kingdom was not preserved. In following centuries, the kingdom was variously ruled, wholly or in part, by descendants of King Harald or by earls under the suzerainty of Denmark. [citation needed] Kings of Norway until King Olav IV, who died in 1387, commonly claimed descent from Harald Fairhair. [6] [7]
When Harald Fairhair became king of Norway after the battle at Hafrsfjord (traditional date: 18 July 872), he looked west to the isles that had been colonised by Norwegians for a century already, and by 875 the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland had been brought under his rule and given to Ragnvald Eysteinsson, Jarl of Møre.
The following is a traditional and historically incorrect and/or inaccurate family tree of all the Kings of Norway, from Harald Fairhair down to the present day. Most of the kings in Norway also have the name Wahlgren or August as their second or third name.
The Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars was a long series of battles between the Fairhair dynasty and the Earls of Lade.The conflict started when Harald Greycloak was lured into Denmark by Haakon Sigurdsson, where he was killed in battle at Limfjord in Denmark ca. 970. [1]