Well, that depends on how much you believe Snorri. He did write a lot of propaganda for the king of Norway which were related to Harald. Probably 25% or so what he wrote actually happened. Still, even with that was Harald up to a lot of shenanigans but he was far from the only viking who had plenty of strange adventures.
Imagine how amazing a well funded/directed web series on his life would be. It's crazy to me this hasn't already been done, there's no way this would be a hard story to sell, and it be even easier to get right. Even if it follows the more exaggerated stories of his life, the more reasonable versions, or takes from both... It would be an absolute banger of a show!
Absolutely but sadly I think Hollywood these days can't make this kind of show. It would be a cheap melodrama with an emo hardrada who is directed by a strong woman and basically whines all the time .
The video about the Varangian Guard was the first video of yours I watched. I had to subscribe immediately after watching. Then I saw the community poll about whether to also make a video about Harald Hardrada himself, it feels just a couple of days ago. And then BOOM 20 minute video on the subject within days. Mad respect to you, this channel is actually ridiculously good
The Varangian guard video randomly exploded. My friend who's not really versed in world history asked me randomly what I knew about Varangians. Later I linked him that video and he said the same one was why he was asking.
04:50 ". . . Overhead, the Sun darkened with an eclipse . . ." This solar eclipse occurred on August 31, 1030 (Gregorian Calendar). From the location of Stiglestad (or Stiklestad), it would have reached its maximum early in the afternoon, when the Sun was totally eclipsed for not more than 18 seconds. It isn't often that we know the exact date of any ancient event, but in this case we not only know the date, we know the time of day. Interestingly, the traditional date of the battle is July 29, 1030 - about one month before the eclipse. Why the difference? Is the traditional date in error? Or did Snorri Sturluson combine the two events for dramatic effect? Many thanks to Invicta for producing and presenting this fascinating documentary!
Snorre is also rumored to have changed the date when the lion and axe royal seal was first found, the first known usage of a lion is 1184 approximately by King Sverre, Snorre stated that it was found in 1103 by King Magnus, the claim by Snorre have been refuted by many historians and may have been done by Snorre for Sverre to legitimise his reign by predating his Royal seal to earlier kings. And besides... It's not like its an uncommon thing that kings and heroes were portrayed more favourably than reality in the stories.. Olav is a key player for christianity in Norway, the church would of course like to see his life and story played up a bit.
These sorts of wanderer stories in this kind of time period just blow my mind. Like, he goes from Norway to modern day Istanbul to possibly Jerusalem when any of those places might as well be on the other side of the planet! it was much more common in that time to know that when you leave someplace or someone you might NEVER see it again or even know what happened to that person. It's almost scary in an isolating sort of way.
It reminds me of the Norwegian Crusade a century later. They suffered 90% casualties after doing the whole roundtrip around Western Europe and then up from Jerusalem through Byzantium and Germany. But the ones who did survive had seen more of the world than 99% of their compatriots.
Ever since I found out about big H dawg being in Constantinople I needed a video on him and you guys supplied! Thanks so much! Now all we need the historically accurate Netflix series. Actually Netflix sucks these days, HBO!
"Such glorious adventures would resound through the halls of Scandinavia, inspiring countless generations of Vikings" Harald Hardraada: *Is often called "the last Viking"* Hmmm!
@@Bastardsword01 Descendants of Vikings are those who settled in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, and England. They are the descendants of the ones who went on a vikingr
@@weirdofromhalo It's still wrong to say they are descendants of vikings, because viking was something you did, you went viking, by exploring to claim lands, raid etc.. It would be like saying that the US is the descendants of sailors because they sailed there. The time period was in the mid 1800's dubbed the vikingage to promote national romanticism and to have a better way to define the age.
Imagine what could happened if Harald had arrived *after* Harold had potentially beaten William of Normandy's invasion. Anything could happen. • A different empire than the Angevin Empire. • Norse Sicily instead of Norman Sicily. • Norse-England would've strong ties to existing norse colonies on Dublin, Mann, Hebridies, Orkney, and Skye. Perhaps a stronger grip would tighten the noose around Scotland? • What would Norse-England, and their seaworthy armies do with the navigable rivers of France or Normandy? • What about a Norse-English Crusades, with their capable fleet? All speculative, but it's interesting to imagine all the possibilities.
What happens is - every Norse campaign in Crusaders Kings. aka Norse Britannia that rules the waves, the North, half of Francia and Frisia, and if you're very lucky, the Pope is sacrificed to the Gods. 😏
Not to be the buzzkill, but based on historical precedent likely just another North Sea Empire with the same ultimate fate. Given the history of effectiveness of Norse tactics vs. Norman tactics against the Irish and Scots, as well as the the fact that the Normans didn't exactly have trouble allying with or subduing Dublin and the Isle colonies, I also think there's a chance that Norwegian England wouldn't have expanded as much as the Normans/Angevins did. That probably ends with a much weaker Anglo-Dane/Anglo-Norse realm
I really love the format. It's such a wonderful mix of history and believable fiction. To me this makes for the best stories and most immersive stories there are, beacuse you just don't know what actually happend, what's exagerated and what's a lie. Great job on the video, great job on the storytelling and great job on the format in general. I love it!
Yep, and that's what most of the sagas are made of, a mix of reality and mythic fiction. Also that's why that format work so well in modern days, when you read "inspired by true events" it's know that's the author took some artistic liberties.
My Basileus, my emperor! I have honorably served this kingdom Sand I have won, and furthermore Blood of saracens have flowed by my work of sword! My Basileus, my emperor! You have left me no choice but to escape Taking my men and from the hall We are breaking our way out after nightfall!
@@tylerhamar2123 I saw an article or something saying that Christopher Lee was vague about his WW2 activities because some of it is lies and he is taking credit for some things he did not do. I won't say that it's certain, but it's something to consider. Usually when people have great WW2 stories they simply come out and tell them. The guy is still awesome
@misterStevePikk Damn! I had no idea about that. Hopefully it wasn't all embellishment. But thanks for the heads up I will have to read into that as well. 👍
There's a story that was Harald was three years old, Olaf tested his younger brothers' mettle. Two of them were frightened by the king but Harald yanked his beard then later said he wanted so many warriors that they would eat up all his brothers' cattle in one meal.
Well, part of that is also because it's suspected that a lot of the more melodramatic tales attributed to an individual were actually taken from multiple people and consolidated by the skalds to benefit those who paid best, or just who made the better story. Ragnar Lothbrok was likely a mix of different guys over a few decades to even a few centuries ( including ironically king Horik), but leaders like Bjorn's descendants used the combined story to justify their rule through an ancestry from the greatest Viking, and the other brothers were added over time. It even says in this very video that a lot of the stories about Harald Hardrada were likely embellished, so it's not a stretch to think that later storytellers gave him credit for bits taken from other meadhall tales.
@@kongming66 I can totally see leaders back then making themselves out to be more than they were. The pharaoh Rameses comes to mind. He wrote his name on a ton of stuff, and claimed to have built them, only for us to find out he just wrote his name over the names he found...lol
He was Christian actually but since there was still the time were many Norsemen still believed in the Norse religion even probably among his own men,I would like to believe he wouldn't have a problem going to Valhalla.
@@ichthys4396 Well he wasn't named "Hard Ruler" for nothing... but still there were indeed many Vikings that were still pagan during this period and even after the Viking age too. Of course most of them started to pray at secret unfortunately.
Using the lion with an axe on his shield is wrong, it is the later royal seal, but during his lifetime it was not in use. Sverre, who was king between 1184 and 1202 is rumored to be the first to use a lion as his seal. And not until 1280 does the lion with an axe appear, though funnily enough the axe is the Saint symbol of Olav the Holy, Haralds half brother and using it in the Royal shield was with reference to him, as Olav was dubbed Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (Norways Eternal King) in the 1100's.
Harald Hardrada's saga in Heimskringla is one of my favorites, second only to his brother's. I especially found the relationship he had with King Magnus the Good to be particularly interesting; I hope you cover it in the future. Great video around :)
First Epic History releases the third volume in their series on Belisarius, and now Invicta starts its series on Harold Hardrada. Today is a good day to be a history nerd.
Incredible job Invicta. Again I ask why Harold Hardrada's life has not been made into a movie. Maybe we can get all the history fans together and crowd-fund a quality production. So many stories from history deserve the silver screen but are never made.
This is one of those things i can't believe hasn't been made into a series. If Vikings were looking to do a follow-up this should be it. I just love the insanity of it all, firstly they get paid to fight drink and feast, looked at like they were some gods, have a great time doing it, then they decide to cripple the emperor, restore the empress and when she doesn't let them leave, they stage a heist and grab all their stuff and leave. Oh and someone decided it would be a great idea to grab a princess on their way out the door as they finish the heist like you can't make this stuff up
It would be cool if they did a follow up with many of the tales from the sagas. Plenty of content, could span on many seasons and keep watchers involved with the changes in stories and times per season assumably.
The life and career of Roger the Great, Count of Sicily, would be perfect for this format too, he was too young to have crossed paths with Harald Hardrada but his older brother William Iron Arm also took part in George Maniakes' campaign in Sicily alongside Hardrada.
@@WitcherGerd He was, like most of the eventual Norman lords of southern Italy and Sicily he and his brothers started as mercenaries, for the Byzantines and for the Lombards, until they became the masters of the region themselves.
11:30: Friendly reminder that being a Norse, he probably thought every single structure with a pallisade as some kind of fortress. He probably was not exaggerating, simply failing to comprehend what passes for a fortress in the Mediterranean world.
True, most forts in Northern Europe at the time were also made out of wood, so even just a tower made of stone would have been seen as a mighty fortress.
It is interesting, the Faroes likely had troops in the battle on Olaf’s side, as they were at that time under the Jarl of Orkney, who sided with Olaf trying to preserve his islands’ autonomy from the North Sea Empiee.
*'Hardrada' literally means 'hard ruler', and can be (very extremely generously) transliterated as 'hard-ass'. To be fair, you had to be a hard-ass to live the kind of life that he did.*
Well, when you come from a region where some guys have bad-ass surnames like 'Erik Bloodaxe' or 'Bjorn Ironside' you need something competitive. I think this is the Viking Age equivalent of 'brand visibility'.
@@monadsingleton9324 You’re 100% an American who don’t speak a scandinavian tongue. Ráði has nothing to do with ass, no matter how generous you want to be with wordplay.
He was not ever known as Harald Halfdansson Harfagri !....... Harald Harfagri born 850 ( hairfair or hairfine ) was born in a totally different generation !. But his name was Harald Sigurdsson Hardrada ( hard ruler or the ruthless.) born 1015.
Correct, Harald Hårfagre was the one to unite and rule the whole of Norway, living in a dif age as you point out. Hardråde was the name given to Harald Sigurdson after hes actions in viken Norway and how ruthless he would act vs those opposing him.
So basically half of the things that Ragnar Lothbrok did in Vikings was actually inspired by Harald Hardrada. I still love that show, but the historical accuracy was extremely poor.
A man who really needs a film made about him. I’d even see the Viking who fell at Stamford Bridge, to be an old friend. May he find glory with Freya or Odin, whoever took him first.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was part of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1297, my friend :) Stamford Bridge is where Hardrada died in 1066 alongside the "Bridge Berserker"
If searching for great content, then the kings sagas were filled with them. Much Viking vs Viking, Viking vs the world. You also got these interesting commoners like Egil skallagrimson. The most famus/infamus Berserker etc. The world was smaller due to the Viking ships. Fastest and most flexible ship that ever was untill modern times. Made the Vikings the most traveled and wordly people of medieval times with their warlike culture as baggage. A comparrison of land and ship travel: What was a month travel on foot was a feew days by ship. And these ships did both the Rivers and the Atlantic +could be rolled over land between rivers.
A finnish metal band 'Turisas' made 2 masterful albums based on Harald's story. I can't recommend them enough. Go check out "The Varangian Way" and "Stand Up and Fight".
As soon as the video ended I thought "when is the next part coming ouy?" great story and it makes little importance how much is fact and how much is fiction, because it's both inspiring and entertaining. It was pure joy to follow along the story. Thank you and can't wait for the next ep.
Every time I see videos of this type of quality on RUclips it blows my mind. We live in a great time period if we have access to such great learning for free.
Happy you make vids on the Legend. However beside the great art i must ask about the maps. Why always the maps is centered on central Europe. Also the erlier vid on the Varangians made you feel Vikings came from Poland and the southern baltic. Barely the Southern tip of Scandinavia is shown. Not even the Norwegian viking capital Trondheim, nor the battle Of Stiklestad mentioned is on the map. And most of the Army that won the battle was from north of the map. Feels a bit like disrespect to be honest🤔 Also why is Wessex not included in Svein/Canutes north sea empire. Just the older Danelaw is shown. Wil not critizise to much, only want the channel to improve. Again great Artwork.
Absolutely love this video - such an interesting life! In England he's normally just a footnote of history, the guy who lost to the guy who lost to William the Conqueror, or 'the other Harold' - but he's so much more than that!
This was quite a treat and I'm very much looking forward to more episodes telling of the adventures of Harald, and hope you take on telling tales of others in this format.
Norwegian here, gotta correct three things: 1. He never went with the name Fairhair, that would be our first king. 2. His name is pronounced closer to Harr- ro-deh, rather than Hardrada 3. His name means hard ruler, it's literally the words "hard" and "ruler" put together. "Hard" and "råde" to become Hardråde
"The resolute ruler brings victory from every battle; the company advanced and slashed with swords; a sharp onslaught was then launched later." - Bǫlverkr Arnórsson (companion and skald of Harald). It appears there is a slight mix-up with the exact year in which Harald reached Constantinople (somewhere in 1033) and the year he left (most likely late 1042). Also i would like to add that maybe go into detail about some of his campaigns in byzantium (campaign in sicily, Taking of Perkrin (near lake van), bulgarian campaign, Campaign in apulia with maniakes in the spring of 1042). Many details is of course lost to us today but its still possible to piece together a good suggestion for what very well could have happened if you use scaldic poetry in combination with byzantine history records. Still good job though. Looking forward to next episode.
Great video as always guys! I Throughly enjoyed this, Harold Hardrada has always fascinated me! Thank you for filling in some blanks in his life for me! Cheers!
I hope they make a series about these great figures of history! Even if the truth might be spiced with salt and pepper. They are epic no less. Hope you guys in Invicta can tell us the story about Temujin (Chinggis Khan). For that is a story just as epic as this.
the drawing of that shield really annoys me. the royal lion was only adopted by the norwegian kings house in 1240, after King håkon håkonson killed his father in law, and then adopted his arms. then in 1280 the lion was finally given the axe of Olaf the holy by Erik II of Norway. it would likely be something else. either a cross, to signify his christianity. and the shield would be painted red, as that is the colour royalty in norway. and finally, the shield would be covered in leather, not planked like that, since it makes it extremely flimsy.
Harald Hardrada was a true legend. I just started to watch the new Vikings in which he's portraited. Hopefully it's at least somewhat historical, although as cool as the show is, it's not very historically accurate.
I' am currently writing a novel about the adventures and battles of the Byzantine Strategos Georgios Maniakes and the Viking Prince Harald Hardrada in Syria and Sicily with the title "Brothers in Arms".
Small correction, in the beginning you give alternative names to be Haraldur Fairhair and Haraldur Sigurðsson. Haraldur Fairhair is a different person who united Norway in c. 870 - 930. Otherwise a great video and I really like the way you tell a story.
It might also just be that they both used it since the origin of that name relates to the ancient indo-european Koryos tradition of young men going out to earn their way from nothing to riches without cutting or grooming their hair in order to live like their wolf spirits. Both Harald Fairhair and Harald Hardrada went on this sort of journey, it just wasn't ephisized by the christian writers who had lost all udnerstanding of these very pagan cultural niches by the time it was written down. So since they were both young successful conquerors who left home to earn their way into something greater, from the same lineage no less, it makes alot of sense for them both to be called Fairhair.
2:48 If I'm right u mixed up Harald I. Hårfagre (Fairhair) and Harald III. Hardråde Sigurdsson, between the death of the I. and the birth of the III. are ~75years...
I'm currently reading a book series about Harald Hardråde called Den Siste Vikingkongen (The Last Viking King) by Norwegian author Jan Ove Ekeberg. I'm currently at book #3 which mostly takes place in Constantinople. Good stuff!
I am so annoyed at that series, I myself wrote a book about Harald Hardrada, and Ekeberg published right as I was in talks with my own publisher. I was told to put the project on ice to avoid plagiarism allegations. So much work wasted, I was over 150 pages into writing.
And i would watch them all. What a legend he is, even though some of it might (maybe not) have been added some spice and sugar to, it actually happened. I feel beyond lazy knowing what some historical figures have done and achieved :)
sometimes, i just wonder what if Harald stayed in Miklagard, what if he decided to help the Romans against the Normans would they have succeeded ? what if Harald got laid and had a son ? to continue his path and dynasty, so many questions
Great show as entertainment, not so great as history. Still worth a watch for the awesome battle scenes (esp later seasons) and Travis Fimmel's performance as Ragnar is amazing.
Harald Finehair is supposed to be the first Harald Fairhair, the guy who first united Norway. He is an extremely poor portrayal of him aswell considering Harald Fairhair was barely 20 years old when he did it, and he specifically had long blond hair, not a bald head with a brown rat tail on it
Note that this is very silly even if she was interested in him, as it was due to her marriage troubles she had spent the last months imprisoned in the first place, and so she took over a year to remarry after carefully selecting the least dangerous political challenger. Suddenly marrying a barbarian mercenary is not a good way to keep your head in Byzantine court politics.
When you think about all the Hollywood remakes of films that were fine first time around and you then see this historical figure , mighty historical figure and no epic along the lines of Gladiator or El Cid made made about his life! What a story! And then there's this fella from Iceland! Courtesy of Wikipedia; Bolli Bollason (also Bolli Bollison) wasn't a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdæla saga, born around 1000.[1]He grew up in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. He divided his time between Helgafell and Tunga, the home of Snorri the Goði.[a] He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Eastern Roman Empire.[b] It is believed that he had reached the rank of manglabites in the Eastern Roman army,[2] and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".[3] His importance in the literary context of the saga is his prominence as the son of Bolli Þorleiksson and Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the two central characters of the work. He is mentioned at the end of the Sneglu-Hall þáttur (The Tale of Sarcastic Halli), and is also the subject of his own tale, the Bollaþáttur, which was later appended to the end of the manuscripts in the early 14th century. Many thanks to you for posting such fascinating content and thanks to Wikipedia for the same.
I hope they don't make a movie about him yet, the current american culture needs to change first or else they will make it a feminist story where Harald Hardrada is played by a black woman. The vikings series literally just did that with Håkon Jarl, the last pagan king in Scandinavia, he was a norwegian king who was a bit of a legend, he's being played by a black woman in that series...
You are right, they are not the same men. Harald Finehair (Harald Hårfagre) lived from approximately 850 to 932. Harald Hardrada (Harald Hardråde) lived from 1015 to 1066. So there is almost a century dividing them.
![The Last Viking - The Campaigns of Harald Hardrada [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uYsmHdgD5V4/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Last Viking - The Campaigns of Harald Hardrada [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](/img/tr.png)
This guy’s life was basically a Mount and Blade Campaign in real life.
this is such a dumb joke, but so true. (well, for Nobility in the Middle Ages in Europe)
I hope he will be one of main characters in Vikinga valhalla
@@TheAdrian229 fuck that show.
Well, that depends on how much you believe Snorri. He did write a lot of propaganda for the king of Norway which were related to Harald. Probably 25% or so what he wrote actually happened. Still, even with that was Harald up to a lot of shenanigans but he was far from the only viking who had plenty of strange adventures.
I hope his archers were better than the nord’s mount and blade archers
Legends are truths mix with fake tales. Truths with lies
Myths are just myths. Fake stories.
Harald was real. And is a badass
Can’t wait till part two comes!
duuuude my son's name is growing... "behold my son, Hannibal Ceasar Cleitus the black Hardraada"
Harald Hararada strangely looks like Hvitserk from the TV show, Vikings.... or... is it just me?
When they make the movie about his life. The Undertaker wrestler should portray him
"First episode.."
Oh Hel yes.
Was he also the one they called
Harald Bluetooth ?
Imagine how amazing a well funded/directed web series on his life would be.
It's crazy to me this hasn't already been done, there's no way this would be a hard story to sell, and it be even easier to get right. Even if it follows the more exaggerated stories of his life, the more reasonable versions, or takes from both... It would be an absolute banger of a show!
Absolutely but sadly I think Hollywood these days can't make this kind of show. It would be a cheap melodrama with an emo hardrada who is directed by a strong woman and basically whines all the time .
vikings valhalla starting february include him but i dont have super high hopes that they make him justice :D
@@sigurdless hahaha I really doubt it. And in any case it would be a fantasy viking wearing leather armour...
@@Marshal_Rock haha indeed. where is that chainmail bro!
dont give ideas to netflix please! there will soon be an asian / african hearld hardrada
The video about the Varangian Guard was the first video of yours I watched. I had to subscribe immediately after watching. Then I saw the community poll about whether to also make a video about Harald Hardrada himself, it feels just a couple of days ago. And then BOOM 20 minute video on the subject within days. Mad respect to you, this channel is actually ridiculously good
Binge the avenging varus series. So good
This channel legit one of the best on RUclips. The Jewish revolution series is sexual
The Varangian guard video randomly exploded. My friend who's not really versed in world history asked me randomly what I knew about Varangians. Later I linked him that video and he said the same one was why he was asking.
Welcome
Welcome!
04:50 ". . . Overhead, the Sun darkened with an eclipse . . ." This solar eclipse occurred on August 31, 1030 (Gregorian Calendar). From the location of Stiglestad (or Stiklestad), it would have reached its maximum early in the afternoon, when the Sun was totally eclipsed for not more than 18 seconds. It isn't often that we know the exact date of any ancient event, but in this case we not only know the date, we know the time of day.
Interestingly, the traditional date of the battle is July 29, 1030 - about one month before the eclipse. Why the difference? Is the traditional date in error? Or did Snorri Sturluson combine the two events for dramatic effect?
Many thanks to Invicta for producing and presenting this fascinating documentary!
Snorre is also rumored to have changed the date when the lion and axe royal seal was first found, the first known usage of a lion is 1184 approximately by King Sverre, Snorre stated that it was found in 1103 by King Magnus, the claim by Snorre have been refuted by many historians and may have been done by Snorre for Sverre to legitimise his reign by predating his Royal seal to earlier kings. And besides... It's not like its an uncommon thing that kings and heroes were portrayed more favourably than reality in the stories.. Olav is a key player for christianity in Norway, the church would of course like to see his life and story played up a bit.
These sorts of wanderer stories in this kind of time period just blow my mind. Like, he goes from Norway to modern day Istanbul to possibly Jerusalem when any of those places might as well be on the other side of the planet! it was much more common in that time to know that when you leave someplace or someone you might NEVER see it again or even know what happened to that person. It's almost scary in an isolating sort of way.
It reminds me of the Norwegian Crusade a century later. They suffered 90% casualties after doing the whole roundtrip around Western Europe and then up from Jerusalem through Byzantium and Germany. But the ones who did survive had seen more of the world than 99% of their compatriots.
@@luxborealis The norweigen crusade is crazy.
Got here faster than the army of Harold Godwinson 💪🗿
Ever since I found out about big H dawg being in Constantinople I needed a video on him and you guys supplied! Thanks so much! Now all we need the historically accurate Netflix series. Actually Netflix sucks these days, HBO!
It should STAY AWAY from Netflix it changes facts for “woke” fantasies, HBO is where its at.
He will be in the new Netflix show Vikings Valhalla. In which Jarl Håkoon is played by a black woman and i really dont see why that is
@@AGCcachanilla Or even better, money from HBO overseen by Invicta!
@@stc3145 why stop there? Can't wait to see Black Panther played by Danny DeVito
@@AGCcachanilla hbo us hardly better these days
"Such glorious adventures would resound through the halls of Scandinavia, inspiring countless generations of Vikings"
Harald Hardraada: *Is often called "the last Viking"*
Hmmm!
Well in this case its more like the descendants of vikings and generations of northmen who upheld and expanded on these stories
@@InvictaHistory There can be no viking descendants since vikings weren't a people, culture or anything like that.
@@Bastardsword01 Descendants of Vikings are those who settled in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, and England. They are the descendants of the ones who went on a vikingr
@@weirdofromhalo It's still wrong to say they are descendants of vikings, because viking was something you did, you went viking, by exploring to claim lands, raid etc.. It would be like saying that the US is the descendants of sailors because they sailed there. The time period was in the mid 1800's dubbed the vikingage to promote national romanticism and to have a better way to define the age.
@@spuddlingbob8724 Semantic quibbling. Most Americans are the descendants of pioneers, which is also something you do, not something you are.
Imagine what could happened if Harald had arrived *after* Harold had potentially beaten William of Normandy's invasion. Anything could happen.
• A different empire than the Angevin Empire.
• Norse Sicily instead of Norman Sicily.
• Norse-England would've strong ties to existing norse colonies on Dublin, Mann, Hebridies, Orkney, and Skye. Perhaps a stronger grip would tighten the noose around Scotland?
• What would Norse-England, and their seaworthy armies do with the navigable rivers of France or Normandy?
• What about a Norse-English Crusades, with their capable fleet?
All speculative, but it's interesting to imagine all the possibilities.
What happens is - every Norse campaign in Crusaders Kings.
aka Norse Britannia that rules the waves, the North, half of Francia and Frisia, and if you're very lucky, the Pope is sacrificed to the Gods. 😏
Not to be the buzzkill, but based on historical precedent likely just another North Sea Empire with the same ultimate fate. Given the history of effectiveness of Norse tactics vs. Norman tactics against the Irish and Scots, as well as the the fact that the Normans didn't exactly have trouble allying with or subduing Dublin and the Isle colonies, I also think there's a chance that Norwegian England wouldn't have expanded as much as the Normans/Angevins did. That probably ends with a much weaker Anglo-Dane/Anglo-Norse realm
I really love the format. It's such a wonderful mix of history and believable fiction. To me this makes for the best stories and most immersive stories there are, beacuse you just don't know what actually happend, what's exagerated and what's a lie. Great job on the video, great job on the storytelling and great job on the format in general. I love it!
Yep, and that's what most of the sagas are made of, a mix of reality and mythic fiction. Also that's why that format work so well in modern days, when you read "inspired by true events" it's know that's the author took some artistic liberties.
@@hansybarra we do have byzantine accounts as well, which doesn't say much, only that he was a great general.
My Basileus, my emperor!
I have honorably served this kingdom
Sand I have won, and furthermore
Blood of saracens have flowed by my work of sword!
My Basileus, my emperor!
You have left me no choice but to escape
Taking my men and from the hall
We are breaking our way out after nightfall!
Harald Hardrada had the most adventurous life of any great man in history, change my mind.
Whereas I mostly agree with you, watch a video about Christopher Lee's life sometime! Haha pretty adventurous in a modern setting.
@@tylerhamar2123 I saw an article or something saying that Christopher Lee was vague about his WW2 activities because some of it is lies and he is taking credit for some things he did not do. I won't say that it's certain, but it's something to consider. Usually when people have great WW2 stories they simply come out and tell them. The guy is still awesome
Maybe Odysseus? He spent 10 years trying to get home after 10 years in the Trojan war. His adventures in the Iliad are as mythical as the sagas.
Harald had a crazy life, but imo it's practically impossible to top Alexander
@misterStevePikk Damn! I had no idea about that. Hopefully it wasn't all embellishment. But thanks for the heads up I will have to read into that as well. 👍
There's a story that was Harald was three years old, Olaf tested his younger brothers' mettle. Two of them were frightened by the king but Harald yanked his beard then later said he wanted so many warriors that they would eat up all his brothers' cattle in one meal.
That's the most subtly badass boast I've heard in a long time.
14:17
When you remember reading or watching all these tricks used by different people and location, but then one man has done them all.
What a legend
Those sneaky Vikings would use the same ploy over and over again until people could stop it....Makes sense
Well, part of that is also because it's suspected that a lot of the more melodramatic tales attributed to an individual were actually taken from multiple people and consolidated by the skalds to benefit those who paid best, or just who made the better story. Ragnar Lothbrok was likely a mix of different guys over a few decades to even a few centuries ( including ironically king Horik), but leaders like Bjorn's descendants used the combined story to justify their rule through an ancestry from the greatest Viking, and the other brothers were added over time. It even says in this very video that a lot of the stories about Harald Hardrada were likely embellished, so it's not a stretch to think that later storytellers gave him credit for bits taken from other meadhall tales.
I was going to say something similar, the fire on birds was the Rus queen for get her name the pretending to die was Hastein or Bjorn.
@@kongming66 I can totally see leaders back then making themselves out to be more than they were. The pharaoh Rameses comes to mind. He wrote his name on a ton of stuff, and claimed to have built them, only for us to find out he just wrote his name over the names he found...lol
Without out a doubt when he died, Odin himself carried Harold to Valhalla. What a life that legend lived!
He was Christian actually but since there was still the time were many Norsemen still believed in the Norse religion even probably among his own men,I would like to believe he wouldn't have a problem going to Valhalla.
Idk, those force conversions to Christianity don't look too good on his resume.
@@ichthys4396 Well he wasn't named "Hard Ruler" for nothing... but still there were indeed many Vikings that were still pagan during this period and even after the Viking age too. Of course most of them started to pray at secret unfortunately.
Though he was a Christian and his half brother became a Saint, whom the Varangian Guard in Constantinople had their own church dedicated to
@@johng7003 don't forget the Jomsviking Order. They upheld the Old Ways too.
Using the lion with an axe on his shield is wrong, it is the later royal seal, but during his lifetime it was not in use. Sverre, who was king between 1184 and 1202 is rumored to be the first to use a lion as his seal. And not until 1280 does the lion with an axe appear, though funnily enough the axe is the Saint symbol of Olav the Holy, Haralds half brother and using it in the Royal shield was with reference to him, as Olav was dubbed Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae (Norways Eternal King) in the 1100's.
Harald Hardrada's saga in Heimskringla is one of my favorites, second only to his brother's. I especially found the relationship he had with King Magnus the Good to be particularly interesting; I hope you cover it in the future. Great video around :)
First Epic History releases the third volume in their series on Belisarius, and now Invicta starts its series on Harold Hardrada. Today is a good day to be a history nerd.
Over Simplfied with the Pig War drop a few days ago, I'd say it's a good week lol
A historic day!
yeah us history buffs are getting spoilt this week
Don’t forget the quality Kings and General videos
@@probionekenobi1978 Wizards and Warriors is pretty good too.
Incredible job Invicta. Again I ask why Harold Hardrada's life has not been made into a movie. Maybe we can get all the history fans together and crowd-fund a quality production. So many stories from history deserve the silver screen but are never made.
This is one of those things i can't believe hasn't been made into a series. If Vikings were looking to do a follow-up this should be it. I just love the insanity of it all, firstly they get paid to fight drink and feast, looked at like they were some gods, have a great time doing it, then they decide to cripple the emperor, restore the empress and when she doesn't let them leave, they stage a heist and grab all their stuff and leave. Oh and someone decided it would be a great idea to grab a princess on their way out the door as they finish the heist like you can't make this stuff up
It would be cool if they did a follow up with many of the tales from the sagas. Plenty of content, could span on many seasons and keep watchers involved with the changes in stories and times per season assumably.
They are doing a follow up on Netflix called "Valhalla" I think
Listening to just this first part I can tell they based a few things in the show off of this guy already
@@kingmerlin9099 Bjorn did the fake death thing as well irl
There is a Vikings spin off which will portray Harald Hardrada.
The life and career of Roger the Great, Count of Sicily, would be perfect for this format too, he was too young to have crossed paths with Harald Hardrada but his older brother William Iron Arm also took part in George Maniakes' campaign in Sicily alongside Hardrada.
Wasn’t William a mercenary
@@WitcherGerd He was, like most of the eventual Norman lords of southern Italy and Sicily he and his brothers started as mercenaries, for the Byzantines and for the Lombards, until they became the masters of the region themselves.
11:30: Friendly reminder that being a Norse, he probably thought every single structure with a pallisade as some kind of fortress. He probably was not exaggerating, simply failing to comprehend what passes for a fortress in the Mediterranean world.
True, most forts in Northern Europe at the time were also made out of wood, so even just a tower made of stone would have been seen as a mighty fortress.
Our national day in Faroe Islands is to remember the death of Olaf, the first christian king of norway. We still celebrate the day 1000 years later!
The first Christian king was Haakon Haraldson "The Good", or Adelsteinfostre (c 929-961), but Christianity wasn't "flavour of the day".....
@lassisvulgaris yeah that's true. Olaf was the the king who christine's the Faroe Islands, that's why we celebrate him
@@SuperFaroeIslands I know. He also Christened Norway, and put an end to the Viking culture.
It is interesting, the Faroes likely had troops in the battle on Olaf’s side, as they were at that time under the Jarl of Orkney, who sided with Olaf trying to preserve his islands’ autonomy from the North Sea Empiee.
Mount and Blade: Viking Conquest soundtrack is THE BEST!
*'Hardrada' literally means 'hard ruler', and can be (very extremely generously) transliterated as 'hard-ass'. To be fair, you had to be a hard-ass to live the kind of life that he did.*
No it can’t.
@@POLITICUS-DANICUS
Good thing I don't need to ask you permission on whether or not I can have fun with wordplay.
Well, when you come from a region where some guys have bad-ass surnames like 'Erik Bloodaxe' or 'Bjorn Ironside' you need something competitive. I think this is the Viking Age equivalent of 'brand visibility'.
@@monadsingleton9324 You’re 100% an American who don’t speak a scandinavian tongue. Ráði has nothing to do with ass, no matter how generous you want to be with wordplay.
@@POLITICUS-DANICUS
Good thing I didn't ask for your opinion and can have as much fun as I want on the internet. Stay triggered.😄
He was not ever known as Harald Halfdansson Harfagri !....... Harald Harfagri born 850 ( hairfair or hairfine ) was born in a totally different generation !.
But his name was Harald Sigurdsson Hardrada ( hard ruler or the ruthless.) born 1015.
Correct, Harald Hårfagre was the one to unite and rule the whole of Norway, living in a dif age as you point out.
Hardråde was the name given to Harald Sigurdson after hes actions in viken Norway and how ruthless he would act vs those opposing him.
So basically half of the things that Ragnar Lothbrok did in Vikings was actually inspired by Harald Hardrada. I still love that show, but the historical accuracy was extremely poor.
famous mongol trick - feigned retreat
famous viking trick - feigned death and burial
A man who really needs a film made about him. I’d even see the Viking who fell at Stamford Bridge, to be an old friend. May he find glory with Freya or Odin, whoever took him first.
Stamford Bridge. You're thinking of Stirling Castle in Scotland.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was part of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1297, my friend :) Stamford Bridge is where Hardrada died in 1066 alongside the "Bridge Berserker"
@@justaguy723 Thanks, auto correct strikes, lol.
If searching for great content, then the kings sagas were filled with them. Much Viking vs Viking, Viking vs the world. You also got these interesting commoners like Egil skallagrimson. The most famus/infamus Berserker etc. The world was smaller due to the Viking ships. Fastest and most flexible ship that ever was untill modern times. Made the Vikings the most traveled and wordly people of medieval times with their warlike culture as baggage. A comparrison of land and ship travel:
What was a month travel on foot was a feew days by ship. And these ships did both the Rivers and the Atlantic +could be rolled over land between rivers.
A finnish metal band 'Turisas' made 2 masterful albums based on Harald's story. I can't recommend them enough. Go check out "The Varangian Way" and "Stand Up and Fight".
You mispronounce Hardrada. Again.
As soon as the video ended I thought "when is the next part coming ouy?" great story and it makes little importance how much is fact and how much is fiction, because it's both inspiring and entertaining. It was pure joy to follow along the story. Thank you and can't wait for the next ep.
Every time I see videos of this type of quality on RUclips it blows my mind. We live in a great time period if we have access to such great learning for free.
True, without getting axed through our windows or speared if we lived in 1000s as we watch this hahaha
As a Russian, I especially appreciate this one.
Happy you make vids on the Legend.
However beside the great art i must ask about the maps.
Why always the maps is centered on central Europe. Also the erlier vid on the Varangians made you feel Vikings came from Poland and the southern baltic. Barely the Southern tip of Scandinavia is shown. Not even the Norwegian viking capital Trondheim, nor the battle Of Stiklestad mentioned is on the map.
And most of the Army that won the battle was from north of the map.
Feels a bit like disrespect to be honest🤔
Also why is Wessex not included in Svein/Canutes north sea empire. Just the older Danelaw is shown.
Wil not critizise to much, only want the channel to improve. Again great Artwork.
damn... this guys a stud, I sure hope he always keeps his full kit of armor and weapons on him.
Absolutely love this video - such an interesting life! In England he's normally just a footnote of history, the guy who lost to the guy who lost to William the Conqueror, or 'the other Harold' - but he's so much more than that!
This is the one I’ve been waiting for. The man, the myth, the legend.
This was quite a treat and I'm very much looking forward to more episodes telling of the adventures of Harald, and hope you take on telling tales of others in this format.
Norwegian here, gotta correct three things:
1. He never went with the name Fairhair, that would be our first king.
2. His name is pronounced closer to Harr- ro-deh, rather than Hardrada
3. His name means hard ruler, it's literally the words "hard" and "ruler" put together. "Hard" and "råde" to become Hardråde
This was an excellent start to the story of a highly fascinating individual. Can't wait for a part 2 of this story. Great job.
I would give anything to live a life a fraction as exciting as Harold's.
just don't invade England
Join the army then after leaving join a private military company
Just be careful fighting he Arabs in Syria they were ruthless in warfare.
"The resolute ruler brings victory from every battle; the company advanced and slashed with swords; a sharp onslaught was then launched later." - Bǫlverkr Arnórsson (companion and skald of Harald).
It appears there is a slight mix-up with the exact year in which Harald reached Constantinople (somewhere in 1033) and the year he left (most likely late 1042). Also i would like to add that maybe go into detail about some of his campaigns in byzantium (campaign in sicily, Taking of Perkrin (near lake van), bulgarian campaign, Campaign in apulia with maniakes in the spring of 1042).
Many details is of course lost to us today but its still possible to piece together a good suggestion for what very well could have happened if you use scaldic poetry in combination with byzantine history records.
Still good job though. Looking forward to next episode.
Great video as always guys! I Throughly enjoyed this, Harold Hardrada has always fascinated me! Thank you for filling in some blanks in his life for me! Cheers!
I would absolutely love a KCD game based on Harald Hardrada, and thank you Invicta for this awesome video!!
It should be Norse though. Viking isn't a word to describe someone, nor is it word for a people, tribe, creed or culture.
Viking was the raiding term, aka going out in viking.
The way he took the castles in Italy, specially the 4th one...reminds me of Odysseus and the Torjan Horse.
The *Jomsvikings* of Jomsborg could also be an interesting subject. Sort of the "Hells Angels" of the Viking age.
I hope they make a series about these great figures of history! Even if the truth might be spiced with salt and pepper. They are epic no less.
Hope you guys in Invicta can tell us the story about Temujin (Chinggis Khan). For that is a story just as epic as this.
At least once in his life, Harald is believed to have greeted his enemies with "That's a nice head you have on your shoulders"
Your money or your life
the drawing of that shield really annoys me. the royal lion was only adopted by the norwegian kings house in 1240, after King håkon håkonson killed his father in law, and then adopted his arms. then in 1280 the lion was finally given the axe of Olaf the holy by Erik II of Norway. it would likely be something else. either a cross, to signify his christianity. and the shield would be painted red, as that is the colour royalty in norway. and finally, the shield would be covered in leather, not planked like that, since it makes it extremely flimsy.
This guy had major main character energy
A true legend, it was an honor to have him as leader of the Varangian Guards
Not sure the Emperor would see it that way...
@@freddiecawston2892 I'm sure the Empress did though
@@vergil8833 not the one who was blinded and beaten by him
@@freddiecawston2892 Thats the Emperor who dethroned the Empress who wanted Hardrada D.
Harald Hardrada was a true legend. I just started to watch the new Vikings in which he's portraited. Hopefully it's at least somewhat historical, although as cool as the show is, it's not very historically accurate.
I' am currently writing a novel about the adventures and battles of the Byzantine Strategos Georgios Maniakes and the Viking Prince Harald Hardrada in Syria and Sicily with the title "Brothers in Arms".
Small correction, in the beginning you give alternative names to be Haraldur Fairhair and Haraldur Sigurðsson. Haraldur Fairhair is a different person who united Norway in c. 870 - 930. Otherwise a great video and I really like the way you tell a story.
Yes, there are some academic theories that Harald Hardrade and Harald Fairhair last names where mixed up. The latter unified Norway through conquest.
It might also just be that they both used it since the origin of that name relates to the ancient indo-european Koryos tradition of young men going out to earn their way from nothing to riches without cutting or grooming their hair in order to live like their wolf spirits. Both Harald Fairhair and Harald Hardrada went on this sort of journey, it just wasn't ephisized by the christian writers who had lost all udnerstanding of these very pagan cultural niches by the time it was written down.
So since they were both young successful conquerors who left home to earn their way into something greater, from the same lineage no less, it makes alot of sense for them both to be called Fairhair.
2:48 If I'm right u mixed up Harald I. Hårfagre (Fairhair) and Harald III. Hardråde Sigurdsson, between the death of the I. and the birth of the III. are ~75years...
I'm currently reading a book series about Harald Hardråde called Den Siste Vikingkongen (The Last Viking King) by Norwegian author Jan Ove Ekeberg. I'm currently at book #3 which mostly takes place in Constantinople. Good stuff!
Are they available in English?
I am so annoyed at that series, I myself wrote a book about Harald Hardrada, and Ekeberg published right as I was in talks with my own publisher. I was told to put the project on ice to avoid plagiarism allegations. So much work wasted, I was over 150 pages into writing.
@@luxborealis Aw, that's rough! Was it in Norwegian as well?
Vikings series needs to make at least seven other seasons with this guy.
And i would watch them all.
What a legend he is, even though some of it might (maybe not) have been added some spice and sugar to, it actually happened.
I feel beyond lazy knowing what some historical figures have done and achieved :)
That would be a nightmare, they would have him be played by a black woman just like they did with Haakon Jarl.
Harald sigurdson is a legend, he had one of the greatest fates i have ever seen
The full series has been released here: ruclips.net/video/uYsmHdgD5V4/видео.html
This is an amazing story!
Usually you only hear his name at the battle of stamford bridge but i never knew this more interesting part of the story
sometimes, i just wonder
what if Harald stayed in Miklagard, what if he decided to help the Romans against the Normans
would they have succeeded ? what if Harald got laid and had a son ? to continue his path and dynasty,
so many questions
What? He had sons and his dynasty lasted until 1319.
7:29 the border with poland is incorect. The Rus never ruled up to the Vistula
Wish to say for other watchers, Harald finehair(who is shown in Vikings) is not the same as Harald Fairhair(who we also know as Hadrada)
Great show as entertainment, not so great as history. Still worth a watch for the awesome battle scenes (esp later seasons) and Travis Fimmel's performance as Ragnar is amazing.
Harald Finehair is supposed to be the first Harald Fairhair, the guy who first united Norway. He is an extremely poor portrayal of him aswell considering Harald Fairhair was barely 20 years old when he did it, and he specifically had long blond hair, not a bald head with a brown rat tail on it
More like Harald Hardcore
Invicta I LOVE YOU!!! Keep releasing blessed content! thank you
One little thing to add, the Saga of Harald Hardrada adds the possibility of Empress Zoe refusing to let Harald leave due to her wishing to marry him
Note that this is very silly even if she was interested in him, as it was due to her marriage troubles she had spent the last months imprisoned in the first place, and so she took over a year to remarry after carefully selecting the least dangerous political challenger. Suddenly marrying a barbarian mercenary is not a good way to keep your head in Byzantine court politics.
When you think about all the Hollywood remakes of films that were fine first time around and you then see this historical figure , mighty historical figure and no epic along the lines of Gladiator or El Cid made made about his life! What a story! And then there's this fella from Iceland! Courtesy of Wikipedia;
Bolli Bollason (also Bolli Bollison) wasn't a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdæla saga, born around 1000.[1]He grew up in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. He divided his time between Helgafell and Tunga, the home of Snorri the Goði.[a] He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Eastern Roman Empire.[b] It is believed that he had reached the rank of manglabites in the Eastern Roman army,[2] and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".[3]
His importance in the literary context of the saga is his prominence as the son of Bolli Þorleiksson and Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the two central characters of the work. He is mentioned at the end of the Sneglu-Hall þáttur (The Tale of Sarcastic Halli), and is also the subject of his own tale, the Bollaþáttur, which was later appended to the end of the manuscripts in the early 14th century.
Many thanks to you for posting such fascinating content and thanks to Wikipedia for the same.
I hope they don't make a movie about him yet, the current american culture needs to change first or else they will make it a feminist story where Harald Hardrada is played by a black woman.
The vikings series literally just did that with Håkon Jarl, the last pagan king in Scandinavia, he was a norwegian king who was a bit of a legend, he's being played by a black woman in that series...
This format is great! You should do it in the future too! :)
the 4th castle sounds exactly like what Ragnar did in the vikings show when he faked his christian burial
Great content in this one, was fairly entertained, thank you Invicta.
As a viking reenactor and someone with the same name I can only say that I am proud to be called Harald
The art is amazing in your videos! Keep up the good work!
Imagine being highly experienced veteran legend warrior but dies on a simple ambush
A story befitting of an adventure game.
I've never heard of a man of history so akin to Conan the Cimmerian like Harald
His name was HARALD HÅRÅDE!!! 🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻🇧🇻
This was such a ride!! Thank you for sharing and the epic presentation!! I can't wait for the next one!
Harald Hardrada was not Harald Fairhair, as far as I know. They are two different men, though both are almost mythical in the stories surrounding them
You are right, they are not the same men.
Harald Finehair (Harald Hårfagre) lived from approximately 850 to 932.
Harald Hardrada (Harald Hardråde) lived from 1015 to 1066.
So there is almost a century dividing them.
I can almost hear Robert E. Howard furiously taking notes in the background
Mount and blade viking conquest soundtrack is such a banger
Hardrade was not finehair... 200 years between...
Under 100 years, Finehair died approximately in 932, and Hardrada was born in 1015 , but yeah, different persons.
whata up with this feet measure...why dont you say also the meters?
Love this, epic storytelling and format.
Amazing video guys! Loved your varangian guard video!
Harold Haldrada is a legend and the Viking conquest OST fits perfectly
I was so confused when you said hardrada, its Harðráða
Harald Hårdråde is his real name "Hardrada" is an English version.
great idea! I'm a big fan of your content!