Dumville, D.N. On the death of his father, Harald I Fairhair, first king of united Norway, Erik attempted to make himself sole king of Norway, defeating and slaying two of his brothers to whom vassal kingdoms had been assigned by 55v., may represent Eric of York. In any case, Gunnhild exerted a strong influence on her husband. The Norse sagas differ in the way they treat the manner and route by which Eric first came to Britain after he was forced out of Norway. Dubbed an elaborate hoax by many, this image has become the... What’s the Meaning of Giant Footprints Found Around the World? In the absence of a churchyard, he tentatively links the erection of the Rey cross to the putative battle on Stainmore. Downham, "Erik Bloodaxed – Axed? After Malcolm Falkus and John Gillingham. When Harald died, Eric succeeded to the realm, slaughtered the combined forces of his half-brothers Olaf and Sigrød, and gained full control of Norway. Eric Bloodaxe was killed in an ambush at the age of 59, along with five kings from the Hebrides and the two earls of Orkney, on the bleak moors of Stainmore in Teesdale by Maccus, an agent of Oswulf Ealdulfing, the High Reeve or Earl of Bamburgh, who ruled Northumbria north of the Tees. What these revealed was a city that, even as Eric Bloodaxe brooded in his hall, was undergoing an economic boom. The Historia regum says that the province of Northumbria was henceforward administered by earls and records the formal appointment of Osulf as earl of Northumbria the following year. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/bloodaxe_01.shtml, www.englishmonarchs.co.uk, 2018. Harald was born in 850, in Utsteinsoy, Ved, Norway. A further glimpse may be offered by the mid-12th-century Irish saga entitled Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil, a text which was primarily designed to glorify the deeds of Cellachán mac Buadacháin (d. 954), king of Munster, and hence his descendants, the Clann Faílbe. Eirik was a stout handsome man, strong, and very manly, —a great and fortunate man of war; but bad-minded, gruff, unfriendly, and silent. Every protagonist needs a nemesis, and Egill finds his in Eric Bloodaxe, the son of Harald Finehair. Later, Edmund stood sponsor to him at baptism and to Ragnall at confirmation. [40], There is no consensus on how to solve this problem. The story can be summarised as follows. Eric Haraldsson, nicknamed Eric Bloodaxe, was a Norwegian ruler who lived during the 10th century. "[97] By contrast, the identity of Eric's slayer, the comes Maccus son of Anlaf, is unclear. The following is based on 'Wulfstan 14, fl. For further discussion, see. Eric is then greeted by the famous hero Sigmundr: "Hail now, Eiríkr [...] / here you shall be welcome; / brave hero, enter the hall. How about a "Books and Literature" forum? W. G. Collingwood, "King Eiríkr of York". [39] Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhild has been cited as a possible source for her dissociation from the Danish royal house. Eric Haraldsson (Eric, anglicised form of Old Norse: Eiríkr; [1] died 954), nicknamed ‘Bloodaxe’ (blóðøx), was a 10th-century Scandinavian ruler. His name may point to origins in a Norse-Gaelic family based in the Border country. Modern historians, however, agree that  Harald’s kingdom was in fact much smaller, and was probably limited to the west and southwest. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati and while there are no resident staff on Malden, there are the occasional visits by foreign yachtsmen. He is usually portrayed as a larger-than-life Viking hero, whose powerful and violent performances bring him many short-term successes, but ultimately make him flawed and unpopular as a ruler and statesman. [100] Somewhat in line with the former version, earlier generations of scholars have envisaged the occasion of Eric's death on Stainmore to have been a last stand in battle. It is equally obscure whether Maccus ambushed his victims, or was part of the escort, betraying them (fraudulenter) as soon as he saw the opportunity. There are indications that he then was on his way to Viking allies in Scotland or Ireland. [96] Likewise, the early 12th century De primo Saxonum adventu notes that "[f]irst of the earls after Erik, the last king whom the Northumbrians had, Osulf administered under King Eadred all the provinces of the Northumbrians. [69] Marios Costambeys suggests that it "may have been directed against, or mounted in favour of, Eirik, though the protagonist could just as easily have been Óláf Sihtricson."[70]. [30] Of his adolescent years, a remarkable picture is painted in Heimskringla, which recounts that Eric, aged twelve and seemingly possessed of prodigious valour and strength, embarked on a career of international piracy: four years were spent harrying the Baltic coasts and those of Denmark, Frisia and Germany ('Saxland'); another four years those of Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; and lastly, Lappland and Bjarmaland (in what is now northern Russia). These days however, this charismatic and beloved Servant carves out a niche by farming quickly and powerfully. Death of Eric Bloodaxe When Athelstan dies, Eiric came into conflicts with his successor Eadred. Roberta Frank's verdict is that "[h]istory may help us to understand Norse court poetry, but skaldic verse can tell us little about history that we did not already know." The comes Osulf who betrayed Eric was high-reeve of the northern half of Northumbria, centred on Bamburgh, roughly corresponding to the former kingdom of Bernicia. [2] This identification has been rejected recently by the historian Clare Downham, who argued that later Norse writers synthesized the two Erics, possibly using English sources. In the sagas, Harald Fairhair is recorded to have unified Norway. Eric Bloodaxe. The Historia Norwegiæ , which is the earliest saga, for instance, states that Gunnhild was the daughter of the King of Denmark, Gorm the Old, and therefore the sister of Harald Bluetooth. [64] The same year, Edmund raided Cumbria and entrusted it to Malcolm (I) of Scotland in exchange for support "both on sea and on land". "[26] In the Flateyjarbók, it is preceded by another stanza which refers to the "handmaidens of Ragnhildr" (ambáttir Ragnhildar) as witnesses of the event. From an 1890s illustration by Christian Krohg. Eric Bloodaxe. In, Bailey, R.N. In 1989, an excavation conducted at the site did not uncover any bones, lending support to the alternative interpretation that the Rey Cross is in fact a boundary stone marking the mid-point between Penrith and Barnard Castle. The consensus would probably now put Harald's death back into the 930s and indeed 934, when iEthelstan's fleet sailed beyond Alba to Caithness, might well be the date of Hakon's coupe. [67] That year, King Eadred harshly punished the northern defectors by launching a destructive raid on Northumbria, which notably included burning the Ripon minster founded by St Wilfrid. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-I, Vea, M. S., 2019. [76] In what sense his deposition in 948 may have affected the relationship in later years is more open to speculation. Ágrip tells that he came to Denmark first. In 954 AD, Eric Bloodaxe was killed in an ambush at the age of 59, the Sagas told us that Eric is accompanied by 5 kings, the son of Olaf and Maccus is unknown, but the name 'Maccus' does appears in the dynasty of the kings of Man. "[105], Some have argued that the language of the poem shows influence from Old English. [52] However, a number of later sagas such as the Separate Saga of St. Olaf (c. 1225), Heimskringla, Egils saga and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta assert that he sailed directly to Orkney, where he took the joint jarls into vassalage, collected forces and so set up a base which enabled him to organise several expeditions in overseas territory. Earl of Lade in England a heady mix of history, folklore, and later became the King Norway! Eadred 's reign ): s 519–20 as an evil witch ancient origins we. 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