The Hladir's Saga (Norse TL)

Background story

Norway was united around the year 872 after a seven year war of unification led by the legendary king, Harald Fairhair. He ruled for sixty years until the crown was passed to his son, Eirik Bloodaxe.
The problem facing King Eirik was his many brothers claiming the throne for themselves. Norway was in turmoil. To solidify his claim, Eirik ruthlessly disposes of all opponents to his throne, save one. Håkon Athelstensfostre. With the help of Sigurd, jarl of Hladir, Håkon manages to defeat his brother Eirik Bloodaxe and forces him to flee to Jorvik where he soon establish himself as king.

Norway had been through a good and prosperous period from the time of the unification by King Harald in 872. It has been the most powerful faction in the north, unchallenged. Until recent years. The Danish lands were united by Gorm the Old around the time of King Harald's death (933), and has been growing in power ever since. The struggle within the Norwegian royalty would only feed the Danish kings' lust for power, and they would receive their help unwittingly from England when Eirik Bloodaxe was defeated at Stainmore in 954, forcing his sons to flee to Denmark.

Håkon Sigurdsson was born in 937 within the earldom of Hladir. He was named after his grandfather Håkon Hrothgarsson as well as the current king of Norway, Håkon the Good. His father, Sigurd Hladirjarl was the most powerful figure in the kingdom next to the king himself. He was getting old however and it would not be long until Håkon would take his place as Jarl.
It happened sooner than he had wished for. The eldest son of Eirik Bloodaxe, Harald Greycloak with support from King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark, led several attacks against his uncle, King Håkon. They were defeated at multiple occasions.

In 961 a great invasion fleet of Danes led by the sons of Eirik Bloodaxe landed at Fitjar in Hordaland, Western Norway. They would be met by a contingent of Norwegians and a decisive battle would take place.

Coming up...
The Saga of Håkon Sigurdsson

Map of Northern Europe ca. 961 AD
961b.png
 
Haakon Sigurdson was the fella who got deposed by Olaf Trygvasson IIRC. I think he was also the last pagan ruler of Norway. Interesting period, should be good!
 
Sorry for the slow update. Had a 12 hour work day yesterday followed by 7 hours of heavy drinking, followed by screwing some nasty piece I never met before. I am severely hung over right now which is why I will be incapable of writing anything remotely intelligent at the moment.

Glad to see some interest, so I will definitely post the next episode by tonight. Unless some Megan Fox look-alike call me and tell me she wants to have some "fun".
 
The battle of Fitjar ends in a Phyrric victory for King Håkon. Here is the last part of Håkon the Good's saga:

When King Håkon came out to his ship he had his wound bound up;
but the blood ran from it so much and so constantly, that it
could not be stopped; and when the day was drawing to an end his
strength began to leave him. Then he told his men that he wanted
to go northwards to his house at Alreksstadir; but when he came
north, as far as Håkonarhella, they put in towards the land,
for by this time the king was almost lifeless. Then he called
his friends around him, and told them what he wished to be done
with regard to his kingdom. He had only one child, a daughter,
called Thora, and had no son. Now he told them to send a message
to Eirik's sons, that they should be kings over the country; but
asked them to hold his friends in respect and honour. "And if
fate," added he, "should prolong my life, I will, at any rate,
leave the country, and go to a Christian land, and do penance for
what I have done against God; but should I die in heathen land,
give me any burial you think fit." Shortly afterwards Håkon
expired, at the little hill on the shore-side at which he was
born. So great was the sorrow over Håkon's death, that he was
lamented both by friends and enemies; and they said that never
again would Norway see such a king. His friends removed his body
to Sæheim, in North Hordaland, and made a great mound, in which
they laid the king in full armour and in his best clothes, but
with no other goods. They spoke over his grave, as heathen
people are used to do, and wished him in Valhalla.


The Saga of Håkon the Great

1.
Sigurd Hladirjarl, Håkon's father, was an old man of sixty seven winters at the time of the battle of Fitjar. When he received word of King Håkon Haraldsson's death and that the eldest son of Eirik Bloodaxe, Sigurd's old enemy, would be the new king of Norway he decided he would not swear fealty to the new king upon pain of death. The son's of Eirik, under the leadership of Harald Greycloak would soon go north into the land of the jarls of Hladir.

Håkon was a tall man with yellow hair and blue eyes, he was twenty four at the time. He was known as a fearless warrior even as a youth. One summer he had raided the tribes of the white sea and brought back many riches. He also enjoyed hunting bears and wolves with a sword and shield in hand.

When the sons of Eirik Bloodaxe arrived in the north later that year they brought such an overwhelming force that no brave warrior could stop them. They killed Sigurd Jarl in the most cowardly way by setting fire to his long hall while he was inside. Soon after, the lesser nobles in the northern region would be forced to swear loyalties to Harald Greycloak.


2. (POD)
After seeing his land on fire and his father die, Håkon now stood as the new Jarl of Hladir, without any land. He knew he had to leave. He must have thought of many places but in the end he decided to go south-west across the sea. He would bring his hird (bodyguard) of seventy men, just enough to fill his fathers jarnbardi, the Ocean Serpent. He would cross the sea and pillage the lands of the Saxon and Alban kings the whole summer. When winter came, Håkon went up north to the Orkney's where a great warlord, Thorfinn Skullsplitter ruled. Thorfinn had gained that name through countless raids into Alban territories where he himself would always be seen in the thick of the battle wielding his giant axe to split the sculls of his enemies. Thorfinn had payed tribute to King Håkon in his time but he would never consider paying to the sons of his old enemy. Eirik Bloodaxe before becoming King of Jorvik had tried to gain a hold of some of the isles before Thorfinn managed to expel him.
Thorfinn Jarl had decided to give protection to Håkon Jarl and when Håkon arrived at Thorfinn's hall in Kirkjuvåg he was greeted as a friend and ally.

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Map with regions in Norway
Regions960.png


Håkon Sigurdsson's Saga continued...

3.
It was well known to Håkon Sigurdsson that the Jarl of Orkney, Thorfinn Skullsplitter had previously been contested for his power in Orkney by Eirik Bloodaxe and his sons. He thought there must still have been resentment between them. In fact, Thorfinn had already announced he would stop paying taxes to the king of Norway and denounce his over lordship. This must have been good reasons for Håkon to seek allies across the sea.
Thorfinn hosted a great feast to honor his guest Håkon and gave quarters to him, his men, his wife Thora and their two sons, Eirik and Svein. The following year the two jarls would prepare for the conflict with Harald Greycloak. Thorfinn stayed and assembled warriors from across the isles while Håkon went to Dublin where he was greeted by King Olaf who befriended him and gave him and let him recruit many new warriors. He would return north the following winter (963).

4.
Thorfinn's spies had traveled to Norway and returned home with news they would present before the two jarls. The mood was light hearted and the long hall was filled with warriors and young girls. The traveler presented himself before Thorfinn and Håkon with troublesome news; "The crown thief, Harald, has committed great offense, to men and gods alike."
He continued telling that the king and his brothers had started burning the old temples of worship all around the kingdom, even at Hladir the temples were burning. Håkon Jarl was furious about this. Even the old king, Håkon the Good, who had been a Christian, had let the people worship the old gods in peace. Now Håkon Jarl sought revenge, immediately. They had murdered his father and now they were mocking the gods, he spoke to all who could hear him in the hall; "By the gods, I swear that when we defeat those bastards in battle I shall have Harald put to a chunk of wood and let him share the faith of his nailed god! He will rot in Nilfheim for all eternity!"
The men in the hall sounded their approval.

5.
More than a thousand warriors had been called upon and set sail towards Hladir in Trønderlag that autumn. Håkon had left his wife and children in the Orkney's. He were accompanied by Thorfinn Jarl and his eldest sons Håvard and Arnfinn. The party landed in Trønderlag where Håkon called to a thing at Hladir, an assembly of nobles and free men, it was requested of all that they come armed and prepared for war. Many lords and farmers met that day. Including Thorir, Hersir of Vågan, who would become an important ally of Håkon.
Håkon Sigurdsson spoke loudly before the thing; "I have returned because my father was murdered in the most cowardly sense and because this land has been wronged by the undoings of the sons of Eirik. You have been granted unfavorable taxes and he has violated the gods that keep your warrior hearts strong, our land strong and your crops and women fertile. The rubble that is left of this once great temple of worship right behind me here is evidence of this. The bad yields in your crops is evidence of this. And do not forget that the worthless man who calls himself king right now is but a yoke for the Dane. What extra taxes must be levied from here to keep the Danish king satisfied?
I have come to demand retribution, I have come to give you retribution. I have come to demand kingship as my line once held in the north, but with your help shall hold for all of Norway. I have come rid this land of a king with no honor and restore its former glory and beyond. What will you do? Will you hail me king on this day and swear fealty to me? Will you go to war with me?"

The mass roared in excitement. Once the noise settled down, Thorfinn Jarl and his sons were the first to pledge allegiance to King Håkon. They were followed by Thorir of Vågan who led the whole assembly into swearing their oaths.

6.
It was expected that King Harald would have received word of the assembly and but even so, sending a fleet along the north-western coast as winter were approaching would spell disaster. Håkon and the nobles were now preparing for war the following spring. Even so, King Håkon would waste no time, he made sure the majority of the peasants would stay and prepare for war. Although their farmsteads might suffer they would be compensated greatly afterwards. Hladir had become quite a spectacle with thousands of men ready for war. On King Håkon's orders, houses were being built, palisades were being set up along with large training yards for the men. The large force needed to be fed so he also set in plans the construction of a port and a marketplace where goods could flow from the north and across the sea from Britain. Håkon in council with the nobles had explained to them that better training were needed for the inexperienced peasants. They would be trained by experienced warriors who would later lead them in groups of twelve, called a tylft. Above that was a sveit, comprised of four tylfts and above that a fylking comprising of four sveits. Several fylkings would be parts of a hærskari (army group) under the command of a Hærshøvding (Army Chieftain). The entire force were now numbering five hærskari, in total around 5,000 men in addition to his personal bodyguard of around 100 men. The five army chieftains were Thorfinn Skullsplitter, Thorir of Vågan, Sigfrid the Brave, Halfdan Sigurdsson and Helgi Bårdsson.
This was the most organized structure as of yet in the Norse army, which is why King Håkon is seen as the forefather to the current military structure.
In the south, King Harald was also raising men for combat, he had decided to wait until the spring of 964 to sail north with his fleet. Great battles would take place, shaping the future as we know it.
 
964.png


7. Battle of Skardseyr

News came in from the south land that King Harald and his brothers were gathering, and bringing together ships and weapons, and a great body of men.
Now when Håkon got certain news of this, he assembled his forces, set his ships on the water, made himself ready with chieftains and his men, and set out southwards along the coast towards the most likely route for Harald and his fleet to take, the fjord between Hitra and Skardseyr.

King Harald and his brother heard of this when he same north of Stadr and having assembled all the men he could expect, 150 ships and more than 7000 men, he proceeded north towards the route which Håkon had expected of him. King Håkon's fleet, over 100 longboats, were waiting in tight formation, blocking the route unless Harald attacked. The wind was blowing strong south west and it forced Harald's men to row hard against the wind. The northerners let their arrows with fire rain down upon the southern fleet, many ships took to flames and when they finally came close to boarding much of their fleet were decimated. Men were falling overboard and drowning in their armor, arrows were raining in on the ships sails and soon the ships would crash into each other with a thundering howl.

Håkon himself could be found at the bow of his jarnbardi, Ocean Serpent, pointing towards the enemy and laughing. "This will be a happy day for the sea monsters, tonight they shall feast on the bodies of our enemies as we celebrate our victory. Now men! Prepare for impact!"
Håkon's ship met with Gudrød Eiriksson, Harald Greycloak's brother. There were fierce fighting, Håkon singlehandedly slew many enemies on his advance towards Gudrød. Most of Gudrød's men were slain quickly as Håkon and his men advanced towards the stern of Gudrød's ship. Finally Gudrød stood alone with one of his men. Øyvind Finnsson, Håkon's skald, threw his spear into the huskarl's throat and he fell overboard. The men left Gudrød alone for they knew that he was King Håkon's kill. The king lounged himself forward and made a faint thrust with his sword towards Gudrød's head, Gudrød protected his head with his shield. Håkon's did not hit Gudrød's shield but rammed the sword into his groin, Harald's brother then lost his shield and fell to his knees in pain, holding his groin. King Håkon sent him to the afterlife with a swift slicing of the throat, blood spilling all over his arms and legs before he threw the enemy overboard. The deck was filled with mutilated bodies, mostly fallen enemies. The crew of Ocean Serpent roared victoriously.

It could be seen all across the sea of battle that the enemy attack had failed, many ships were retreating, including King Harald himself. Håkon ordered a pursuit in which many more enemies were slaughtered before he called them back. King Harald had managed to escape, so had his brother Ragnfred. His brother's Sigurd, Gudrød and Erling however had fallen on that day at the battle of Skardseyr, the first of many battles during King Håkon's reign.
 
Thank you. Trying to keep the writing close to saga style, just let me know if I deviate from it.
I was about to write one more piece now, but I feel too tired and I have early work tomorrow. Daily updates cannot be expected from me due to much overtime working at the moment.
 
Thank you. Trying to keep the writing close to saga style, just let me know if I deviate from it.
I was about to write one more piece now, but I feel too tired and I have early work tomorrow. Daily updates cannot be expected from me due to much overtime working at the moment.
1) keep up the good work
2) once a day is tough even with lots of time on your hands! post when you can
3) "jarnbardi" ?? obviously some sort of ship, but a quick Google didn't help much. It LOOKS like a dative form of something else, but I don't know what. (One website was about a role playing game, another in ?faroese?). I assume it's iron-??? but I can't place the second element. And why would any ship be an iron-??? in this time period?

4) you're Norwegian, I take it? I'm more used to seeing these names in either Old Norse/Icelandic or Englished versions of them. Not a complaint, I assure you.
 
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