In the summer of 1030, the Viking king Olav Haraldsson was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in a failed attempt to reclaim his kingdom. Among those fighting on the losing side was Olav’s fifteen-year-old half-brother, Harald Sigurdsson. Severely wounded, he fled the battlefield—and Norway.
Fifteen years later, he returned. With him came a Slavic princess, a loyal band of warriors, and such immense wealth that his ships lay heavy in the water under the weight of silver. He had travelled to the far edges of the known world and back. He had served Byzantine emperors and empresses, seen Constantinople and Jerusalem, survived wars and palace revolutions. And he had gained invaluable insight into how the world’s most sophisticated and brutal machinery of power functioned. His determination to put these experiences into practice as king of the Norwegians earned him the name Harald Hardrada. Over the next two decades, he attempted to build a vast realm comprising present-day Norway, Denmark and England. He almost succeeded.
Tore Skeie tells the story of Harald Hardrada as it has never been told before. Through deep exploration of sources from many lands and realms, Harald’s life is placed within a broad portrayal of his world.