Harald Granraude (''Haraldr hinn granrauði'') was a semi-legendary Norwegian petty king of
Agder
Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...
who lived in the 9th century.
He was married to Gunnhild Ragnvaldsdottir, daughter of
Ragnvald Sigurdsson, of Huseby on the peninsula of
Lista
Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista municipa ...
. He was father to
Åsa Haraldsdottir and great-grandfather of
Harald Fairhair
Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
(''Haraldr Hárfagri''), the first king of Norway.
When
Gudrød the Hunter
Gudrød the Hunter (Old Norse: ''Guðrøðr veiðikonungr'', Norwegian: ''Gudrød Veidekonge'', literally ''Gudrod Hunter-king''; died 820 AD), also known as Gudrød the Magnificent (Old Norse: ''enn gǫfugláti'', Norwegian: ''den gjeve''), is a l ...
(''Gudrød Veidekonge''), of
Borre in
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...
proposed marriage to Åsa after the death of his first wife, Harald Granraude refused the proposal. This made Gudrød angry and he sailed with his ships to the king's farm on
Tromøya
Tromøya () or Tromøy () (historic: ''Tromø'') is the largest island in Southern Norway. The island is entirely located in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. The island has about 5,300 residents (in 2015) which gives it a p ...
. He arrived at Harald's farm at night and made a surprise attack. When Harald saw an army was coming, he retaliated with all his men. It was a hard battle and Harald lost. He and his son, Gyrd Haraldsson, were both killed. King Gudrød looted Harald's treasure and took and married Åsa.
References
Norwegian petty kings
9th-century rulers in Europe
{{Europe-royal-stub