Harald Greycloak (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Haraldr gráfeldr'', lit. "Harald Grey-hide";

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: ;

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ; c. 935 – c. 970) was a

king of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

from the

Fairhair dynasty The Fairhair dynasty ( no, Hårfagreætta) was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway (commonly known as "Harald Fairhair", ''Haraldr inn hárfagri'') which united and ruled Norway with few interruptions from the latter half of the 9th ...

. Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew of an Icelandic merchant ship which carried a large load of ''vararfeldir'', a type of faux fur made from sheep's wool. The Icelanders were having trouble selling their faux furs so when the king asked them if they would make a present to him of one of the furs, which happened to be grey, the sailors did not hesitate and the king immediately used it as a cloak. This set an instant fashion trend and before long the Icelanders had sold their entire load of previously unsalable furs to the king's men and the locals. Harald was ever after known as Harald "Gray-hide". Harald was the son of

Eric Bloodaxe Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...

and a grandson 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 ...

. His mother was Gunnhild, the sister of King

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 95 ...

. After his father's death in 954, Harald and his brothers allied with their uncle, King Harald Bluetooth, against King

Haakon the Good Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king of ...

. They fought several battles against King Haakon including the

Battle of Rastarkalv The Battle of Rastarkalv ( no, Slaget på Rastarkalv) took place in 955 on the southern part of the island of Frei in the present-day Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This was one of several battles between the force ...

near the island of

Frei Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifjo ...

in 955 and the Battle of Fitjar in 961. After King Haakon's death at

Fitjar Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

, Harald and his brothers became kings of Norway, but they had little authority outside Western Norway. Harald, by being the oldest, was the most powerful of the brothers. In 961, their uncle King

of Denmark traveled to Norway and declared Harald Greycloak to be his vassal king in Norway. Harald moved to strengthen his rule by killing the local rulers including

Sigurd Haakonsson Sigurd Håkonsson (died 962) (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hákonarson'') was a Norwegian nobleman and Jarl of Lade in Trøndelag. Sigurd Håkonsson Ladejarl was the son of Håkon Grjotgardsson, the first Jarl of Lade (Old Norse Hlaðir). In 900, H ...

Tryggve Olafsson Tryggve Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Tryggvi Óláfsson'', Norwegian: ''Tryggve Olavsson'') (born 928 in Ringerike, died 963 in Sotnes, Bohuslän, Västra Götaland, Sweden) was king of Viken, Norway (Vingulmark and Rånrike). Biography Tryggve Olafs ...

and

Gudrød Bjørnsson Gudrød Bjørnsson was, in late tradition, the son of Bjørn Farmann, the king of Vestfold, and a grandson of Harald Fairhair. These traditions make Gudrød the father of Harald Grenske, and the paternal grandfather of Saint Olaf, but modern schola ...

. Harald Greycloak thus took power over the country up to and including

Hålogaland Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the medieval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a kingdom extending between the Namdalen valley in Trøndelag county and the Lyngen fjord ...

. Harald established control over the trade route along the Norwegian coast. He also undertook a Viking expedition to

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙‎𐍐𐍒‎𐍜𐍙‎𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Viking ...

, today the area of

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

in northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Harald soon became less dependent on support from Harald Bluetooth. In 970, he was tricked into coming to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and killed in Hals in the

Limfjord The Limfjord (Danish language, common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking Age, Viking times. However, i ...

in a plot planned by

's son Haakon, who had become an ally of Harald Bluetooth. Haakon Sigurdsson had become the

jarl of Lade The Earls of Lade ( no, ladejarler) were a dynasty of Norse '' jarls'' from Lade (Old Norse: ''Hlaðir''), who ruled what is now Trøndelag and Hålogaland from the 9th century to the 11th century. The seat of the Earls of Lade was at Lade G ...

after his own father was killed by Harald Greycloak's men in 961. The surviving brothers of Harald Greyhide fled the country after his death. With the death of Harald Greycloak, King Harald Bluetooth won back power over Norway and he supported Haakon Sigurdsson as his vassal king.
Sturluson, Snorri ; Eiríkr Magnúson (trans.) ; ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'', ch. 12 to 14, in ''Heimskringla. History of the Kings of Norway'', 1905

References

Other sources

* Claus Krag, Krag, Claus ''Harald Gråfell'' in

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

2. utg. Bd 4, 2001. * Koht, Halvdan ''Harald Graafeld'' in

, 1. utg. Bd 5, 1931. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harald Greycloak 930s births 970 deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 10th-century Norwegian monarchs 10th-century murdered monarchs Fairhair dynasty Norwegian people murdered abroad