Sigurd Hart or Sigurd Hjort was a legendary king of
Ringerike (modern central south
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
), during the late 9th or early 10th centuries. he is mentioned in ''
Ragnarssona þáttr
The ''Tale of Ragnar's sons'' ( non, Ragnarssona þáttr) is an Old Norse story about Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons.
Summary
Ragnar Lodbrok
When Sigurd Ring dies, Ragnar Lodbrok succeeds him as the king of Sweden and Denmark. Many foreign kings c ...
'' ("The Tale of Ragnar's Sons") and in ''
Halvdan Svartes saga'' ("Halfdan the Black's Saga").
''Ragnarssona þáttr'' states that Sigurd Hart was the son of
Helgi the Sharp (the great-great-grandson of king
Ring of Ringerike) of the
Dagling The Dagling or ''Dögling'' dynasty was a legendary clan of the petty kingdom Ringerike in what today is Norway. It was descended from a Dag the Great.
In the ''Ynglinga saga'', Snorri Sturluson writes that the clan was descended from Dag the Gr ...
dynasty and Helgi's wife Aslaug. Helgi was reportedly the son-in-law of
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye
Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye ( non, Sigurðr ormr í auga) or Sigurd Áslaugsson was a semi-legendary Viking warrior and Danish king active from the mid to late 9th century. According to multiple saga sources and Scandinavian histories from the 12th c ...
(one of
's sons) and Blaeja, the daughter of king
Aelle II of Northumbria Aelle, also seen as Ælle, Aella, or Ælla may refer to:
*Ælle of Sussex, king of Sussex (r. 477–514)
*Ælla of Deira (died 588), king of Deira
*Ælla of Northumbria (died 867), king of Northumbria (r. 860s)
*Aella (Amazon)
In Greek myth ...
.
Biography
Traditional sources state that Sigurd Hart was only 12 years old when he slew a berserker named Hildibrand in a duel, and 11 other men. He married a woman named Ingeborg (supposedly the daughter of the historical
Jutish chieftain
Harald Klak
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827."Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernh ...
, c. 785 – c. 852, although Harald was probably too old for that to be true). Sigurd Hart and Ingeborg had children named Guttorm Sigurdsson and Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter. When Sigurd Hart's uncle, king Fróði of
Ringerike died, Sigurd Hart supposedly went to Norway to succeed him as king of Ringerike.
There are a number of unlikely claims or implied claims about Sigurd Hart's descendants in ''Ragnarssona þáttr'', ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'', and ''
Fagrskinna
''Fagrskinna'' ( ; is, Fagurskinna ; trans. "Fair Leather" from the type of parchment) is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It is an intermediate source for the ''Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson, containing histories of Norwegian k ...
''.
* One is the suggestion that he was the father of
Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter
The name Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter may refer to two different figures from Old Norse literature, an amalgam of them, or a purely fictitious figure.
* The wife of Halfdan the Elder (c. 810 – c. 860)
* A woman who lived during the late 9th and/ ...
, who was kidnapped by, and the wife of,
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway.
In sagas
According to ''Heimskringla'' ...
(c. 810 – c. 860), and mother 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 ...
. This would seem impossible unless two different men named Sigurd Hart were involved – given that most sources suggest that his father was active in the ''late 9th century'', which would make Sigurd Hart about two generations ''younger'' than Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter.
* Another unlikely claim suggests that the legendary Danish king
Harthacanute
Harthacnut ( da, Hardeknud; "Tough-knot"; – 8 June 1042), traditionally Hardicanute, sometimes referred to as Canute III, was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of the English from 1040 to 1042.
Harthacnut was the son of King ...
(born c. 880) was a descendant of Sigurd Hart, although Harthacanute may well have been born before Sigurd. (Harthacanute succeeded
Sigtrygg Gnupasson
Sigtrygg Gnupasson was semi-legendary a king of Denmark of the House of Olaf who ruled in the 10th century, according to Adam of Bremen.
Sigtrygg was son of Gnupa and the Danish noblewoman Asfrid. According to Adam, he became a Danish king duri ...
as the king of
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
,
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
and
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...
, but he lost Viken (
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
). He was the father of
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old ( da, Gorm den Gamle; non, Gormr gamli; la, Gormus Senex), also called Gorm the Languid ( da, Gorm Løge, Gorm den Dvaske), was ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147 (born before 900), the king of Denmark. Gorm succeeded his father as king and married
Thyra
Thyra, also known as Thorvi or Thyre, was a Danish queen, spouse of King Gorm the Old of Denmark, the first historically recognized King of Denmark, who reigned from to his death . . Gorm's son,
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 ...
(born c. 935) succeeded his father as king and married
. They had a son named
Sweyn Forkbeard
Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of D ...
. Sweyn succeeded his father as king and married Gunhild (
Świętosława
Świętosława was a Polish princess, the daughter of Mieszko I of Poland and sister of Bolesław I of Poland. According to German chroniclers, this princess, whose name is not given, was married first to Eric the Victorious of Sweden and then ...
of Poland). They had a son named
Cnut the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
. Sweyn also ruled England in his lifetime and established the Danish Empire. When Sweyn died, his elder son
Harald Svendsen became the King of Denmark, while England's former king,
Ethelred reclaimed the throne. Following Harald's death, his brother Cnut the Great became king, re-established the Danish North Sea Empire. He married
Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy (referred to as Ælfgifu in royal documents; c. 984 – 6 March 1052) was a Norman-born noblewoman who became the English, Danish, and Norwegian queen through her marriages to the Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred the Unready and the ...
with whom he had a son named
Harthacnut
Harthacnut ( da, Hardeknud; "Tough-knot"; – 8 June 1042), traditionally Hardicanute, sometimes referred to as Canute III, was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of the English from 1040 to 1042.
Harthacnut was the son of King ...
. When Cnut died, Harthacnut became king of Denmark and England. Upon his death,
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
became ruler of England in 1042.
)
References
{{reflist
Heroes in Norse myths and legends
Norwegian petty kings
Viking warriors
9th-century Norwegian monarchs