The Battle of

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 ...

(''Slaget ved Fitjar på Stord'') took place in 961 in

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

in the county of

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipa ...

, Norway.

Battle and aftermath

The Battle of Fitjar at Stord was the last battle in a war between the sons 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 their uncle 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 o ...

for power over Norway. It also formed part of a contest between Norway and Denmark to control the area of

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 N ...

. Erling Eiriksson, Sigurd Sleva and

Harald Greycloak Harald Greycloak (Old Norse: ''Haraldr gráfeldr'', lit. "Harald Grey-hide"; Norwegian: ; Danish: ; c. 935 – c. 970) was a king of Norway from the Fairhair dynasty. Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew of ...

, three of the sons of Eric Bloodaxe (''Eirikssønnene'') landed unnoticed on

in 961 and surprised the king at

. The battle was won by the forces of King Haakon, but he was wounded and eventually died. According to

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

, the king wanted the Norwegians to accept the sons of Eric Bloodaxe to succeed him as king and thus end the war. After Haakon's death, Harald Greycloak and his brothers became kings of Norway, but they had little authority outside western Norway. The third son of Eric Bloodaxe, Harald was the most powerful of the brothers by right of being the eldest surviving son. The succession issue was finally settled after Harold ascended the throne as

Harald II of Norway Harald Greycloak (Old Norse: ''Haraldr gráfeldr'', lit. "Harald Grey-hide"; Norwegian: ; Danish: ; c. 935 – c. 970) was a king of Norway from the Fairhair dynasty. Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew of ...

. However, the Norwegians were severely tormented by years of war. After the assassination of Harald II,

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. 958 ...

(Harald I of Denmark) managed to force the people of Norway into temporary subjection.

Legacy

Hákonarmál ''Hákonarmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Song of Hákon') is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. This poem emulates ' ...

'' is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of king Haakon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...

. At Håkonarparken in Fitjar, a statue of King Haakon serves as a memorial to the Battle of Fitjar. The coat-of-arms of the municipality of Fitjar show a golden helmet. This is derived from the fact that King Haakon wore a golden helmet at the Battle of Fitjar.''The North Sea Trail'' (Hordaland County Council)

References

Other sources

*Enstad, Nils-Petter ''Sverd eller kors? Kristningen av Norge som politisk prosess fra Håkon den gode til Olav Kyrre'' (Kolofon forlag, 2008) * Krag, Claus (1995) ''Vikingtid og rikssamling 800-1130'' (Aschehoug's History of Norway, 2.(Oslo: 1995)

External links

Hákonarmál
961 960s conflicts

Fitjar 961

History of Vestland Fitjar 10th century in Norway {{battle-stub