Sigurd Håkonsson (died 962) ( Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Hákonarson'') was a Norwegian nobleman and

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 ...

in Trøndelag. Sigurd Håkonsson Ladejarl was the son of

Håkon Grjotgardsson Håkon Grjotgardsson (Old Norse: ''Hákon Grjótgarðsson'') (c. 860–870 – c. 900–920) was the first Earl of Lade and an ally of Harald Fairhair, King of Norway. Biography Nicknamed Håkon the Rich (''Hákon jarl hinn riki'') and Håkon the ...

, the first Jarl of Lade (Old Norse Hlaðir). In 900, Håkon came into conflict with

Atle Mjove Atli the Slender (Old Norse: ''Atli hinn Mjovi'') was a ninth-century Norwegian jarl mentioned in several Old Norse sources, including ''Heimskringla'' and ''Egils saga''. Atli was the son of Hundolf, a jarl of Gaular in Fjordane. His sister was S ...

over Sogn and fought a battle at Fjaler (Old Norse: ''Fjalir''), in which Håkon was killed. Upon reaching maturity, Sigurd inherited his father's position. Sigurd Håkonsson was married to Bergljot Toresdatter, daughter of Tore Teiande Ragnvaldsson (''Thorir Rögnvaldarson'') and Ålov Årbot Haraldsdatter. In 892, Tore Ragnvaldsson became

Jarl of Møre Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...

after the death of his father, Ragnvald Eysteinsson. During the reign of King Haakon I of Norway, Sigurd had an influential position as the king's friend and adviser. He sought in particular to mediate between the king and the people during the king's attempt to introduce Christianity. After the death of Haakon at the

Battle of Fitjar The Battle of Fitjar (''Slaget ved Fitjar på Stord'') took place in 961 in Fitjar at Stord in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Battle and aftermath The Battle of Fitjar at Stord was the last battle in a war between the sons of Eric Bloodaxe and ...

(''Slaget ved Fitjar på Stord'') in 961, Harald Greycloak, the son of

Eirik 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 his brothers became kings of Norway. In autumn 962, Sigurd Håkonsson and his warriors were burnt to death by Harald Greycloak, while staying the night at Aglo, in modern-day

Skatval Skatval is a village in the municipality of Stjørdal in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the Skatval peninsula about northwest of the town of Stjørdalshalsen. The inhabitants are called as ''Skatvalsbygg''. Skatval Church is lo ...

in the municipality of

Stjørdal Stjørdal () or is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stjørdal, also called Stjørdalshalsen. Some of the villages in the municipalit ...

. Sigurd was killed as part of Harald's effort to reunite all of Norway under his rule. In 970, his killing was later avenged by Sigurd's son, Haakon Sigurdsson, who had become an ally of King

Harold 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 ...

. Sigurd had Kormákr Ögmundarson as a court poet. Fragments of Kormákr's lay on Sigurd Håkonsson, ''Sigurðardrápa'', are preserved in '' Skáldskaparmál'' and in '' Heimskringla.''''Sigurðardrápa'' (Skaldic Project Academic Body)
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References

Primary Sources

The primary records are from the '' Heimskringla'' by

Snorri Sturlasson 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 the ...

Other sources

*Hollander, Lee M. (Ed.) (1949) ''The Sagas of Kormák and The Sworn Brothers'' (Princeton University Press for the American-Scandinavian Foundation) *Hreinsson, Viðar(Ed.) (1997) ''The Complete Sagas of Icelanders - Volume I'' (Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing) *Stenersen, Øyvind; Libæk, Ivar (2003). ''The History of Norway'' (. Lysaker: Forlaget Historie og Kultur) *Thuesen, Nils Petter (2011). ''Norges historie'' ( Oslo: Forlaget Historie og Kultur) ] {{DEFAULTSORT:Haakonsson, Sigurd 962 deaths Ladejarl dynasty Norwegian earls 10th-century rulers in Europe