Harald Greycloak (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

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

from the

Fairhair dynasty The Fairhair dynasty () 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 century. In the tr ...

. 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 ( , ; c.930−954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( , ) and Brother-Slayer (), was a Norwegians#Viking Age, Norwegian king. He ruled as List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 932 to 934, and twice as List of monarchs of Northumbr ...

and a grandson of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) 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 Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

. His mother was

Gunnhild Gunhild (with variants Gundhild, Gunhilda, Gunhilde, Gunhjild, Gunilda, Gunnhild, Gunnhildr, Gunnhildur) is a Germanic feminine given name composed of two words meaning "war" (gunn and hild/hildr). Notable people with these names include: * , al ...

, the sister of King

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

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

. They fought several battles against King Haakon including the Battle of Rastarkalv near the island of

Frei Frei may refer to: People * Frei family, a Chilean family formed by the descendants of Swiss Eduardo Frei Schlinz and Chilean Victoria Montalva Martínez * Frei (surname), a surname * Frei Otto, German architect Places Brazil * Frei Gaspar, a ...

in 955 and the

Battle of Fitjar The Battle of Fitjar (''Slaget ved Fitjar på Stord'') took place in 961 in Fitjar on the island 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 ...

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,

Tryggve Olafsson Tryggve Olafsson (; ; born c. 928 in Ringerike – died 963 in Sotnes, Bohuslän, Västra Götaland, Sweden) was the king of Viken, Norway (Vingulmark and Rånrike). Biography Tryggve Olafsson was the son of Olaf Haraldsson, king of Vestfold a ...

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 Lyng ...

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

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelled ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia'') was a territory mentioned in sagas from the Viking Age and in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually understood to have referred to the southern shores of the Whit ...

, today the area of

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

in northern

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and killed in Hals in the

Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in northwest Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as an inlet ever since Viking times. However, it now has entries both ...

in a plot planned by Sigurd Haakonsson's son Haakon, who had become an ally of Harald Bluetooth. Haakon Sigurdsson had become the jarl of Lade after his own father was killed by Harald Greycloak's men in the autumn of 962. 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. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

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

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