The Earls of Lade () were a dynasty of Norse '' jarls'' from

Lade Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE, ) is an airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. It is owned by the government of Argentina and operated by the Argentine Air Force. It provides domestic scheduled services, mainly in Patagonia. Hist ...

(

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 ...

: ''Hlaðir''), who ruled what is now

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

and

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 ...

from the 9th century to the 11th century. The seat of the Earls of Lade was at Lade Gaard, now located in the eastern parts of the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The site is near the seaside of the

Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's List of Norwegian fjords, third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from Ørl ...

, which was an important waterway in the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

. According to Snorri, King

Harald I of Norway 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 King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bl ...

was a great commander but lacked a fleet. For that he was assisted by Håkon Grjotgardsson. In gratitude Harald made him the first earl of Lade.Jørn Sandnes: ''Håkon Grjotgardsson, Jarl'' (Norsk biografisk leksikon)
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Notable Earls of Lade

* Hákon Grjótgarðsson (c. 860–870 – c. 900–920), an ally and father-in-law 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 ...

Sigurðr Hákonarson Sigurd Håkonsson (died 962) () was a Norwegian nobleman and Jarl of Lade in Trøndelag. Sigurd Håkonsson Ladejarl was the son of Håkon Grjotgardsson, the first Jarl of Lade (). In 900, Håkon came into conflict with Atli the Slender, Atle Mjo ...

(died 962), friend and advisor of

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

Hákon Sigurðarson Haakon Sigurdsson ( , ; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the '' de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful (), though the '' Ágrip'' and ''Historia Norwe ...

(c. 937–995), ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995 *

Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway (; 960s – 1020s), was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. ...

(960s – 1020s), governor of the majority of Norway under

Svein Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( ; ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1014. He was the father of King Ha ...

Sveinn Hákonarson Sweyn Haakonsson (Old Norse: ''Sveinn Hákonarson'', ) (died c. 1016) was an earl of the house of Hlaðir and co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to c. 1015. He was the son of earl Hákon Sigurðarson. He is first mentioned in connection with the battl ...

(died c. 1016), governor of a part of Norway under Olaf the Swede *

Hákon Eiríksson Haakon Ericsson (Old Norse: ''Hákon Eiríksson''; ; died c. 1029–1030) was the last Earl of Lade and governor of Norway from 1012 to 1015 and again from 1028 to 1029 as a vassal under Danish King Knut the Great. Biography Håkon Eiriksson w ...

(died c. 1029–1030), governor of Norway under

Canute the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

, last of the Earls of Lade

References

Other sources

* Holmsen, Andreas (1976) ''Norges historie: fra de eldste tider til 1660'' (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget) *Stylegar, Frans-Arne (2013) ''Håkon Jarl'' (Oslo: Spartacus forlag AS) * Titlestad, Torgrim (2011) ''Norge i vikingtid'' (Stavanger: Saga Bok AS) *Thuesen, Nils Petter (2011) ''Norges historie'' (Oslo: Forlaget Historie og Kultur) {{ISBN, 978-8292870518

External links

Lade gård
Viking Age people in Norway