God's Viking. Harald Hardrada

by Nic Fields

Harald Hardrada was the 'thunderbolt of the north', as described by near-contemporary Adam of Bremen. This is a saga celebrating Harald, one of the last great Norse warrior kings who lived 'with a sword in one hand, a firebrand in the other'. He was a member of the Varangian Guard while serving in Italy, Syria, Palestine and Bulgaria, the forcible occupier of the Norwegian throne, and a contender for the English crown in 1066 until he was killed on Stamford Bridge. At the age of 15, he fought alongside his half-brother, King Olaf in Stiklestad in 1030 to restore him to the Norwegian throne but, at Olaf's death, found himself in disguise and escaping first to Russia as an exile. While there he was trained in military experience and leadership in the service of the Kievan Rus' prince before becoming a mercenary in the Varangian Guard. Learn how Harald was involved in the palace putsch which toppled the Byzantine emperor Michael V Kalaphates in 20 April 1042 and then acted as judge and executioner of fellow Varangians who took the unpopular emperor's side during the civil upheaval. His career in the guard spanned eight years in total before he was forced to flee Constantinople in a spectacular exit which some Old Norse sources allege included the abduction of a Byzantine princess, Mária. the account does not shy away from Harald's political experience either, including in 1045 when he made his way back to Scandinavia to take the Norwegian throne from his nephew Magnύs Óláfsson. The two man made an agreement to share Norwegian royal power in 1046 before Magnύs died the following year (not by Harald's hand) leaving Harald the sole ruler - which he would be for two decades. The book offers thorough historical analysis of aspects of Viking culture, from the fact that Viking warriors were trained from boyhood so they could learn from friends and family rather than foes, to how most Norse populations lived within one day's walk from the sea in small isolated hunting, farming and fishing communities. Discover that Varangians were not only a war band of hard fighters, but also hard drinkers; one raiding force of 200 men were set to Paris to acquire a supply of wine. Admire Harald's own words as the book includes some of his verses, composed in Norway years after he returned from Byzantium, including the following:
'I reddened swords far from my homeland;
the sword sang in the town of the Arabs
but that as long ago'.
There are stunning images in the book too, from a photograph of a monument memorialising the defeat of Harald (and his brother Tostig) at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, to Varangian casual graffiti.

Colour photographs and images.

Genres: History

336 pages, Hardcover

Published January 30, 2018

About the author

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the Navy, he went back to University and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director at the British School of Archaeology, Athens, and is now a lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an unavoidable and an avoidable weakness. The unavoidable weakness is that we do not know that much about the life of Harald Hardrada, unfortunately. Nic Fields can only give us a sketchy outline of his existence, as an exile, a mercenary, a king, a corpse. The myth of Harald "the hard ruler" has a lasting appeal, but it overwhelmed the story of his life. Fields has to fill the gaps with speculation and a lot of historical background, so that we would at least understand the time Harald lived in, if not the man.

But there the avoidable weakness of this book arises. Perhaps it was simply published against a deadline, in too much haste. For all practical purposes, this is just a first draft. Rough, unfinished, full of repetitions and rambling asides, references to material that is missing. There are tantalising references to the persona of Harald as it still appears in Icelandic stories, but these are not retold. Substantial sections, such as those on viking weaponry and ships, seem to be lifted almost verbatim from the website of Hurstwic (http://www.hurstwic.org). With permission, I hope; they are mentioned briefly in the text but I did not find an explicit acknowledgment.

The structure of the book is neither thematic nor chronological. Rather, the necessarily sketchy biography of Harald is fleshed out with bits that are thrown in seemingly randomly, at the whim of the author, hopping back and forth in time. Altogether, although the author has a PhD in history, the book could have been written more professionally. It would have benefitted a lot from several additional review cycles and a good editor.

A disappointment, then.