#olaf haraldsson

[illustratus]

Olaf at London Bridge — English School (20th century)

[cheapcakeripper]

When your pedantic parent comes to visit/your room

[behindfairytales]

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson in Vikings: Valhalla (s1-2) as Jarl Olaf Haraldsson

[malenamoonlight]

Vikings: Valhalla - Season 2 | First Look.

[haljathefangirlcat]

there are so very many reasons to hope hell is real and marion zimmer bradley will burn in it for eternity but i think one that often goes unappreciated is how every other fucking piece of period media set somewhere between late antiquity and the renaissance feels the need to shove in a hammy, black-and-white mists-of-avalon-like unnecessary conflict between the Noble-Hearted Freedom-Loving Not To Mention Sexually Liberated Pagans and the Brutish & Comically Evil Rape-Happy Christians

[bumblesimagines]

Vikings: Valhalla

Everyone

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Harald Sigurdsson

Under The Moonlight P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14 P15

Leif Eriksson

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Freydis Eriksdotter

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King Canute of Denmark

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Queen Emma of Normandy

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Earl Godwin of Sussex

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King/Prince Edmund

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Jarl Estrid Haakon

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Jarl Olaf Haraldsson

No.

Mariam

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Lady Eleana

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Batu

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Kaysan

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Lord Harekr

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Jorundr Torvilsson

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Sweyn Forkbeard

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[athingofvikings]

A Thing Of Vikings Chapter 14: Relationships

Chapter 14: Relationships

The initial Norwegian outreach to Berk, notwithstanding popular belief otherwise, was actually instigated by Magnus the Good's regent, Einar Eindridesson Thambarskelfir (c. 980-1047), of the Lade jarls, not Magnus the Good, although he was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea. 

Originally an opponent of King Olaf Haraldsson, Magnus's father, Einar supported King Cnut the Great's efforts to overthrow Olaf.  Those efforts succeeded in 1028 AD, sending King Olaf and his family into exile.  Olaf returned two years later after the death of Cnut's first viceroy, Haakon Ericsson, in an attempt to regain his kingdom, and died at the Battle of Stiklestad (29 July 1030 AD), defeated by a peasant army led by Kálfr Árnasson, Thorir Hund and Hárek of Tjøtta.  Einar was not present at the battle, but this was more due to happenstance than intent—Einar was visiting King Cnut in London when the battle was joined.  The purpose of his visit was to petition Cnut to make him the new viceroy of Norway. 

The petition failed; Einar was not given the viceroyalty over Norway, and neither were any of the other Norwegian nobility that had supported Cnut.  Instead, Cnut chose his fourteen-year-old son Sveinn as viceroy and Sveinn's mother, Ælfgifu of Northampton, as the boy's regent and therefore the effective ruler of Norway.  This decision infuriated Einar and the others who had supported Cnut's overthrow of King Olaf, as each of them had wished to be named as regent over Norway, and Cnut had promised each of them the position (or so they claimed).  Sveinn and Ælfgifu's subsequent viceroy reign was seen as oppressive due to new laws and taxes, and was marked by intense resistance on the part of the Norwegian nobility. 

In 1035 AD, Einar, acting in concert with Kálfr, betrayed Cnut's viceroys.  Traveling to Yaroslav the Wise's court in the Kievan Rus', the two chieftains found Olaf's eleven-year-old illegitimate son, Magnus, who had been left there by his father to be fostered in exile by Yaroslav and his wife Ingegerd.  Returning to Scandinavia with Magnus, they allied with King Anund Jacob the Coalburner of Sweden, Magnus's step-uncle, to place Magnus on the Norwegian throne as a puppet ruler to the noble chiefs. 

Political machinations quickly followed, and Kálfr was quickly outmaneuvered by Einar.  Using Kálfr's direct involvement in the death of King Olaf against him, Einar depicted himself as blameless, and managed to have Kálfr incriminate himself by showing how he killed the boy-king's father with a stab to the neck.  Einar became Magnus's new regent and effective ruler of Norway, while Kálfr and Thorir were driven into exile.  Magnus, reportedly furious, wished to have them executed, but refrained from doing so on the advice of his godfather, Sigvatr the Skald. 

His primary rivals gone, Einar spent the next half decade as the de facto ruler of Norway; even when Magnus reached his majority and assumed some level of legal power, Einar made certain to keep the young monarch dependent on him. 

This status quo, however, was broken by one of Einar's miscalculations.  Hearing of the tamed dragons and dragon-riders of Berk from a traveling skald in the spring of 1041 AD, he dispatched one of his minor rivals in the court, the herald Yngvarr Arlaksson, to make contact with Berk, reasoning that either his rival would be killed by fearsome Norse dragon-riders or they might potentially make an ally of the same. 

This backfired, as Berk—and Hiccup Haddock and his associates in particular—were not what he had expected.

—Corpus Historiae Berkiae, 1396

AO3 Chapter Link [14/154]

~~~

My Original Fiction | Original Fiction Patreon

[vikingsvalhalladaily]

IG: @leo.suter

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

"The Greenlanders"

Jarl Haakon looks like a pretty interesting character👀👀👀

[inmyfxith]

The Saxon Pride

Pairing: None

OC: None

Warnings: Death by poisoning

Words: 1k6

Gazing out over the foggy horizon of England, you paid no attention to the lamentations of your father's advisors as they almost begged you to abandon the family castle and make your way to London for safety. Like the Great Heathen Army of Ragnar Lothbrok's sons, King Canute's army had anchored on the shores of Britain in a desire for revenge.

After the death of King Æthelred II, known as the Unready, your father, as one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, had to travel to London to greet the new king.

"My lady, it is still time for you to leave." One of your father's old advisors said to you with a worried expression on his face. Not answering at first, you sighed deeply before moving closer to the small crowd of men gathered for the sole purpose of getting you to agree to go to the new king's castle in London. Taking a seat in your father's chair, you finally gave your opinion on the subject.

"I have no desire to leave the castle of my peers, it is our heritage and the centerpiece of power that my ancestors transmitted to my father all those years ago."

"But, my lady..." one of them tried an umpteenth and final attempt to change your mind, in vain.

One of your father's old advisors said to you with a worried expression on his face. Not answering at first, you sighed deeply before moving closer to the small crowd of men gathered for the sole purpose of getting you to agree to go to the new king's castle in London. Taking a seat in your father's chair, you finally gave your opinion on the subject.

"I have no desire to leave the castle of my peers, it is our heritage and the centerpiece of power that my ancestors transmitted to my father all those years ago."

"But, my lady..." one of them tried an umpteenth and final attempt to change your mind, in vain.

"As my father has ordered you, it is your duty to accompany my brothers to London and bring them to safety. After that, if you are as brave as the people here hope, you will return to keep company to our guests from beyond the sea."

Ending the meeting, your father's advisors were quick to leave the city under threat of Viking attack, however, they had held up part of their end of the bargain and took your brothers with them. Your plan was clear, risky but still achievable. You went to the courtyard of the castle to reach a set of small houses, relatively banal from the outside. There, sitting on wooden logs, a small crowd had been gathered at your request. In all humility, you addressed them.

"As you probably know, Vikings are on their way to attack London and take England. After the disastrous events of St. Brice's Day, my father opened the gates of his castle to you, bravely failing to inform the king. He could have killed you but he didn't. Offering you a great favor, it is now my turn to ask you to do something for us, for me." In 1002, a few days after the St. Brice's Day massacre which had seen the extermination of a large part of the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish populations of the Danelaw, the few surviving families had tried to find refuge in the neighboring villages. Many of them were denounced, but all those who came to your father's castle were much luckier. Years before, a Norwegian had saved his life on a battlefield during a reconquest by King Æthelred, so it was as a gesture of thanks, and to pay off his debt, that the few surviving Vikings were allowed to settle under his protection.

Gathered behind the great gates of the enclosure, your eyes were closed, silently praying to the Lord to bring about what you had wished to do. As the sound of horses' hooves galloping toward the castle and the cries of the Northmen became more and more audible from where you stood, you finally ordered the gates to be opened.

Standing up straight, hands joined in front of you, your heart began to beat like it never had before as you could see the horde of Vikings approaching closer and closer in the distance. Taking your courage in both hands, you moved forward to meet them, not too far from the castle walls but far enough that you could no longer be protected by the soldiers inside. There, alone, the light breeze that heralded the coming storm made your hair flutter. Taking a deep breath, you tried not to show your fear and waited for the enemy to come to you.

King Canute stopped his troops a few feet away from you, seeing him frown, you didn't back down. There you signaled to the foreigners living under your father's protection to come and meet their king. The tense atmosphere, coupled with the expectation of Canute's verdict, made the situation almost frightening. Emerging from the inner courtyard, the few families came up behind you, solemnly, as if they were going to be ransomed. Without meaning to, your hands began to tremble and the tension you were putting on to keep it from showing whitened your knuckles.

Everything happened in a fraction of a second, recognizing among the survivors some of their family members, some Vikings put down their weapons with the sole purpose of finding their relatives. King Canute quickly understood what it was all about and especially what you had done. Against all odds, he accepted your offer to enter the castle without using weapons.

Sitting at the banquet table set up, especially for the occasion, you found yourself seated at the end of it next to the king of the Danes. Although peaceful, the atmosphere was still tense.

"If I may ask, why did you let Vikings on your land when the king forbade you to do so?"

Asking for more wine, you avoided the king's gaze for fear of triggering an unwanted reaction. Straightening in your seat, you waited a few seconds before answering.

"Many years ago, my father fought alongside the king with other Vikings against Northmen who had come to claim land that was not theirs. As the battle raged on, and the mist enveloped the battle area, my father was nearly pierced by a Norse axe. Having managed to anticipate the blow, one of your men stepped between the weapon and the chest of the owner of this castle, allowing my father to live longer." Pausing for a moment, you stood up, moving to the window from which you saw Vikings threatening Saxon villagers.

"Finding himself here on St. Brice's night and remembering his debt, my progenitor opened his doors to the Vikings who were fleeing the king's men. They remained hidden inside the castle for several weeks before being offered the opportunity to work for the ealdorman in exchange for protection."

Returning to your place around the table, you noticed that Olaf had begun to smell his glass as if there was a particular odor from the wine being served.

"Your drink is not poisoned, it would be foolish of me to kill a Viking in the middle of a banquet." Still not convinced by your words, he asked why he should trust you.

"If you die, I die." After letting out a long sigh, Olaf shrugged his shoulders and swallowed his drink without further ado. While you were talking, learning about Canute's plans and he was learning about London and its surroundings, footsteps were heard in the main hallway. Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal three angry Vikings. One of them was holding a Saxon by the collar, whose face you didn't know. Simultaneously, you and the king stood up, eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what this was all about. One of the men spoke in his native language, preventing you from participating. Not wanting to leave you out, and especially because it was your castle, the king turned to you before making some semblance of a translation.

"This man claims to be a messenger from London." Taking on a concerned expression, you approached the man before listening to what he had to say. Your father had sent him, little King Edmund was to be crowned shortly so his stay in London would be extended. Thanking him warmly, you put your hand on his back before fetching your glass and handing it to him.

"After such a long trip, you've earned some comfort." Taking your glass back after it emptied into the traveler's gullet, you returned to your seat as he waited for a response from you. Sighing deeply, your eyes did not leave the man standing in front of you.

After a few minutes, his behavior changed slightly. He began to hold his stomach before demanding to drink again because of a burning sensation that had invaded both his mouth and throat. Staggering to the nearest table, he swallowed the contents of a decanter, but it did not help his condition. Still watching him from your seat, you spoke up, not seeming concerned about what was happening.

"There's your message for my father, the people of London don't need to know that the Vikings have been here." No sooner had you finished speaking than the poor messenger collapsed to the ground, convulsing, his mouth salivating profusely before his soul joined the lord. Almost shocked by what had just happened, Olaf gave you a look that was half questioning and half surprised. Then you smiled at him before winking.

"Your drink wasn't poisoned, but mine was."

[cheapcakeripper]

[behindfairytales]

icons of Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson in Vikings: Valhalla (s1-2) as Jarl Olaf Haraldsson

[veroricamars]

Vikings: Valhalla

↳1x01: The Greenlanders

Now is our time to make history. To show the cowards in England that the Vikings, despite our differences, are still one people. One heart. One soul.

[charming-merlin]

King Canute

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[harfagreyrsa]

King Harald vents to King Olaf Haraldsson about Bjorn Ironside; "...and I don't understand why he has to take another wife - why he has to take everything for himself..."

[vikingsbifrost]

Sam Corlett - Leif Eriksson

Frida gustavson- Freydis Eriksdottir

Johannes Hukur- Olaf Haraldson

Leo suter - harald sigurdsson