Gods Viking Harald Hardrada

Download or read book God's Viking: Harald Hardrada written by Nic Fields and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic historical biography of the Norwegian king who laid claim to the thrones of Denmark and England. Harald Hardrada is perhaps best known as the inheritor of “seven feet of English soil” in that year of fateful change, 1066. But Stamford Bridge was the terminal point of a warring career that spanned decades and continents. Thus, prior to forcibly occupying the Norwegian throne, Harald had an interesting (and lucrative) career in the Varangian Guard, and he remains unquestionably the most notable of all the Varangians who served the Byzantine emperors. In the latter employment he saw active service in the Aegean, Sicily, Italy, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Bulgaria, while in Constantinople he was the hired muscle behind a palace revolution. A man of war, his reign in Norway was to be taken up with a wasteful, vicious, and ultimately futile conflict against Denmark, a kingdom (like England) he believed was his to rule. We follow Harald’s life from Stiklestad, where aged fifteen he fought alongside his half-brother, King Olaf, through his years as a mercenary in Russia and Byzantium, then back to Norway, ending with his death in battle in England. Praise for God’s Viking “A gripping story of the last great Viking who is remembered most for his boast to the Saxons that he had come to conquer their land and ended up with just enough to contain his body . . . . Most highly recommended.” —Firetrench

Download or read book God's Viking: Harald Hardrada written by Nic Fields and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harald Hardrada is perhaps best known as the inheritor of 'seven feet of English soil' in that year of fateful change, 1066\. But Stamford Bridge was the terminal point of a warring career that spanned decades and continents. Thus, prior to forcibly occupying the Norwegian throne, Harald had an interesting (and lucrative) career in the Varangian Guard, and he remains unquestionably the most notable of all the Varangians who served the Byzantine emperors: in the latter employment he saw active service in the Aegean, Sicily, Italy, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine and Bulgaria, while in Constantinople he was the hired muscle behind a palace revolution. A man of war, his reign in Norway was to be taken up with a wasteful, vicious and ultimately futile conflict against Denmark, a kingdom (like England) he believed was his to rule. We follow Harald's life from Stiklestad, where aged fifteen he fought alongside his half-brother king Olaf, through his years as a mercenary in Russia and Byzantium, then back to Norway, ending with his death in battle in England.

Download or read book The Last Viking written by Don Hollway and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-02-07 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now available in paperback, this is a rich and compelling account of the life of King Harald Hardrada of Norway, one of the greatest Viking warriors to have ever lived.

Download or read book Harald Hardrada written by Michael Burr and published by . This book was released on 2011-12-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the dead of night, a band of Vikings ravage a lonely convent on the Brittany coast--and their fearsome leader makes a decision that will eventually lead to his downfall. Ranulf de Lannion is fifteen years old. Crippled, deformed and abandoned by his family to the charity of the convent, he is seized by the Vikings during a midnight raid. Contemptuously nicknamed The Scraeling by his captors, his future appears grim. Harald Sigurdsson, or 'Hardrada' as he will come to be known, is the leader of the Viking band. A violent mercenary with designs on the throne of Norway, Hardrada abducts The Scraeling on a whim. Ranulf grows into an invaluable asset, smoothing Hardrada's path over their thirty-five years together from mercenary to commander of the Varangian Guard, all the way to king of Norway. But all is not as it seems in the heart of Ranulf de Lannion. Having sworn secret revenge upon Hardrada for the murders at the convent, he vows to end the day of the Viking forever. When the king of Norway launches an attack against the Anglo-Saxon throne of England in 1066, what role will The Scraeling play in bringing the age of the Viking to an end?

Download or read book King Harald's Saga written by Snorri Sturluson and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-04-28 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling Icelandic history describes the life of King Harald Hardradi, from his battles across Europe and Russia to his final assault on England in 1066, less than three weeks before the invasion of William the Conqueror. It was a battle that led to his death and marked the end of an era in which Europe had been dominated by the threat of Scandinavian forces. Despite England's triumph, it also played a crucial part in fatally weakening the English army immediately prior to the Norman Conquest, changing the course of history. Taken from the Heimskringla - Snorri Sturluson's complete account of Norway from prehistoric times to 1177 - this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great Norse warrior-king.

Download or read book Blood Feud written by S.J.A. Turney and published by Canelo. This book was released on 2021-07-22 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The wolves of Odin have been unleashed: the hunt has begun. Anno Domini 1040. Christianity has swept unstoppably across Scandinavia, leaving few enclaves of the old ways clinging on to their fading world as King Olof of Sweden works to convert his people. A young warrior, Halfdan, has witnessed the ‘mercy’ of the Christian lords, watched his people attacked, his village burned and the Odin stone toppled as heretical. Watched his father cut down by an ambitious Christian jarl and his zealous priest. Among the ashes of his world he vowed an oath of vengeance before all the gods. That oath will bring together an unlikely band of allies and carry them to the very edge of the world, fighting giants, dragons and wraiths, in pursuit of his father’s killer: Yngvar. The jarl is powerful, and the weaving of Fate difficult, but the blood price must be paid. A compelling and explosive novel of revenge, this is a major new series from S.J.A. Turney. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Giles Kristian and Angus Donald. Praise for Blood Feud 'Si Turney is a natural born storyteller, gifted, brilliant and utterly enthralling. Blood Feud tells the story of a young Norse warrior, Halfdan, who swears to avenge the murder of his father. The reader is almost immediately immersed into the action, swept away into the dragon-ship beside Halfdan and his tough, salty and occasionally hilarious crew of Vikings... An intelligent, fast-paced but finely crafted novel of battle, comradeship and bloody revenge – with some surprising twists along the way. Highly recommended to all those who enjoy a superior Viking adventure yarn!' Angus Donald, author of The Last Berserker 'SJA Turney's new Viking epic is a bone-crunching good time! A resourceful young warrior on a quest for vengeance takes to the sea with a dragon long-ship and a motley band of new friends, fighting old enemies, foreign wars and the mysterious workings of fate at every new turn of the tide. Blood Feud is sure to thrill those mourning the end of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories' Kate Quinn, author of The Rose Code 'A rich combination of saga and quest, religion and violence, with a satisfying conclusion that paves the way for further adventures' Ruth Downie, author of the Medicus series

Download or read book The Seven Wives of Harald Fairhair written by Marcia Liaklev and published by . This book was released on 2015-10-14 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE VIKING AGE was an exciting era of conquest and adventure, full of bigger than life men who dared the raging seas in open dragon ships, their round battle shields arrayed in a menacing row signaling the brute strength of the warriors who manned the mighty ships. One of the greatest of these was the WARRIOR KING HARALD FAIRHAIR, FIRST KING OF ALL NORWAY and a superhero of the VIKING AGE. His was definitely a life of conquest and adventure. Not only did he conquer the thirty one petty kingdoms of Norway and the petty kings who had ruled them, but he also conquered the seven women who were each unique and beautiful in their own way. They would give him twenty sons and two daughters. Harald was not inherently romantic, but he did envy the look of love he saw in the eyes of his powerful father, Halvdan the Black, whenever his lovely mother Ragnhild was near. Their influence was key to the remarkable man he would become.Enter ODIN, the ALLFATHER who ruled the mortals under his charge. Would the god actually ask Harald to marry at the age of eleven, despite the stunning red-haired beauty chosen for his mate? But she was only the bait, the bait that would set the young prince on his quest to fulfill the destiny required of him by Odin in the pre-mortal world. Little did this Viking lad know that Asa would be just the first of the wives Odin would choose for him to wed. After countless successful battles and many years as the powerful ruler, Harald began to feel proud of his great accomplishments and neglected to pay homage to the god who had protected and guided the events of his life. Then came the witch. The confident king was helpless under her power and she used him as she pleased. Only after he had sired four sons while hidden in a dark, filthy cave did Odin allow him to be rescued. Some lessons are hard to learn, but those are the kind one never forgets. Fortunately for Harald, he had yet more women to love and more sons to be brought into the world. The noble blood that ran through the veins of these sons would insure the longevity of Harald's royal line. THE SEVEN WIVES OF HARALD FAIRHAIR, FIRST KING OF ALL NORWAY, tells the story of this superhero in a historical novel that realistically depicts the life and time of the VIKING AGE. It was an age when women were strong, but men were stronger. IT IS A STORY OF LOVE AND WAR, BUT MOSTLY LOVE. This is a work of fiction, based on facts as found in the HEIMSKRINGLA, A HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY, an ancient text written in the Old Norse language. It was compiled by SNORRE STURLUSON from documents, now lost, that were recorded during the 9th to the 12th century.To shorten the lengthy novel, the historic maps and illustrations were removed for this edition, making it 354 versus 416 pages. The strong font, Copperplate Gothic, has also been replaced by the weak Times New Roman font to please those readers who had difficulty reading the font in the first edition.