Eirik Bloodaxe Fratricidal
Second king of Norway, Last Viking King of York
Eirik Bloodaxe was born ca. 895. He was one of Harald Fairhair’s twenty sons. He was fostered by Tore Roaldsson, one of the Kings commanders, in the region of Fjordane where Eirik developed his skills as a fighter, sailor, hunter and leader. At the age of twelve his father gave him five longships and so began his first sorté into plundering. He started first in the east and south towards Holland,Denmark and northern Germany. He was away from home for four years during which time he raided successfully in Scotland, Ireland, Britain and Normandy as well as Finnmark in northern Norway and Bjarmeland. Eirik developed into a strong, fearsome warrior who was cruel, moody and mostly uncontrollable. It was during this period he became known as Eirik Bloodaxe following the unmerciful use of his axe in battle.
Ragnvald Rettilbeine
Eiriks half brother Ragnvald had been named ruler of Hadaland but was interested in witchcraft and allowed himself to become trained as an area warlock by Vitgeir, head warlock from Hordaland. His father hated witchcraft and when Harald heard of this he sent Eirik with orders to wipe out the warlock clan. Eirik seeing the advantage in this wasted no time and so during a warlock gathering in a dwelling in Hordaland, Ragnvald along with eighty other warlocks were burned to death.
Bjørn Farmann
Eirik had returned from raiding in the Baltic and he stopped at Tønsberg in Vestfold to re-provision his fleet. He suggested to his brother Bjørn Farmann that he would take the taxes that were due from Vestfold to the King. Bjørn refused saying that he would deliver the taxes himself or by couriers as he had done every time before. A great argument followed and Eirik went away without taxes or provisions. Later that night as Bjørn and his men were eating and drinking Eirik returned and surrounded the house with the intention of burning all inside. However Bjørn and his men broke out and in the ensuing fight Bjørn was killed. Eirik took all he needed for his ships along with the due taxes and headed for Trondhjeim.
Eirik Bloodaxe King of Norway
Eirik was unhappy that his revenues in Viken and Trondhjeim were being kept by his brothers Sigrød and Olaf and decided he would take the country and his revenues by force. Olaf and Sigrød agreed to meet at Tønsberg and decided to stay a while and form a battle plan knowing that Eirik would attack. Eirik managed to gather a large force and arrived in Tønsberg, surprising both his brothers. The Battle of Tønsberg took place just outside the town and both Olaf and Sigrød were killed. Following the deaths of four of his brothers Eirik was now the undisputed King of Norway.
Håkon The Good
On hearing about the death of his father King Harald, Håkon returned from England in 935 and began to gather supporters in his quest to wrest the crown of Norway from Eirik. Realising he could not gather a big enough army to fight Håkon, Eirik decided that it would be wiser to leave Norway and left with his family and settled in Orkney.
Eirik Bloodaxe Twice King of York
Eirik began raiding the north and King Athelstan, realising he was a problem, offered him the fiefdom of Northumbria, with his “seat” in York, in return for his protection from the marauding Scots, Irish and the Danes. Following the death of Athelstan in 939 Eirik continued to rule in Northumbria on behalf of himself rather than as an appointed ruler under the control of the House of Wessex. Eirik was accepted as King of Northumbria in 947 but was ousted a year later only to return as King again in 952. His final reign would last just two years however as he was killed at the battle of Stainmoor in 954.
Sources: Anglo Saxon England -Eric Bloodaxe as King in York -Frank Stenton
www. BBC History - Eric Bloodaxe.co.uk
Eirik Bloodaxe
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