known as Harald Hardraade or Harald the Ruthless
born 1015, Norway
died Sept. 25, 1066, Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, Eng.
King of Norway (1045–66).
The son of a Norwegian chieftain, he fought against the Danes in 1030, then fled the country, taking service in the Russian and Byzantine armies. He returned in 1045 to take the throne. He struggled unsuccessfully to wrest the Danish throne from Sweyn II (1045–62). He expanded Norway's possessions in the Orkney, Shetland, and Hebrides islands, and he attempted to conquer England in 1066 but was defeated and killed at Stamford Bridge.