The Seven Wives of Harald Fairhair: 1st King of All Norway - A Viking Saga

THE SEVEN WIVES OF HARALD FAIRHAIR King Gudrod was called the Hunter and he lived up to his name. Not only did he need to prove his power by hunting down animals, but he took the same actions when dealing with people. Gudrod was accustomed to getting his own way and he did what he needed to make that happen. When his first wife died, he decided he would have Aasa from the neighboring kingdom of Agder for his next wife. Aasa was a young woman of exceeding great beauty. She was tall of stature with long, flaming red hair and piercing green eyes. Her beauty was only exceeded by her strong will and sharp intellect…and Gudrod had desired her for a long while. He sent his men west to Agder to ask Aasa's father, King Harald Redbeard, to give his daughter to him. "There will be no match between Gudrod the Hunter and my daughter," exclaimed Harald Redbeard, "Take your request and go elsewhere! Aasa would never consider a man like Gudrod to wed!" The ambassadors returned and told the result of their errand. "Harald Redbeard refused my offer?" shouted Gudrod. "We shall see how he likes my next offer! Gather the men and ready the ships. We sail for Agder tonight!" A great force of ships and men landed before dawn near the estate of King Harald and crept, with stealth, up the hill to the longhouse. After the building was completely surrounded, King Gudrod shouted at the door, "Harald Redbeard, you shall pay dearly for refusing to give your daughter Aasa to me. Tonight, she shall be in my bed and you shall be dead!" Thus began the saga foretelling the events that would shape the life and times of King Harald Fairhair. He lived in an era when men like Gudrod, his grandfather, took what they wanted and murdered who they pleased...and if they were high-born, they suffered no penalty. The abduction and rape of his grandmother, Aasa, helped determine a different attitude on the part of his father, Halvdan the Black, as well as his own. Harald Fairhair was a real living, breathing man. He was not just an ordinary man, but a superhero of the Viking Age. He believed he had been sent to the earth to do a great work and he believed that his God Odin was the guiding light that led him in his quest. Thus, Harald’s life was interwoven in his destiny of uniting the country of Norway under one strong ruler. As a prolific lover, Harald fathered 23 children, 20 of whom were male heirs. The many women in his life were unique with their own personalities…strong-willed, stubborn and determined; quiet, calm and serene; needy, insecure and petty; wicked and devious; plus clever, confident and wise. They were all beautiful in their own way. The saga of The Seven Wives of Harald Fairhair is a story of love and war, but mostly love. Harald's story is not only the account of a boy who became king at the age of 10, but a young man who fought over 30 battles without receiving the death wound. He was a larger-than-life patriarch who ruled his people for 73 years and died in the year 933 AD. "Harald Harfagre was remarkably handsome, great and strong, and very generous to his men. He was a great warrior and his large posterity spread over the whole land; for of his race, ever since, have come the Kings of Norway" Heimskringla Read more