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Petty kingdoms of Norway

January 06, 2023

The petty kingdoms of Norway (Bokmål: smårike) were the entities from which the later Kingdom of Norway was founded. Before the unification of Norway in 872 and during the period of fragmentation after King Harald Fairhair's death, Norway was divided in several small kingdoms. Some could have been as small as a cluster of villages, and others comprised several of today's counties.

Some of the major petty kingdoms of Norway about 860.
Petty kingdoms of Norway c. 872

By the time of the first historical records of Scandinavia, about the 8th century, a number of small political entities existed in Norway. The exact number is unknown, and would probably also fluctuate with time. It has been estimated that there were 9 petty realms in Western Norway during the early Viking Age.[1] Archaeologist Bergljot Solberg on this basis estimates that there would have been at least 20 in the whole country.[2]

There are no written sources from this time to tell us the title used by these rulers, or the exact borders between their realms. The main written sources we have on this period, the kings' sagas, were not written until the 12th and 13th centuries. While they were in part based on skaldic poems, and possibly on oral tradition, their reliability as sources for detailed events of the Viking Age continues to be debated among historians. The sagas, most notable of which is Heimskringla, often refer to the petty rulers as konungr, i.e. king, as in Agder, Alvheim, Hedmark, Hordaland, Nordmøre og Romsdal, Rogaland, Romerike, Sogn, Solør, Sunmmøre, Trøndelag, Vestfold (which at various times included several of the aforementioned) and Viken; however in Hålogaland the title was jarl, i.e. earl (compared with Count in the Norse sources, as well as German Gräf), later Ladejarl (from the rulers power base at Lade, in modern-day Trondheim). The rulers of all the areas might be called petty kings, herser, subkings, kings or earls depending on the source. A number of small communities were gradually organised into larger regions in the 9th century, and in AD 872 King Harald Fairhair unified the realm and became its first supreme ruler. Many of the former kingdoms would later become earldoms under the Norwegian high king and some would try to break free again.

Below follows an incomplete list of petty kingdoms of Norway and their known rulers. Most of the people mentioned in this list are legendary or semi-legendary. Some of the areas might have a contested status as petty kingdoms.

List of petty kingdoms and earldoms

Kingdom of Agder

Rulers:

Legendary(From Gautreks saga)

  • Harald the Agder-King (legendary)
  • Víkar (Harald Agder-king's son)
  • Harald Vikarson(Son of Vikar)
  • Bjæring, possibly only a chief(local legend from Hægebostad)
  • Vigbrands fra Agder – c. 690[3]
  • Herbrand Vigbrandsson[3]
  • Kissa
  • Kjotve the Rich

Kings from 790 to 987

Kingdom of Fjordane

Might also be called Firda or Firdafylke.

Rulers: Olaf brother of Anund Yngling

Kingdom of Grenland

Main article: Grenland § Grenland, Grænafylket and Vestmar

Kingdom of Gudbrandsdalen

Rulers:

Kingdom of Hadeland

Rulers:

Kingdom of Hardanger

Kingdom of Hedmark

Rulers:

Kingdom of Hordaland

Rulers:

Kingdom of Hålogaland

Rulers:

Kingdom of Land

Earldom of Lade

Main article: Earls of Lade

Rulers:

Kingdom of Namdalen

Earldom of Nordmøre

Main article: Jarls of Møre

Kingdom of Oppland

 
The kings of Oppland go to hold council.

Rulers:

Kingdom of Orkdalen

Rulers:

Kingdom of Ranrike

Rulers:

Kingdom of Raumarike

Rulers:

Kingdom of Ringerike

Rulers:

Kingdom of Rogaland

Rulers:

  • Gard
  • Rugalf Gardsson
  • Ogvald Rugalfsson mid 6th century( from Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka)
  • Ingjald Ogvaldsson fl. c. 600
  • Jossur Ingjaldsson fl mid 7th century
  • Hjor Jossurasson fl. 8th century
  • Hjorleif Hjorsson the Fornicator fl. mid-late 8th century
  • Halfur Hjorleifsson
  • Hjor Halfsson ? –c. 870s
  • Sulke ? –870
  • Geirmundur Hjorarsson

Kingdom of Romsdal

Rulers:

  • Raum the Old legendary
  • Jötunbjörn the Old son of Raum
  • Raum
  • Hrossbjörn
  • Orm Broken-shell
  • Knatti
  • Thórolf and Ketill Raum (in one version, Thórolf and Ketill Raum are sons of Orm).

Kingdom of Sogn

Rulers:

  • King Harald Gullskjegg (translate: Harald the Goldbeard): 770–850 AD (according to Fagrskinna and Heimskringla )

Kingdom of Solør

Rulers:

Earldom of Sunnmøre

Main article: Jarls of Møre

Kingdom of Telemark

The status of Telemark as a kingdom has been contested by some historians.

rulers or figures:

  • Geirthjof of Oppland (First battle of Telemark)[5]
  • Fridthjof (Second battle of Telemark)[5]

Kingdom of Toten

Rulers:

Kingdom of Trøndelag

Rulers:

Kingdom of Vestfold

Rulers:

Kingdom of Vestmar

Rulers:

  • Dag the mild

Kingdom of Vingulmark

Vingulmark is the old name for the area which today makes up the counties of Østfold and Akershus, and included the site of Norway's capital, Oslo, which had not been founded at this time. Archaeologists have made finds of richly endowed burials in the area around the estuary of the river Glomma, at Onsøy, Rolvsøy and Tune, where the remains of a ship, the Tune ship, was found. This indicates that there was a center of power in this area.[7]

There are indications that at least the southern part of this area was under Danish rule in the late 9th century. In the account of Ottar, which was written down at the court of the English king Alfred the Great, Ottar says that when he sailed south from Skiringssal, he had Denmark on the port side for three days.

Rulers:

Kingdom of Viken

Rulers:

Kingdom of Voss(Vörs)

Rulers:

See also

References

  1. ^ Bjørn Ringstad, Vestlandets største gravminner. Et forsøk på lokalisering av forhistoriske maktsentra, (Bergen, 1986)
  2. ^ Bergljot Solberg, Jernalderen i Norge, (Oslo, 2000)
  3. ^ a b Ættartolurbækur Jóns Espólíns Sysslumanns (1980-), Espólín, Jón, (Reykjavík: Samskipti, 1980-), FHL book 949.12 D2e v. 6; FHL microfilms 73,257-73., p. 42, FHL microfilm 73257.
  4. ^ An article from BT on archaeological digs on Nordfjordeid (Norwegian) Retrieved 18 September 2007
  5. ^ a b c "Kingdoms of Northern Europe – Norway (Norge)". The History Files. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Snorre: Norske Kongers Chronica, 1633 – archive.org
  7. ^ Solberg 2000, p. 279

January 06, 2023
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This article s factual accuracy is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced January 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The petty kingdoms of Norway Bokmal smarike were the entities from which the later Kingdom of Norway was founded Before the unification of Norway in 872 and during the period of fragmentation after King Harald Fairhair s death Norway was divided in several small kingdoms Some could have been as small as a cluster of villages and others comprised several of today s counties Some of the major petty kingdoms of Norway about 860 Petty kingdoms of Norway c 872 By the time of the first historical records of Scandinavia about the 8th century a number of small political entities existed in Norway The exact number is unknown and would probably also fluctuate with time It has been estimated that there were 9 petty realms in Western Norway during the early Viking Age 1 Archaeologist Bergljot Solberg on this basis estimates that there would have been at least 20 in the whole country 2 There are no written sources from this time to tell us the title used by these rulers or the exact borders between their realms The main written sources we have on this period the kings sagas were not written until the 12th and 13th centuries While they were in part based on skaldic poems and possibly on oral tradition their reliability as sources for detailed events of the Viking Age continues to be debated among historians The sagas most notable of which is Heimskringla often refer to the petty rulers as konungr i e king as in Agder Alvheim Hedmark Hordaland Nordmore og Romsdal Rogaland Romerike Sogn Solor Sunmmore Trondelag Vestfold which at various times included several of the aforementioned and Viken however in Halogaland the title was jarl i e earl compared with Count in the Norse sources as well as German Graf later Ladejarl from the rulers power base at Lade in modern day Trondheim The rulers of all the areas might be called petty kings herser subkings kings or earls depending on the source A number of small communities were gradually organised into larger regions in the 9th century and in AD 872 King Harald Fairhair unified the realm and became its first supreme ruler Many of the former kingdoms would later become earldoms under the Norwegian high king and some would try to break free again Below follows an incomplete list of petty kingdoms of Norway and their known rulers Most of the people mentioned in this list are legendary or semi legendary Some of the areas might have a contested status as petty kingdoms Contents 1 List of petty kingdoms and earldoms 1 1 Kingdom of Agder 1 2 Kingdom of Fjordane 1 3 Kingdom of Grenland 1 4 Kingdom of Gudbrandsdalen 1 5 Kingdom of Hadeland 1 6 Kingdom of Hardanger 1 7 Kingdom of Hedmark 1 8 Kingdom of Hordaland 1 9 Kingdom of Halogaland 1 10 Kingdom of Land 1 11 Earldom of Lade 1 12 Kingdom of Namdalen 1 13 Earldom of Nordmore 1 14 Kingdom of Oppland 1 15 Kingdom of Orkdalen 1 16 Kingdom of Ranrike 1 17 Kingdom of Raumarike 1 18 Kingdom of Ringerike 1 19 Kingdom of Rogaland 1 20 Kingdom of Romsdal 1 21 Kingdom of Sogn 1 22 Kingdom of Solor 1 23 Earldom of Sunnmore 1 24 Kingdom of Telemark 1 25 Kingdom of Toten 1 26 Kingdom of Trondelag 1 27 Kingdom of Vestfold 1 28 Kingdom of Vestmar 1 29 Kingdom of Vingulmark 1 30 Kingdom of Viken 1 31 Kingdom of Voss Vors 2 See also 3 ReferencesList of petty kingdoms and earldoms EditKingdom of Agder Edit Rulers Legendary From Gautreks saga Harald the Agder King legendary Vikar Harald Agder king s son Harald Vikarson Son of Vikar Bjaering possibly only a chief local legend from Haegebostad Vigbrands fra Agder c 690 3 Herbrand Vigbrandsson 3 Kissa Kjotve the RichKings from 790 to 987 Harald Granraude 7 815 father of Asa Asa Haraldsdottir of Agder between 815 and 834 838 mother of Halfdan the Black Halfdan the Black father of Harald Fairhair from 838 Kjotve the Rich late 9th century Harald Grenske 976 987Kingdom of Fjordane Edit Might also be called Firda or Firdafylke Rulers Olaf brother of Anund Yngling Audbjorn 4 Kingdom of Grenland Edit Main article Grenland Grenland Graenafylket and Vestmar Kingdom of Gudbrandsdalen Edit Rulers Dale GudbrandKingdom of Hadeland Edit Rulers Hod Halfdan HvitbeinnKingdom of Hardanger Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2016 Kingdom of Hedmark Edit Rulers Halfdan Hvitbeinn Sigtryg Eysteinsson Eystein Eysteinsson brother of Sigtryg Halfdan the Black was king of half of Hedmark after defeating rulers Sigtryg and his brother Eystein Kingdom of Hordaland Edit Rulers Herthjof From Gautreks saga Alrek Eiriksson early 600s Hrolf or Bergi Svasason Solvi Hrolfson Kaun Solvason Eirik King of Hordaland late 800sKingdom of Halogaland Edit Rulers Saeming legendary son of Odin Thrand son of Saeming Gudlog 480s 5 Eystein Halfdan Hakon GrjotgardssonKingdom of Land Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2016 Earldom of Lade Edit Main article Earls of Lade Rulers Hakon Grjotgardsson an ally of Harald Fairhair first Earl of Lade in about c 860 870 c 900 920 AD Sigurdr Hakonarson friend and advisor of Hakon the Good Hakon Sigurdarson ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995 Eirikr Hakonarson governor of the majority of Norway under Svein Forkbeard Sveinn Hakonarson governor of a part of Norway under Olaf the Swede Hakon Eiriksson governor of Norway under Canute the GreatKingdom of Namdalen Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2016 Earldom of Nordmore Edit Main article Jarls of More Kingdom of Oppland Edit The kings of Oppland go to hold council Rulers Eystein father of Asa who married Halfdan Hvitbeinn see Ynglinga Saga paragraph 49 Halfdan the Aged Sveidasson c 750 Ivar Halfdansson c 770 Eystein Glumra the Noisy Ivarsson son in law of Ragnvald the Mountain High and father of Ragnvald Eysteinsson 788 Kingdom of Orkdalen Edit Rulers Gryting c 870Kingdom of Ranrike Edit Rulers Tryggve Olafsson 963 ADKingdom of Raumarike Edit Rulers Sigurd Hring 8th century Ragnar Lodbrok 8th century Halfdan Hvitbeinn Eystein Halfdansson Son of Halfdan Halfdan the Mild Son of Eystein Gudrod the Hunter Son of Halfdan Sigtryg Eysteinsson Halfdan the Black Son of GudrodKingdom of Ringerike Edit Rulers Raum the Old Halfdan the Old Sigurd SyrKingdom of Rogaland Edit Rulers Gard Rugalf Gardsson Ogvald Rugalfsson mid 6th century from Halfs saga ok Halfsrekka Ingjald Ogvaldsson fl c 600 Jossur Ingjaldsson fl mid 7th century Hjor Jossurasson fl 8th century Hjorleif Hjorsson the Fornicator fl mid late 8th century Halfur Hjorleifsson Hjor Halfsson c 870s Sulke 870 Geirmundur HjorarssonKingdom of Romsdal Edit Rulers Raum the Old legendary Jotunbjorn the Old son of Raum Raum Hrossbjorn Orm Broken shell Knatti Thorolf and Ketill Raum in one version Thorolf and Ketill Raum are sons of Orm Kingdom of Sogn Edit Rulers King Harald Gullskjegg translate Harald the Goldbeard 770 850 AD according to Fagrskinna and Heimskringla Kingdom of Solor Edit Rulers Halfdan HvitbeinnEarldom of Sunnmore Edit Main article Jarls of More Kingdom of Telemark Edit The status of Telemark as a kingdom has been contested by some historians This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2016 rulers or figures Geirthjof of Oppland First battle of Telemark 5 Fridthjof Second battle of Telemark 5 Kingdom of Toten Edit Rulers Halfdan HvitbeinnKingdom of Trondelag Edit Rulers Hakon GrjotgardssonKingdom of Vestfold Edit Rulers Sigtryg of Vetteland 6 Eirik Sigtrygsson 6 Agnar Eiriksson 6 Eirik Agnarsson Halfdan Hvitbeinn part of Vestfold Eystein Halfdansson Eriks son in law Halfdan the Mild Eysteins son Gudrod the Hunter Son of Halfdan Halfdan the Black Ruled half the kingdom Son of Gudrod Olaf Gudrodsson Ruled half the kingdom Son of Gudrod Ragnvald the Mountain High Bjorn Farmann Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf brother of Bjorn Harald Gudrodsson Grenske 976 987Kingdom of Vestmar Edit Rulers Dag the mildKingdom of Vingulmark Edit Vingulmark is the old name for the area which today makes up the counties of Ostfold and Akershus and included the site of Norway s capital Oslo which had not been founded at this time Archaeologists have made finds of richly endowed burials in the area around the estuary of the river Glomma at Onsoy Rolvsoy and Tune where the remains of a ship the Tune ship was found This indicates that there was a center of power in this area 7 There are indications that at least the southern part of this area was under Danish rule in the late 9th century In the account of Ottar which was written down at the court of the English king Alfred the Great Ottar says that when he sailed south from Skiringssal he had Denmark on the port side for three days Rulers Gudrod the Hunter half of Vingulmark Alfgeir Old Norse Alfgeir Gandalf Alfgeirsson Halfdan the Black Son of Gudrod Olaf Haraldsson Tryggve Olafsson Harald Gudrodsson Grenske 976 987 Svein Alfivuson 1030 1035Kingdom of Viken Edit Rulers Sigurd Snake in the EyeKingdom of Voss Vors Edit Rulers Skilfir Skjold Eirik Alrek from Halfs saga ok Halfsrekka Vikar from Halfs saga ok Halfsrekka Vatnar from Halfs saga ok Halfsrekka Imald and EirikSee also EditUnification of Norway Districts of NorwayReferences Edit Bjorn Ringstad Vestlandets storste gravminner Et forsok pa lokalisering av forhistoriske maktsentra Bergen 1986 Bergljot Solberg Jernalderen i Norge Oslo 2000 a b AEttartolurbaekur Jons Espolins Sysslumanns 1980 Espolin Jon Reykjavik Samskipti 1980 FHL book 949 12 D2e v 6 FHL microfilms 73 257 73 p 42 FHL microfilm 73257 An article from BT on archaeological digs on Nordfjordeid Norwegian Retrieved 18 September 2007 a b c Kingdoms of Northern Europe Norway Norge The History Files Retrieved 19 December 2015 a b c Snorre Norske Kongers Chronica 1633 archive org Solberg 2000 p 279 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Petty kingdoms of Norway amp oldid 1123752798, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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