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Birth:          ABT  820 Vestfold, Norway
Death:           863 Norway

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfdan_the_Black
Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: Halfdanr Svarti) (c.?810 – c.?860) was a ninth-century 
king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald 
Fairhair, the first king of Norway.[1]
Biography[edit]

 According to Heimskringla and Fagsrkinna, Halfdan was the son of the Yngling King 
Gudrød the Hunter. Heimskringla also names his mother, as Åsa, daughter of King 
Harald of Agder, and his half-brother as Olaf Geirstad-Alf. Heimskringla relates that 
when Halfdan's father was killed, Åsa took the 1 year-old Halfdan and returned to 
Agder, where Halfdan was raised. When he was 18 or 19 years old, Halfdan became 
king of Agder. He quickly began adding to his kingdom, through political negotiation 
and military conquest. He divided the kingdom of Vestfold with his brother Olaf and, 
through military action, persuaded King Gandalf of Vingulmark to cede half his 
kingdom. Based on the formulaic nature of his ties to his predecessors, his strong 
affiliation with Agder, and the failure of an early saga dedicated to him to name any 
family connections, some scholars have suggested that the linkage to the earlier 
Yngling dynasty of Vestfold was a later invention, created to associate a conquering 
Halfdan and his son Harald Fairhair with the family glorified in the Ynglingatal, whom 
he had displaced.

Halfdan next is said to have subdued an area called Raumarike. To secure his claim 
to Raumarike, Halfdan first defeated and killed the previous ruler, Sigtryg Eysteinsson, 
in battle. He then defeated Sigtryg's brother and successor Eystein, in a series of 
battles. This established Halfdan's claim not only to Raumarike, but also to half of 
Hedmark, the core of Sigtryg and Eystein's kingdom. These details are only mentioned 
in Heimskringla.

Fagrskinna and Heimskringla both agree that Halfdan's first wife was Ragnhild, 
daughter of King Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard) of Sogn. Halfdan and Ragnhild had a 
son named "Harald" after his grandfather, and they sent him to be raised at his 
grandfather's court. Harald Gulskeg, being elderly, named his grandson as his 
successor, shortly before his death. Ragnhild died shortly after her father, and the 
young king Harald fell sick and died the next spring. When Halfdan heard about his 
son's death, he travelled to Sogn and laid claim to the title of king. No resistance was 
offered, and Halfdan added Sogn to his realm.

The narrative in Heimskringla then adds another conquest for King Halfdan. In 
Vingulmark, the sons of Gandalf of Vingulmark, Hysing, Helsing, and Hake, attempted 
to ambush Halfdan at night, but he escaped into the forest. After raising an army, he 
returned to defeat the brothers, killing Hysing and Helsing. Hake fled the country, and 
Halfdan became king of all of Vingulmark.

According to Heimskringla, Halfdan's second wife was also named Ragnhild. Ragnhild 
Sigurdsdotter was the daughter of Sigurd Hjort, king of Ringerike. She was kidnapped 
from her home by Hake, a "berserker" who encountered her father in Hadeland and 
killed him. In turn, Halfdan had her kidnapped from Hake, so that he could marry her. 
Fagrskinna does not mention any of these details, but calls Ragnhild the daughter of 
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, who in Heimskringlas version is her great-grandfather. Both 
sagas agree that Ragnhild and Halfdan had a son who was also named Harald.

Halvdanshaugen[edit]

Heimskringla, Fagrskinna, Ágrip and Historia Norwegiæ all relate that Halfdan drowned 
when he fell through the ice at the inlet Røykenvik in the lake Randsfjorden on his 
return home from Hadeland. His horse and sleigh broke though ice weakened by cattle 
dung near a watering hole dug in the frozen lake. He was buried in a mound at Stein 
in Ringerike.

Heimskringlas narrative adds that each of the districts of his kingdom wanted to claim 
his grave, and that it was agreed to divide his body into four pieces so each district 
could bury a piece of it, resulting in four different site called Halvdanshaugen (from 
the Old Norse word haugr meaning mound). According to this version, only his head is 
buried in Ringerike.[2]

Sources[edit]

No contemporary sources mention Halfdan, and the details of his life that are provided 
by later kings' sagas are considered semi-legendary by modern historians. Although he 
has his own saga in Heimskringla, it lacks any skaldic verse, which is normally used 
by Snorri as supporting evidence and this, combined with its rather legendary 
character, leads historians to be wary of seeing much veracity in it. The "Black" 
nickname was given to him because of his black hair.{[3]}

Halfdan is mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (c. 1230), Fagrskinna (c. 
1220), Ágrip (c. 1190) and Historia Norwegiæ (late 12th century). The most elaborate 
story is found in the latest saga, Heimskringla. According to the Latin Historia 
Norwegiæ, Halvdan was a king "in montanis" (in the mountains), which is usually 
equivalent to Oppland in the Old Norse.[4] This conflicts with the version told in 
Heimskringla.
In popular culture[edit]
In season four of the television show Vikings, Halfdan The Black is portrayed as the 
brother rather than father of Harald Finehair and is played by Finnish actor Jasper 
Pääkkönen.
Halfdan the Black is the main antagonist in the film Erik the Viking.

Parents
HALFDANSSON Gudrod (ABT  790 -  821)
HARALDSDOTTIR Asa (ABT  790 - ABT  834)

Siblings
GUDRODSSON Halfdan "the Black" (ABT  820 -  863)

Marriage To SIGURDSDOTTIR Ragnhild (ABT  830 - )
    m.  

Notes
his second

Parents
HELGASSON Sigurd "Hjort" (ABT  816 - )
HARALDSDOTTIR Ingibjorg "Thyrne" (ABT  814 - )

Children by SIGURDSDOTTIR Ragnhild ABT  830 - 
HALFDANSSON Harald I "Fairhair" ( 860 -  933)

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