Harald Fairhair was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, succeeded Harald to become kings after his death.
The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty. Branches of the house rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The current kings of Norway and the United Kingdom are patrilineal descendants of the Glücksburg branch of this house.
Sverre Sigurdsson was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202.
Sigurd Haraldsson, also called Sigurd Munn, was king of Norway from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Thora Guttormsdotter. He served as co-ruler with his half-brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Eystein Haraldsson. His epithet Munn means "the Mouth" in Old Norse. He was killed in the power-struggle against his brother, Inge, in an early stage of the civil war era in Norway.
Tønsberg Fortress was a medieval fortress and castle, located in Tønsberg, Norway which was defended by the fortress for over 300 years.
The Kingdom of Norway as a unified realm dates to the reign of King Harald I Fairhair in the 9th century. His efforts in unifying the petty kingdoms of Norway resulted in the first known Norwegian central government. The country, however, soon fragmented and was collected into one entity in the first half of the 11th century, and Norway has retained a monarchy since that time. Traditionally, it has been viewed as being ruled by the Fairhair dynasty, though modern scholars question whether the eleventh century kings and their successors were truly descendants of Harald.
The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of king Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the kingdom. It depicts a standing golden lion on a red background, bearing a golden crown and axe with silver blade.
Sigurd Magnusson Slembe was a Norwegian pretender to the throne.
Philip Simonsson was a Norwegian aristocrat and from 1207 to 1217 was the Bagler party pretender to the throne of Norway during the civil war era in Norway.
The Fairhair dynasty was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway which united and ruled Norway with few interruptions from the latter half of the 9th century. In the traditional view, this lasted until 1387, however, many modern scholars view this rule as lasting only three generations, ending with Harald Greycloak in the late 10th century. The moniker "Fairhair dynasty" is a retrospective construction: in their lifetime what little traces there are refer to them consistently as "Ynglings".
Harald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter of Earl Haakon Paulsson of Orkney. Of mixed Norse and Gaelic blood, and a descendant of Scots kings, he was a significant figure in northern Scotland, and played a prominent part in Scottish politics of the twelfth century. The Orkneyinga Saga names him one of the three most powerful Earls of Orkney along with Sigurd Eysteinsson and Thorfinn Sigurdsson.
The civil war era in Norway began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne.
Gille dynasty was a powerful royal house or dynasty which ruled the Kingdom of Norway during the 12th century. It is very unlikely that the rulers ever referred to the Gille dynasty which is a term coined by modern historians. The term "Gille" is probably derived from the Middle Irish Gaelic Gilla Críst, i.e. servant of Christ.
Bridget Haraldsdotter, also Brigida was Queen of Sweden as the spouse of King Magnus II.
The Hardrada dynasty was a powerful royal dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, and the Earldom of Orkney.
The Unification of Norway is the process by which Norway merged from several petty kingdoms into a single kingdom, predecessor to the modern Kingdom of Norway.
The Danish House of Knýtlinga was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's father Sweyn Forkbeard, grandfather Harald Bluetooth, and sons Harthacnut, Harold Harefoot, and Svein Knutsson. It has also been called the House of Canute, the House of Denmark, the House of Gorm, or the Jelling dynasty.
The House of Sverre was a royal house or dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, the Kingdom of Norway, hereunder the kingdom's realms, and the Kingdom of Scotland. The house was founded with King Sverre Sigurdsson. It provided the rulers of Norway from 1184 to 1319.
The term Norwegian Realm and Old Kingdom of Norway refer to the Kingdom of Norway's peak of power at the 13th century after a long period of civil war before 1240. The kingdom was a loosely unified nation including the territory of modern-day Norway, modern-day Swedish territory of Jämtland, Herjedalen, Ranrike (Bohuslän) and Idre and Särna, as well as Norway's overseas possessions which had been settled by Norwegian seafarers for centuries before being annexed or incorporated into the kingdom as 'tax territories'. To the North, Norway also bordered extensive tax territories on the mainland. Norway, whose expansionism starts from the very foundation of the Kingdom in 872, reached the peak of its power in the years between 1240 and 1319.
