Eric Bloodaxe | The Brother Slayer

Welcome to the video. Don't forget to hit that bell icon for weekly videos on historical figures and stories. If you enjoy the content, be sure to subscribe. Erik Haraldsson, now known to history as Erik Bloodaxe, was a 10th century king of Norway, and he was also the king of Northumbria for a time. In this video, I will be taking you to the climax of the Viking Age. Erik Bloodaxe's father Harald Fairhair had united the whole of Norway through a conquest of blood. Harald had many wives and many children, but it is told when he married Ranghild the Mighty, Harald and Ranghild would have a son called Erik. Erik was the most beloved and honoured child out of all of Harald's sons. When he was just 12 years old, his father gave him five longships so he could go on Viking expeditions. From a very young age, he travelled to the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Friesland and Saxland. He even sailed out into the West Sea and spent four years plundering in Scotland, Brentland and Ireland. So all of Erik's youth was spent raiding and learning what it meant to be a Viking warrior. Snorri Sturluson tells us that Erik was stout and a handsome man. He was strong, very manly, and a great and fortunate man of war, but was bad-minded, gruff, unfriendly and silent. According to the Heimskringla saga, Erik planned to be the supreme king over all of his brothers and to take his father's place upon his death. You see, when King Harald was 50 years old, he divided the country among his sons and gave them all the title of king, but he was still the superior high king of Norway. As Harald became an old man and was aged around 80, he brought his son Erik to this high seat and gave him the power and command of the whole land. But many of his brothers opposed his rule, so Erik would plan to eradicate them. It is said that Erik's brother Roggenwald had learnt the art of witchcraft. Erik, knowing the power of sorcery, sought to take out his brother. So, he travelled to Roggenwald's house and burnt it to the ground, along with 80 other sorcerers inside. This deed was greatly praised, but it would be the beginning of Erik's documented kinslaying and cruelty. Another one of Erik's brothers was King Bjorn of the Vestfold. He was well known for trading and acquiring valuables and supplies. He was a very intelligent man and many thought he was a great ruler. Erik would pay his brother Bjorn a visit and demanded that Bjorn pay him the taxes that were due to their father Harald, but Bjorn had always taken the money to the king himself and he wanted to continue doing this and refused to hand it over. The brothers would argue and Erik left Bjorn's residence outraged. For some reason, Erik decided to turn back and in the evening he surrounded Bjorn's house. Bjorn's men would burst out of the house and combat would ensue. It was brother against brother, king against king, but Bjorn was slain, as were many of his men. Erik had just killed another one of his brothers. Another one of Erik's brothers called Hafdan would sit himself on the high seat of his father Harald in defiance of his brother Erik, as he now hated him due to the kinslaying of his brothers. However, not long after this act of disrespect, Hafdan would die at a banquet and it was rumoured that Gunnhildr, Erik's wife, had bribed a woman skilled in magic to make him a poison drink. Gunnhildr was admired for her beauty and generosity, but she was also known for her cruelty, magic and cunning. She was said to have been a fine match for Erik, being the daughter of Gorm the Old, the king of Denmark. At this point, King Harald Fairhair had given Erik the sole rule of the kingdom and he would soon die of sickness in one of his large residences, aged around 83. King Erik would then take all of the revenues which the king had over the central part of the country, but his brothers Olaf and Sigrod were displeased at this. Word would go round that Erik would take by force what his brothers were withholding from him, as their father Harald did intend that Erik would rule the whole country, in response to his brothers being defiant to his will. Erik would call a great army and ships and would travel east to Vik, where his brother Olaf and Sigrod were residing. The gods were on Erik's side and the winds favoured him so much that he arrived in a day, giving his brothers no time to prepare their defences and even their spies could not detect Erik's movements. The three brothers would meet on the battle field, but the High King Erik had a much larger force and would crush his brothers, leaving them both slain on the field. Erik would soon be known as Bloodaxe, having slain five of his brothers and his rule was now uncontested, but even by Viking standards, he was considered a savage whose morals and kinslaying were considered shocking. But one of Erik's brothers remained and that was Hakon, who had been fostered in England by King Æthelstan. When Hakon heard of the death of his father, Æthelstan would provide him with a troop of men and a fleet of ships and Hakon would arrive safely to Norway. He would soon learn of the death of all of his brothers and naturally he was disgusted. Hakon decided that Erik's tyranny must end and that he would become king. So he made an alliance with Sigurd Halatjal, who was said to be the most sensible man in all of Norway. Sigurd would assemble a great crowd of men and he spoke on behalf of Hakon, he proposed that he would be the common farmer's king. After this a young Hakon stepped forward and spoke. He said that if the farmers would back him as king, he would make all of them entitled to their lands and yields which had belonged to their ancestors. There was so much great applause for this that the whole crowd shouted and named him Hakon King. He was just fifteen years old, he had been raised in the court of a foreigner and he was soft, whereas his older brother Erik had been raiding since the age of twelve, was a battle-hardened commander and wasn't afraid to kill his own brothers. Nevertheless, King Hakon would travel the land giving the same message to the common folk. He quickly became loved among the people and his message of fairness to the working class would spread like wildfire. Farmers travelled from all across the country to see Hakon and many sent tokens of their gratitude and of course many would swear themselves to his service, wanting to become his men. King Erik's unpopularity would grow each day and more and more people became fond of his younger brother Hakon. Eventually, when Hakon was ready, he summoned a great army. King Erik also called his troops, but much of the ruling class forsook him and went over to Hakon, probably due to Erik's bloodthirsty reputation and Hakon's good one. When Erik saw Hakon's immense army, he knew he had no chance of retaining his title as king, so he went into exile and would sail west across the sea with those troops who were still loyal to him. Erik Bloodaxe, from being the High King of Norway, became the King of But Erik's story doesn't end here. Being the bloodthirsty man of action he was, he sailed to England and raided around Scotland. He also raided everywhere around northern England. According to Snorri Sturluson, Æthelstan, the King of England, sent a message to Erik, offering him dominions under him in England, saying that King Harald, his father, was a good friend of King Æthelstan and therefore he would do kindly towards his sons. Messengers passed between the two kings and they came to an agreement that King Erik should take Northumberland as a fief from King Æthelstan, in which Erik should defend the lands against other Danes and Vikings. Erik even let himself become baptised together with his wife and children. Erik would hold a amount of land in Northumbria, but he would crave becoming a High King once more, so he would always raid in the summer. He would go to Scotland and Ireland to increase his wealth. There is much evidence for Erik's rule in Northumbria, as there have been 31 minted coins at York which have been found that bear the inscription of Erik's name. It is said the Northumbrians even selected him as their king in 947. But soon King Æthelstan of the English would die and his brother Eadred would take the crown and he and Erik were not on good terms. Word even went around that he was going to replace Erik as the ruler of Northumbria. Eadred responded to Erik's newly founded kinship by invading and ravaging Northumbria. As Eadred's army returned south, Erik's Viking army caught up the rearguard and made a great slaughter at Castleford, slaying much of the King of England's forces. Erik at this point was a man in his fifties, but he was still the same battle-hardened savage he was in his youth. In retaliation, an enraged Eadred threatened to destroy Northumbria. The Northumbrians fearful of his wrath abandoned Erik and made reparations with Eadred. Erik had once again been abandoned by his subjects, but this wouldn't be the end of his story. The Northumbrians later accepted Olaf Citrixon, a Viking from Dublin as their ruler. Erik however was a vengeful man and he furiously took over Northumbria for a second time in 952. His reign only proved short though as he was once again expelled in 954. Erik Bloodaxe, once the King of Kings in Norway, the Kinslayer and the King of the Northumbrians, was killed in an ambush at the age of 59. He was allegedly killed by Makas, an agent of the High Reef of Bambra who ruled Northumbria. No doubt he was assassinated while in exile as he was restless and would probably have tried once again to raise an army to raid and conquer. The 13th century chronicler Roger of Wendover wrote based on an old northern source that has now been lost on the account of Erik's death. King Erik was treacherously killed by Earl Makas in a certain lonely place which is called Stainmore with his son betrayed by Earl Oswald and then afterwards, King Eadred ruled in these districts. The skaldic poem Eriksmal describes Erik's heroic entrance into Valhalla and how he is welcomed by the gods after his death. It was written by an anonymous poet and the dialogue in the poem is between Braki, the skaldic god of poetry and Odin the Allfather. Odin had eagerly awaited his coming because he had reddened his blade in many a land and borne a bloody sword. And on being asked of why he deprived Erik of such earthly glory, he answered that the future is uncertain since the grey wolf is always lying in wait. Erik is then greeted by the famous hero Sigmundr. Hail now Erik here, you shall be welcome brave hero. Enter the hall. Erik was portrayed in the sagas as a larger than life figure who was powerful and violent and his acts may have led him to short term success but would ultimately make him a flawed individual making him unpopular as king. He was described as handsome, strong and a man of great prowess but also as violent and cruel. The kingslaying of his brothers allowed him to lose favour with the Norse nobility and the fact that his wife was rumoured to have aided him in this didn't help. All in all, as strong as a warrior as Erik was, his rule was but a mere shadow of the greatness of his father King Harald Fairhair and he was destined to die in a foreign land as the nothing but his exploits and his name still live on. I hope you all enjoyed the video, make sure to like, subscribe and share and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.