With six weeks to go before the release of Civilization 6, the nation announcement engine has accelerated. Today we were told that instead of some obscure Vikings in the game there will be one of the most powerful powers in the world - Norway! But seriously, I would be very happy to read what a high has now risen on the forums of Civa fans in Denmark and Sweden;)
And since “Harald” is the coolest name in the world, they decided to keep him as the leader of the Norwegians. Just change the number. And a nickname;) Therefore, instead of the fifth Tsiva and Harald I “Bluetooth” there will be the sixth Tsiva and Harald III “The Harsh”. The difference between them is only 100 years!
How harsh is this Harald?
He is so harsh that he died in battle while trying to conquer the English throne (an arrow pierced his throat)! By the way, with his death, the three-century period of armed expansion of the Scandinavian rulers - the Viking Age - ended. However, the victory over the Vikings did not help the Anglo-Saxons. Literally a month later, William the Conqueror landed on the shores of England and defeated the Anglo-Saxon army, battered in the battle with the Vikings.
By the way, Harald had close ties with Kievan Rus. For example, such a case is known. In 1042, Harald and his Varangians took an active part in a palace coup, as a result of which the emperor Michael V Calafat was overthrown and blinded. Then, as a result of intrigue, Harald falls into disgrace. Fleeing from the trial, Harald and his Varangians were forced to flee from Constantinople and took refuge in Kyiv. In the saga of Harald the Severe (XV-XVI verses), after Byzantium Harald returned not to Kiev, but to Holmgrad (this is either Novgorod or a Varangian city between the cities of Ladoga and Kholopy city on the Volkhov River) and he sent the spoils from his Mediterranean campaigns there . It is quite strange that Harald does not mention Kyiv at all, where his beloved should be located Ellisif(Elizabeth), daughter Yaritsleiva(Yaroslav) king in Holmgard.
Norway in Civilization 6
Harald's unique ability is called " Thunder of the North": All of his melee naval units can loot land tiles near the sea.
Norwegian troops do not spend points to board or disembark. And when shipbuilding opens, they can immediately cross the oceans. Norwegians will be among the first to reach other continents and settle throughout the world. It seems that the Norwegians ate the Polynesians from the fifth Tsiva and received their power;)
Unique units of Norway
Berserk- yes, yes, the same ones that the Vikings had in the fifth civ. Moreover, they are also do not lose movement points when robbing. But here’s another more interesting feature: when berserkers attack, they get attack bonus. But if they defend, they get defense penalty. I wonder how this change will affect the tactics of playing with these units?
Unique building in Norway
Stavkirka- replaces the temple and gives more faith if built near a forest. Well, that is, apparently, the religious area (in which Stavkirka is being built) should be located near the forest.
A wonderful cartoon about Vikings found on the Internet (if you know who the author is, let me know): 
Video with the announcement of Norway from the developers
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Harald the Harsh
Harald Hardraada
Years of life: 1015 - September 25, 1066
Reign: 1046 - September 25, 1066
Father: Sigurd the Pig
Mother: Astrid Gudbrandsdotter
Wives:
1) Tora Thorbergsdotter
2) Elizaveta Yaroslavna
Sons: Magnus, Olaf
Daughters: Maria, Ingegerda
Harald was Olav the Saint's maternal brother. He was tall, stately, had blond hair, a beard and a long mustache. One of his eyebrows was slightly higher than the other. He was merciless towards his enemies and severely punished any resistance. Harald took part in the Battle of Stiklestad, was wounded, but managed to escape. Hiding in the forests, he made his way to Sweden, and from there to Rus' to the prince Yaroslav . After spending several years there, Harald moved to Byzantium, where he commanded one of the detachments in the army of Emperor Michael. Harald went on campaigns with his retinue and fought even in Africa, but he sent all the loot to Prince Yaroslav for safekeeping in Kyiv. One day Harald besieged a city in Sicily. He ordered his soldiers to catch birds that had built nests in the city, tie pine shavings, smeared with wax and wax, to their backs, and set them on fire. The birds flew to their nests under the thatched roofs of the houses, and a fire began in the city. And then the inhabitants of the city surrendered to Harald, and he spared them. Harald made his way to another city by digging under the fortress wall. At the same time, the exit from the tunnel was right in the middle of the stone chambers in which people were feasting. Harald took the third city by cunningly luring the inhabitants to fight in the open field. Finally Harald besieged the fourth city, the most fortified of all. He pretended to be sick, and soon the townspeople learned that the Viking leader had died. The city priests organized a magnificent funeral and carried Harald's coffin into the city gates. Entering the city, the Vikings who followed the coffin drew their swords and ravaged the city. After spending several years in this city, Harald returned to Constantinople. Leaving all the money he received during his years of service with the emperor, Harald went to the Holy Land and bowed to the Holy Sepulcher. Upon returning to Constantinople, Harald learned that his nephew Magnus had reigned in Norway and decided to return to his homeland, but Empress Zoe did not want to let him go and accused him of stealing the emperor’s property. Harald and two people were thrown into prison, but a woman who had once been healed by Saint Olav came to their aid. He tied a rope to the prison window, and the Vikings were able to go free. According to the sagas, Harald took revenge on Emperor Constantine Monomakh by blinding him. After this he fled from Constantinople.
From Byzantium, Harald returned to Kyiv, and Yaroslav returned to him all the gold and jewelry that the Viking had sent him for safekeeping during his service to the emperor. It was truly fabulous wealth. In addition, Yaroslav gave Harald his daughter Elizabeth as his wife. From Kyiv, Harald went to Sweden, where he met Sven Estridsson Ulfsson, whom Magnus had expelled from Denmark. And the Swedish king Olof was the grandfather of Elizabeth, Harald's wife. Having concluded an alliance, Harald and Sven equipped ships and attacked Denmark, ravaging the islands of Zealand and Funen. Magnus, upon learning of the attack, was forced to go to Norway for a new militia. But smart people suggested that he seek reconciliation with Harald and divide Norway. Harald agreed to peace and left Sven. Magnus gathered the Thing and announced to the people that he was granting the title of king to his kinsman Harald. And Harald distributed much of his wealth to Magnus's people. This happened in 1046.
Throughout the winter, Magnus and Harald ruled Norway together, but soon the agreement between the brothers was broken. However, the next year they sailed together to Denmark, forcing Sven to flee to Scania. But in Denmark, Magnus unexpectedly died after falling from his horse. He bequeathed Norway to Harald, and Denmark to Sven.
Harald did not agree with his nephew's will. He was going to convene a Thing in Viborg and achieve his proclamation as King of Denmark, but those close to him convinced him that the more important task was to deliver Magnus’ body to Norway. Harald did so, burying Magnus's remains in St. Clement's Church in Trondheim. And then he called the people to the Thing, where he was proclaimed king of Norway. Sven returned to Denmark, and the Danes proclaimed him king.
Harald was a powerful and firm ruler, strong in mind, so that everyone said that there was no ruler in the Nordic Countries who could equal him in the rationality of his decisions and the wisdom of his advice. He was a great and courageous warrior. He had great strength and handled weapons more skillfully than any other person. During a bad harvest in Iceland, Harald allowed the export of grain to Iceland on four ships and determined that a ship's pound should not be more expensive than a hundred cubits of homespun cloth. He allowed all poor people who could stock up on food to travel by sea to leave the country. And thus Iceland was able to improve its position.
It is believed that in 1048 Harald founded the city of Oslo, the current capital of Norway, although archaeological research has shown that there was a settlement on this site before the year 1000. Harald lived for a long time in Oslo because it was closer to raiding Denmark from there.
Until his death, Harald did not give up his attempts to subjugate Denmark. Almost every year he organized trips to Denmark. Sometimes Sven won the battles, sometimes Harald was stronger. But they could not destroy each other, nor could they completely defeat the army, because the loser recruited new people each time. The war between Harald and Sven lasted 17 years, until finally the kings made peace, and each of them remained with his own.
Meanwhile, King Edward the Confessor of England, who had peace with Magnus, died in 1066, and his brother-in-law Harold became the new king. His brother Tostig was offended, believing that he had no less rights to the throne. He first turned to Sven Estridsson for help, but he wisely decided that he did not have enough strength to fight England. Then Tostig went to Norway to Harald and called on him for help, promising all possible support from the British. Realizing the difficulty of the campaign, Harald, before leaving, proclaimed his son Magnus king. Another son, Olaf, went with him, as well as his wife and two daughters. In the autumn of 1066, Harald landed at the mouth of the Humbert with 5 thousand people and on September 20, near Fulford, defeated the Jorvik army. Many people really joined Harald, primarily Tostig’s relatives. Harald then began to prepare for the siege of York and stationed an army at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, Harold Godvinsson arrived in York with a large army and began preparing for the battle. The battle took place on September 25, 1066. Harald died at the very beginning of the battle: an arrow hit him right in the throat. But the death of the leader only angered the Norwegians. They were close to victory, but could not put the squeeze on the British, since some of the Vikings had recently disembarked from the ships, and the people did not have time to rest before the battle after the transition. In the evening, the British seized the initiative and put the Norwegians to flight. However, this victory turned out to be Pyrrhic for Harold. At the same time, William of Normandy landed in the south of England. Harold was forced, not recovering from his wounds received at Stamford Bridge, to rush south with small forces, where, as is known, he was killed at the Battle of Hastings.
After the defeat of the Norwegians, Olav Haraldsson, who did not take part in the battle (his detachment did not have time to approach the battlefield), was sent home and returned with 30 ships, while 300 ships sailed to England.
Material used from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Harald Gardrada (Brave) - Norwegian prince, later king of Norway. Son of the noble Norwegian Sigurd Sir. Born in 1015, died in 1066. At a young age, he left Norway after the overthrow and death of his half-brother, King Olaf Haraldson. In 1031 he arrived in Rus' at the court of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, joined his squad and participated with his Norwegian detachment in campaigns against the Poles, as well as in collecting tribute. At the age of twenty he moved to Byzantium to serve Emperor Michael IV with 500 soldiers. As part of the Varangian-Russian corps, he participated in the Byzantine wars in Sicily in 1036-1039. He fought with the Arabs, distinguished himself in battles with the Bulgarians during the suppression of the uprising of Peter Delyan and received the title of Spafarocandidate from the emperor. After the death of Michael IV, Harald participated in the overthrow of Michael V and may have been involved in his barbarian blinding. However, after Constantine Monomakh came to power in the empire, the relationship between him and Harald did not work out for some financial reasons. In 1042, Harald secretly fled by sea on his ship from Byzantium to Rus' and there married Elizabeth, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise. Perhaps he took part in the Russian campaign against Constantinople in July 1043, associated with the anti-Russian policy of Monomakh. In 1047-1066 Harald occupied the throne of King of Norway. King Harald Gardrada took part in the attack on England by the Norman army of William the Conqueror, and died at the Battle of Startfordbridge on September 25, 1066, 18 days before the famous Battle of Hastings.
Byzantine dictionary: in 2 volumes / [comp. General Ed. K.A. Filatov]. SPb.: Amphora. TID Amphora: RKhGA: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2011, vol. 1, p. 225-226.
Youth
What young Harald, the son of Sigurd the Pig, did until he was 15 years old, when he took the side of his brother Olaf the Saint at the Battle of Stiklastadir, we do not know. In 1030, when the forces of Olav’s supporters were defeated, Harald fled from the battlefield, first to Sweden, and then completely across the sea - to Gardariki, i.e. to Rus'. He spent three winters visiting “King Yaritsleiv”. Yaroslav took the young warrior into service and instructed him to protect the northern borders of Rus' from the Vikings - Harald's fellow tribesmen, who at that time had been terrifying all of Europe from Ireland to Karelia and from Normandy to Sicily for three hundred years. Information has reached us that in addition to guarding the borders, the future king and his retinue helped Yaroslav in his campaigns against the Poles.
Meeting Elissiv and leaving for Byzantium
During his first visit to Rus' (1031−34), Harald met Elissiv, the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Elizabeth. The warrior was struck by the beauty of the young princess and asked Yaroslav for the hand of his daughter, emphasizing his noble origin and impeccable behavior. However, Yaroslav asked the ardent lover to wait: although the prince himself was not against their union, he was afraid of the reaction of his entourage if he married his daughter to a poor exile who did not have a throne. The prince suggested waiting until Harald proved himself on the battlefield and gained fame and honor. Soon after this, the Scandinavian guest leaves Rus' and goes to Constantinople. They parted with Yaroslav, as the chronicler writes, “best friends.”
Varangi in the service of the emperor
At the height of 1034, Harald's longships landed in Constantinople, where he was warmly received by the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV and his wife Zoe. Harald hid his origin and hired himself as a squad leader. The Scandinavian guest brought with him a detachment of 500 “brave warriors” and was accepted by the emperor into service, to which he devoted 10 long years. Harald was probably the commander of a special detachment in the "foreign legion" of the Byzantines. In the same 1034, Harald already participated in the Byzantine campaign to clear the Aegean Sea of pirates who had filled the seas of the empire after the invasions of the Arabs and Normans. A few years later he arrived in Sicily, where, as part of the Byzantine army, he was forced to fight the Normans - his relatives from the distant shores of Scandinavia. The Greeks won several high-profile victories and, as chroniclers report, largely thanks to Harald and his warriors.
The brother of Harald the Severe was Olav the Saint - the Baptist of Norway
Harald managed to take part in the war with the Bulgarians and even, according to the chronicles, visited the Holy Land either on a pilgrimage or guarding Christian pilgrims. But after another palace coup, the Varangian, who had matured and enriched himself in campaigns, fell into disgrace, was forced to flee from Byzantium and returned to Rus'.
Varangian guard of the Byzantine emperors "varanga". Image from an 11th century chronicle
Return to Rus'
In Rus', Harald was expected not only by his longtime friend Yaroslav, but also by the enormous wealth of Harald himself, which he sent to Kyiv for safekeeping to the prince, since Harald himself could neither send the wealth home nor keep it with him in Byzantium. Around 1042, Harald and his army returned to Rus', where Yaroslav returned the treasures due to him. The chronicler says this about the size of Harald's fortune: “it was such great wealth that not a single person in the northern countries saw anything like it in the possession of one person.”
Viking poet
In Rus', Harald was probably involved in collecting polyudia, but his main business was marrying the prince’s daughter. It is interesting that, in addition to war and robberies, Harald turned out to be a talented poet and even compiled an entire poetry collection, “Visa of Joy,” the stanzas of which were dedicated to Elizabeth Yaroslavna, which is a completely unique phenomenon for that time.
The end of the Viking Age is associated with the death of Harald
The lyrics of the Norwegian king were popular in Russia back in the 18th century, and dozens of translations and transcriptions of his poems into Russian have reached us, many of which deserve attention as separate literary works (for example, “The Song of Harald and Yaroslavna” by A. K. Tolstoy ).
“Muse” Harald Elizaveta Yaroslavna
This is the literary translation of one of the stanzas of “Vis of Joy”:
Trends tripled
In the battlefield,
But we're in the storm of battle
They beat them, chopped them.
Death is a brave lord,
Molod accepted Olav.
I need some thread from Nanna
There is no news from Rus'.
And a literal translation of the same passage:
“The trends turned out to have more troops; we withstood a truly hot battle; When I was young, I parted with the young king who died in battle. However, the girl in Gard does not want to feel inclinations towards me” - here Harald recalls his youth in Norway and the battle of Stiklastadir, where his brother Olav died and talks about the coldness of Princess Elizabeth.
From Greeks to Varangians
Having acquired military glory and rich booty, Harald managed to melt the heart of the proud princess - in the winter of 1043/44 they got married, and in 1044 Harald went to Sweden to compete for the crown of Denmark and Norway. In 1046, he became the king of Norway, but was never able to seize the Danish throne, despite a continuous series of victories; the bonds of Denmark over and over again took the side of the Danish king Sven II.
Harald's poems dedicated to Princess Elizabeth Yaroslavna have reached us.
In 1064, the rivals were reconciled, and Harald renounced his claims to Denmark. In his kingdom, Harald ruled with a firm hand, brutally dealing with all those who were dissatisfied, encouraging trade - in 1048 he founded the small trading settlement of Oslo.
Harald's raid on the Danish coast
March to England and death
After abandoning his claims to Denmark, Harald decided to try his luck in England, laying claim to the English throne. With a large army, he crossed the North Sea and landed in England. Harald's army numbered up to 15 thousand people. At York, the Norwegian forces met the Anglo-Saxons led by King Harold. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold III was killed and his army was routed. Only a tenth of Harold's army returned to their homeland. And just a month after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William the Conqueror defeated Harold at Hastings, and the Viking raids on English lands came to an end.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Such was the end of one of the greatest warriors of his era. A king forced to spend half his life away from home, wandering around other countries. A talented leader and organizer, who also turned out to be an outstanding poet of his time. A man whose life was entirely the fruit of his own labors, who left his descendants a strong state with a strong central government. Harald's death in the midst of battle from an arrow marks the end of an entire era - the Viking Age.
The king was handsome and stately. He had blond hair, a blond beard, a long mustache, and one of his eyebrows was slightly higher than the other. He had long arms and legs, but he was well built.
The Viking was persistent, and in 1042, 27-year-old Harald returned to Kyiv so rich and famous that Yaroslav the Wise believed in the bright prospects of the Norman, married him to the princess and gave all the gold that Harald had sent him for safekeeping.
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Fresco in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv |
In the spring of 1045, Harald set off with an army, a young wife and untold wealth to obtain his Norwegian inheritance. And the lucky Viking succeeded - he won the Norwegian throne. So the Russian princess Olisava Yaroslavna became the Norwegian queen Ellisiv.
Harald immediately took up what he loved - every summer he went to war against Denmark and Sweden, not forgetting to brutally rein in the locals who were dissatisfied with his policies, for which he received the nickname Hardrada (Harsh). Returning home only for the winter, he also did not waste time - after a few years he brought his younger wife (read - concubine) Tora. Yes, formally he was a Christian, but the king needed sons-heirs, and Olisawa gave birth to her husband two girls (presumably twins). The Torah already tried - it gave the king the sons Magnus and Olaf, the future kings of Norway, for the sons of the concubine became legal heirs if their father recognized them.
We don’t know what the exemplary Christian Olisawa felt. But it was she who accompanied Harald on his last campaign, and this says something... However, perhaps I am also romanticizing this story, and everything was much simpler. For example, being confident of victory, Harald decided to rule captured England as a king and marry his daughters to local aristocrats. But how can girls get married without their mother’s guidance?
Harald ruled Norway for 20 years and was considered a powerful and firm ruler with a strong mind, so everyone said that there was no ruler in the Nordic countries who could equal him in the rationality of his decisions. But the blood of the Vikings did not allow us to sit still. When England happened to be left without a king, Harald decided to take over the ownerless country. Leaving Magnus “on the farm” and taking with him Olaf and Olisawa and their daughters, he led the troops on a campaign. He left his wife and daughters in the Orkney Islands and sailed to England.
It seemed that luck was still favoring him - the first battle was won, the north of England was in the hands of Harald. But in his joy, the experienced Viking forgot that the bird of luck must be held tightly in his hands.
A third of the army remained on the ships, the rest rested on the shore.
It was a fine day and very warm. The people took off their chain mail and went ashore, taking only shields, helmets, spears and girding themselves with swords, but many had bows and arrows. Everyone was very cheerful.
The approaching English army took the Vikings by surprise. But a skald remains a skald even in war. Preparing for battle, Harald composed the 1st verse, but then said: This was poorly composed, I need to compose another better one , and he composed the 2nd verse.
Ice floes of bloody crush– swords.
Labor tape- woman ( Work- goddess, daughter of Thor).
Nal monista- Same ( Nal- goddess).
The sound of darts– battle.
In style and versification, the second verse is skaldic, with a characteristic deliberately sophisticated form, but with minimal information.But what art is it to put such a simple text into such an ornate form: “The Goddess ordered to boldly go where the clang of swords is, and to hold your head high in a formidable battle.”
And the first visa is Eddic, simple in form, but containing real details. That's exactly what happened.
The battle was fierce, and many people fell on both sides. Then King Harald became so furious that he stepped forward from the ranks and slashed with his sword, holding it with both hands. Neither helmets nor chain mail were protection from him. Everyone who stood in his way jumped back.
But then the capricious bird-luck left Harald, and an English arrow pierced his throat. The Vikings fought desperately, and almost all of them died.
Mary, the daughter of King Harald, died suddenly on the very day and at the very hour when her father fell.
Olaf managed to return home, and Olisawa and her daughter Ingigerda did the same. Ingigerda will become the Danish queen, and the fate of Olisawa is lost in the darkness of centuries. In that tragic year, she was 41, and Harald was 51.
Harald III the Severe(Harald Sigurdarson (Old Scand. Haraldr Sigurarson), Harald the Severe Ruler, Harald the Terrible, Harald Hardrde (Norwegian Harald Hardrde); c. 1015 - September 25, 1066) - king of Norway (1046-1066). Killed in battle while trying to conquer the English throne. With the death of Harald, the three-century period of armed expansion of the Scandinavian rulers - the Viking Age - ended.
Biography
Youth
Harald, the son of King Sigurd the Pig of Eastern Norway from the Horfager family and Asta Gudbrandsdottir, was the younger half-brother of King Olaf II of Norway. His father took an active part in Olaf's accession to the throne. Already as a child, Harald was distinguished by his warlike disposition. In 1030, when Harald was 15 years old, King Olaf II died defending the throne from Canute the Great. Harald took part in the Battle of Stiklastadir and was wounded, after which he went into hiding and was treated, and then left Norway, moving to Sweden. Next, he formed a military detachment from those who, like him, were forced to leave the country as a result of the death of Olaf II, and in 1031, together with the detachment, arrived in Kyiv, where he entered the service of Yaroslav the Wise.
Rus' and Byzantium
- In 1031-1034, Harald, together with Eiliw Regnvaldson, the son of the jarl (mayor) of Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga) Regnvald Ulvson, took part in Yaroslav's campaign against the Poles and, according to the Scandinavian sagas, was a co-leader of the army.
- In 1034, Harald and his retinue (about 500 people) entered the service of the Byzantine emperor. Harald's squad became part of an elite mercenary force known as the Varangian Guard. Harald quickly proved himself in battle and won the respect of the guards.
- In 1034-1036, Harald took part in campaigns against pirates in Asia Minor and Syria.
- In 1036-1040, Harald's detachment was part of the Byzantine army of George Maniac in the Sicilian campaign. It is believed that he captured one of the Sicilian cities using the same trick that Princess Olga used in the Drevlyan Iskorosten in 946: “he ordered his bird catchers to catch the birds that build nests in the city and fly into the forest during the day in search of food. Harald ordered pine shavings, smeared with wax and sulfur, to be tied to the birds’ backs and set on fire.”
- In 1041, as part of the Varangian Guard, he took part in the suppression of the Bulgarian uprising of Peter II Delyan. According to the Scandinavian sagas and the Bulgarian chronicle, Harald personally killed the Bulgarian king in battle. After these events, he became commander of the entire guard.
- In 1042, Harald and his Varangians took an active part in the palace coup, as a result of which Emperor Michael V Calafate was overthrown and blinded. Then, as a result of intrigue, Harald falls into disgrace. Fleeing from the trial, Harald and his Varangians were forced to flee from Constantinople and took refuge in Kyiv. In the saga of Harald the Severe (XV-XVI verses), after Byzantium Harald returned not to Kiev, but to Holmgrad (this is either Novgorod or a Varangian city between the cities of Ladoga and Kholopy city on the Volkhov River) and he sent the spoils from his Mediterranean campaigns there . It is quite strange that Harald does not mention Kyiv at all, where his beloved Elisif (Elizabeth), daughter of King Yaritsleiv (Yaroslav) in Holmgard, should be located.
During his service in Byzantium, Harald produced a huge amount of gold and precious stones, and over the years he sent part of this production to Yaroslav the Wise for safekeeping.
- In 1043, Yaroslav, “for the murder of one famous Russian in Constantinople” (in Constantinople), sent his son, the Novgorod prince Vladimir, together with Harald on a campaign against Emperor Constantine Monomakh. The campaign ended with peace concluded in 1046.
- In the winter of 1043/1044, Harald became Yaroslav's son-in-law, marrying Elizaveta Yaroslavna (Ellisif in the sagas), with whom he had two daughters - Maria and Ingigerd. Although Harald was a Christian, in 1048 he took Thora, the daughter of Earl Thorberg Arnason, as a concubine, who bore him the future kings Magnus II and Olaf III the Quiet.
