Editing Harald Hardrada (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Harald Hardrada saga ancestry.png|thumb|Harald's ancestry according to the younger sagas. Individuals whose existence is disputed by modern historians are in ''italics''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vikingtid og rikssamling 800–1130|series=Aschehougs norgeshistorie|volume=2|author=Krag, Claus|publisher=Aschehoug|location=Oslo|year=1995|pages=92–93 & 171}}</ref>]]
Harald was born in [[Ringerike (traditional district)|Ringerike]], Norway,<ref name="vikingerikrig284">Hjardar & Vike (2011) p. 284</ref> in 1015 (or possibly 1016){{efn|name=birth}}<ref>Halvor Tjønn (2010) ''Harald Hardråde'' p. 13 ISBN 978-82-430-0558-7</ref> to [[Åsta Gudbrandsdatter]] and her second husband [[Sigurd Syr]]. Sigurd was a petty king of [[Ringerike (traditional district)|Ringerike]], and among the strongest and wealthiest chieftains in the [[Uplands, Norway|Uplands]].<ref>Tjønn (2010) p. 14</ref> Through his mother Åsta, Harald was the youngest of three half-brothers to King [[Saint Olaf|Olaf Haraldsson]] (later Saint Olaf).<ref name="SNL">{{Cite web|url=http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Harald_3_Hardr%C3%A5de/utdypning|title=Harald 3 Hardråde|language=no|author=Krag, Claus|access-date=30 July 2012|work=[[Norsk biografisk leksikon]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020001633/http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Harald_3_Hardr%C3%A5de/utdypning|archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> In his youth, Harald displayed traits of a typical rebel with big ambitions, and admired Olaf as his role model. He thus differed from his two older brothers, who were more similar to their father, down-to-earth and mostly concerned with maintaining the farm.<ref>Tjønn (2010) pp. 15–16</ref>

The Icelandic sagas, in particular [[Snorri Sturluson]] in ''[[Heimskringla]]'', claim that Sigurd, like Olaf's father, was a great-grandson of King [[Harald Fairhair]] in the male line. Most modern scholars believe that the ancestors attributed to Harald Hardrada's father, along with other parts of the [[Fairhair dynasty|Fairhair genealogy]], are inventions reflecting the political and social expectations of the time of the authors (around two centuries after Harald Hardrada's lifetime) rather than historical reality.<ref name="SNL"/><ref>See, for example, [[Joan Turville-Petre]], "The Genealogist and History: Ari to Snorri", ''Saga-Book'' 20 (1978–81), pp. 7–23 ([http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Saga-Book%20XX.pdf pdf]), [[Claus Krag]], ''Ynglingatal og Ynglingasaga: en studie i historiske kilder'', Oslo: Universitetsforlaget 1991, {{OCLC|256562288}} {{in lang|no}}, and Knut Helle, ''Cambridge History of Scandinavia'', Volume I, ''Prehistory to 1520'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-47299-7}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PFBtfXG6fXAC&q=This+long+dynastic+line+was+to+become+a+keynote pp. 185], [https://books.google.com/books?id=PFBtfXG6fXAC&q=is+just+a+fairy+tale+which+leaves 191].</ref> Harald Hardrada's alleged descent from Harald Fairhair is not mentioned and played no part during Harald Hardrada's own time, which seems odd considering that it would have provided significant legitimacy in connection with his claim to the Norwegian throne.<ref name="SNL"/>

Following a revolt in 1028, Harald's brother Olaf was forced into exile until he returned to Norway in early 1030. On hearing news of Olaf's planned return, Harald gathered 600 men from the Uplands to meet Olaf and his men upon their arrival in the east of Norway. After a friendly welcome, Olaf went on to gather an army and eventually fight in the [[Battle of Stiklestad]] on 29 July 1030, in which Harald took part on his brother's side.<ref>Tjønn (2010) pp. 17–18</ref> The battle was part of an attempt to restore Olaf to the Norwegian throne, which had [[Cnut's Invasion of Norway|been captured]] by the Danish king [[Cnut the Great]] (Canute). The battle resulted in defeat for the brothers at the hands of those Norwegians who were loyal to Cnut, and Olaf was killed while Harald was badly wounded.{{sfn|Blöndal|2007| pp=54}} Harald was nonetheless remarked to have shown considerable military talent during the battle.<ref>DeVries (1999) p. 25</ref>