Editing Eric Bloodaxe (section)

==Family background==

===Father===
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (MS E) describes Eric laconically as ‘Harold’s son’ (''Haroldes sunu'').<ref name="ftn6">''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ''(MS E) 952; Henry of Huntingdon, ''Historia Anglorum'' V.22: 'Hyrc filium Haraldi'. Other Haralds known from this period include Aralt mac Sitric (d. 940, ''[[Chronicon Scotorum]]'' AD 940), the father of Maccus and Gofraid (Arailt), and Harold Bluetooth.</ref> In the early part of the 12th century, [[John of Worcester]] had reason to believe that Eric (''Yrcus'') was of royal Scandinavian stock (''Danica stirpe progenitum'', a phrase used earlier for the Hiberno-Norse ruler of Northumbria, [[Sihtric Cáech]]).<ref name="ftn7">John of Worcester, ''Chronicle'', ed. Thorpe vol. 1, pp. 30 (Sihtric), 135 (Eric).</ref>

This appears to match with independent tradition from Norwegian synoptic histories and Icelandic sagas, which are explicit in identifying Eric of Northumbria as a son of the Norwegian king [[Harald Fairhair|Harald (I) Fairhair]].<ref>Sverrir Jakobsson has recently argued that the evidence on Harald Fairhair is circumspect, and he should more properly be treated as a mythological rather than a historical figure, cf. „„Erindringen om en mægtig Personlighed": Den norsk-islandske historiske tradisjon om Harald Hårfagre i et kildekritisk perspektiv", ''[[Historisk Tidsskrift (Norway)|Historisk tidsskrift]]'', 81 (2002), 213–30.</ref> The skaldic poems ascribed to Egill Skallagrímsson may offer further reassurance that the sagas are on the right track, although doubts have been expressed about the date and integrity of the verses in the form in which they have survived. One of Egill's ''lausavísur'' speaks of an encounter in England with a man of "Harald's line" (''Haralds áttar''), while the ''[[Arinbjarnarkviða]]'' envisages a ruler at York (Jórvik) who is a descendant of [[Halfdan the Black|Halfdán]] (''Halfdanar'') and of the [[Yngling]] dynasty (''ynglings burar'').<ref name="ftn8">Egill Skallagrímsson, ''Lausavísur'', stanza 26; ''Arinbjarnarkviða'', stanzas 3, 4 and 12.</ref> If genuine, the latter identification would form the only direct clue in the contemporary record which might link Eric with the Norwegian dynasty.

Another Harald known from this period is [[Aralt mac Sitric]] (d. 940), king of Limerick,<ref name="ftn9">''Chronicon Scotorum'' AD 940; ''Annals of the Four Masters'' AD 938.</ref> the probable father of [[Maccus mac Arailt|Maccus]] and [[Gofraid mac Arailt|Gofraid]]. This may be relevant, since both these brothers and a certain Eric have been described as rulers of 'the Isles' ([[Hebrides]]) (see below). In a letter addressed to [[Pope Boniface VIII]], [[King Edward I]] (r. 1272–1307) remembered a certain Eric (''Yricius'') as having been a king of Scotland subject to the English king.<ref>''quodam Yricio rege super ipsos Scotos statuto'' "a certain Eric installed as king over the Scots". Downham, ''Viking kings.'' p. 116 and 116 n. 49.</ref>

In the 19th century, a case had also been made for [[Harald Bluetooth]] King of Denmark (d. 985) as being Eric's true father. [[J.M. Lappenberg]] and [[Charles Plummer (historian)|Charles Plummer]], for instance, identified Eric with Harald's son Hiring.<ref name="ftn10">J.M. Lappenberg (tr. B. Thorpe), ''A History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings''. 1845. 152. Cf: J.H. Todd, ''The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill''. London, 1867. 266–7.</ref> The only authority for this son's existence is [[Adam of Bremen]], who in his ''Gesta'' (''c''. 1070) claims to cite the otherwise unknown ''Gesta Anglorum'' for a remarkable anecdote about Hiring's foreign adventures: "Harald sent his son Hiring to England with an army. When the latter had subjugated the island, he was in the end betrayed and killed by the Northumbrians."<ref name="ftn11">Adam of Bremen, ''Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum'' II xxv (§ 22), tr. Francis J. Tschan, ''History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen''. New York, 1959. pp 70–1.</ref> Even if Eric's rise and fall had been the inspiration for the story, the names are not identical and Harald Bluetooth's ''floruit'' does not sit well with Eric's.

===A brother?===
In the account cited in the Latin text of the North Sagas entitled, ''Morte Rex Eilricus'' (The death of King Eirikr){{dubious|reason=Mangled Latin, only Google search hits seem to be clones of this article.|date=June 2024}} which had been copied long ago from the annals of the lost York Chronicles, the author provides the details of the events leading to Eric (Eirikr or Eirik) Bloodaxe's death "fraudulently, treacherously betrayed by Earl Osulfus" ([[Osulf I of Bamburgh|Osulf, Earl of Bamburg]]) "...&nbsp;was killed by Earl Maccus&nbsp;... at the [[Battle of Stainmore|Battle of Steinmor]]&nbsp;... and there fell Eirikr, with his sons and brothers and all his army&nbsp;... and his brother Reginaldus [Latin for Ragnald or Ragnvald] ... His son was also known as: Henricus or Haericus [Latin form] and brother as Ragnald or Reginaldus [Latin form] ... together with his son Henricus" whom the commentator [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] in 1981 documentary TV series "In Search of the Dark Ages" (in the episode "In Search of Eric Bloodaxe") identifies as 'Harékr' (from the Latin ''Haeric'' or ''Henricus'' or ''Haericus'') "and brother Ragnald" (from the Latin ''Reginaldus'').<ref>''In Search of the Dark Ages '' ([[BBC Television]] documentary presented by Michael Wood): episode ''In Search of Erik Bloodaxe'' (released on 26 March 1981), in which he reads off the Latin transcription of the actual text of the Sagas.</ref> Historians have been struck by the correspondence with these names in ''Fagrskinna'', which says two of the kings who died with Eric in his final battle against Osulf (Olaf) were called Harékr and Ragnvald, although they are not identified as relatives there<ref name="ftn12">Campbell, "Two Notes". p. 97.</ref> they certainly are identified as his son (''cum filio'' – meaning: 'with his son') and his brother ({{lang|la|et fratre}} – meaning: 'and [his] brother') in the North Sagas.
===Mother and half-brothers (sagas)===
Further details on his family background are provided solely by the Icelandic and Norwegian sources of the 12th and 13th centuries, which are of limited and uncertain historical value and should therefore be treated with due circumspection.<ref>See Sverrir Jakobsson, „„Erindringen om en mægtig Personlighed": Den norsk-islandske historiske tradisjon om Harald Hårfagre i et kildekritisk perspektiv", ''[[Historisk Tidsskrift (Norway)|Historisk tidsskrift]]'', 81 (2002), 213–30.</ref> Harald 'Fairhair' is usually portrayed as a polygamous and virile king, the number of his sons varying between 16<ref name="ftn13">''Historia Norwegiæ'', tr. Kunin, pp. 14–5.</ref> and 20.<ref name="ftn14">''Ágrip'' ch. 2; ''Heimskringla ''ch.</ref> While Eric's mother remains anonymous in the synoptic histories (''Ágrip'') and most of the Icelandic sagas,<ref name="ftn15">''Ágrip'' ch. 2; ''Fagrskinna'' ch. 3.</ref> the ''Heimskringla'' (''c''. 1230) claims that she was [[Harald Fairhair|Ragnhildr]], daughter of Eric, king of (South) Jutland.<ref name="ftn16">''Heimskringla'' (''Haraldar saga'') ch. 21; likewise, ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'' ch. 2. Three ninth-century kings of Jutland called Eric appear in Rimbert's ''Life'' of Anskar (introduction and ch. 26).</ref> The possibility that Harald had married a Danish princess may find some support in a skaldic stanza which is usually assigned to [[Þorbjörn Hornklofi]]'s ''[[Hrafnsmál]]'', a eulogy on Harald's deeds in the form of a conversation between a raven and [[valkyrie]]. It tells that Harald "chose the lady from Denmark [''konu danska''] / broke with his Rogaland loves / and his lemans of Horthaland, / the maidens of Hálogaland / and of Hathaland eke."<ref name="ftn17">''Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál)'', ed. R.D. Fulk. [http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=poems&id=436 Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901083235/http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=poems&id=436 |date=1 September 2007 }}, tr. Hollander, ''Heimskringla'' ''(Haraldar saga)'' ch. 21. The stanza is ascribed to Þorbjörn Hornklofi in ''Heimskringla (Haraldar saga)'' ch. 21 and ''Flateyjarbók'', but to Þjóðólfr of Hvinir later on in ''Flateyjarbók''.</ref> In the ''Flateyjarbók'', it is preceded by another stanza which refers to the "handmaidens of Ragnhildr" (''ambáttir Ragnhildar'') as witnesses of the event. However, it is uncertain whether her name was already in the original composition, as another manuscript reading has the metrically regular ''ambáttir Danskar''.<ref name="ftn18">Note that Fulk has adopted the reading ''Ragnhildar''.</ref> The account of ''Heimskringla'', which claims that Harald had enjoyed the company of eleven consorts before Ragnhildr, and that of ''Egils saga''<ref name="ftn19">''Egils saga ''ch. 36, which says the Eric was relatively young when most of Harald's sons were of mature age.</ref> are at variance with the suggestion elsewhere that Eric was one of the oldest (''Fagrskinna''), if not the eldest son of Harald (''Historia Norwegiæ'', ''Ágrip'').<ref name="ftn20">''Fagrskinna ''ch. 3; ''Historia Norwegiæ'', tr. Kunin, p. 14; ''Ágrip'' ch. 2 (specifying in ch. 5 that Haakon was nearly twenty when he returned to Norway); ''Orkneyinga ''Saga ch. 8. The succinct account by Theodoricus ch. 2 has nothing to say on the matter.</ref> Whatever one makes of the discrepancy, the sagas – including ''Heimskringla''&nbsp;– are unanimous in making Haakon Eric's younger half-brother and successor.