Comments (206)

This guy is the main character in the RPG that is our world

Also the strongest ruler in Crusader Kings 2

laughs in Basil I

Well... There's more than meets the eye with Harald. Strict stats put him about 3rd. But his mother can be made a shieldmaiden day 1. And she's proper good at it. He gets access to better retinue than the two rulers out-statting him. There's more but I'm on mobile and typing this much was enough.

Who are the other 2 rulers?

I'd believe they're Alp Arslan and William the Bastard

*Ahem* It's William the Conqueror to you, peasant.

Not yet

-signed Harold Arrow-eye

This post was made by the Norman gang

C I V I L W A R

Hmm, well I'm in between semesters....

start date and location for this dude?

Norway, 1066. He starts at war against England and is hostile against the duke of normandy. Also, he's so old it's really hard to change sucession laws before your realm splits

Succeeding in stabilizing would make for a very fun North Sea Empire game though.

Alternatively play as King ~~Cnut~~ Sweyn of Denmark who had strong claims on both England and Norway and buy your time building up before invading both.

Is there a start where you can play Cnut?

My bad. It should be King Sweyn II who had the strong claims at 1066. I must have mixed up him and the two King Cnut's where he got the claims from. AFAIK you can't play as Cnut the Great in vanilla CK2.

I thought so. He’s in that weird in between period like Szent Árpád Isztvan Király, who I really wish I could play.

You’re talkin mad shit for someone in Haesteinn distance

This guy is literally a Skyrim character. All that's missing is a level -2 bandit still picking a fight with him and acting like he will win

Never should have come here!

Harald Hårdråde: sighs, draws sword

You forgot the lines: FUS RO DAH

Too bad he loses in the end to someone who doesn’t even last a month after said battle.

Assassin’s Creed: Norse Gods

Got killed next to a bridge because he didn't think the English could march fast enough and the English channel was too stormy for William to invade.

Before that though, he crushed some English Earls with good strategy (the Battle of Fulford).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fulford

yeah I was about to say the way he went out didn't do him justice lol

Reminds me of the death of Cesare Borgia.

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/death-cesare-borgia

Such an inglorious death for such a decorated, and feared, field commander.

Despite how badly the Vikings lost at Stamford Bridge, you gotta respect whoever this guy was (and also the one who killed him):

"The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has it that a giant Norse axeman (possibly armed with a Dane Axe) blocked the narrow crossing and single-handedly held up the entire English army. The story is that this axeman cut down up to 40 Englishmen and was defeated only when an English soldier floated under the bridge in a half-barrel and thrust his spear through the planks in the bridge, mortally wounding the axeman."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stamford_Bridge

No mere man wielded an axe with such ferocity. A true Berserker, whether real or not.

Amon Amarth just released a new album with the title track being about this guy.

RemindMe! 18 hours "band I've never heard of that could be cool but for anyone reading this I can't listen rn so I'm setting a reminder just in case"

Amon Amarth is like a heavier version of Sabaton, but about Viking stuff. You're in for a treat!

Ooo that sounds fun

It’s melodic death metal so it might take some getting used to if you aren’t into metal yet

Sounds cool, tganks

I will be messaging you on 2019-05-05 22:26:45 UTC to remind you of this link.

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

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There's a similar story from the finnish war. In the battle of koljonvirta the finnish/Swedish army was being pushed back by the Russians over a river, the other Finns/swedes retreated onto the other side of the bridge to get reinforcements while a man named Sven Tuuva stayed on the bridge and held off the Russians with a musket and a bayonet all by himself. When the others arrived with reinforcements Sven was killed but the sight of the reinforcements forced the Russians to retreat.

I love this story, especially as Sven was considered dim-witted and after he was found dead with a bullet to the chest General Sandels said something along the lines of "That bullet hit the right place, had it hit him in the head, he would not have died."

Yes! Sven was told to be a bit of a loser too, a guy who never really succeeded in anything or achieved anything great. Which makes his story even more heroic.

From almost killed to becoming king, in Norway alone.

Temujin has something to say

Napoleon would like to speak with you. They did almost execute him for being a Jacobin early in his career.

Napoleon started life as an officer and lived in a society that had written language and builds not made out of fur. Temujin didn't have any of that, was sold into slavery and yet conquered the most landmass in human history vs countries militaries that outnumbered his total population.

[deleted]

Harald Hardrade was playing CKII. Temujin was playing Mount and Blade.

laughs in my ass off

Actually, the British conquered the most landmass 🇬🇧🇦🇮🇦🇺🇻🇬🇰🇾🇨🇰🇫🇰🇲🇸🇳🇿🇳🇺🇵🇳🇬🇸🇸🇭🇹🇨

I was talking about a single individual.

Absolute mad lad

*tfw a bunch of saxons who marched from london to stamford bridge very very quickly game end you*

The real MVP

Don't forget his death at Stamford Bridge is used to mark the end of the Viking Age.

You can’t fool me, this is a Warband character

He probably drunk from someone's skull at some point

He’s just using cheats to teleport around the map

Got killed after outsourcing his battle to one viking

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t this the same Harold that died fighting Harold Godwinson trying to take the Anglo-Saxon crown?

People like to shit on Godwinson for losing to the French (the normans werent really French though) but the chad had literally marched across half the country, killed the megachad, marched all the way back and then fought the Normans. No wonder he lost

Assuming that the Megachad title can only be transferred through defeat in combat and primogeniture, does that make the Queen (Elizabeth II) the Megachad?

Oh absolutely.

Elizabeth the 1st and Henry VII were the megachads of the era

What makes Godwinson even more of a chad is that he nearly won the Battle of Hastings (had his shield walk held on to their discipline, who knows what England’s future would’ve looked like.

The Elder Scrolls VI

Well he was Norwegian, so wouldnt that be Elder scrolls V? Cuz you know, skyrim

no, skyrim is based in skyrim fuckingn idyot

Which is based around the northerners.

it was a joke

"He amassed a Treasure so Vast from the Emperor that when he returned home he was the richest man in all of Scandinavia"

Probably not a high bar given the wealth distribution of the period

A very high bar in snow town but not in Constantinople maybe.

Other way around, “not a high bar in a snow town but a very high bar in Constantinople maybe”

Yeah but this was in the olden days when you had plenty of free time

Nowadays the only things I have time to do is browse Reddit and be depressed

Evidence we need more ancient biopics

If Norwegians just was like him today. My poetry suck, brewing heck no, horse riding nah mate, swimming does 50 meters count, skiing every Norwegian can that, shooting cant even hit the trash can, rowing and harp we let out king do the rowing and who the heck playing harp

Ah, jeg ser du er norsk som faen også.

Hehe helt riktig

I bet the king can play a harp

Skal vi få mestret det, da!

Altså kjøpt meg utstyret og jeg skal brygge øl og sprit, resten er ikke viktig

The guy should be a video game protagonist, would make for an extremely interesting/bat shit crazy game.

ERROR: Not enough natiolanism, norwegians too humble, norwegians too okay

How tf did this guy loose to Godwinson?

A storm in the English Channel

A mistake. After crushing the Northern English defense army at Fulford, he had expected at least a week of free hands since Godwinson was on the south coast patrolling for William the Bastard and most of the military forces in the Midlands were demobilized. Once he received the surrender of York, he expected all the lords of Norse ancestry and possibly some English upset about Godwinson’s powergrab, to join forces with him. With numerical parity with King Harold’s armies, he could rush down the Roman Road at Watling Street and take London with minimal resistance. From there he would have a secure base of operations from which to give battle to Harold Godwinson and to march on the capital at Winchester. To prepare for this, he had ordered his scouts to break off from their normal patrols to forage for supplies for the march, while he attended the surrender ceremony for Northumbria. Problem was this left him unaware that Harold Godwinson had broken off from his route in the south and force marched his troops up Watling Street in just three days and nights, his outriders gathering what they could of the Midlands militias. Reaching York the night before the surrender ceremony, they informed Godwinson where it would be, and the next day he ambushed Harold with half of his army at Stamford Bridge. Expecting a surrender, most were not wearing armor and many did not have their shields and were only carrying their sidearms rather than spears. The slaughter was predictable, though the Norse reinforcements badly mauled Godwinson’s army in their rage, likely contributing to the English King’s defeat at Hastings the following month.

He mastered brewing!!

ALCHEMY 100

LEVEL UP

(huoh, huoagh, HWAH)

Ah.....so this is what a Minmaxd character looks like in real life....

All in ironman mode too!

What an absolute Chad, even went out like one too with an arrow to throat while going berserk

If only he had used his shouts, I bet he could've Fus Roh Dah'd Harold off that bridge

Dude, he should've totally used Become Ethereal to become invincible

Mastered shooting? In the 11th century? We're talking bow and arrow I assume?

Nah we are talking bout AK-47

We're talking the TMX-21 Kaligrian Cannon from the planet Ghaialia

[deleted]

2.3 miles is 3.7 km

[deleted]

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In NBA 2k17

Plasma rifle with a 40 watt range.

joined the Varangian Guard

GUARDS OF GLORY AND OF MIGHT

RED AS BLOOD AND BLACK AS NIGHT

The whole album is about him

Btw you might think he was revered as a king when he was a varangian but actually, he was considered no more than a rich mercenary by the byzantine

Well he wasn't a king then, but they were well aware of his nobility and of his half brother king Olaf who was killed at Stiklestad. In the Strategikon of Kaukamenos he is praised for his deeds, loyalty and character, even though he escaped Constantinople after being refused to leave by the empress. That's some respect right there.

Its Hardråde you English degenerate shakes fist

Harðráði in Old Norse.

Harald Chadrada

Looks like your average Mount and Blade character.

Personally I also consider what I do to be preventing the second American civil war

Is your name Floyd Olson? If not ypu aren’t preventing the second American Civil War.

Maybe he is Charles Curtis, the true Great Negotiator!

Ssshh, my prince sleeps now.

So, when does the new series start!?

Well this is hardly fair, because to him his work was his hobbies...

Did he take any days off

Your seas are unprotected, friend...

Basically the Dragonborn from Skyrim.

I also watched the oversimplified video

somebody make a movie about him n o w

and if there is, tell me

Not one about his whole life. There are some books. I myself wrote began to write a historical novel about him at one point, though the publisher made me drop the project in favour of a different one.

I wish I knew about this guy when I needed to write my English I STAAR Test Essay

Yeah? Well I too can... swim.

He learned that from his father, who punished him severely

This man is an inspiration

ivan the boneless

Is this the same Harald in Civ 6?

Ha he's my ancestor so bow down to me.

I would do this if it was still cool to rape and pillage, but for some reason that's not PC anymore

Sleep: 0

Things were dull before TV and internet. Had to do something to pass the time.

Tried to invade England

Gotta find a book about him now

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimskringla You can read about him in this book if you can find it in English.

All done in a shorter lifespan than most modern people.

This kind of stuff always makes me wonder how exaggerated some things in history are, but we will never know. No possible way he actually mastered all 8 of those skills. Mastering something takes a long long time and several years of dedication. With all those other things going on, no one could find that kind of time.

Invaded England

And also died fighting Harold Godwinsson. Besides, William of Normandy would have killed him in battle had he not died.

guy was so hardcore they had to name him twice

Is king harald in vikings based on him?

Nope, different Harald, the Harald in vikings is loosely based on Harald Hårfagre.

No that’s Harold finehair/fairhair who created Norway, This Harold was later

Edit: idk if I just spoiled the show or not but historically Harold forms Norway so I think he needs to win some more wars on the show

he sure is real Renaissance man!

Honestly the most impressive thing on there has to be mastering the harp

Not bad

Holy shit! Before reading this all I knew was that he was the shitty runner up in the battle for England’s crown. Who said r/historymemes wasn’t a good learning tool.

How can u "master" poetry?

My guess is he learnt the basics and everyone around him who read his poems were impressed. Shit likes to be exaggerated

He could do the drápa, the most advanced form of Norse poetry. Very few non-professionals could do it at the time.

Anyone know what the consequences would have been had he won?

Personal union between England and Norway, possible restoration of the North Sea Empire. England had a much larger population and would probably have revolted within a few generations.

r/GetMotivated

Also invented Bluetooth...

What a unit

Was a Reniassance man before the Reniassance.

I swear to God those captions start moving everytime I start reading

doesn’t that count as both work and a hobby

Always said that if anyone needs a tv show it’s this guy

The rightful king of England

finally some good content

I've been to the Tigris, so I'm basically just like him.

Well he didn’t have to go to school

Absolute madlad

Some people just go on to do a lot of things. Like that guy who was an astronaut, doctor, and navy seal.

Top ten best Mount and Blade builds.

Like a real life video game character.

When did he have time to play the harp??

Can we get an F for Harald during the Battle of Stamford Bridge?

I swear doing all of that shit ain't possible, not even in CK2

Shooting ? Im guessing thats for bow.

r/OverSimplified

That man was an absolute fucking god.

Honestly surprised he didn’t win at Stamford bridge.

They probably had no reddit back then

Hey, they made Mount & Blade into a real thing lmao

I just wrote a biography on him last month for my history class, the way he escaped Constantinople is hilarious.

r/madlads

I'm a simple norwegian. I see a viking meme: I upvote.

His surname has that battle drum tune in it

Har dra da

Why did i think i was in r/crusaderkings

You had me at pirates!!

Not only did he joined the Varangian guard, he also acted as its chief for several years.

I find the last of Sabaton song about this guy disturbing.

Yeah that's great. But could he decide what to watch on Netflix? or what to get from a take away?? Doubtful.

Lost to an inferior Harald.

Now I know what my next CK2 campaign will be

And look at norway now

Skyrim 2- real world history

This guy be on some mount and blade type shit

A true renaissance man.

Must be nice being a natural genius

For all these traits he sucks in Civ VI

Mr.Worldwide

I read King Harald's Saga for a class. It's pretty good.

White people now: mayo is spicy

He did all this only to be killed on a lonely island that’s only considered European because white people live on it.

Ehhmmm, why wouldn’t you consider Iceland as a European country? What other continent does it belong to?

He means England.

Nah, he means Iceland.

But Harald died in England...

Oh shi. Well that kind of makes my point. The guy commenting that he died in a country that isn’t really European, is retarded.

I mean, what else is Britain, American? Asian? African??