Harald Hardrada The Battle of Nisa 1062 AD DOCUMENTARY

After fifteen years of exile, Harald Hardrada had finally returned home to cash in on his hard-earned gold and glory. Within a year of campaigning, he had wrestled partial control of Norway from his nephew, and within just another year, rose to become sole king of the realm. He would rule with an iron grip, brutally snuffing out rivals, and waging constant war on his neighbors. The title Harald the Harsh Ruler was well-earned. But after twenty years upon the throne, his boundless ambitions would turn to one of the greatest gambles of his life. A play for Denmark, a play for England, a play for the crown of the entire North Sea Empire. If you'd like to lead your own ancient army, you can do so with our sponsor Conqueror's Blade. It's a free-to-play PC game with tactical MMO action, set in a vast open medieval world. 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Harald Hardrada had finally taken full control of Norway in 1047. Much of his reign was spent consolidating his position at home whilst making continued war against Denmark. Yet besides these seemingly all-consuming matters, the sagas report that he still had time for other ventures. For instance, sources claim that he was a master of sailing, rowing, horse riding, swimming, skiing, shooting, brewing, poetry, and playing the harp. In addition, he is even said to have had the time to launch his own expeditions into the unknown reaches of the north, traveling to the quote, dark failing boundaries of the savage world, and only barely managing to escape from this dark abyss after peering over its ledge. Some scholars have even posited that Harald knew of and even sought out the recently discovered lands of Finland which lay to the far west of Iceland. But while he was not off on some adventure, the king was building a dynasty at home. This had begun with his Kievan Rus wife Elisaveta who bore him two daughters, Ingegerd and Maria. In 1048 however, he would take on a second wife by the name of Tora Torberg's daughter. She was a member of the powerful Kiskajärten family and their union seems to have been a strategic move to shore up the king's base of support. But it also proved fruitful as Tora would soon bear him two sons, Magnus and Olaf. Such progeny were of sturdy stock and would eventually grow to be monarchs of their own right. But that was far into the future. For now their father would be busy carving out a corner of the world for them. This would primarily take the form of his ongoing campaigns against Denmark. These had been raging for nearly 15 years at this point. For the most part it seems that the Norwegians were the ones taking the offensive. To this end they established a strong base of operations out of Oslo, which the sagas claim Harald had founded. From here supplies could be stockpiled and expeditions organized for each season's raids and anti-piracy patrols. Yet the Danes proved resilient and elusive in their defense. After all, Strain was a shrewd commander himself, who managed to turn the tables on the invaders on multiple occasions. One year he even nearly ended the war outright. At the time Harald and a small warband were making their way through the Danish isles, menacing and raiding the locals as usual. However, these invaders were encountering stiffer resistance than usual. Town garrisons turned out to meet them at every turn, and the people were not cowed by his saber rattling. This war had gone on for so many years that by now raids were just another seasonal threat that the common people had learned to cope with. Having thus been rebuffed, Harald and his men put to shore on a small island in the Limfjord area in search of water. Unfortunately there was none to be found. Thus, so the sagas say, Harald ordered his men to find a snake. When one was found he told them to hold it near the fire so that it would become overheated and dehydrated. Once the snake was sufficiently parched, a string was tied to it and the creature was released. Harald and his men then followed the uncoiling ball of twine until it disappeared down a hole in the ground. Here he ordered the men to dig. The trick worked, and there they found more than enough water for all of them. Yet as the invaders hunted snakes and resupplied, Svein arrived at the mouth of the fjord with a massive force. The king of Norway was trapped. Like a cornered animal, he retreated instinctively deeper into the fjord. Here the enemy would be slowed and unable to bring its full force to bear. Harald considered his options. The first was to ditch the boats and flee onto land. However, this would leave them as fugitives in hostile territory, which would surely see them hunted down. The other option was to make a stand at sea. While certainly a glorious way to go, this was unlikely to end in victory and would cut short any dreams of yet greater glories in the future. Neither option was looking good. Luckily however, Harald would discover a place along the fjord where the bounds of their cage thinned. His crew managed to escape Svein's grasp until nightfall and then, under cover of darkness, carried their ships over this isthmus. In this way they cut through the trap, slipping away into the North Sea and reportedly calling back to mock the bewildered Danes they had left behind. Such was the interminable game of cat and mouse which defined this war. Ultimately, these raids and counter-raids were draining to both sides, but both leaders were too prideful to simply let the matter go. There had to be a winner. Thus there emerged a desire by both kings for ending the war with a single decisive action. This officially came about in 1061 when Harald issued a formal challenge. The Norwegians and Danes were to assemble their war hosts and settle this matter once and for all. In anticipation for this climactic fight, Harald commissioned a new flagship meant to demonstrate his wealth and power. This pride of the North would take its place at the head of a formidable army. If this was to be the final battle, Harald would take no chances. The great king therefore bent his considerable might to levy the whole of Norway. It took them the entire winter to gather. But finally, one spring day the might of Norway sailed down the river Nid and went to meet the Danes in battle. The sagas recall these events as follows. It was upon a Saturday, ship tilts were struck and stowed away, and past the town our dragon glides, that girls might see our glancing sides. Out from the Nid brave Harald steers, westward at first the dragon veers. Our lads together down with oars, the splash is echoed round the shores. Their oars our king's men handle well, one stroke is all the eye can tell. All level o'er the water rise, the girls look in sweet surprise. Such things they think can e'er give way, the little know the battle day. The Danish girls who dread our shout, might wish our ship gear not so stout. Tis in the fight, not on the wave, that oars may break and fail the brave. At sea beneath the ice-cold sky, safely our oars o'er ocean ply. And when at Trondheim's holy stream, our seventy cars in distance gleam, we seem while rowing from the sea, an urn with iron wings to be. Making up this grand fleet were a variety of ships. Though they ran the full spectrum in size and complement, scholars have roughly grouped such Norse vessels into classes. The smallest were the Carvey longships. Roughly 20 meters long and boasting around a dozen crew, they were used as a general purpose vessel for ferrying supplies or handfuls of troops. While these ships occasionally saw combat, they were usually reserved as a support role. The Snakeye longships, meanwhile, were about 25 meters long with a crew of around 40, which served as the standard warship for most of this period. The Skade longships were larger warships which ran about 30 meters long and might have had crews as high as 80. They were the true heavy hitters of combat, meant to overwhelm the enemy through brute force. The final tier of warship were the Drakkar or Dragon longships. Though none have survived, our records indicate that they were ornately decorated and may have extended as far as 45 meters with crews easily over 100. We are told that when Harald sailed to the appointed battlefield, he did so with the force of around 150 professionally manned warships with another roughly equal-sized complement of non-professionals and yet more support troops. However, when the appointed time of the showdown came, Spain was nowhere to be seen. Harald took this as a sign that the Danes were scared of a fight and were instead busy mounting a defense. Having thus won the battle out of forfeit, he dismissed the non-professional troops to return to their farms for the season. No need to incur economic losses at home or slow the veterans down from the raiding they would soon unleash upon the Danish lands. However, just as Harald's forces slipped over the horizon, a new set of sails appeared. Spain had arrived. He brought with him 300 ships, twice that of the remaining Norwegians. It's a number far too convenient to take at face value, but nonetheless we can assume that the Danes held some measure of numerical superiority. Many of Harald's captains urged him to fall back. No honor compelled them to entertain such foul play. They should regroup with the fleet at home and try once more later. But Harald shut them all down. This was his chance to finally meet Spain face to face. Delaying would only let the Danish king slip away once more. The sagas state the following, quote, with falcon eye and courage bright, our king saw glory in the fight. To fly, he saw, would ruin bring, on them and him, the Falken king. Hands up, the arms, to one and all, cries out the king will win or fall. Sooner than fly, heaped on each other, each man shall fall across his brother. And so he signaled the fleet to deploy for battle. Harald ordered his force into a line of battle with command being split under three banners. In the center was the king himself with his retinue of professional troops. Jarl Hakon Iversen and his personal levy commanded the right, while the Trondelag men held the left. All were grizzled veterans of many years, and Harald knew that his best shot at victory was to force a fight in close quarters. Thus, he had the entire center of the formation lash their ships together. This would prevent them from being picked apart by a more numerous foe. It also had the effect of forming an enormous platform upon which to fight a land battle at sea. However, Harald also knew the dangers of immobility and left his wings, in particular that of Hakon, free to skirmish and form a protective screen along the flanks. Seeing this, Sweyn also began to lash his own center together, where he, his earls, and the bulk of the elite forces would be concentrated. Owing to the great numbers of the Danish forces, they had many more ships left over, which either added depth to the front line or were used to form a vast screening force on the flanks. It took hours for both sides to finish their preparations. We are told that while the fleets had come into visual contact in the early morning, it was not until mid-afternoon that battle commenced. This must have been a dramatic affair. Initially, the free-rowing vessels would have darted forward and begun to trade blows at a distance, giving cover for the great lines of lash ships to slowly paddle towards one another. Eventually, however, these two came within bowshot. At this point, the skies darkened with a hail of arrows, slingstones, and javelins. But the momentum of the mass battle lines could not be slowed. They drifted through the killing fields and came crashing into one another. So say the sagas, quote, Our king, his broad shield disregarding, More keen for striking than for warding, Now tells his lads their spears to throw, Now shows them where to strike a blow. From fleet to fleet so short the way, That stones and arrows have full play, And from the keen sword drop the blood Of short-lived seamen in the flood. This carnage in the center must have been unimaginable as men on ships were trapped with nowhere to go but meet their fate. Affairs on the flanks were more fluid, but equally deadly. Here, the elite forces of Haakon proved unstoppable, running down and butchering any crew that came within their grasps. Thus the ranks of the Danes quickly turned to flight and evaporated before them. Yet he received reports that the affairs on the opposite flank were much reversed. Haakon therefore diverted his troops to this faltering side and gave such an assault that the enemy was repulsed. In this way did the battle continue, with Harald's men slowly grinding through the center while Haakon's divisions circled around the melee, picking off stragglers and reinforcements. Even still it was an incredibly hard-fought battle that dragged on until the night. But finally, as the last rays of sun fell upon the blood-soaked decks of the heaving warships, the Danes began to break. Under the light of the stars, Svein's fleet quite literally unraveled as each longship freed itself from the fighting platform and rode frantically for home. It is now that Harald and his men cut their way through to the Danish king's flagship. It was said that the entire crew was slaughtered until the deck was cleared. However, among the dead and dying, there was no sign of Svein. Thus, even after such a stunning and unexpected victory, Harald would be denied his true prize. For now, he would have to be sated by pursuing the shattered remnants of the Danish fleet and plundering a battlefield which was clogged with the lifeless carcasses of over 70 ships. In the aftermath of battle, Harald made an attempt to press his campaign, but received word that Svein had made it back to the mainland and was marshalling a great force of survivors and reinforcements. The Norwegians had just won against great odds, but asking them to repeat such a miracle was courting disaster. Harald therefore chose to retire with his head still held high. Though the people praised him for the victory, it was said by many that Hakon was the true hero of the battle. This began to chip away at the king's nerves. However, he would truly lose his temper when a secret was revealed. Legend tells that several months later, it was among a group of men drinking that one of Hakon's soldiers let it slip that it was his liege who had shown Svein clemency and brought him safely to land. This admission quickly made its way through a series of informants to the king's ear. Immediately, he summoned 900 men and rode night and day to kill the traitor. Luckily, Hakon had his own informants who tipped him off and allowed him to escape into the night. A fuming Harald wished to make an example of the disloyal subordinate and is said to have attempted to collect taxes in the Upland region, making it his. These responded by renouncing their allegiance to the king, and a revolt broke out. It is perhaps due to this unrest that Harald was forced to abandon his quarrel with Svein and sign an unconditional peace. Thus, after nearly two decades of fighting, they agreed that everything would remain as it had been before the war ever started. This allowed Harald to return to his troubles at home. The iron-fisted tyrant burned farms, raided villages, and pursued Hakon, ultimately crushing the former vassal in a pitched battle in southern Sweden. This latest wave of suppression, coupled with the Danish Treaty, finally led to a moment of some peace. The kingdom was once again firmly under Harald's control, and he could now steer it as he saw fit. Naturally, this would mean renewed war, but it was not to be to the south that he now turned. Rather, it would be to the west, to England, that his ambitions drove. Thus, in 1066, Harald launched one of the greatest invasion fleets the North had ever seen. As Norse boots hit English soil, they would embark on the last great campaign of this legendary ruler that would see him forever etched into the history books. 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