The Death of the Old Norse Gods | Harald Bluetooth

Welcome to the video, don't forget to hit that bell icon for weekly videos on historical figures and stories. If you enjoy the content be sure to subscribe. Today we will explore the life of Harold Bluetooth and how by the end of it the old gods would fade from Scandinavia. It was a transitional time at the height of the Viking Age with many legendary people and forces. King Harold Bluetooth would leave his mark on the world by abandoning the gods of old and embracing a new god. This is his story. Harold Bluetooth was born in around the year 910 and was the son of Gorm the Old, whose grandfather was rumoured to be Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, a semi-legendary warrior. His name was due to the mark in his eye, described as the image of a snake biting his own tail. His father in turn was Ragnar Lothbrok, the legendary Viking king and raider. So Harold came from legendary and noble blood, who were all pagan to the core. Even Ragnar's wife Ulslog was believed to be a sorceress who was the daughter of a Valkyrie. So not only noble but strong pagan blood ran through Harold's veins. His father Gorm the Old was a man of action, taking at least half of his kingdom by force. He was rumoured to be born in the late 800s and would die in 958, apparently living so long he was blind by the time he died. In Gorm's heyday, he established a power base in Jelling in northern Jutland and he began to unite Denmark. Gorm was also a fierce follower of Odin and the Old Gods, so strong were his beliefs that he invaded Friesland in 934 and demolished many churches in the process. Upon Gorm's death, a burial chamber was built for him and he would rest in a mound. Saxo Grammaticus would highlight the end of Gorm the Old's life and the ongoing affairs at the time regarding his sons. Gorm's three sons were Viking in the truest sense, departing Denmark each summer to raid and pillage. Harold came back to the royal enclosure at Jelling with the news that his brother Canute had been killed in an attempt to capture Dublin island. Canute was shot with a coward's arrow while watching some games at night. No one would tell the king in view of the oath the king had made. Queen Thyra ordered the royal hall hung with black cloth so that no one was to say a single word. When Gorm entered the hall, he was astonished and asked what the mourning colours meant. Queen Thyra spoke up, Lord King, you had two falcons, one white and the other grey. The white one flew far afield and was set upon by other birds and it's now useless to you. Meanwhile, the grey falcon continues to catch fowl for the king's table. Gorm immediately understood his queen's metaphor and cried out, my son is surely dead since all of Denmark mourns. You have it, your majesty, Thyra announced. Not I, but what you have said is true. According to the story, Gorm was so grieved by Canute's death that he died the following day. Rumour has it that Canute was Gorm's firstborn and was the heir to his kingdom which explains the king's distress in the story. Nevertheless, Gorm's son Harald would ascend to the throne and things would change drastically in the years to come. Harald would continue his father Gorm's in unifying Denmark under one rule. In this, he was very successful. Already being battle-hardened by his raids and adventures in Dublin, he would also strengthen the fortifications of his kingdom and build numerous ring forts. To everyone, everything seemed well. The kingdom was expanding, great defensive structures were being built, but Harald was opening his mind up to an idea that would change the very fabric of everyone's life. Harald would begin supporting a new policy of the toleration of Christians, allowing Bishop Unni of Bremen and the monks of the Abbey of Corvie to preach the gospel in Jutland. Thus, he allowed and supported the spread of Christianity throughout the Vikings in his kingdom. Some writings claim that Harald Bluetooth was converted when a cleric by the name of Poppa was asked by Harald to prove his faith. Poppa then in front of Harald and many other pagans would carry a heavy iron heated with fire without being burned. After this miracle, Harald would denounce the old gods and would worship Christ. Some could say he was borderline fanatical as he soon dug up the body of his father Gorm the Old and placed his skeleton in a church, but he still left the hill where Gorm the Old had originally been laid to rest as a memorial. This would be the Gellingstones, which were stones with runic inscriptions celebrating his father's conquest of Denmark. They also showed his own celebration of his conversion of Danes to Christianity. Harald was also keen on war, the expansion of his empire needed to continue and he needed powerful allies. In the year 963, he came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy. Harald would also help his nephews reclaim territories in Norway from King Hakon the Good. He was met with serious resistance at first with a savage war raging on with King Hakon. Harald Bluetooth's nephew was Harald Greycloak and they would fight many battles together against King Hakon. The last of them was the Battle of Here, Harald Greycloak and his brothers would surprise attack Hakon and kill him. Harald Bluetooth wanted the Norwegians to accept the Sons of Erid Blood Acts, that's why he backed Harald Greycloak and his brothers. Harald Bluetooth's Christian nephews were now the kings of Norway. Unfortunately, they were heavy handed in spreading their faith and would break up pagan sacrifices and would make life difficult for the pagans. This made a significant unrest in the kingdom and Harald Greycloak would soon stop asking for his uncle Harald Bluetooth's words of wisdom. King Harald Bluetooth was angry as he helped his nephews acquire their kingdom and he was now out of the fold and had no influence, so he formed an alliance with a young Hakon the Powerful who had a blood feud with Greycloak. Hakon soon organised an assassination plot and Harald Bluetooth signed it off. Greycloak was lured into Denmark under the guise of negotiation and peace but was murdered upon his arrival. With his death, King Harald Bluetooth won power back over Norway and he supported Hakon the Powerful as its vassal ruler. So Harald was a serious political player who rarely made mistakes as he was still alive and his rule and influence was bigger than ever, however Harald Bluetooth would also make some errors. In some Norse sagas, the Swedish prince Strybjorn the Strong, the man who had taken over the fabled order of the Jomsvikings, made Harald submit to him. This resulted in him giving Strybjorn his fleet and his daughter Thyra. When Strybjorn went to Sweden to claim the throne from his uncle, Harald Bluetooth broke his oath and fled from the battle. Strybjorn the Strong was described as an uncontrollable, wild, savage and strong warrior who took over the Jomsvikings easily and began to command their forces which was never done again and had never been done before. He ended up being defeated through magic as it's unimaginable that he was defeated through battle as he was so fierce, so it's understandable that Harald had to submit to him. Harald would also attack Saxony in 973 and the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II would counter attack, conquering large parts of Jutland. Harald would only regain the territory in 983 when Otto was defeated by the Saracens, so as well as triumphs, Harald also endured his share of defeats. In the Jomsvikings saga, it conveys the conflict between Harald Bluetooth and his son Swain. It's stated that Swain was Harald's bastard son and the chief of the Jomsvikings fostered and raised him at Jomsborg. Harald would give Swain ships to go raiding but he simply added his father's men to his own personal army, he would later use these forces to usurp his own father. Father and son would soon go to war against one another, a battle on the water would commence but it had no clear victor and in the evening, both armies anchored their ships at the bottom of the creek. Palnatoke soon arrived at the battle in the evening with 24 ships, but he would anchor at the other side of the headland. Palnatoke would go ashore alone, taking his bow and quiver. Night had already fallen and it was dark, and in the distance, Palnatoke saw a fire in the forest and made a detour towards it. Recognising it was King Harald trying to keep warm, he put an arrow in him and King Harald would die. King Harald Bluetooth was the first King of Denmark to receive baptism and spread the word of God. His successor Swain Forkbeard was also a Christian, as were all of his descendants. Since the monarchs were Christian and had abandoned the old gods and the gods of their ancestors, the people in their kingdom would soon follow and as the years passed, the gods of old would fade from this world, no longer being worshipped and their practices would diminish. Thus, the start of the death of old Norse gods all began with Harald Bluetooth, who denounced his faith due to the miracle that he witnessed. Thousands of years of spiritualism, sacrifice and other pagan beliefs would soon be forgotten and persecuted. I hope you all enjoyed the video, if you did, make sure to like, subscribe and share and I will see you all soon for another history profile.