Harald I of Scandinavia (A United Scandinavia)

Harald Fairhair (Old Norse: Haraldr Hárfagri (literally "Harald Fair-hair") ; c.  850 – c.  932) is remembered by medieval historians as the first Emperor of Scandinavia and the only King of Norway. According to traditions current in Scandinavia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930. Most of his life remains uncertain, since the extant accounts of his life in the sagas were set down in writing around three centuries after his lifetime. A few remnants of skaldic praise poems attributed to contemporary court poets exist which seem to refer to Harald's victories against opponents in Norway and Sweden. The information supplied in these poems is inconsistent with the tales in the sagas in which they are transmitted, and the sagas themselves often disagree on the details of his background and biography. Two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, succeeded Harald to become emperors of Scandinavia after his death.