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"He must gain the victory before whom the banner is borne."
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Harald III (c. 1015 – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald Sigurdsson or by his epithet Hardrada (meaning "hard ruler"), was king of Norway from 1046 until his death, also known for leading the Byzantine Varangian Guard, and for his invasion and attempted takeovers of Denmark and England. He leads the Norwegians in Civilization VI.

Harald wants to recruit his own mercenaries to establish his Varangian Guard; with these mercenaries he receives large yield gains when defeating his opponents.

This is one of Harald Hardrada's two alternate personas, the other being Konge Harald Hardrada.

Intro[]

All men fear the approach of your ships, King Harald of Norway, Thunderbolt of the North. Your longboats dominate the waves, always at the ready to unleash their berserker armies on an unsuspecting shore. May Odin bless your kingdom and may the skalds sing tales of the victories of your mighty warriors.

In-Game[]

Harald Hardrada's unique agenda is Harald's Saga. He likes civilizations who have Suzerainty with city-states, and dislikes those who have little or no Suzerainty over city-states.

His leader ability is Varangian Guard. He receives a 75% discount when levying units from city-states and his units cost 2 less Gold Gold maintenance, and his Stave Churches grant 1 Influence points Influence point each. From Civilization VI: Rise and Fall onward, beside the bonuses above, any unit defeated by one of his levied units awards him with Faith Faith, Culture Culture, and Science Science equal to half of the defeated unit's Strength Combat Strength.

Detailed Approach[]

Befriend City-States with Harald to create a large army worthy of Valhalla. When Harald levies units from City-States, cheaper with his unique ability, he receives large amounts of Faith Faith, Science Science, and Culture Culture from killing enemy units. The Stave Church further helps his Faith Faith generation which, if you go with the Monarchy government, allows the purchase of more units for his army. Norway’s Knarr ability allows Harald to send his large army across the Ocean easily since he gains early ocean traversal and ignores embarkation penalties. The Berserker gives his army an extra punch when you unlock the Military Tactics technology. His best victory is Domination, but he can use his military might for any victory.

Lines[]

Harald Hardrada is voiced by Atli Rafn Sigurðsson. He speaks Old Norse with some anachronistic modern Icelandic pronunciations. For instance, the vowels y and æ are pronounced incorrectly as they have changed quite a bit from Old Norse to modern Icelandic.

Voiced[]

Codename Quote (English translation) Quote (Old Norse) Notes
Agenda-based Approval Honor demands we stand firm when our thralls are threatened, and you and I are both people of honor. Mikill skipaafli... þat er fǫgur sjón. The voiceovers for the Varangian persona's Agenda-based Approval and Disapproval lines are identical to those for the Konge persona; only the subtitles are different.
Agenda-based Disapproval A good king is one who cares for those who would be his jarls. You are no good king. Sjór þinn er varnarlaus, vinr minn. Árás væri auðveldaverk.
Attacked This will make a great saga! The skalds will sing of my valor! (lit. "You suppose you are to control the fire you have started. No-ho-ho-ho... No! It is too great for you!") Þú ættir þik eldinum eiga stjórna er þú hefir kveikt. Ne-he-he-he... Nei! Hann er þér of mikill!
Declares War Now comes a storm you cannot escape. You can only hope for a quick death. (lit. "To victory! To Odin's halls!") Til sigrs! Til halla Óðins! Harald was actually Christian and, according to his Saga, had believers in the old custom put to death, so this and other references to Norse mythology would have been out of character for him.
Defeated So, I will join the einherjar in Valhalla and feast, while you toil away here. Ferk at sitja sáttr einherjum saman í Valhǫllu, meðan þú herkir hér.
Greeting Harald Sigurdsson stands before you: a Viking unlike any the seas and lands have ever known. Hah, are you afraid? Haraldr Sigurðarsonr stendr fyrir þér: aldregi var víkingr slíkr lands né lagar. Hah, ertu hræddr?
Quote from Civilopedia He must gain the victory before whom the banner is borne. Sá mun hafa sigr er merkit er fyrir borit. This is a quote by Harald Hardrada in his saga from Heimskringla (Part I, Chapter 22) by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). The English line is taken from a translation by Samuel Laing and the Old Norse line is directly from the saga.

Unvoiced[]

Delegation: I have sent you traders with gifts of rune stones. They are powerful - the stones, not the traders.

Accepts Delegation from Player: Your delegation has arrived. We welcomed them with a feast in the longhouse.

Accepts Player's Declaration Of Friendship: Friend? Yes, I am a friend.

Rejects Player's Declaration Of Friendship: No, not for all the treasure in Asgard.

Requests Declaration of Friendship: In all my travels I have never met someone as great as I am until I met you. Let us be friends, then.

Player Accepts Declaration of Friendship: Thank you, friend.

Trade Deal Accepted: Thank you, friend.

Denounced by Player: Hah, I’ve burned kingdoms for lesser insults. You'll pay for this.

Denounces Player: There will be no place for you at Odin's table. You are a disgrace.

Too Many Troops Near His Border: I don't remember asking to see your troops, are you that hungry for war?

Invitation to Capital: I have travelled far and wide, but I have never seen your capital. Tell me of it.

Invitation to City: Tell me, friend: would you like to visit our nearby city? It is no Bilskirnir, but it is nice.

Accepts Player's Invitation: Thank you, my friend.

Civilopedia entry[]

Never satisfied, Harald – later given the epithet Hardrada (loosely meaning “hard ruler”) by his own people – King of Norway tried to claim the Danish crown in 1048 AD (and several times thereafter) and then the English crown in 1066 AD. His quest for the latter was his undoing. But before his death at Stamford Bridge, Harald Hardrada had certainly led an expansive life, travelling to distant lands… and killing people there.

Harald Sigurdsson was born around 1015 AD in Ringerike to Asta Gudbrandsdatter and her second husband, Sigurd, one of the wealthiest chieftains in Scandinavia. Harald spent his youth as most Viking lads did – roughhousing, plying willing Viking maidens, and dreaming heroic dreams. He was the youngest of three half-brothers to King Olaf (canonized a year after his death). The revolt in 1028 forced Olaf into exile in Kievan Rus, from which he returned two years later to regain his throne. During those years the half-brothers, notably Harald, had been whipping up support among the Norwegian chieftains. In the ensuing battle at Stiklestad against the Danish King Cnut (the “Great”), Olaf was killed and Harald wounded.

Having recovered in Sweden, Harald arrived at Novgorod among the Rus with some 500 men and was welcomed warmly by Grand Price Yaroslav “the Wise.” Being sorely in need of fierce warriors and a military leader, Yaroslav wisely welcomed the still-young Harald. For the next few years Harald took part in Yaroslav’s military campaigns, against the Poles in 1031, against several unruly vassals, against the Penchenegs and other nomads. Seeking greater fame and especially wealth, Harald moved on south to Constantinople to take service in 1034 with the Byzantine Empire as so many Vikings did while wandering.

As a commander in the Varangian Guard, Harald saw action first against Arab pirates in the Mediterranean and on land against their supporters in Asia Minor. According to the skald Arnorsson, who later set down the saga of Harald (likely at his bequest, so the facts may be somewhat exaggerated), by 1035 he commanded all the Guard, served Emperor Michael IV faithfully, fought in battles around Jerusalem, led a Byzantines military expedition to Sicily, and enjoyed a bunch of other adventures. All of which made Harald very, very rich (what with all the plunder and the rewards from the emperor). In 1042, he returned to the Rus, there marrying Yaroslav’s daughter Ellisif now that he had status and much money.

But all this wandering about and killing people had made Harald home-sick. Cnut’s sons had abandoned Norway to adventure in England, leaving Olaf’s bastard Magnus the Good on the throne. Harald returned to Sweden, rallied an army there, and began raiding the Danish holdings along the Baltic coasts. In 1046 AD, a compromise was reached between Harald and Magnus (perhaps good but not so wise) whereby they would share the rule of Norway – although Harald had to also share half his considerable wealth with the bankrupt Magnus. Two years later, Magnus conveniently died, without a male heir; but the good king decided on his deathbed to divide his kingdom, putting Sweyn Estridsson on the Danish throne and leaving Harald on the Norwegian. Harald was not pleased, and spent the next two decades at war with Sweyn trying to “regain” the throne of Denmark.

Every year, Harald – now nicknamed “Hardrada” – would pillage the coasts of Denmark as he had in the good ol’ days, slaughtering the locals and burning everything that couldn’t be carried back to Norway by ship. In 1048 he ravaged Jutland, and the next year he sacked Hedeby, at the time the most important trading center in Denmark. And so it went for years. But it wasn’t all death and destruction under Harald; he revised the legal code, explored the northern fringes of his lands, and worked to accelerate the spread of Christianity across Scandinavia so all those pagans he was slaughtering could go to Heaven. He also established a standard coinage for Norway, perhaps so he could increase the taxes. Always a stickler for taxes, he travelled through his realm in winter, accusing farmers and merchants of not paying; his standard punishment was maiming or executing the offender on the spot, so his reign was more solvent than many. Harald eventually even came to terms with Sweyn, signing an unconditional peace in 1064 between the two Viking kingdoms.

It was about this time that Harald’s designs fixated on the crown of England, just across the North Sea. Upon the death of heirless Harthacnut, son of Cnut and supposed king of England (or at least a large part of it) in 1042, the throne there passed to Edward the Confessor. Harald was busy at the time securing the throne of Norway, so didn’t pay much attention. When Edward died in January 1066, however, Harald Hardrada laid claim to the English throne, and was mightily annoyed when Harold Godwinson, one of Edward’s advisors, was proclaimed instead. The reasoning for Harold’s claim to Britain, though convoluted, seemed to make sense to the Vikings.

While kings of their respective lands, Harthacnut and Magnus had agreed that should either die, the other would inherit his kingdom to add to the great “Viking Land.” As Harald had become joint king of Norway with Magnus before the latter’s death, Harald argued that the agreement extended to him as well. It was high time that, with the death of Edward in England, the English lived up to the agreement. When they didn’t, he raised an army and sallied forth.

Harald allied with Tostig Godwinson, Harold’s brother, who was peeved that he himself had been stripped of the earldom of Northumbria by old Edward before he died, as well as the Viking earls of Shetland and the Orkneys and even some men from King Malcolm of Scotland. All told, Harald reportedly had about 9,000 troops (others were off plundering, pillaging and generally raising hell) under his direct command when he captured York and then moved south. Harold, who’d been hanging about in southern England awaiting the Norman invasion led by William, now lurched northward with about 15,000 men, including a number of armored knights. These were the difference when the two bumped into each other near Stamford Bridge. In the melee, the unarmored Harald Hardrada was struck in the throat by an arrow and died as he had lived: charging into battle against daunting odds.

Trivia[]

  • Varangian Harald Hardrada's leader ability is named after the Byzantine elite unit composed mainly of Norse mercenaries, while his leader agenda references the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas written by Snorri Sturluson about the lives of different Nordic kings, including Harald.
  • Harald Hardrada's diplomacy screen presents many longships near a shore at sunrise.
  • Historically, Harald Hardrada was a Catholic, but Varangian Harald's preferred religion is Eastern Orthodoxy in-game. This likely reflects the religious views of the Byzantine Empire, which Harald served at this point in his life.
    • This also makes Varangian Harald the only leader with a different preferred religion than his other persona.
  • Harald Hardrada's wife, Elisiv of Kiev, was the granddaughter of Anna Porphyrogenita, sister to Basil II.
  • Harald Hardrada is the ancestor of Wilhelmina and Kristina.
  • This persona represents Harald between 1033 and 1042, when he led the Byzantine Varangian Guard.

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Persona_Spotlight-_Harald_Hardrada_(Varangian)_-_Civilization_VI-_Leader_Pass

Persona Spotlight- Harald Hardrada (Varangian) - Civilization VI- Leader Pass

Persona Spotlight: Harald Hardrada (Varangian)

Related achievements[]

Varangian Guard
Varangian Guard
Win a regular game as Harald Hardrada
The Varangian Guard was as an elite unit of the Byzantine Army, from the 10th to the 14th centuries, whose members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. These warriors were mostly Norsemen from Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

See also[]

Civilization VI Leaders [edit]
Leaders
Personas
1 Requires DLC
R&F-Only Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
GS-Only Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.
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