Hello,
In order to be as transparent with you as possible, I feel I should inform you guys that I'm studying history at a university level. It is, however, with a wish of improving my own understanding on the subject I ask this question, and it is not related to any school assignment or project. My problem is as follows (I've added some context to my question. The question itself is italicised):
Harald Fairhair was, according to Moseng et al.^1 , son of Halfdan Svarte, king of Opplandene and perhaps Vestfold. This would tie Harald Fairhair to the eastern parts of Norway, and the consensus among older historians placed Harald here. Among the oldest was Snorre Sturlason, whom I presume my own sources are based upon. We also believe that Harald Fairhair's mother was Ragnhild Haraldsdatter, daughter of Harald Gullskjegg, king of Sogn. This is where modern historians typically place Harald Fairhair, and this notion is backed by Haraldskvedet, possibly written by Harald's own hirdskald, in which it is indicated that Harald was a "sea-king" (sjøkonge)^2 , which would most likely place him on the west coast of Norway. Add to that Glymdråpa, which describes him as being a great viking-chief^2 , and it would seem that the strongest sources available support that Harald was, in fact, a king of the west.
My problem appears when I proceed to read about "who fought at Hafrsfjord?". Here my textbook again uses Haraldskvedet as a source, but now to support that Harald was an "eastland-king" (østlandskonge) fighting other eastmen^2 .
Was Harald a king of both the eastern Opplandene, and of the western Sogn? Did he inherit both his father's and his grandfather's kingdom?
I should add that I don't expect a direct answer, and that I appreciate any answer that can point me in the direction of understanding this subject better.
Thank you for your time.
Sources:
^1 Moseng et al. "Norsk historie 750-1537". Universitetsforlaget, 2007. Page 61.
^2 Moseng et al. "Norsk historie 750-1537". Universitetsforlaget, 2007. Page 62.
I am also quite sure that the primary source of your source would have to be Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, which, to be honest, you could just read instead, since there is not much else to go on for that area of Norwegian history. ;) I really recommend it, actually - cut out the middleman!
I am aware that there have been some attempts to correlate Snorri's account with archeological findings (such as burial mounds, which would point to important families etc.), but it is obviously difficult to establish these connections.
I should also point out, owever, that I am purely a scholar of Old Norse Literature & Culture, so i can't really evaluate more archeological / historical approaches.
Anyway, if English is your language and if you want a somewhat dated but comprehensive appraoch to the topic, I would as a first step recommend Pulsiano et al. 1993 'Medieval Scandinavia' to you. The reason for this is that in there you will find articles on Harald, on his Skald Þorbjörn hornklofi and the poems Haraldskvæði and Glymdrápa, on Heimskringla (Snorri's history) and its sources, etc. all in one place, including relevant discussions and literature. (pre 1993, sadly, but it's a good start.)