Halvdan "den Svarte" Gudrodsson

  General Notes:

Born: Cir 820, Vestfold, Norway
Marriage: (1): Ragnhild Haraldsdatter about 850
Marriage: (2): Ragnhild Sigurdsdatter about 860
Died: 860, Stein, Ringerike, Norway at age 40
Cause of his death was drowning.
General Notes:
Vi har kun Snorres ord for at Halvdan Svarte hørte til Ynglingeætten. Han skal ha vært sønn til Gudrød Veidekonge og Åsa, og dermed en yngre halvbror av Olav Geirstadalv. Geirstad er antagelig Gjekstad i Sandar. Dette er nabogården til Gokstad, der en svær skipshaug ble gravd ut i 1880, og grunnen der haugen lå, har antagelig i sin tid tilhørt Gjekstad. En høvding i 50-60 års alderen lå i skipet, og dateringen kan passe, slik at det kan være fristende å tenke på Olav. Tradisjonen kaller ham Geirstadalv.Det er merkelig lite i overleveringen som knytter Harald Hårfagre til Vestfold. Vi må likevel bli stående ved, som det rimeligste - siden det ikke finnes spor av noen annen opprinnelse i overleveringen - at Halvdan Svarte virkelig var et skudd på Ynglingeætten i Vestfold. Men han kan ha tilhørt en nordligere gren. Saga og sagn knytter ham først og fremst til Ringerike og Hadeland, og den sikreste tradisjonen om hans grav er den som sier at han ble hauglagt på Stein på Ringerike. Vi regner altså med at han rådde for et ikke ubetydelig rike på Vest-Opplandene, men at han også har fått Vestfold i sin makt - vel etter at Ragnvald Olavsson på en eller annen måte er forsvunnet ut av bildet.Halvdan Svarte skal ha vært gift med Ragnhild, datter av en kong Harald Gullskjegg i Sogn. Han omkom på vårparten 860 under en tur på isen på Randsfjorden.From Snorre Sturlasson: Halvdan Svarte [Halfdan the Black] Saga:"1. HALFDAN FIGHTS WITH GANDALF AND SIGTRYG.Halfdan was a year old when his father was killed, and his mother Asa set off immediately with him westwards to Agder, and set herself there in the kingdom which her father Harald had possessed. Halfdan grew up there, and soon became stout and strong; and, by reason of his black hair, was called Halfdan the Black. When he was eighteen years old he took his kingdom in Agder, and went immediately to Vestfold, where he divided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother Olaf. The same autumn he went with an army to Vingulmark against King Gandalf. They had many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory; but at last they agreed that Halfdan should have half of Vingulmark, as his father Gudrod had had it before. ...""9. HALFDAN S DEATH. Halfdan the Black was driving from a feast in Hadeland, and it so happened that his road lay over the lake called Rand. It was in spring, and there was a great thaw. They drove across the bight called Rykinsvik, where in winter there had been a pond broken in the ice for cattle to drink at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the thaw had eaten it into holes. Now as the king drove over it the ice broke, and King Halfdan and many with him perished. He was then forty years old. He had been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good seasons. The people thought so much of him, that when his death was known and his body was floated to Ringerike to bury it there, the people of most consequence from Raumarike, Vestfold, and Hedemark came to meet it. All desired to take the body with them to bury it in their own district, and they thought that those who got it would have good crops to expect. At last it was agreed to divide the body into four parts. The head was laid in a mound at Stein in Ringerike, and each of the others took his part home and laid it in a mound; and these have since been called Halfdan's Mounds."_______________________________________Halfdan the Black Gudrødsson (820-860) was the father of the first King of Norway Harald I and of the House of Yngling.His father was King Gudröd the Hunter.The saga of Halfdan the Black tells the following story:Halfdan's mother was named Asa. She was the daughter of King Harald of Agder. When Halfdan's father was killed, Asa took the year-old Halfdan and returned to Agder, where Halfdan grew up.In 838, when he was eighteen years old, Halfdan became king of Agder. He quickly began adding to his kingdom through political negotiation and military conquest. He divided the kingdom of Vestfold with his brother Olaf and, through military action, persuaded King Gandalf of Vingulmark to cede half his kingdom.Next, Halfdan subdued an area called Raumarike. To secure his claim to Raumarike, Halfdan first defeated and killed Sigtryg, the previous ruler, in battle, then defeated Sigtryg's brother and successor Eystein in a series of battles. This established Halfdan's claim not only to Raumarike, but also to half of Hedemark, Sigtryg and Eystein's core kingdom.Halfdan first wife was Ragnhild, daughter of King Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard) of Sogn. Halfdan and Ragnhild had a son named Harald after his grandfather, and they sent him to be raised in his grandfather's court. Harald Gulskeg, being elderly, named his grandson as his successor shortly before his death. Ragnhild died shortly after her father and the young king Harald fell sick and died the next spring. When he heard about his son's death, Halfdan traveled to Sogn and laid claim to the title of king. No resistance was offered and Halfdan added Sogn to his realm.The sons of Gandalf of Vingulmark, Hysing, Helsing, and Hake, attempted to ambush Halfdan at night but he escaped into the forest. After raising an army, he returned and defeated the brothers, killing Hysing and Helsing. Hake fled from the country and Halfdan became king of all of Vingulmark.Halfdan's second wife was also named Ragnhild. She was the daughter of Sigurd Hjort, king of Ringerike. She was kidnapped from her home by Hake, a berserker who encountered her father in Hadeland and killed him. In turn, Halfdan had her kidnapped from Hake so that he could marry her. Ragnhild and Halfdan had a son who was also named Harald.Halfdan died when he fell through the ice of a lake that had been weakened by cattle dung after a hole was cut in the ice for the cattle to drink. Each of the districts of his kingdom wanted to claim his grave. In the end, it was agreed to divide his body into four pieces so each district could bury a piece of it, resulting in Halfdan's Mounds.
Noted events in his life were:
• He was a King circa 850 in Norway.
Halvdan married Ragnhild Haraldsdatter, daughter of Harald Gulskeg of Sogn and Unknown, about 850. (Ragnhild Haraldsdatter was born about 830.)

Halvdan married Ragnhild Sigurdsdatter, daughter of Sigurd "Hjort" Helgasson and Tyrne av Jutland, about 860. (Ragnhild Sigurdsdatter was born about 830 in Ringerike, Norway.)