The Hairfair dynasty is traditionally regarded as the first royal dynasty of the united Norway, a branch of Ynglings. It was founded by king Haraldr hinn hárfagri around AD. 890. Its last ruler was (according to traditional royal genealogy) Olav 4. who died in 1387. But its more likely that only three generations of Fairhair rules were in power. January 2006 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → 31 January 2006 (Tuesday) U.S. President George W. Bush delivers the State of the Union Address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate). ... For other uses, see Yngling (disambiguation). ... Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair (Old Norse:Haraldr hinn hárfagri, Icelandic:Haraldur hinn hárfagri, Norwegian:Harald HÃ¥rfagre) (c. ... Olaf IV Haakonsson, (1370 - August 23, 1387), King of Norway and Denmark, son of Haakon VI of Norway and Margaret of Denmark. ...

The concept of a "Hairfair dynasty" is probably an invention from the later mediaeval period, when rivalry between throne pretenders made it appropriate to trace royal lineages back to the 9th century in order to gain legitimacy for their rule. According to the medievalist Claus Krag, the claim that Norwegian kings after the 10th century was descendants of Harald Hairfair dates from about 1150. The Norwegian kings constructed a false genealogy to the Fairhair dynasty in order to claim the territories around Oslo ("Vika"), which most of the time had been paying taxes to the Danish kingdom. Claus Krag (born 1943) Norwegian historian and medievalist. ...

The Hairfair dynasty 930-1030

• Members of the Hairfair dynasty ruled for 40 years
• Lade Earls acting as vice-kings under the Danish king for 41 years.
• The kings Óláfr Tryggvason and Oláfr hinn helgi. Their family ties with the Fairhair dynasty probably a 12th century invention, ruled for 18 years.

Olav Tryggvason (969 - September 9, 1000) was a great-grandson of Harald Hairfair He began his meteoric career in exile as his ancestors fled from the executions of the royal family by Eric Bloodaxe. ... Olaf II Haraldsson (995 – July 29, 1030), king from 1015–1028, (known during his lifetime as the Stout and after his canonization as Saint Olaf), was born in the year in which Olaf Tryggvasson came to Norway. ...

Sources

The life of the Fairhair dynasy kings is recorded by the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson in Heimskringla written about 1225. Snorri Sturluson (1178 â€“ September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ... Heimskringla is the Old Norse name of a collection of sagas recorded in Iceland around 1225 by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1242). ...

Debate

Real rulers? Many of the Norwegian kings of the Hairfair dynasty were in fact Danish vice-kings (or tribute paying rulers), a fact later concealed when Norwegian national history was written in the 19th century. Tha sagas also conceals that until the rule of Olav II, the Ladejarl dynasty from the Northern part of Norway actually held more power in large parts of Norway than the rulers of the Hairfair dynasty. Since the rulers belonging to the Hairfair dynasty eventually won the power struggle, history was written as if the whole Norwegian kingdom had been under the rule of the Hairfair kings. Some provinces did not come under the rule of the Hairfair rulers before the time of Harald III. Olaf II Haraldsson (995 – July 29, 1030), king from 1015–1028, (known during his lifetime as the Stout and after his canonization as Saint Olaf), was born in the year in which Olaf Tryggvasson came to Norway. ... Harald III Sigurdsson (1015 – September 25, 1066), later surnamed Harald Hardråda (Norse: Harald Harðráði, roughly translated as Harald stern council or hard ruler) was the king of Norway from 1046 until 1066. ...

Genealogy Many of the claims by royal pretenders to belong to the Hairfair dynasty are obvious falsehoods (most notably Sverre Sigundson). Sverre Sigurdsson (Old Norse Sverrir Sigurðsson) (c. ...