Eirik King of Hordaland
Encyclopedia
Eirik King of Hordaland was a king of Hordaland
, then a petty kingdom
in southern Norway, in the late 800s. Eirik was the father of Gyda
. Eirik lead the first attack against Harald Fairhair
at the Battle of Hafrsfjord
. Defeated by Harald, Eirik fell; many of his allies were also killed in the battle.
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
, then a petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
in southern Norway, in the late 800s. Eirik was the father of Gyda
Gyda Eiriksdottir
Gyda Eiriksdottir of Hordaland, was a legendary Norwegian Viking age queen consort, according to the sagas the first queen of united Norway....
. Eirik lead the first attack against Harald Fairhair
Harald I of Norway
Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...
at the Battle of Hafrsfjord
Battle of Hafrsfjord
The Battle of Hafrsfjord has traditionally been regarded as the battle in which western Norway for the first time was unified under one monarch.The national monument of Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord...
. Defeated by Harald, Eirik fell; many of his allies were also killed in the battle.