Harald III Sharpened ( Dat. Harald 3. Hen ; 1040/1041 - April 17, 1080 ) - King of Denmark from the Estridsen Dynasty, son of King Sven II Estridsen . In 1076, after the death of his father, he was elected king on the thing and carried out a number of reforms - in particular, monetary and judicial. On the whole, his rule was calm and quiet. Harald did not leave any heirs, the next monarch of Denmark was his brother Knud IV Saint .
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 Harald III in the representation of the artist of the XVII century. | |
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Biography
Harald III was born around 1040/1041 [1] . His father was the Danish king Sven II Estridsen , his mother was the concubine of Sven Gunhild Sveinsdottir . Harald participated in the last Danish raid on England in 1069 along with his father, uncle and brother Knud [2] .
After the death of Sven II in 1076, his two sons claimed the throne: Harald and Knud . Harald [3] [4] was elected king at the ting in Isore on the Isa Fjord . The newly elected king took oath vows, the so-called Harald Laws , outlining in them his principles of governing the country [5] . His rule is described as peaceful, despite conflicts with his younger brothers, Knud and Eric , who claimed the Danish throne and enjoyed the support of King Olaf III of Norway in the struggle against the power of King Harald [1] . Harald III maintained good relations with the Catholic Church and the pope . Several letters of Pope Gregory VII addressed to Harald III are known in which he advised the King of Denmark to share power with his brothers. The pope also wrote to Olaf III of Norway, so that he would not help the Harald brothers in the violent overthrow of the king [5] .
Harald’s power depended heavily on the support of the Danish aristocracy. Despite very limited powers, the king carried out several important reforms. In particular, he transformed the Danish monetary system by establishing mints in Ribe , Viborg , Lund and Schleswig [2] . Thus, a clear system of minting Danish coins was created. Under him, the system of measures and weights in the kingdom was streamlined [3] , logging in the royal lands was allowed. The king also reformed the judicial system, abolishing the horde , the court by duel and established a court on the English model, forcing the parties to take the oath in their testimony [1] . The letters of Harald III to Pope Gregory with a request to establish an archbishopric in Denmark have been preserved. However, the diocese in Denmark did not appear at that time [5] .
King Harald died on April 17, 1080, having been on the throne for about four years. He was buried at , in Skane . The king was married to his cousin Margarita Hasbjørnsdotter . Harald did not leave any children, and therefore the throne was inherited by his brother and rival Knud IV the Holy [2] .
Value
Saxon Grammatic wrote that Harald III was known for "his love of idle life." He added that Harald was famous only for his love of religion, preferred to spend time at divine services and did not monitor the implementation of laws that he issued, which he condoned with criminals [4] .
Some historians, for example, , appreciated the role of the king and his transformation. They considered him a good and just ruler [1] .
King Hen’s nickname means “whetstone”. According to one version, this indicated the gentleness of the character of the monarch. This nickname was probably given by Knud's supporters [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Stefan Pajung. Harald Hén ca. 1040-1080, (Danish) . Aarhus University (April 13, 2018). Date of treatment November 25, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Harald Hen (Hein) // Dansk Biografisk Lexikon . - 1893. - Vol. VII [I. Hansen - Holmsted]. - P. 74.
- ↑ 1 2 Alastair H. Thomas. The A to Z of Denmark . - Scarecrow Press, 2010 .-- S. 209. - 564 p. - ISBN 9780810872059 .
- ↑ 1 2 Saxon Grammar. Acts of the Danes. In 2 volumes. Volume 2. Books XI-XVI. - M .: Russian panorama, 2017 .-- S. 22-24. - (Mediaevalia: medieval literary monuments and sources). - ISBN ISBN 978-5-93165-369-3 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Harald 3. Hen at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi