100K views · 1.5K reactions | Harald Fairhair unified Norway after making a legendary vow to not cut his hair until he was king. #history #vikings #historyfacts | Earthly Wonders | Facebook

Gunnhild—often remembered as Gunnhild “Mother of Kings”—stands at the dark heart of early Norwegian politics, where family, vengeance, and legitimacy were sharper than any sword. The problem is that much of what we “know” about her comes through sagas written by male authors long after her lifetime, and those sources frequently frame powerful women as dangerous: witches, manipulators, poisoners. With Gunnhild, that labeling is practically the point. What can be said with confidence is that she w

Halfdan the Black (Halvdan Svarte), father of Harald Fairhair, was one of Norway’s first great kings — a real historical ruler from the mid-800s. According to Heimskringla, when Halfdan died after falling through the ice on Randsfjorden Lake, his men faced a grim dilemma. The ice cracked under his funeral procession, plunging his body into the freezing water. When they finally recovered him, rival regions each demanded the honor of his burial. The compromise was shocking: Halfdan’s body was divi