Norway

Origins and formation

Harald Sigurdsson, called Harald Hardrada and Harald III, lived from about 1015 to 25 September 1066. He was king of Norway from 1046 to 1066. Before that he spent fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and commander in Kievan Rus and as chief of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. The game’s country name is much later than that reign. This essay uses the reign the biography dates and does not turn the modern state into 1046.¹

Defining periods

He claimed the Danish throne until 1064 and the English throne in 1066. Both claims failed. At Stamford Bridge he was shot in the throat by an arrow. That battle is the death the lead records. The Varangian years are the exile, not the Norwegian crown. No Civilization VII essay covers this kingdom, so none is linked. The published Byzantium essay is the empire whose guard he served, not his Norwegian reign.¹

Leaders

The Leader Pass names Varangian Harald Hardrada of Norway in the Rulers of England Pack, beside Elizabeth, and assigns him to Norway rather than to England. The Chinese update notes print that same persona and an ability called the northern guard. They also print a Norwegian berserker among units that replace the man-at-arms, which is why the civilization’s Chinese name is taken from those notes. The notes split the ability between the base game and Rise and Fall as rulesets. That split is not a sentence that says which pack adds Norway, so the civilization’s pack stays unconfirmed. The earlier portrait’s Chinese name is the standard reading. This essay does not copy the gold figures.^{2 3 4}

Legacy and interpretation

His legacy in the lead is the Norwegian crown of 1046 to 1066, the failed claims, and the Varangian exile that came first. The berserker is a unit name on a balance page. It is not Stamford Bridge. The Varangian persona is a sales portrait of the same man, not a second king.^{1 3}

A closer look

The update changes maintenance and levy costs and mentions a stave church. Those are balance numbers. This essay does not copy them. A levy discount is not 25 September 1066.³

In Civilization VI

The civilization’s pack stays unconfirmed. The Varangian persona is Leader Pass. Keep about 1015, the exile, the reign from 1046, the Danish claim until 1064, and the death on 25 September 1066 apart. The published Byzantium essay is the guard’s empire, not this crown. He was about fifteen years in exile before 1046. The Danish claim lasted until 1064. The English claim lasted one campaign and ended with the arrow at Stamford Bridge. Those are three different political acts. The berserker on the update page is a unit, and the Varangian portrait is a persona of the same Harald. Neither one moves the death off 25 September 1066.^{1 3 4}