Vikings / Famous Vikings / Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Bloodaxe
King of Norway and of Northumbria
- In Old Norse
- Eiríkr blóðøx
- Lived
- died 954
- Role
- King of Norway and of Northumbria
Eric Bloodaxe is said to have been the favoured son of Harald Fairhair, ruling Norway briefly in the early 930s and earning his nickname by killing several of his brothers. Driven out by his half-brother Haakon the Good, he turned to raiding and was twice accepted as king by the Northumbrians at York, about 947–948 and 952–954. Expelled a final time, he was betrayed and killed at Stainmore in 954. He was the last independent Viking king of York.
Known for
- King of Norway, c. 932–934
- Last Viking king of York, d. 954
- Subject of the poems Eiríksmál and Egil's 'Head-Ransom'
In the story
On the timeline
Events that name Eric Bloodaxe
6 events. Each opens in the timeline.
- c. 932 CE Death of Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair, remembered as the first king to rule all Norway, dies of old age in Rogaland around 930 to 933, according to the… Date or details approximate
- c. 934 CE Haakon the Good Ousts Eric Bloodaxe The sagas tell that Eric Bloodaxe makes himself hated by killing several of his brothers. His youngest half-brother Haakon… Date or details approximate
- 947 CE Eric Bloodaxe Becomes King at York In 947 Archbishop Wulfstan and the Northumbrian councillors pledge loyalty to King Eadred at Tanshelf, then break their oath and… Date or details approximate
- c. 948 CE Egil's Head-Ransom at York Egil's Saga, written in thirteenth-century Iceland, tells how the poet Egil Skallagrímsson, shipwrecked at the mouth of the… Disputed by historians
- 952 CE Eric Bloodaxe's Second Reign After Eric's departure the Dublin king Olaf Cuarán rules York from 949. In 952 the Northumbrians drive Olaf out and take back…
- 954 CE Eric Bloodaxe Killed at Stainmore The Northumbrians expel Eric for the last time and submit to King Eadred. A later chronicle drawing on lost northern annals says… Date or details approximate
Picture: Eric Bloodaxe silver penny; struck 952-954 AD (obverse), York Museums Trust, Rebecca Griffiths · CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.