Harald Wartooth at the Battle of Bråvalla. Illustration by the Danish Lorenz Frølich in a 19th-century book.
King Harald was King of the Danes and ruled over all of Scandinavia, he was a feared warrior and through his marriage to Hilda, daughter of Ivar the Wide Fathom he became undisputed heir to the Danish thrown. While there have been many humorous opinions of why he carried the name “War Tooth” it is most likely that he was a Great War hero who had a taste for war, he just loved getting his teeth into a good battle. It is said that his empire stretched as far south as the Mediterranean.
He was the son of Hrørik the Ring Slinger, who held land in Zealand and the grandson of Hódr, the sagas fall fairly silent about these two personages, except for a few references to Hrørik. However the Frankish annals give plenty of detail for these two individuals.
Famous for being the grandfather of Hamlet, Hrørik was none other than Theodoric IV (Thierry IV), the Duke of Narbonne from 739 when Charles Martel insisted that the King of Baghdad dispatch a Jew of the seed of David to rule Narbonne. The King of Baghdad sent Rabbi Makhir Todros (Thierry/Theodoric) and made him the Duke of Narbonne after he captured it from the Ishmaelites in 739. Also known as Aymeri de Narbonne a legendary Frankish hero, he ruled as the Duke of Septimania and married Charles Martel’s daughter Alda, known as Auðr the deep minded in the sagas.
Rather than being son of Odin, Hódr was the famous Odo (Eudes/Eudo) le Grande duke of Aquitaine, the ancestor to a many great dynasties including the infamous Corbyn family. He was a great leader and fought a great many battles in Francia against the Ishmaelites. Many historians argue over his ancestry, however rather than being a Merovingian, he was in fact of the seed of David and a Babylonian Exilarch known as Judah Zakkai son of Ahunai of the Holy Land. Battle and conquest certainly ran deep in this family.
Harald Wartooth was succeeded by Sigurd Hring after he was defeated and killed during the Battle of Bråvalla. It was in fact King Harald’s suggestion they fight a great battle, Harald was very old and desired to die in battle rather than dying in bed of sickness.
Sigurd and Harald encouraged their warriors to attack, the lur horns sounded and the battle cries rose up. Warrior fought against warrior. Blind, old King Harald rode out into the fray with a sword in each hand and struck away at the enemy. Harald fell in the battle with his son Rørek and when Sigurd Ring heard that his opponent had fallen, he instantly gave the sign that the fighting should cease. The day after the battle he sought out King Harald’s body and put it onto a funeral pyre along with his horse. Sigurd Ring stood before the fire and bade Harald ride straight to Valhalla and secure lodging for those who had perished.
- Ahunai of the Holy Land (Hernaut de Beauland) m. St. Clothilda Queen of Austrasia
- Odo le Grande (Judah Zakkai ben Ahunai) m. Sussanah le Blanchfleur.
- Theodoric IV Duke of Narbonne (Rabbi Machir Todros) m. Alda (Auðr) daughter of Charles Martel Mayor of the Palace.
- Harald Wartooth (Menachem ben Machir) m. Hilda daughter of Ivar the Wide Fathom King of the Danes.
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