A viking king of some renown.
His name is well known, but what do we really know about Eric Bloodaxe - and how did he become a king? Gareth Williams introduces a Viking legend.
An axe-head from the Viking Age. The battle-axe is often seen as the typical viking weapon, although large axes were also used by the Anglo-Saxons in the late Viking Age. ©
Eric Bloodaxe is probably one of the best-known names in Viking history, at least in the British Isles. The favoured son of Harald Finehair, who was credited by the Viking sagas (composed mostly in Iceland, in the 13th century) with the unification of Norway, he became king of western Norway after his father. However, when his younger brother Hakon claimed the kingship with the support of Athelstan of Wessex, Eric moved to the British Isles.
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