Review: The Last Viking by Don Hollway

Synopsis: King Harald III (called Hardrada, or "Hard Ruler") of Norway was a real-life fantasy hero who burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle, from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance.

Journey with him across the medieval world, from the frozen barrens of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land. He'll fight for and against Christian, Muslim and pagan rulers. He'll bed handmaids, a princess and an empress alike, writing poetry and amassing a fortune along the way, before returning home to claim his love, his crown and his destiny, ultimately dying like a Viking: in battle, laughing, with sword in hand.

The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative that reads like a novel, combining Norse sagas, Byzantine accounts, Anglo Saxon chronicles, and even King Harald's own verse and prose, into a single, compelling story. While pointing out errors and contradictions in the ancient stories for the sake of accuracy Don Hollway brings the true tale of this hero to life.

The story of the larger than life Harald III Hardrada - the last "great" Viking - " ... a man who outlived his aged .... once feared and hated but now admired ..."

What can you really say about this man in such a small space - for the abridged version of his life, you could consult this timeline from TimeRef for the highlights and read in conjunction with Hollway's tome.

Hollway says "... history is a fog, a fog of uncertainty.  The deeper one peers into it, the murkier and more uncertain the fog becomes.  The instant an event has transpired and begins receding into the past it becomes vulnerable to memory and interpretation.."   This is particularly true of events that weren't - for whatever reasons - not documented and of those larger than life people whose lives have become the stuff of legends.  This is especially true of Hardrada.

Hollway's tome is broken down into four parts, covering particular components of Harald's life - in summary:

Part I - when start where it all ends - 1066 before reaching back into Harald's earlier life, through events that would lead to his eventual arrival in Miklagard in 1034 (or Constantinople).

Part II - documents his time in the Varangian Guards and his employment by the Emperors of Byzantium. We also take a slight detour as Hollway introduces the reader to Harald's main biographer - Snorris Sturluson.  We finish this episode in which  Hararld's life is held in the palm of a jealous (and aging) Empress.

Part III - Harald returns to Kiev a very wealthy man and a suitable groom for a Russian princess (1044). He lingers long enough to beget a family before heading to Norway, and assuming power.  But nothing is smooth sailing and he once "likeable" Harald becomes the tyrant he himself once abhorred.

Part IV - we return to 1066 and find Harald at Stamford Bridge.  The following Epilogue lets the reader know of the events that immediately transpired following.

If you have never read about Harald, then Hollway's book for you - accessible, well researched, covering all the exploits that most men of his own lifetime had trouble keeping up with. It does focus a lot on the military aspect of his life, but those looking for some of the personal may find some diamonds among the rough.

A worthy tome for the library shelves.

Further reading from Snorri Sturluson

- Heimskringla

- King Harald's Saga

- Saga of Harald Hardrade

Guide to the Classics: The Icelandic Saga

From The Epoch Times:

Icelanders love books, both reading and writing them, and in recent years, translations of contemporary Icelandic literature have made it into bookshops and literary pages abroad in increasing numbers.

“Saga” is an Icelandic word that means “something said, a narrative.” Originally, the term is likely to have been applied to stories that were probably formed and transmitted orally. Later, they came to be recorded in writing, in handwritten manuscripts, many of which survive to the present day, though a good number have perished over the past 500 years or so.

Sagas of kings are historical biographies of the kings of Norway (and to a lesser extent, of Denmark) from prehistoric times into the 14th century.

The most widely accessible at present are probably the most recent Penguin translations, which are new editions of a five-volume series originally published in Iceland in 1997 as “The Complete Sagas of Icelanders.” 

My personal favourite compilation is Jane Smiley's "Sagas of the Icelanders" 

See also: Icelandic Saga Database