This node is a merge of the three nodes I had, covering the
Norwegian monarchs. If any of these kings are already noded, please
/msg me, so I can
hardlink them properly.
Although many people claimed to be "king" before the first person on this list, Harald Hårfagre is the person credited for having brought Norway together as one nation. Before this, historians think of the title "king" as meaning "chieftain" or "leader".
Note: The observant reader may see that these dates (especially the early ones) don't match the ones in aneurin's writeup. The trouble is that these early dates have a lot of uncertainty associated with them, so different sources may not agree.
"Old" Norwegian Kings
Nickname
Name Period in English
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harald I Hårfagre 865- 932 "Fair hair"
Eirik I Blodøks 932- 935 "Bloodaxe"
Håkon I den Gode 935- 961 "The Good"
Harald II Gråfell 961- 976 "Gray hide"
Håkon Sigurdsson Ladejarl 976- 995
Harald Gudrødsson Grenske 976- 987
Olav I Tryggvason 995-1000
Eirik Håkonsson Ladejarl 1000-1012
Håkon Eiriksson jarl 1012-1015 and 1028-1029
Olav II den Hellige 1015-1028 "The Holy"
Knut den Mektige 1028-1035 "The Powerful"
Svein Alfivuson 1030-1035
Magnus I den Gode 1035-1047 "The Good"
Harald III Hardråde 1046-1066 "Firm Rule"
Magnus Haraldsson 1066-1069
Olav III Kyrre 1067-1093 "The Peaceful"
Magnus II Barfot 1093-1103 "Barefoot"
Olav Magnusson 1103-1115
Øystein I 1103-1123
Sigurd I Jorsalfar 1103-1130 "Travelling to Jerusalem"
Magnus III den Blinde 1130-1139 "The Blind"
Harald IV Gille 1130-1136 ?
Inge I Krokrygg 1136-1161 "Crooked Back"
Sigurd II Munn 1136-1155 "Mouth"
Øystein II 1142-1157
Magnus Haraldsson 1142-1145
Håkon II Herdebrei 1157-1162 ?
Magnus IV 1161-1184
Sverre I Sigurdsson 1184-1202
Håkon III Sverresson 1202-1204
Inge II Bårdsson 1204-1217
Filippus Simonsson 1207-1217
Skule Bårdsson 1217-1240
Håkon IV Håkonsson 1223-1263
Magnus V Lagabøte 1263-1280 "Making Laws"
Erik II Magnusson 1280-1299
Håkon V Magnusson 1299-1319
Magnus VI Eriksson Smek 1319-1355
Håkon VI Magnusson 1355-1380
Olav IV Håkonson 1380-1387
Håkon was given the hand of Danish princess Margreta when he was 25. Their son, Olav, became king of Denmark. With Håkon's death in 1380, followed by the death of Olav in 1387, Margreta became the ruler of both Denmark and Norway. See Kalmar Union for more details on the events around this period.
Monarchs of Denmark-Norway1
Name Period
---------------------------------------------------
Margreta 1388-1412
Erik av Pommern 1389-1442
Kristoffer av Bayern 1442-1448
Karl Knutsson 1449-1450
Kristian I 1449-1481
Hans 1483-1513
Kristian II 1513-1523
Fredrik I 1524-1533
Kristian III 1537-1559
Fredrik II 1559-1588
Kristian IV 1588-1648
Fredrik III 1648-1670
Kristian V 1670-1699
Fredrik IV 1699-1730
Kristian VI 1730-1746
Fredrik V 1746-1766
Kristian VII 1766-1808
Fredrik VI (regent 1784) 1808-1814
Kristian Fredrik 1814
In 1814, the
Napoleonic wars had just ended, and
Denmark-Norway was on the losing end. Norwegians wrote
their constitution, and hoped to be independent, but it was not to be. We were handed over to
Sweden, who was on the winning side in the war. The following is a list of the kings we shared.
Kings shared with Sweden1
Name Period
---------------------------------------------------
Karl II 1814-1818
Karl III Johan 1818-1844
Oscar I 1844-1859
Karl IV 1859-1872
Oscar II 1872-1905
With growing national romanticism, Norwegians became more autonomous in 1884, when parlamentarism was introduced. The king in Sweden became more of a figurehead, and in 1905 a referendum chose to dissolve the union. This happened without bloodshed, and a Danish prince was chosen as the next Norwegian king, the first "real" King of Norway in about 500 years.
Here is a complete list of all Norwegian Kings since the end of the union with Sweden in 1905, ending of course in our current king.
Modern Norwegian Kings
Name Period
---------------------------------------------------
Haakon VII 1905-1957
Olav V 1957-1991
Harald V 1991-
1. This list is seen from the Norwegian perspective, hence I have used Norwegian spelling. A similar list also exists under Monarchs of Denmark.
2. Ditto, see Monarchs of Sweden.