Godfrid Haraldsson () was the son of the Danish king

Harald Klak Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827."Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernh ...

. In 826 he was baptized together with his parents in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

in the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

, with crown prince Lothair standing as a godparent. After his baptism, Godfrid stayed in Lothair's retinue, until they fell out sometime in the 840s, and Godfrid returned to Denmark. There he teamed up with Rorik, the son of his father's brother (his cousin). In 850 they united against Lothair and raided Dorestad. Rorik took possession of

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

. Godfrid continued to plunder

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

, and returned to Denmark for the winter. In 851 he was back, raiding in Frisia and around the Rhine, then sailed up the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

to attack

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and the abbey of Drongen. After another winter in Denmark, Godfred returned again in 853 to Francia. On 9 October 853 he sailed up the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. The fleet advanced beyond

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, as far as

Pont-de-l'Arche Pont-de-l'Arche () is a commune in France, commune of the Eure ''département in France, département'' in France. Notable monuments include the parish church of Church of Notre-Dame-des-Arts, Notre-Dame-des-Arts, which was built in the late Flam ...

, and encamped on an island near Les Andelys.

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

summoned his army as well as that of the Middle Kingdom of Lothar, Godfred's godfather. The two sides faced each other the whole winter, the Frankish land army lacking boats to attack the Vikings. The stalemate was resolved in the spring of 853 when Godfred sailed away, probably with a tribute. In 855 Godfred and his cousin Rorik tried to gain power in Denmark after the death of king

Horik I Horik I or Hårik (died 854) was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son an ...

. The attempt failed, and they returned the same year, taking back Dorestad and a large part of the area of what is now

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. After this, the sources are silent about this Godfred. He probably died soon afterwards.

Literature

*{{citation, author=Simon Coupland , title=From poachers to gamekeepers: Scandinavian warlords and Carolingian kings , doi=10.1111/1468-0254.00019 , journal=Early Medieval Europe , year=1998 , volume=7 , pages=85–114 9th-century nobility Viking warriors History of Frisia Year of birth uncertain 820s births 850s deaths 9th-century Vikings 9th-century Danish people Medieval Danish nobility