Harald Hen (

Runic Danish Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

for "Harald the Whetstone"; – 17 April 1080) was

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.

Biography

Harald was born around 1040.Stefan Pajung
Harald Hén ca. 1040–1080
danmarkshistorien.dk,

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

, 22 January 2010 Son of King Sweyn II, Harald took part in Sweyn's 1069 raid of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

alongside his uncle Jarl Asbjørn and his brother

Canute Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

Bricka, Carl Frederik Carl Frederik Bricka (10 July 1845 – 23 August 1903) was a Danish archivist, historian and biographer. Biography Carl Bricka was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Frederik Vilhelm Theodor Bricka (1809–79), was a medical doctor. He ...

, ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon'', vol. VII . Hansen – Holmsted 1893
p.74
After the death of his father in 1076, Harald was elected king in competition with his younger brother, Canute, at an assembly at Isøre near

Odsherred Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark. Odsherred stretches from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the ...

.Harald 3. Hen
at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi In order to get elected, he took the vows called ''Harald's laws'', declaring his will to uphold the existing rule of law. During his rule, Harald met opposition from a number of his brothers, likely including Canute, who enlisted the support of

Olaf III of Norway Olaf III or Olaf Haraldsson (Old Norse: ''Óláfr Haraldsson'', Norwegian: ''Olav Haraldsson''; – 22 September 1093), known as Olaf the Peaceful (Old Norse: ''Óláfr kyrri'', Norwegian: ''Olav Kyrre''), was King of Norway from 1067 until hi ...

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

mediated, advising Olaf not to take sides, and for Harald to share power with his brothers. Harald was dependent on the great nobles of Denmark for his election, and did little to oppose them. As a result, he fought no major wars and spent his energy improving the few things that lay in his purview. He is best known for improving and standardizing Danish

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Coining (mint), the process of manufacturing coins * '' COINage'', a numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Coinage, a protologism or neologism In linguistics, a neolo ...

, and established mints at

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

, Viborg,

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, and

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

. He instituted public use of the Royal forests. Harald also sought to change Danish legal customs. Harald deplored the ancient customs of

trial by combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

and the ''jernbyrd''

trial by ordeal Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused (called a "proband") was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like ...

of holding red-hot iron bars, and introduced a system used by the English of calling upon honorable men to swear

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

s on behalf of the parties in a trial. He allegedly continued Sweyn's policy of requesting the Pope to grant a Danish

Archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, but was not successful. Harald died on 17 April 1080, and was interred at

Dalby Church Dalby Church (), sometimes also called the Church of the Holy Cross in Dalby (''Heligkorskyrkan i Dalby'') is a church in Dalby, Lund Municipality in the Swedish province of Scania. It is one of the oldest churches in Sweden. When it was built Da ...

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. He was succeeded as king by his brother, Canute IV.

Legacy

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

scorned Harald as a weak and ineffective king yielding to the will of the common people, while Ælnoth called him a "by the people beloved lawmaker". He is also described as a man who let others control his actions, possessing a mild temper. Perhaps this gives the explanation for his nickname Harald the Whetstone (Danish: Harald Hen or Hein), in other words, Harald the Soft. The legal reforms of Harald were not fully accepted until the reign of Valdemar II the Victorious in the 13th century.

Arild Huitfeldt Arild Huitfeldt (Arvid) (11 September 1546 – 16 December 1609) was a Danish historian and state official, known for his vernacular Chronicle of Denmark. Life Huitfeldt was born on 11 September 1546, into an aristocratic family from Scania, pa ...

, Denmark Riges Krønike The historicity of his coinage reform has also been called into question.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harald 03 Of Denmark House of Estridsen 1040s births 1080 deaths Illegitimate children of Sweyn II 11th-century kings of Denmark Sons of kings