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109-484: He served as a retainer of Harald I of Norway (Harald Fairhair). Thorolf is a hero of the early part of Egils saga . Thorolf was the eldest son of Kveldulf and Salbjorg. Taking after his father in stature, he grew up tall and strong. His character, however, resembled that of his mother's side of the family, and he is described as being attractive, accomplished, friendly, energetic, and popular with everyone he meets. At age 20, he began raiding, taking out longboats during

218-497: A borough in the city. There are several villages in the rural parts of the municipality including Hommersåk , Høle , Foss-Eikeland , Stokka , Forsand , Lysebotn , and Vatne . The 1,041-square-kilometre (402 sq mi) municipality is the 109th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sandnes is the 7th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 83,382 in 2023. The municipality's population density

327-647: A convenient network of estates with about a day's traveling distance between them, which would be ideal for a king ruling in Vestlandet, but not all of Norway. This reading could be consistent with the Historia Norwegiæ 's account. While it is possible that Harald could have controlled other areas through jarls and client kings, this is difficult to prove with available archeology. Krag has noted that Snorri's account of Harald's origin in Vestfold might have been propaganda as

436-486: A historical figure. Old Norse hár translates straightforwardly into English as 'hair', but fagr , the adjective of which fagri is a form, is trickier to render, since it means 'fair, fine, beautiful' (but without the moral associations of English fair , as opposed to unfair ). Although it is convenient and conventional to render hárfagri in English as 'fair-hair(ed)', in English 'fair-haired' means ' blond ', whereas

545-489: A minor masterpiece of amphibious warfare. After Thorolf refused to surrender, King Harald set the hall on fire. When the men ran out they were immediately under fire, however, they quickly rushed to form a strong shield wall, while Thorolf was running to the men he was killed by Harald, causing him to fall at Harald's feet. Shortly after this, minor fighting took place and the men of Sandnes surrendered to Harald., King. Thorolf's maternal uncles Olvir Hnufa and Eyvind Lamb bade

654-589: A mound with 12 men. Hrollaug renounced his kingship and took the title of jarl instead. Harald accepted Hrollaug's surrender and allowed him to rule Namdalen in his name. This story is also present in Heimskringla . After this, Namdalen and Hålogaland were in his grasp. The saga then related how Harald did battle with the combined forces of kings Audbjörn of Firðafylki, Solvi Bandy-legs of Møre og Romsdal and Arnvid of Sunnmøre . They were all defeated in battle by Harald, with only Solvi escaping with his life to live

763-447: A practitioner of magic, Harald ordered him to cease such activity. When Ragnvald did not listen Harald sent Eirik Bloodaxe to murder him. Eirik had his half-brother and all of his sorcerers burned in their hall . When Bjørn Farmann was killed in a conflict with Eirik, Harald stepped in on Eirik's side against his other sons. There are several accounts of large feasting mead halls constructed for important feasts when Scandinavian royalty

872-454: A result. According to Köppen climate classification , Sandnes experiences a temperate oceanic climate ( Cfb ) with five months with a mean temperature above 10 °C (50 °F). Spring and early summer is the driest season. The all-time high 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) at the airport was recorded August 1975. The warmest high recorded in the Stavanger area is 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) at

981-407: A small 350- decare (86- acre ) area on the southwestern edge of the village of Solakrossen was transferred from Sandnes municipality to the neighboring municipality of Sola . On 1 January 2020, most of the neighboring municipality of Forsand was merged with Sandnes to form one large municipality called Sandnes. The municipality (and city) is named after an old Sandnæs farm, since the city

1090-509: A small part of Høyland municipality (population: 18) was transferred to the city of Sandnes. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee . On 1 January 1965, the city and municipality of Sandnes (population: 3,961) was merged with the municipality of Høyland (population: 20,353) and parts of the municipalities of Høle (population: 926) and Hetland (population: 2,077). In 2014,

1199-481: A tenant or having hands and feet cut off. According to the saga author, most who were given this option chose to flee. Harald is supposed to have confiscated massive amounts of private property and made many previously free farmers his thralls . Four sons of Harald are mentioned in the saga: Eirikr Bloodaxe (one of the saga's major antagonists), Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri (otherwise called the Good ), Olaf and Sigurðr (whose name

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1308-513: A very different reading of the poem where its references to the dróttin Norðmanna ( lord of the northmen ) might have originally meant referred to the leader of the Norwegians in the battle, but later recontextualised as the lord of all Norwegians. Harald is mentioned in several sagas, some which quotes supposedly older skaldic poetry. If the linguistic dating of the poems are correct, they represent

1417-507: A vital re-enactment culture, which is evident in, among other things, a memorial park in central Haugesund with the erection of a statue of Harald Fairhair ... the performance of a Harald musical ... the building of ‘the largest’ Viking ship in the world ... the establishment of a theme park based on the Viking concept, and a historic centre where the mythology of King Harald is disseminated ... The main initiators behind these commemorative projects in

1526-438: Is 84.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (218/sq mi) and its population has increased by 20.8% over the previous 10-year period. The small port village of Sandnes was granted ladested (small seaport city) status in 1860. On 6 April 1861, the small city was separated from the municipality of Høyland to form a separate self-governing municipality of its own. Initially, the municipality had 440 residents. On 1 July 1957,

1635-561: Is a member of the World Health Organization 's network of Healthy Cities. Sandnes and Stavanger were chosen along with Liverpool , United Kingdom, to be a European Capital of Culture for 2008. Higher education facilities include Sandnes Upper Secondary School , Gand Upper Secondary School , Akademiet Upper Secondary School , and Vågen Upper Secondary School . In 2010 Forus Upper Secondary School and parts of Lundehaugen merged to become Vågen. Lundehaugen still exists as

1744-564: Is also known for its Rugby League team, Sandnes Raiders which has supplied the Norwegian national team with players. The major tourist attraction in Sandnes is the Science Factory (Vitenfabrikken) . It is a 4,000-square-metre (43,000 sq ft) science museum with science and art exhibitions, a planetarium, sun telescopes, and chemistry experiments. Sandnes is the only city in Norway which

1853-518: Is approximately one hour by car to alpine and skiing resorts. In Sandnes there are some easily accessible small mountain peaks, such as Dalsnuten and Lifjell, with a view over the Sandnes/Stavanger area. The renowned Lysefjorden is also easily accessible by car or boat. The lake Frøylandsvatnet , the river Figgjoelva , and the mountain Hanafjellet are all located in Sandnes. The Lysefjorden in

1962-473: Is dated to the late 9th century, but an exact dating is difficult and due to its fragmentary presentation it may be a compilation of unrelated stanzas. Unlike Hrafnsmál its relation to Harald and the events it supposedly relates to in Heimskringla is ambiguous. Sendibitr , the last and shortest poem Snorri quotes is attributed to Jórunn skáldmær (Jorunn the skaldmaiden), one of few female poets mentioned in

2071-450: Is described and his conquest of Norway. Unlike Heimskringla , Flateyjarbók clearly states that the two were married. Harald's further marriages are described as is his rejections of them and his various concubines in favor of Ragnhild the Mighty. The Þáttr concludes with a description of the fates of Harald's various sons, including Thorgils' and Frodi's career as "west-vikings". According to

2180-502: Is elaborated upon in the final chapter of the 14th century Ragnarssona þáttr . Harald's mother is said to have been Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter , who according to the saga was the great-granddaughter of Sigurd through her mother Inibjorg and he grandmother Aslaug. This story is the same as in Snorri's earlier Hálfdanar saga svarta in Heimskringla , but contradicts Fagrskinna . Both Hálfdanar saga svarta and Ragnarssona þáttr have issues with

2289-557: Is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal . The municipal council ( Kommunestyre ) of Sandnes is made up of 49 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. Elections are always held two years from

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2398-500: Is here described as being the first to rule the entire coastal region of Norway, as opposed to all of Norway. The interior is described to as having been ruled by petty kings, however, it is said that Harald as good as ruled this region as well. This account describes Eirik Bloodaxe as the oldest son of Harald, unlike in Heimskringla. Hákon is not referred to as " the good " and is Harald's second son, not his youngest. This account of Hákon suggest that he did not accept Christianity. Like

2507-656: Is indecisive. Part of the poem is cited by Snorri in Heimskringla as a source for his narrative of the Battle of Hafrsfjord , while another is cited in Fagrskinna as information about Harald. Both credits Hornklofi as the composer. Hrafnsmál largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie and a raven; the two discuss the life and martial deeds of Harald Fairhair. The poem describes Harald as an Yngling , but does not use his famous nickname hárfagri ( fairhair ), but uses his widely cited previous nickname Lufa . The bulk of

2616-501: Is located high up in the mountains, north of Lysebotn on the border of Strand and Forsand municipalities. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station . Sandnes is in a common urban area with Stavanger and thus the weather station for the international airport of Stavanger Sola is the closest weather station to Sandnes proper. Situated on the southwest coast of Norway,

2725-681: Is otherwise usually rendered as Sigröðr ). The saga renders Harald's title as einváldskonungr ( absolute king ). Not unlike Egil's Saga , Harald's conquest of Norway sets off the plot of Grettis saga . Gretti's great-grandfather Önundr Wood-foot is said to be one of many people that fled Norway after fighting for king Kjotvi the Rich and Thorir Haklang in the battle of Hafrsfjord. The saga describes how Harald and his elite Úlfhèðnar warriors (famously mentioned in Hrafnsmál) fought and killed Thorir Haklang when he went berserk. Önundr got his name after his leg

2834-526: Is repeated by Snorri in Heimskringla and suggests two conflicting stories of Harald's ancestry being combined into one. Harald Fairhair is said to have inherited Halfdan's lands at a young age after the king drowned in the lake Rǫnd in Rykinsvik. The text then sites the poem Hrafnsmál at length as an example of Harald's nobility and prowess in battle. Harald appointed Atli the Slender as jarl of Fjaler , but that

2943-411: Is said to have succeeded Harald, ruling for five years, with two as a co-ruler with his father. Hákon eventually supplanted the cruel and oppressive rule of Eirik and his wife Gunnhildr . Hákon is said to be a Christian, but swayed from Christianity due to his unnamed pagan wife and his will to please his people. Historia Norwegiæ , which is dated to about 1220, mentions that Iceland was discovered in

3052-464: Is significant activity related to oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT-related companies. In this suburban region between Sandnes and Stavanger, malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat , meaning 'square' (although it is not square shaped anymore as it has expanded several times since it opened in 1984). Around 30% of

3161-520: Is suspicious of the king and he and his friend Sæmundr emigrate to Iceland. Harald wins an extrodinary victory at Hafrfjord and makes Ragnvald a jarl. The Orkneyinga saga likely dates to in the early thirteenth century and belongs to belongs to the genre of "Kings’ Sagas" within Icelandic saga literature, a group of histories of the kings of Norway. It describes in more detail the expedition of Harald Fairhair and Rognvald Mørejarl on an expedition to clear

3270-531: The Jæren region and stretches 90 kilometres (56 mi) nearly from the west coast of Norway to the rugged mountainous interior. The city of Sandnes is located at the base of the Stavanger Peninsula , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of the city of Stavanger , and these two cities have expanded so as to form a conurbation . The municipality of Sola is located to the west, Klepp and Time , Gjesdal to

3379-552: The Karelians . Thorolf inherited (and later lost) the estate of Torgar  [ no ] in Halogaland in the following manner. Torgar had been the property of a widowed old landholder named Bjorgolf, who bestowed the management of the estate to his son, Brynjolf. But in his retirement, Bjorgolf obtained a new wife named Hildirid, a wealthy farmer's daughter, and begat two sons, Harek and Hraerek, who were now potential claimants to

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3488-469: The Storting decided that the number of municipalities in Norway would be lowered. If the municipalities of Sandnes, Stavanger and Sola were to merge, a new municipality would be formed called Nord-Jæren, after the name of the geographical location the municipalities are located in. After the city council said no to the merge, proposals for Forsand to merge with Sandnes were enacted instead. On 1 January 2017,

3597-503: The Uplands and then taken Trondheim and become overlord over the thronds . This accounts differs from Heimskringla where it is said that Harald made a marriage alliance with Håkon Grjotgardsson which won him Trøndelag after they together defeated the petty kings there. The saga then relates the story of the brothers Herlaug and Hrollaug, kings of Namdalen . When Herlaug heard Harald was coming he committed suicide by closing himself into

3706-496: The 21st century both are "true" in a completary, non-completive way. As unifier of the kingdom, Harald rests under a 'Viking' memorial site of burial mounds and memorial stones near his royal court at Avaldsnes in the Westland , precisely the region that first caught his attention in Gyda, and whose conquest at the Battle of Hafrsfjord has been regarded as the keystone in the unification of

3815-469: The Black 's death by going through the ice on Randsfjorden , a story also told by Snorri in Heimskringla, and that Harald became king afterwards. He is said to have taken control of Sogn from Atli jarl due to him never paying taxes. This happened before Harald's conquest of Norway. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum is dated to about 1190. Here Harald is described as having become the first king of all of Norway at

3924-470: The Finn: Other children: Harald Fairhair became an important figure in Norwegian nationalism in the nineteenth century, during its struggle for independence from Sweden , when he served as 'a heroic narrative character disseminating a foundation story of Norway becoming an independent nation'. In particular, a national monument to Harald was erected in 1872 on Haraldshaugen , an ancient burial mound at

4033-402: The Good becoming kings. In this account, Eirik is described as Harald's eldest son and Hakon as the youngest. Only one of Harald's wives/concubines is named, Snjófríthr , daughter of Svási ( Norwegian : Svåse ), a beautiful sami -woman. She is described as having died three years after their marriage with Harald mourning for her, but the people mourning for him, considering him bewitched. Eirik

4142-612: The Haugesund region today are, as it was in the 1870s, local commercial entrepreneurs who are nourished by local patriotism. Sandnes Sandnes ( pronounced [ˈsɑ̂nːeːs] ) is a city and municipality in Rogaland , Norway . It lies immediately south of Stavanger , the 4th largest city in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies in

4251-625: The Holy . In 872, after a great victory at Hafrsfjord near Stavanger against Kjotve the Rich , Harald found himself king over the whole country, ruling from his Kongsgård seats at Avaldsnes and Alrekstad . His realm was, however, threatened by dangers from without, as large numbers of his opponents had taken refuge, not only in Iceland , then recently discovered; but also in the Orkney Islands , Shetland Islands , Hebrides Islands , Faroe Islands and

4360-465: The Hunter and maternal grandfather Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye , and his parents Halfdan the Black and Ragnhildr. The text also describes Halfdan having another son called Harald by another woman named Ragnhildr, daughter of the king Harald Goldbeard of Sogn . Halfdan's first Harald inherited Sogn after the death of Harald Goldbeard, and then died himself. Halfdan then inherited Sogn from his first son. The story

4469-607: The Isle of Man in the mid 13th century is the backdrop to the saga writer's intentions and in part at least the sagas aim to legitimise Norwegian claims to both the Northern Isles and the Kingdom of the Isles in the west. The fourteenth-century Flateyjarbók features a Þáttr called Haralds þáttr hárfagra , literary "Harald Fairhair's Þáttr". The first chapter describes Harald's ascension to

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4578-607: The King's service. Olvir had dropped out of viking raiding, and had become the king's court poet. As a retainer of Harald, he fights on the latter's own ship at the Battle of Hafrsfjord . After Harald's conquest of Norway Thorolf becomes his governor ( lendmann or lendr maðr ) over the northern region of Norway and is responsible for collecting tribute from the Sami to the north ( finneskatt  [ no ] ). In this capacity he took part in an expedition by King Faravid of Kvenland against

4687-510: The Mighty. The couple only had one child, Eirik Bloodaxe , before her premature death. Eirik Bloodaxe was named after Ragnhild's father as was custom in medieval Scandinavia. Likely due to Eirik Bloodaxe royal mother, he was favored above Harald's other sons. Eirik himself had an unquestioning, near psychopathic loyalty to Harald. Unlike other authors, Snorri does not attribute Eirik's cruelty solely to Gunnhild. When Harald and Snæfrith's son Ragnvald Rettilbeine became known as patron of sorcerers and

4796-457: The Old Norse fairly clearly means 'beautiful-haired' (in contrast to the epithet which, according to some sources, Haraldr previously bore: lúfa , '(thick) matted hair'). Accordingly, some translators prefer to render hárfagri as 'the fine-haired' or 'fine-hair' (which, however, unhelpfully implies that Haraldr's hair was thinning) or even 'handsome-hair'. Through the nineteenth and most of

4905-549: The Slender and Håkon Grjotgardsson and their deaths. Håkon's son Sigurd Haakonsson advised Harald to kill Atli's son Hallstein which lead to Hallstein's exile in Iceland. In Vatnsdæla saga Harald's conquest of Norway is described. The saga's initial protagonist Ingimundr recognises that Harald will prevail at Hafrfjord and arranges a meeting with Harald, Ragnvald Mörejarl and their ulfhednar-warriors. Ingimundr offers his loyalty to Harald which Harald graciously accepts, but Ingimundr

5014-508: The Swedish saga -king Erik Eymundsson (whose historicity is not confirmed). Marching up through the Uplands and into Trondheim and then south along the coast Harald subdued many petty kings. Snorri credits his success to excellent leadership by him and his uncle Guthorm, as well as military reforms and his hard tax policy. The taxes demanded by Harald were much higher than other kings and a third of

5123-488: The age of 20. It describes a battle in Hafrsvágr (as opposed of Hafrifjord ) against a king called Skeithar-Brandr ( Skeiðar-Brandr ). The text quotes a poem called " Oddmjór " which describes Harald as a Scylding were as other sources calls him an Yngling . He is described to as having waged wars for 10 years before having conquered all of Norway. He is said to have had 20 children, but that only Eirik Bloodaxe & Hakon

5232-413: The anxieties of Iceland in the early thirteenth century, when the island was indeed coming under Norwegian dominance. He has also suggested that the legend of Harald Fairhair developed in the twelfth century to enable Norwegian kings, who were then promoting the idea of primogeniture over the older custom of agnatic succession , to claim that their ancestors had had a right to Norway by lineal descent from

5341-444: The area of Viken was disputed between the Norwegian and Danish crown in the thirteenth century. Krag points of that Othere describes Viken as Danish territory and Hrafnsmál 's description of the battle of Hafrsfjord suggest that Harald was attacked by "eastern" enemies that were routed and fled back east. He proposes that the battle was not part of a war of conquest but Harald defending his own territory from invaders. This idea offers

5450-425: The claim since Bard had informed him they were bastard children. Hildirid’s sons said they could prove their legitimacy by producing witnesses their father paid a bride price , but Thorolf refused to recognize their birthright, as it was rumored that Hildirid was taken by force. Hildirid’s sons became sycophants of the king and began to slander Thorolf’s loyalty to the king. They accused Thorolf of embezzlement from

5559-439: The country's supposed first king. One possibility advanced is that Harald Fairhair was based on a historical king called Harald, perhaps also known as "hárfagri", who ruled Vestlandet . The legend of this Harald later grew into the figure of medieval tradition. Historians who accept the early dating of skaldic poetry such as Claus Krag and Hans Jacob Orning tend to accept Harald's existence, while remaining skeptical regarding

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5668-448: The dating of events. Flóamanna saga is traditionally thought of as a 14th-century work and repeats the story of Harald Fairhair's ancestry as told in Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok , and elaborates back to Sigurd Fafnisbani and Odin through Aslaug . In old Norse society, the ancestry of both parents was considered of imperance for the status of a person. The saga relates the conflict between Atli

5777-400: The daughter of Svási, here called Snæfrithr , but in his account they are described as jötnar rather than finns ( sami ). Gyda is said to have been made a friðla (concubine) of Harald after her father Eirik of Hordaland had been killed in battle by Harald's followers. Harald is said to have divorced Åsa and rejected Gyda and several other concubines to marry a Jutish princess called Ragnhild

5886-645: The discord, which continued into the next reign. When he grew old, Harald handed over the supreme power to his favourite son Eirik Bloodaxe , whom he intended to be his successor. Eirik I ruled side by side with his father when Harald was 80 years old. In the Gray Goose Laws , a person above the age of 80 was not allowed to make financial decisions or decisions about inheritance. This co-rulership likely reflected similar laws and would also been way for Harald to force his intended succession. Harald died three years later due to old age in approximately 933. Harald Harfager

5995-451: The earliest accounts of Harald Fairhair. Hrafnsmál , also known as Haraldskvæði , is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi . There does not exist a complete copy of the poem, and modern editions of the poem are based on the compilation of the segments. Through dating of the parts as well as the meter is consistent, they may be separate compositions but scholarly consensus

6104-469: The eastern part of the municipality is surrounded by very steep 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) tall cliffs such as Kjerag and Preikestolen , with the Lysefjord Bridge crossing the fjord near the western end. The famous Kjeragbolten boulder and Kjeragfossen waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of Lysebotn lies at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake Nilsebuvatnet

6213-453: The extant accounts of his life come from sagas set down in writing around three centuries after his lifetime. His life is described in several of the Kings' sagas , none of them older than the twelfth century. Their accounts of Harald and his life differ on many points, but it is clear that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Harald was regarded as having unified Norway into one kingdom. Since

6322-416: The extreme western part of the vast municipality and it makes up about 5% of the total land area of the municipality. Sandnes is part of the traditional district of Jæren . The western part of the municipality is very urbanized while the eastern part of the municipality is very rural. The municipality is divided into 13 boroughs and the administrative centre is located in the borough of Trones og Sentrum ,

6431-505: The fact that the bicycle manufacturer Øglænd DBS was situated here for decades. The city offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996, a public bicycle rental program has been in operation in the city. The city has a vibrant industrial base, mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north along the municipal boundary with Stavanger. There

6540-402: The good as Harald's youngest son, through a servant named Thora. The thirteenth-century Egil's Saga presents a broadly similar account to that of Heimskringla , though its depiction of Harald and his family is much more negative. It has been suggested that Heimskringla and Egil's Saga share Snorri Sturluson as author, or at least share a common source. Given the difference in attitude to

6649-509: The islands of the Viking refugees of from Harald's conquest of Norway that raided the coast. During the expedition Rognvald's son Ivar was killed so Harald gave governorship of the islands to him. Rognvald wanted to stay in his home in Møre so he passed the jarlship of the Islands to his brother Sigurd. The saga is informed by the Norwegian politics of the day. Once, historians could write that no-one denied

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6758-718: The king leave of service, but this was not to be granted. The king arranged for Eyvind to take custody of Sandnes and to marry the twice-widowed Sigrid, and these two were reconciled. Skalla Grimr went with Olvir Hnufa to King Harald and demanded compensation for Thorolf's murder, which resulted in his being chased out of the king's court. Together with his father Kveldulf and their kinsman Ketil Trout , Skalla-Grimr took revenge by killing those of Harald's servants who took part in Thorolf's killing before fleeing to Iceland . Harald I of Norway Harald Fairhair ( Old Norse : Haraldr Hárfagri ) ( c.  850 – c.  932 )

6867-537: The land. They became known as Hildirid's sons ( Hildiridarsons  [ is ] ), and were about the same age as Brynjolf's son Bard (Bárðr inn hvíti, "the White"). The entire Torgar estate was inherited by Brynjolf, and he gave no share to Hildirid's sons; later on, the ownership of Torgar passed to Bard. Bard was a distant kinsman of Thorolf (see the family tree on the right), and a comrade-at-arms as well. While Thorolf recovered from injuries sustained at Hafrsfjord, Bard

6976-698: The last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C (32.0 °F)) in spring is April 20 and average date for first freeze in autumn is October 31 giving a frost-free season of 193 days (Stavanger Airport Sola 1981-2010 average). Sandnes is located on the west coast of Norway. Here are some distances from the city of Sandnes to other major cities in Norway: Sandnes Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services , senior citizen services, welfare and other social services , zoning , economic development , and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality

7085-430: The late 18th century. The symbol is a leirgauk , which in English would be a ceramic cuckoo bird ( leir(e) , ' clay , ceramic' and gauk/gjøk , 'cuckoo bird'). The ceramic Sandnes cuckoo ( Norwegian : sandnesgauk ) is an ocarina or simple flute which was made by the potteries in Sandnes and used to advertise their products. Later it also became a nickname for people from Sandnes. The municipality lies in

7194-408: The later Heimskringla, Ragnvald Rettilbeine is described as killed on Harald's orders. In Heimskringla he is burned alive by Eirik Bloodaxe, while Historia Norwegiæ describes Ragnvald as being drowned. Fagrskinna is thought to have been written around 1220 and is a catalogue of the kings of Norway. The first part describes Harald Fairhair's birth ancestry in form of his paternal grandfather Gudrød

7303-513: The local climate is greatly influenced by the temperate water in the North Sea, and Atlantic lows giving mild westerlies also in winter. This creates warmer temperatures throughout the year compared to other cities at similar latitudes, and also gives plentiful precipitation in the form of rain, especially in late autumn and winter. Sandnes is a little bit more inland than the airport so thus may have slightly warmer summer days and cooler winter nights as

7412-401: The medieval Icelandic and Norwegian historiography of Harald Fairhair is part of an origin myth created to explain the settlement of Iceland , perhaps in which a cognomen of Haraldr Sigurðarson was transferred to a fictitious early king of all Norway. Sverrir Jakobsson has suggested that the idea of Iceland being settled by people fleeing an overbearing Norwegian monarch actually reflects

7521-522: The municipality was enlarged), the city-municipality of Sandnes was divided into 13 boroughs: Austrått , Figgjo , Ganddal , Hana , Høle , Lura , Malmheim og Soma , Riska , Sandved , Stangeland , Sviland , and Trones og Sentrum . The landscape of western Sandnes is quite flat. On the long west coast there are several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks rising up to 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft) above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes it

7630-406: The next 150 years. Harald's third principal ally was Rognvald Eysteinsson , jarl of Møre . Snorri describes Rognvald as Harald's closest friend and the one to coin the name "Fairhair". Harald is said to have fathered Bjørn Farmann and Olav Geirstadalv with Rognvald's sister Svanhild, ancestors of the famous Christian kings Olav Tryggvason (named after his grandfather Olav Geirstadalv) and Olav

7739-540: The nickname " Lufa ", shockhead . Harald is said to have fought many battles, including a decisive battle in Hafrfjord against Kjotve the Rich and Haklang. After this battle, all of Norway is said to paid tribute to Harald. Ragnvald jarl then cut Harald's hair and gave him the nickname Fairhair . The text then described Harald's various sons, describing Eirik Bloodaxe as his most beloved and one of his oldest. Harald named Eirik his heir and died in Rogaland from old age and

7848-459: The nineteenth century, when Norway was in a personal union with Sweden , Harald has become a national icon of Norway and a symbol of independence. Though the king's sagas and medieval accounts have been critically scrutinised during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Harald maintains a reputation as the father of the Norwegian nation. At the turn of the 21st century, a few historians have tried to argue that Harald Fairhair did not exist as

7957-565: The northern European mainland. However, his opponents' leaving was not entirely voluntary. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land. At last, Harald was forced to make an expedition to the West, to clear the islands and the Scottish mainland of some Vikings who tried to hide there. Snorri describes Harald's marriage to

8066-401: The parliamentary elections. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party . The mayors ( Norwegian : ordfører ) of Sandnes: Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to

8175-466: The poem refers to past events, which would mean the poet lived in a later time than the events described in the poem. Linguistic dating of the poem has not been successful. The earliest narrative source which mentions Harald, the twelfth-century Íslendingabók , notes that Iceland was settled during his lifetime. Harald is thus depicted as the prime cause of the Norse settlement of Iceland and beyond. Iceland

8284-482: The poem seems to describe the Battle of Hafrsfjord, were Harald faced off against Kjotve the Rich and Hakláng. The poem mentions Ragnhild, who in Heimskringla is presented as Harald's queen and mother of Eirik Bloodaxe , as well as the following of ulfheðnar warriors that the saga tradition ascribes to Harald. Like Hrafnsmál, Glymdrápa is a praise poem attributed to Þorbjörn Hornklofi about various battles won by Harald. It

8393-444: The population is employed in Stavanger (Q4 2004). Sandnes was formerly known as the pottery town of Norway – due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings. The Vatneleiren military base is also located in Sandnes, just outside Vatne . Since 2016, the primary football team, Sandnes Ulf , has played in the second tier, 1. divisjon , of Norwegian professional football. Sandnes

8502-520: The reality of Harald Fairhair's expeditions to the west (recounted in detail in the Heimskringla ), but this is no longer the case. Thomson (2008) writes that Harald's "great voyage is so thoroughly ingrained in popular and scholarly history, both ancient and modern, that it comes as a bit of a shock to realise that it might not be true." The Norwegian contest with the Kings of Scots over the Hebrides and

8611-555: The realm ever since Snorri. Harald Fairhair will always be the first king of Norway. The claim to Harald has become important to the development of the tourism industry of Haugesund and its region: today, King Harald Fairhair is associated with several archaeological sites where modern monuments and theme parks (obelisks, towers, sculptures, ‘reconstructions’ of ancient houses/villages) are constructed and where various commemorative practices (jubilees, rallies, festivals) are being performed. The Viking hero Harald Fairhair has become part of

8720-430: The rest of his life as a roving Viking. The remaining independent rulers of Norway were then crushed by Harald's allies or opportunists that attacked their neighbors and then submitted to Harald like Hrollaug had done. The saga tells how people of Norway were then put under heavy taxes and oppression by Harald. Anyone suspected of wanting to rise in rebellion were given the option of fleeing the country, submitting himself as

8829-501: The revenues where given to his jarls. This made jarls and rich farmers flock to his cause to enrich themself. One of these was Håkon Grjotgardsson of Trondheim who allied with Harald and married off his daughter Åsa to him. Harald established the royal estate of Hlade in Trondheim and Håkon became the first of the Earls of Lade , a family which would be one of the dominating forces in Norway for

8938-423: The royal family and information regarding Erik Bloodaxe's family, the latter seems more likely. Through the name Harald Fairhair appears, he is mostly irreverently referred to as Haraldr lúfa. Chapter 3 and 4 tells of Harald's conquest of Norway. It repeats Snorri's story of Harald's vow not to cut his hair until he had become king of all of Norway, but no mention is made of Gyda. Harald is said to have first conquered

9047-451: The saga accounts. In 2015, Hans Jacob Orning, building on then-recent archaeology and Krag's work, argued that Harald was based in Sogn , an area which the medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson associated with Harald, and which was a centre of power in the ninth century. In the skaldic poetry (which is generally considered authentic ninth-century work by linguists) the estates mentioned match

9156-415: The saga sources, the latter part of Harald's reign was disturbed by the strife of his many sons. The number of sons he left varies in the different saga accounts, from 11 to 20. Twelve of his sons are named as kings, two of them ruled over the whole of Norway. He gave them all the royal title and assigned lands to them, which they were to govern as his representatives; but this arrangement did not put an end to

9265-481: The sagas. It deals with a conflict between Harald and his son Halfdan, identified in Heimskringla as Halfdan the Black (the Younger), Harald's son by Åsa Håkonsdottir. Finnur Jónsson dates this poem to the late 10th century. If the dating is correct, it is the first instance of Harald having the epithet " fairhair " ( hárfagra in the text). However, consensus is that the exact dating is uncertain. It has been suggested that

9374-516: The south, Sirdal and Bykle to the east, Strand and Hjelmeland to the northeast, and Stavanger to the northwest. The fjord Gandsfjorden is situated north–south at the west end of the municipality and the Høgsfjorden and Lysefjorden dominate the eastern part of the municipality. The international airport for Sandnes/Stavanger is situated in Sola, just to the west of Sandnes. Prior to 2020 (when

9483-463: The summer with a band of men and his maternal uncles Olvir Hnufa (Hump) and Eyvind Lamb . He spent winters at home with his father, and summers conducting lucrative raids. Upon conquering Fjordane, Harald demanded the service of all landowners in the province. Against his better judgement and despite a premonition that Harald would not bring good fortune to his family, Kvedulf sent Thorolf to join Olvir in

9592-426: The throne at the age of sixteen, in contrast to other accounts which gives the age of ten. He is here given the otherwise unknown nickname " Dofrafostri " ( Dovre -fostered ). Harald's maternal uncle Guthormr is described as his duke and most important ally. Harald's war with Gandalf Alfgeirsson and his neighboring kings is described as in Heimskringla , through in less detail. Following this Harald's marriage to Gyda

9701-544: The time of Harald Fairhair by Ingólfr Arnarson and Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson . The work describes the history of the Yngling -dynasty from the legendary king Ingvi as Harald's ancestors and Halfdan the Black was his father. Halfdan is here described as ruling a mountainous region of Norway and having drowned in Rondvatnet . Harald's rule is said to have lasted for 73 years and his nickname derived from his beautiful hair. Notably, Harald

9810-402: The town of Haugesund then imagined to be Harald Finehair's burial place, despite opposition from left-wing politicians. The German historian Jan Rüdiger concluded that: His compelling narrative has survived scholarly scrutiny almost unscathed - or rather, professional historical knowledge based on a century of source criticism coexists with Snorri's unscathed narrative in the sense that in

9919-417: The traditional dating of the saga events. The marriage of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Blaeja could not have occurred earlier than 867, which would put the dating Harald's ascension to kingship of Norway in 872 into question. Fagrskinna makes no mention of Blaeja and states that Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye's daughter and not his great-granddaughter, which seems more plausible in regards to

10028-524: The tribute, and even an assassination attempt. The king eventually seized Thorolf’s Torgar estate and tribute-collecting duties, granting these to Hildirid’s sons. The brothers did not do as good a job at collecting and blamed Thorolf for obstruction. Thorolf still lived comfortably off his Sandnes estate and kept a large retinue, and trading as well. Tensions escalated. The king's kinsmen named Sigtrygg Travel-quick and Hallvard Travel-hard (Sigtryggr Snarfari, Hallvarðr harðfari) seized Thorolf's trade ship that

10137-491: The twentieth centuries, historians broadly accepted the account of Harald Fairhair given by later Icelandic sagas. However, Peter Sawyer began to cast doubt on this in 1976, and the decades around 2000 saw a wave of revisionist research that suggested that Harald Fairhair did not exist, or at least not in a way resembling his appearance in sagas. The key arguments for this are as follows: Scholarly consensus on Harald's historicity now falls into two camps. One suggests that

10246-571: The two fell out. In this time Harald meet jarl Håkon Grjotgardsson (called Hákon the Old in the text) at a feast in Hladir ( Lade ) in Trondheim and gave him part of Atli's fief. Atli defended his old area with violence and both of the jarls were killed. Harald proclaimed he would not cut his hair until having become overlord of Norway and earning tribute from every inland valley and outlying headland, earning him

10355-916: The various sagas name anywhere from 11 to 20 sons of Harald in various contexts, the contemporary skaldic poem Hákonarmál says that Harald's son Håkon would meet only "eight brothers" when arriving in Valhalla , a place for slain warriors, kings, and Germanic heroes. Only the following five names of sons can be confirmed from skaldic poems (with saga claims in parentheses), while the full number of sons remains unknown: The full list of sons (and partial list of daughters) according to Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla : Children with Åsa, daughter of Håkon Grjotgardssson , Jarl av Lade: Children with Gyda Eiriksdottir : Children with Svanhild, daughter of Øystein Jarl: Children with Åshild, daughter of Ring Dagsson: Children with Snæfrithr Svásadottir , daughter of Svåse

10464-482: The weather station Stavanger-Våland (72 m) in July 2018. The warmest month on record at Stavanger Airport is August 2002 with mean 19.3 °C (66.7 °F) and average daily high 23.2 °C (73.8 °F). The all-time low −19.8 °C (−3.6 °F) was recorded January 1987. The coldest month on record is February 1963 with mean −5 °C (23 °F) and average daily low −9.6 °C (14.7 °F). The average date for

10573-494: Was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c.  872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway . Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good , succeeded Harald to become kings after his death. Much of Harald's biography is uncertain. A couple of praise poems by his court poet Þorbjörn Hornklofi survive in fragments, but

10682-475: Was built on its grounds. The first element is sand which means ' sand ' or 'sandy beach' and the last element is nes which means ' headland '. The farm was located at the end of the Gandsfjorden where the city centre is located today. The coat of arms , granted on 21 April 1972, shows a white piece of pottery against a green background. Pottery was chosen since it was one of the main industries in

10791-703: Was buried in Haugesund . In the Saga of Harald Fairhair in Heimskringla (written around 1230), which is the most elaborate although not the oldest or most reliable source to the life of Harald, it is written that Harald succeeded, on the death of his father Halfdan the Black Gudrödarson in Rondvatnet , to the sovereignty of several small, and somewhat scattered kingdoms in Vestfold , which had come into his father's hands through conquest and inheritance. His protector-regent

10900-481: Was commonly stated to have been buried under a mound at Haugar by the Strait of Karmsund near the church in Haugesund , an area that later would be named the town and municipal Haugesund . The area near Karmsund was the traditional burial site for several early Norwegian rulers. The national monument of Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord which is traditionally dated to 872. While

11009-432: Was crushed beneath the knee by the prow of one of the king's ships and he had to walk on a wooden pegleg for the rest of his life. The 13th century Ragnars saga loðbrókar ok sona hans ( Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons ) mentions Harald Fairhair in chapter 18 as the great-great-grandson of Sigurd Hart through his daughter Aslaug, her son Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and his daughter Ragnhild. Harald's maternal ancestry

11118-586: Was headed for England. Thorolf traveled to the Vík area and retaliated, seizing a ship filled with provisions for the king in Thruma , then pillaging Sigtrygg and Hallvard's farm in Hising , causing maiming and death to their two younger brothers. For the offense, the king issued permission to kill Thorolf. Ultimately, fearful of Thorolf's growing power, King Harald himself gathered troops and assaulted Thorolf's hall at Sandnes , in

11227-422: Was his mother's brother duke Guthorm . He is described as the descendant of the Yngling -dynasty, whose history is described earlier in the work. The unification of Norway is something of a love story. It begins with a marriage proposal that resulted in rejection and scorn from Gyda , the daughter of Eirik, king of Hordaland . She said she refused to marry Harald "before he was king over all of Norway". Harald

11336-409: Was invited. The Värmlandish chieftain Áki ( Swedish Åke jarl ) invited both king Harald Fairhair and the Swedish saga -king Erik Eymundsson , but had the Norwegian king stay in the newly constructed and sumptuous one, because he was the youngest one of the kings and the one who had the greatest prospects. The older Swedish king, on the other hand, had to stay in the old feasting hall. The Swedish king

11445-606: Was killed on Orkney by Rognvald's son Torf-Einarr and Gudrød was brought to justice by Harald. The estates in Møre are returned to Rognvald's other son Thorir the Silent who was given Harald's daughter Ålov in marriage as compensation . A variation of this story also appears in Orkneyinga saga . Afterwards, Gudrød was kept in Harald's hird , in a position where Harald could prevent him from similar transgressions. The account describes Hákon

11554-474: Was mortally wounded, and bequeathed the entire Torgar estate to Thorolf, entrusting the care of his wife and son to him. Thorolf married Bard's widow Sigrid (Sigríðr Sigurðardóttir), and this put him in line to inherit another estate, at Sandnes , through his wife. When Thorolf obtained Sandnes after the death of his father-in-law, Hildirid’s sons arrived and demanded their share from the Torgar estate. Thorolf rebuffed

11663-544: Was settled by "malcontents" from Norway, who resented Harald's claim of rights of taxation over lands, which the possessors appear to have previously held in absolute ownership. It is the earliest non-skaldic account of Harald to use the nickname hárfagri . The Skarðsárbók -version of Landnámabók includes a brief narrative of Harald and his background. Harald is here described as the great-grandson of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye through his daughter Áslaug, her son Sigurd Hart and his daughter Ragnhild. The text describes Halfdan

11772-532: Was so humiliated that he killed Áki. Harald drove Erik Eymundsson out of Värmland and inserted Áki's son Ubbi ( Swedish : Ubbe ) as jarl. Harald is then said to have made a punitive raid into Västra Götaland , to weaken Erik Eymundsson. As Harald's sons came of age their unruly behavior became a source of instability in Norway. Snæfrith's sons Halfdan Long-Leg and Gudrød Ljome burned Rognvald jarl alive in his hall and took his lands in More and Orkney . Halfdan Long-Legs

11881-532: Was therefore induced to take a vow not to cut nor comb his hair until he was " þjóðkonungr " ( people-king ) of Norway, and when he was justified in trimming it ten years later, he exchanged the epithet " Shockhead " or "Tanglehair" (Haraldr lúfa) for the one by which he is usually known. In 866, Harald made the first of a series of conquests over the many petty kingdoms which would compose all of Norway, including Värmland in Sweden, which had sworn allegiance to

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