Sigurd Hart
Sigurd Hart or Sigurd Hjort was a legendary king of Ringerike, during the late 9th or early 10th centuries. he is mentioned in Ragnarssona þáttr and in Halvdan Svartes saga.
Ragnarssona þáttr states that Sigurd Hart was the son of Helgi the Sharp of the Dagling dynasty and Helgi's wife Aslaug. Helgi was reportedly the son-in-law of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Blaeja, the daughter of king Aelle II of Northumbria.
Biography
Traditional sources state that Sigurd Hart was only 12 years old when he slew a berserker named Hildibrand in a duel, and 11 other men. He married a woman named Ingeborg. Sigurd Hart and Ingeborg had children named Guthorm Sigurdsson and Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter. When Sigurd Hart's uncle, king Fróði of Ringerike died, Sigurd Hart supposedly went to Norway to succeed him as king of Ringerike.There are a number of unlikely claims or implied claims about Sigurd Hart's descendants in Ragnarssona þáttr, Heimskringla, and Fagrskinna.
- One is the suggestion that he was the father of Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, who was kidnapped by, and the wife of, Halfdan the Black, and mother of Harald Fairhair. This would seem impossible unless two different men named Sigurd Hart were involved – given that most sources suggest that his father was active in the late 9th century, which would make Sigurd Hart about two generations younger than Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter.
- Another unlikely claim suggests that the legendary Danish king Harthacanute was a descendant of Sigurd Hart, although Harthacanute may well have been born before Sigurd.. He was the father of Gorm the Old, the king of Denmark. Gorm succeeded his father as king and married Thyra. Gorm's son, Harald Bluetooth succeeded his father as king and married Gyrid of Sweden. They had a son named Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn succeeded his father as king and married Gunhild