The following is dedicated to Haakon Sigurdsson, another 28^th great grandfather of mine (like Forkbeard - their grandchildren would hook up), who, in those good old days when real men fought over religion, countered Bluetooth’s advancing Christianity with bloodshed:

Haakon was a strong believer in the old Norse gods, and when Harald Bluetooth attempted to force Christianity upon him around 975, Haakon broke his allegiance to Denmark. In 977 Vladimir I of Kiev fled to him, collecting as many of the Viking warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod, and on his return the next year marched against Yaropolk I of Kiev. In 986, a Danish invasion fleet led by the fabled Jomsvikings was defeated at the Battle of Hjrungavgr.

In 995, a quarrel broke out between Haakon and the Trnders just as Olaf Tryggvason, a descendant of Harald Fairhair arrived. Haakon quickly lost all support, and was killed by his own slave and friend, Tormod Kark, while hiding in the pig sty in the farm Rimul in Melhus. […]

My ancestors fought a lot. This goes out to them:

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