Hagrold

Hagrold (fl. 944–954), also known as Hagroldus, Harold, and Harald, was a powerful tenth-century Viking chieftain who ruled Bayeux. He was apparently a pagan from Scandinavia, and seems to have seized power in Normandy at about the time of the death of William, Count of Rouen. His career can be interpreted in the context of aiding the Normans against the intrusion of Frankish authority, or conversely in the context of taking advantage of the Normans.

Following the assassination of William, Count of Rouen (died 942), a man whose son and successor, Richard was merely a child, the Franks took steps to extend their authority into neighbouring Normandy. In 944, according to an account of events preserved by the contemporary commentators Flodoard and Richer of Reims, in the wake of the confusion in Normandy, Louis IV, King of the Franks gave Hugh, Duke of the Franks permission to seize control of the town of Bayeux. Although the duke proceeded to assail the settlement, before he gained control the king reneged on his promise whereupon Hugh left the region.

According to the accounts of Flodoard and Richer, Hagrold captured Louis in 945, after which Hugh eventually secured the king's release through negotiations. The fact that Hagrold is described as in charge of Bayeux in these accounts suggests that he led the successful defence of the town in the preceding year. He was clearly a considerably powerful figure to have not only gained power but withstand Frankish aggression. At this point in history, even before William's assassination, Norman comital power encompassed little more than the outskirts of Rouen. Hagrold—apparently a pagan from Scandinavia—seems to have ruled Bayeaux as his personal domain, and apparently stood independent from both the Franks and Normans. The political disarray in Denmark at about this time would have likely contributed to such settlement in Normandy, and could account from Hagrold's presence there. The successive waves of Scandinavian settlers into Lower Normandy during this period likely contributed to the lack of comital power.

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