Battle of Hjörungavágr
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Battle of Hjörungavágr | |||||||
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The hailstorm during the battle |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Norway | Jomsvikings | ||||||
Commanders | |||||||
Hákon Sigurðarson Eiríkr Hákonarson Sveinn Hákonarson |
Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson Vagn Ákason Búi digri |
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Strength | |||||||
180 ships | 60 ships |
The Battle of Hjörungavágr (Modern Norwegian Hjørungavåg) is a semi-legendary naval battle that took place in the late 10th century between the Jarls of Lade and a Danish invasion fleet led by the fabled Jomsvikings. The battle is described in the Norse kings' sagas—such as Heimskringla—as well as in Jómsvíkinga saga and Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. Those late literary accounts are fanciful but historians believe that they contain a kernel of truth. Some contemporary skaldic poetry alludes to the battle, including verses by Þórðr Kolbeinsson and Tindr Hallkelsson.