Dr. Wayne Bartlett

As you say, they had steering awls, which they could actually take off when they needed to.

But from time to time, they would literally carry the ships around obstacles before depositing them back in the water again.

Yeah.

So part of the story is that when he first reached Kiev, all those years before he went to Constantinople, he became attracted to the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, a young lady called Elisif or Elizabeth, as we might anglicize it.

And it's a bit like an ancient Greek legend, really.

When he asked for the hand of Eliseth, Yaroslav says, well, young man, you don't really have a lot to offer me at the moment.

Go out and prove yourself, undertake all these adventures, make me rich, that kind of thing.

And if you achieve all of that and you come back, then yes, you can marry my daughter.

so this is kind of what happens now Harold comes back he's been very good as I said in sending back wealth to Kiev of which he would have I'm sure generously contributed directly to Yaroslav some of it he certainly proved himself he's shown himself now to be a really outstanding military leader somebody that Yaroslav would very much want as a prominent general in his armies and

So having a bit like the ancient Greek hero proved himself, Harold is now worthy to marry Eliseth, which he duly does.

Having kept his side of the bargain, Yaroslav now responds in kind.

The thing is that there is this underlying plot line, if you like, in the sagas about Harold, that he always wants to be king.

It's his destiny to be king.

And he wants to go home.

He wants to become king in his own country.

So by now he's probably about 30-ish, 30 years old.

That's pretty much in the prime of life back then when life expectancy was generally a bit shorter than it is now.

So he now feels that it's his moment of destiny and it's now time to go back home and become King of Norway.

The only problem with that is there's already a king of Norway in the shape of his nephew, Magnus, the illegitimate son of Harold's half-brother, Olaf.

So there is no kingdom to inherit.