Editing Harald Bluetooth

{{Short description|10th-century King of Denmark and Norway}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = 1200 Harald Blåtand anagoria.jpg
| caption      = Harald being [[baptize]]d by Poppo the monk, in a relief dated to c. 1200<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/Arkitektur/Danske_kirker_T-T%C3%A5/Tamdrup_Kirke|title=Tamdrup Kirke|work=Den store danske|access-date=3 November 2012|archive-date=20 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920220645/http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/Arkitektur/Danske_kirker_T-T%C3%A5/Tamdrup_Kirke|url-status=live}}</ref>
| succession   = [[Monarchy of Denmark|King of Denmark]]
| reign        = c. 958 – c. 986
| predecessor  = [[Gorm the Old]]
| successor    = [[Sweyn Forkbeard]]
| succession1  = [[Monarchy of Norway|King of Norway]]
| reign1       = c. 970 – c. 985/986
| predecessor1 = [[Harald Greycloak]]
| successor1   = [[Olaf Tryggvason]]
| regent1      = [[Haakon Sigurdsson]] (de facto ruler)
| spouses      = {{ubl|Gunhild|[[Tove of the Obotrites|Tove]]|[[Gyrid Olafsdottir]]}}
| issue        = {{ubl|[[Tyra of Denmark|Tyra]]|[[Sweyn Forkbeard]] (disputed)|Haakon|[[Gunhilde]]}}
| issue-link   = #Children
| house        = [[House of Knýtlinga|House of Gorm]]
| father       = [[Gorm the Old]]
| mother       = [[Thyra]]
| death_date   = 985/986
| death_place  = [[Jomsborg]]
| religion     = [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]
}}
'''Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson''' ({{langx|non|Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson}};<ref>''[[Fagrskinna]]'' ch. 7 (ed. [[Finnur Jónsson]] 1902–8, p. 31) ''af Harallde Gormssyne'' (dative), ch. 14 (p. 58) ''við Haralld konong Gorms sun'' (accusative).</ref> {{langx|da|Harald Blåtand Gormsen}}, died c. 985/86) was a king of [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]].

The son of King [[Gorm the Old]] and [[Thyra]] Dannebod, Harald ruled as [[king of Denmark]] from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced [[Christianization of Denmark|Christianity to Denmark]] and consolidated his rule over most of [[Jutland]] and [[Zealand]].

Harald's rule as [[king of Norway]] following the assassination of King [[Harald II of Norway|Harald Greycloak]] of Norway was more tenuous, most likely lasting for no more than a few years in the 970s. Some sources say his son [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] forcibly deposed him from his Danish throne before his death.

== Name ==
[[File:The Curmsun Disc - Obverse.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Curmsun disc]] with "Harald" inscription (''Arald Curmsun'') at the top lines]]

Harald's name is written as [[runic]] ''haraltr : kunukʀ'' (ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ) in the [[Jelling stone]] inscription. In normalized [[Old Norse]], this would correspond to ''Haraldr konungr'', i.e. "Harald [[Germanic king|king]]". The Latinized name as given in the medieval [[Danish chronicles]] is ''Haraldus Gormonis filius'' (Harald, Gorm's son). The given name ''Haraldr'' (also ''Haralldr'') is the equivalent of Old English ''[[Harold (given name)|Hereweald]]'', Old High German ''Heriwald'', from ''hari'' "army" and ''wald-'' "rule".<ref>A. Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' (1856), [https://archive.org/stream/altdeutschesnam00frgoog#page/n338/mode/1up 631f.]</ref> Harald's name is also inscribed on the so-called [[Curmsun disc]], rediscovered in 2014 (but part of a Viking hoard previously discovered in 1841 in the crypt of the [[Wiejkowo|Groß-Weckow]] village church in [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Pomerania]], close to the Viking Age stronghold of [[Jomsborg]]), as ''+ARALD CVRMSVN + REX AD TANER + SCON + JVMN + CIV ALDIN'', i.e. "Harald Gormson, king of [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]], [[Scania]], [[Jumne]], [in] {{ill|Bishopric of Aldinburg|de|Bistum Oldenburg}}".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/9647410|title=A unique object from Harald Bluetooth´s time. (2015)|author=Sven Rosborn|access-date=12 October 2015|archive-date=1 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201085538/http://www.academia.edu/9647410/A_unique_object_from_Harald_Bluetooth_s_time._2015_|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first documented appearance of Harald's nickname "Bluetooth" (as ''blatan''; Old Norse ''*blátǫnn'') is in the ''[[Chronicon Roskildense]]'' (written c. 1140), alongside the alternative nickname ''Clac Harald''.<ref>''Mortuo patre, [Haraldus] quinquaginta annos regnavit. Hic Christianus extitit cognomine Blatan sive Clac Harald.'' ed. Langebek (1772) [https://books.google.com/books?id=AJdJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA375 p. 375] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414022811/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJdJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA375 |date=14 April 2023 }}.</ref> ''Clac Harald'' appears to be a conflation of Harald Bluetooth with the legendary or semi-legendary [[Harald Klak]], son of [[Halfdan]]. The byname is given as ''Blachtent'' and explicitly glossed as "bluish or black tooth" (''dens lividus vel niger'') in a [[List of Danish chronicles|chronicle]] of the late 12th century, ''Wilhelmi abbatis regum Danorum genealogia''.<ref>ed. Ludewig, ''Reliquiæ Manuscriptorum'', vol. IX, 591–650: ''Haraldus, hinc cognomento Blachtent, id est, dens lividus, vel niger''</ref> {{According to whom|The traditional explanation|date=October 2023}} is that Harald must have had a conspicuous bad tooth that appeared "blue" (i.e. "black", as ''[[:wikt:blár#Old Norse|blár]]'' "blue" [[Blue–green distinction in language#Germanic|meant]] "blue-black", or "dark-coloured").
Another explanation, proposed by [[:no:Benito Scocozza|Scocozza]] (1997), is that he was called "blue [[Thegn|thane]]" (or "dark thane") in England (with Anglo-Saxon ''thegn'' corrupted to ''tan'' when the name came back into Old Norse).<ref>Scocozza, Benito (1997), Politikens bog om danske monarker, København: Politikens Forlag, {{ISBN|87-567-5772-7}}</ref>

==Reign==
[[File:Runenstein Blauzahn 2.jpg|thumb|The larger [[Jelling stones|Jelling stone]], showing the inscription concerning Harald]]

During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction of the Jelling runic stones, and numerous other public works. The most famous is fortifying the fortress of Aros (nowadays [[Aarhus]]) which was situated in a central position in his kingdom in the year 979. Some believe these projects were a way for him to consolidate economic and military control of his country and the main city. [[Viking ring castles|Ring forts]] were built in five strategic locations with Aarhus perfectly in the middle: [[Trelleborg (Slagelse)|Trelleborg]] on [[Zealand]], [[Borrering]] in eastern Zealand (the inner construction of this fort is still yet to be established), [[Nonnebakken]] on [[Funen]], [[Fyrkat]] in [[Himmerland]] (northern [[Jutland]]) and [[Aggersborg]] near [[Limfjord]]. All five fortresses had similar designs: "perfectly circular with gates opening to the four corners of the earth, and a courtyard divided into four areas which held large houses set in a square pattern."<ref>Fortehad, Oram and Pedersen, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_vEd859jvk0C Viking Empires] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405152116/https://books.google.com/books?id=_vEd859jvk0C |date=5 April 2023 }}'', Cambridge University Press (2005) p. 180. {{ISBN|0-521-82992-5}}</ref> A sixth ''Trelleborg'' of similar design, located at [[Borgeby]], in Scania, has been dated to about 1000 and may have been built by King Harald and a second fort named Trelleborg is located near the modern town of [[Trelleborg]] in Scania in present-day Sweden, but is of older date and thus pre-dates the reign of Harald Bluetooth.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

He constructed the oldest known bridge in southern Scandinavia, the {{convert|5|m|ft|adj=on}} wide and {{convert|760|m|ft|adj=on}} long [[Ravning Bridge]] at Ravning meadows.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

While quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he turned his energies to foreign enterprises. He came to the help of [[Richard the Fearless]] of Normandy in 945 and 963, while his son conquered [[Sambia Peninsula|Samland]], and after the assassination of King [[Harald II of Norway|Harald Greycloak]] of Norway, managed to force the people of that country into temporary subjugation to himself.

The [[Norse saga]]s present Harald in a rather negative light. He was forced twice to submit to the renegade Swedish prince [[Styrbjörn the Strong]] of the [[Jomsvikings]]- first by giving Styrbjörn a fleet and his daughter [[Tyra of Denmark|Thyra]], the second time by giving up himself as hostage, along with yet another fleet. When Styrbjörn brought this fleet to [[Uppsala]] to claim the throne of Sweden, Harald broke his oath and fled with his Danes to avoid facing the Swedish army at the [[Battle of Fýrisvellir]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williamson |first=Jonathan |date=15 August 2023 |title=Harald Bluetooth Gormsson: The Viking king who connected kingdoms |url=https://thevikingherald.com/article/harald-bluetooth-gormsson-the-king-who-connected-kingdoms/617 |access-date=28 February 2024 |website=The Viking Herald |language=en}}</ref>

=== Harald's Rebellion ===
{{Main articles|German–Danish war of 974}}
[[File:Harald bluetooth.PNG|thumb|right|Harald's kingdom (in red) and his vassals and allies (in yellow){{efn|As set forth in ''Heimskringla'', ''Knytlinga Saga'', and other medieval Scandinavian sources.}}]]
In the wake of [[Otto I]]'s death, Harald attacked Saxony in 973. [[Otto II]] counter-attacked Harald in 974, conquering Haithabu, Dannevirke and possibly large parts of Jutland.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fgk28|title=Early state formation in Scandinavia|date=2009|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|isbn=978-3-7001-6604-7|volume=16|pages=148|jstor=j.ctt3fgk28|access-date=22 June 2021|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625003912/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fgk28|url-status=live}}</ref> Harald regained some of the seized territory in 983 when Otto II was defeated by the Saracens.<ref name=":0" />

As a consequence of Harald's army having lost to the Germans at the [[Danevirke]] in 974, he no longer had control of Norway, and Germans settled back into the border area between Scandinavia and Germany. They were driven out of Denmark in 983 by an alliance of [[Obodrite]] soldiers and troops loyal to Harald, but soon after, Harald was killed fighting off a rebellion led by his son Sweyn. He is believed to have died in 986, although several accounts claim 985 as his year of death. According to [[Adam of Bremen]] he died in Jumne/[[Jomsborg]] from his wounds.<ref name="academia.edu">[https://www.academia.edu/9647410/A_unique_object_from_Harald_Bluetooth_s_time._2015_ Rosborn, Sven (2015) ''A unique object from Harald Bluetooth´s time?'' Malmö: Pilemedia, pp. 4–5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201085538/http://www.academia.edu/9647410/A_unique_object_from_Harald_Bluetooth_s_time._2015_ |date=1 February 2017 }} www.academia.edu</ref> His body was brought back to the Trinity Church in Roskilde where he was buried.<ref>{{Citation|last=Skovgaard-Petersen|first=Inge|title=The making of the Danish kingdom|date=2003|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-scandinavia/making-of-the-danish-kingdom/BABD7AE993BEE083EC9483C8DBE4352E|work=The Cambridge History of Scandinavia: Volume 1: Prehistory to 1520|pages=176|editor-last=Helle|editor-first=Knut|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-47299-9|access-date=8 January 2022|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108222656/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-scandinavia/making-of-the-danish-kingdom/BABD7AE993BEE083EC9483C8DBE4352E|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Curmsun Disc, found in Groß-Weckow, [[Pomerania]], (after 1945 [[Wiejkowo]]) is inscribed with "ARALD CVRMSVN" (Harald Gormson), calling him, in abbreviated Latin, "king of Danes, Scania, [[Jomsborg]], town of [[Oldenburg in Holstein|Aldinburg]]". Based on this, Swedish archaeologist Sven Rosborn has proposed that Harald is buried at the church there, close to Jomsborg, in what is now Poland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Monika Scislowska |title=Is Danish king who gave name to Bluetooth buried in Poland? |url=https://www.startribune.com/is-danish-king-who-gave-name-to-bluetooth-buried-in-poland/600194497/ |work=[[StarTribune]] |agency=AP |date=31 July 2022 |access-date=10 August 2022 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810093648/https://www.startribune.com/is-danish-king-who-gave-name-to-bluetooth-buried-in-poland/600194497/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="academia.edu"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2022 |title=Har svensk arkæolog bevist, at Harald Blåtand blev begravet med kæmpeskat i Polen? |url=https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/har-svensk-arkaeolog-bevist-at-harald-blaatand-blev-begravet-med-kaempeskat-i-polen |access-date=25 August 2022 |website=videnskab.dk |language=da |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825115359/https://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/har-svensk-arkaeolog-bevist-at-harald-blaatand-blev-begravet-med-kaempeskat-i-polen |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1835 to 1977, it was wrongly believed that Harald ordered the death of the [[Haraldskær Woman]], a [[bog body]] previously thought to be [[Gunnhild, Mother of Kings]] until [[radiocarbon dating]] proved otherwise.<ref>" [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/gunhild.html Haraldskaer Woman: Bodies of the Bogs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821184603/http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/gunhild.html |date=21 August 2007 }}", ''[[Archaeology (magazine)|Archaeology]]'', [[Archaeological Institute of America]], 10 December 1997</ref>

The [[Hiddensee treasure]], a large trove of gold objects, was found in 1873 on the German island of [[Hiddensee]] in the Baltic Sea. It is believed that these objects belonged to Harald's family.<ref>Pontus Weman Tell (2016), [https://www.academia.edu/29233334/The_Curmsun_Disc_-_Harald_Bluetooth_s_Golden_Seal ''The Curmsun Disc – Harald Bluetooth´s Golden Seal?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120115645/https://www.academia.edu/29233334/The_Curmsun_Disc_-_Harald_Bluetooth_s_Golden_Seal |date=20 November 2018 }} www.academia.edu</ref>

Harald introduced the first nationwide coinage in Denmark.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Moesgaard|first=Jens Christian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWnIsgEACAAJ|title=King Harold's Cross Coinage: Christian Coins for the Merchants of Haithabu and the King's Soldiers|date=2015|publisher=University Press of Southern Denmark|isbn=978-87-7602-323-2|language=en|access-date=26 November 2021|archive-date=14 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414022818/https://books.google.com/books?id=nWnIsgEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Conversion to Christianity==
King Harald's [[Christianization of Scandinavia|conversion to Christianity]] is a contested bit of history, not least because medieval writers such as [[Widukind of Corvey]] and [[Adam of Bremen]] give conflicting accounts of how it came about.

Widukind of Corvey, writing during the lives of King Harald and [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] (ruled 962–973), claims that Harald was converted by a "cleric by the name of Poppa" who, when asked by Harald to prove his faith in Christ, carried a "great weight" of iron heated by a fire without being burned.<ref>Widukind, ''Res gestae Saxonicae'' 3.65, ed. Paul Hirsch and Hans-Eberhard Lohmann, MGH SS rer. ''Germ. in usum scholarum'' (Hanover, 1935), pp. 140–141. Translated from Latin by Anders Winroth, 2006.</ref> According to 12th-century Danish historian [[Saxo Grammaticus]] in his work ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'', Poppa performed his miracle for Harald's son [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] after Sweyn had second thoughts about his own baptism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zeeberg|first1=Peter|title=Saxos Danmarkshistorie|date=2000|publisher=Gads Forlag|isbn=978-87-12-04745-2|pages=924–925|edition=e-book}}</ref> Harald himself converted to Catholicism after a peace agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor (either Otto I or II).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zeeberg|first1=Peter|title=Saxos Danmarkshistorie|date=2000|publisher=Gads Forlag|isbn=978-87-12-04745-2|page=1069|edition=e-book}}</ref>

Adam of Bremen, writing 100 years after King Harald's death in "History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen", finished in 1076, describes Harald being forcibly converted by [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]], after a defeat in battle.<ref name="Adam">Adam of Bremen, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4XfoxDEcIcgC&pg=PP1 History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414022830/https://books.google.com/books?id=4XfoxDEcIcgC&pg=PP1 |date=14 April 2023 }}'', trans. Francis J. Tschan (New York, 2002), pp. 55–57.</ref> However, Widukind does not mention such an event in his contemporary ''[[Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres]]'' or ''Deeds of the Saxons''. Some 250 years after the event, the ''[[Heimskringla]]'' relates that Harald was converted with [[Haakon Sigurdsson|Earl Haakon]], by [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto II]] (ruled 973 – 983).<ref>{{cite web|title=Heimskringla|url=http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/hmskr10.htm|access-date=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306020947/http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/hmskr10.htm|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A cleric named Poppo or Poppa, perhaps the same one, also appears in Adam of Bremen's history, but in connection with [[Eric the Victorious|Eric of Sweden]], who had supposedly conquered Denmark (the fact that Eric conquered Denmark during the realm of Sweyn Forkbeard is explained by Saxo as a punishment of Sweyn's [[apostasy]]).<ref>Adam of Bremen, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4XfoxDEcIcgC&pg=PP1 History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414022830/https://books.google.com/books?id=4XfoxDEcIcgC&pg=PP1 |date=14 April 2023 }}'', trans. Francis J. Tschan (New York, 2002), pp. 77–78.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Zeeberg|first1=Peter|title=Saxos Danmarkshistorie|date=2000|publisher=Gads Forlag|isbn=978-87-12-04745-2|page=1100|edition=e-book}}</ref> The story of this otherwise unknown Poppo or Poppa's miracle and baptism of Harald is also depicted on the gilded altar piece in the Church of Tamdrup in Denmark (see image at top of this article). The altar itself dates to about 1200.<ref>Anders Winroth, ''Viking Sources in Translation'', 2009.</ref> Adam of Bremen's claim regarding Otto I and Harald appears to have been inspired by an attempt to manufacture a historical reason for the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen to claim jurisdiction over Denmark (and thus the rest of Scandinavia); in the 1070s, the Danish king was in Rome asking for Denmark to have its own arch-bishop, and Adam's account of Harald's supposed conversion (and baptism of both him and his "little son" [[Sweyn Forkbeard|Sweyn]], with Otto serving as Sweyn's godfather) is followed by the unambiguous claim that "At that time Denmark on this side of the sea, which is called Jutland by the inhabitants, was divided into three dioceses and subjected to the bishopric of Hamburg."<ref name="Adam" />

As noted above, Harald's father, [[Gorm the Old]], had died in 958, and had been buried in a mound with many goods, after the pagan practice. The mound itself was from c. 500 BCE, but Harald had it built higher over his father's grave, and added a second mound to the south. Mound-building was a newly revived custom in the 10th century, perceivably as an "appeal to old traditions in the face of Christian customs spreading from Denmark's southern neighbors, the Germans".<ref>Anders Winroth, Viking Sources in Translation, in text drawing on a caption by Anders Winroth in Barbara Rosenwein, ''Reading the Middle Ages'', (Peterborough, Ontario, 2006). p. 266.</ref>

After his conversion, around the 960s, Harald had his father's body reburied in the church next to the now empty mound.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rose |first1=Mark |title=Gorm the Old Goes Home |url=https://archive.archaeology.org/0011/newsbriefs/gorm.html |website=Archaeology |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109135826/https://archive.archaeology.org/0011/newsbriefs/gorm.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He had the Jelling stones erected to honour his parents.<ref>C. Michael Hogan, [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17683 "Jelling Stones"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202614/http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17683 |date=3 March 2016 }}, Megalithic Portal, editor Andy Burnham</ref> The biography of Harald Bluetooth is summed up by this runic inscription from the Jelling stones:

{{quote|King Harald bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity.}}

Harald undoubtedly professed Christianity at that time and contributed to its growth, but with limited success in Denmark and Norway.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Latourette |first=Kenneth Scott |title=A History of Christianity |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1975 |location=New York |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4pzuXCiDdYC |isbn=0-06-064952-6 |access-date=13 December 2015 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414022829/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4pzuXCiDdYC |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Marriages and children==
===Spouses===
# Gunhild
# [[Tove of the Obotrites|Thora]] (Tova) the daughter of [[Mistivir]] in 970. She raised the [[Sønder Vissing Runestone]] after her mother.
# [[Gyrid Olafsdottir]]

===Children===
*[[Tyra of Denmark]], married [[Styrbjörn the Strong]].
*[[Sweyn Forkbeard]]. Born about 960. Usually given as the son of Harald and Gunhild, though it is said in some of the older sagas that he was an illegitimate son.
*Haakon. Born in 961(?).{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}
*[[Gunhilde]]. She married [[Pallig]], [[Jarl (title)|Jarl]] and [[Ealdorman]] of [[Devon]]shire. It is thought that they both died in the [[St. Brice's Day massacre]] in November 1002.

==Bluetooth technology==
{{Main|Bluetooth}}
[[File:Bluetooth FM Color.png|thumb|upright=0.5|The Bluetooth logo]]
The Bluetooth wireless specification design was named after the king in 1997,<ref name=Kardach>{{cite news|last1=Kardach|first1=Jim|title=Tech History: How Bluetooth got its name|url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1269737&page_number=1|access-date=9 June 2014|work=EE Times|date=3 May 2008|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084549/http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1269737&page_number=1|url-status=live}}</ref> based on an analogy that the technology would unite devices the way Harald Bluetooth united the tribes of Denmark into a single kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/2061288/so-thats-why-its-called-bluetooth-and-other-surprising-tech-name-origins.html|title='So, that's why it's called Bluetooth!' and other surprising tech name origins|work=PCWorld|access-date=16 August 2017|language=en|archive-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806043904/http://www.pcworld.com/article/2061288/so-thats-why-its-called-bluetooth-and-other-surprising-tech-name-origins.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EETimes">{{cite news|work=eetimes|url=http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4182202/Tech-History-How-Bluetooth-got-its-name|title=Tech History: How Bluetooth got its name|first=Jim|last=Kardach|date=5 March 2008|access-date=11 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618043909/http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4182202/Tech-History-How-Bluetooth-got-its-name|archive-date=18 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Forsyth, Mark|title= The Etymologicon|publisher= Icon Books Ltd.|location= London N79DP|date= 2011|page= 139}}</ref> The Bluetooth logo consists of a [[Younger Futhark]] [[bind rune]] for his initials, H ([[hagall|ᚼ]]) and B ([[berkanan|ᛒ]]).<ref>The story behind how Bluetooth® technology got its name, [https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/bluetooth-origin/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228185749/https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/bluetooth-origin/|date=28 December 2020}} .</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hagrold]], a 10th-century Danish Viking in Normandy, mentioned as a Danish king, who became conflated with Harald Bluetooth in a later historical account. 

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

* ''This article incorporates text from the 1913 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' article "[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07141b.htm Harold Bluetooth]" by Pius Wittmann, a publication now in the [[public domain]].{{verify source|date=February 2019}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Harald Blåtand}}
* {{PASE|81231|Harold 2}}

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{{S-reg}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Gorm the Old]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[King of Denmark]]|years=958–985/986}}
{{S-aft|rows=2|after=[[Sweyn Forkbeard]]}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Harald Greycloak]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[King of Norway]]|years=970–985/986}}
{{S-end}}

{{Monarchs of Denmark}}
{{Monarchs of Norway}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harald Bluetooth}}
[[Category:Harald Bluetooth| ]]
[[Category:980s deaths]]
[[Category:10th-century Christians]]
[[Category:10th-century kings of Denmark]]
[[Category:10th-century Norwegian monarchs]]
[[Category:Burials at Roskilde Cathedral]]
[[Category:Christian monarchs]]
[[Category:Converts to Christianity from Germanic paganism]]
[[Category:Danish Christians]]
[[Category:House of Knýtlinga]]
[[Category:Norse monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:10th-century Vikings]]
[[Category:Gorm the Old]]