Harald “Land Waster” Hardradi

Norway’s King Harald Hardradi, known as 'the Land Waster,' came close to conquering England before William the Conqueror in 1066.

by Kenneth Cline For many history buffs, the date 1066 conjures up an image of Norman knights breaking through the shield wall of the ax-wielding Anglo-Saxons at Senlac Hill. But 1066 was about more than just the Battle of Hastings. The contest for England that epochal year was actually a tripartite struggle. And had things gone a different way, the eventual winner could well have been a Viking king named Harald Sigurdsson, or Harald Hardradi, as he was better known. Had Harald of Norway defeat