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In the 19th century, a case had also been made for Harald Bluetooth King of Denmark (d. 985) as being Eric's true father. J.M. Lappenberg and Charles Plummer, for instance, identified Eric with Harald's son Hiring. [17] The only authority for this son's existence is Adam of Bremen, who in his Gesta ( c. 1070) claims to cite the otherwise unknown Gesta Anglorum for a remarkable anecdote about Hiring's foreign adventures: "Harald sent his son Hiring to England with an army. When the latter had subjugated the island, he was in the end betrayed and killed by the Northumbrians." [18] Even if Eric's rise and fall had been the inspiration for the story, the names are not identical and Harald Bluetooth's floruit does not sit well with Eric's. In two or three centuries of oral transmission, such poems and individual verses could have been adapted and rearranged to suit other needs. Roberta Frank's verdict is that "[h]istory may help us to understand Norse court poetry, but skaldic verse can tell us little about history that we did not already know." "Skaldic Poetry." In Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, ed. Carol J. Clover and John Lindow. Ithaca and London, 1985. pp. 157–96: 174. Illico Northymbrenses, expulso rege suo atque occiso a Maccus filio Onlafi, juramentis et muneribus placaverunt regem Eadredum, commissa provincia Osulfo comiti.' Historia regum AD 1072, ed. Arnold, p. 197; similarly, Roger of Howden, Chronica I, p. 57.

Egils saga, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Halle, 1894; tr. Herman Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976. The figure that Eric became in the Norse sagas is a heady mix of history, folklore, and political propaganda. He is usually portrayed as a larger-than-life Viking hero, whose powerful and violent performances bring him many short-term successes, but ultimately make him flawed and unpopular as a ruler and statesman. The Heimskringla describes Eric as "a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior", but also "violent of disposition, cruel, gruff, and taciturn". [114] The synoptic histories (Theodoricus, the Historia Norwegiae, and Ágrip) to some degree seek to excuse Eric's cruelty and fall from favour with the Norwegian nobility by pointing out another weakness, that of his naive faith in the evil counsels of his wife. [115] Conflict with Egill Skallagrimsson ( Egils saga) [ edit ] Picture of Egill in a 17th-century manuscript of Egils Saga. Strikingly, Eric's historical obscurity stands in sharp contrast to the wealth of legendary depictions in the kings' sagas, in which he takes part in the sagas of his father Harald Fairhair and his younger half-brother Haakon the Good. These include the late 12th-century Norwegian synoptics– Historia Norwegiæ(perhaps c. 1170), Theodoricus monachus' Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium ( c. 1180), and Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum ( c. 1190) – and the later Icelandic kings' sagas Orkneyinga saga ( c. 1200), Fagrskinna ( c. 1225), the Heimskringla ascribed to Snorri Sturluson ( c. 1230), Egils saga (1220–1240), and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta ( c. 1300). Exactly in what sense the Eric of the sagas may have been based on the historical Eric of Northumbria, and conversely, to what extent later evidence might be called upon to shed light on the historical figure, are matters which have inspired a variety of approaches and suggestions among generations of historians. Current opinion veers towards a more critical attitude towards the use of sagas as historical sources for the period before the 11th century, but conclusive answers cannot be offered. [6] Epithet [ edit ] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS D) 948. Cf: William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum II ch. 146: "...and soon afterwards, when they broke the agreement and set up a certain King Eric [ quodam Iritio rege] over them, he [Eadred] almost wiped them out, and laid waste the whole province with famine and bloodshed." Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS D) 948. Historia regum AD 950, ed. Arnold, vol. 2, p. 127: 'Verum hoc cognito, Northymbrenses timore perterriti, Yrcum quem sibi regem praefecerant abjecerunt, regis injurias honoribus, detrimenta muneribus expleverunt, ejusque offensam pecunia non modica placaverunt'.

William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum, ed. and tr. R.A.B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT. 2 vols: vol 1. Oxford, 1998. Reimann or Ousmann, De S. Cadroe abbate (The Life of St Cathróe), ed. John Colgan, Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, Vol. 1. pp.494 ff; in part reprinted by W.F. Skene, Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots. pp.106–116; ed. the Bollandists, Acta Sanctorum. 1865. 1 March 473–80 (incomplete); ed. and tr. A.O. Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286. (from Colgan's edition, pp.495–7). No full translation has appeared to this date.

One of the richest sagas to deal with Eric Bloodaxe and his affairs in England is Egils saga, which is also a rich if problematic source for skaldic poems surviving from the 10th century. It tells how at the instigation of his wife Gunnhild, King Eric became involved in a prolonged conflict with Egill Skallagrimsson, the well-known Icelander Viking and skald. The account seems designed to enhance Egill's abilities as a warrior, wizard, and poet. The story can be summarised as follows.J.M. Lappenberg (tr. B. Thorpe), A History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings. 1845. 152. Cf: J.H. Todd, The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill. London, 1867. 266–7. The comes Osulf who betrayed Eric was high-reeve of the northern half of Northumbria, centred on Bamburgh, roughly corresponding to the former kingdom of Bernicia. He clearly benefited from his murderous plot against Eric. The Historia regum says that the province of Northumbria was henceforward administered by earls and records the formal appointment of Osulf as earl of Northumbria the following year. [96] Likewise, the early 12th century De primo Saxonum adventu notes that "[f]irst of the earls after Erik, the last king whom the Northumbrians had, Osulf administered under King Eadred all the provinces of the Northumbrians." [97] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS E) 949. The E-text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes Edmund's death two years too late and accordingly, some doubts may be cast over the dating of Amlaíb's arrival in 949 and his expulsion in favour of Eric in 952. However, a solid terminus post quem for Amlaíb's second reign at York is provided by the entry for 948 in the D-text and by the Irish entries for Amlaíb's defeat in Slane in 947.

Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil, ed. Alexander Bugge, Caithream Ceallachain Caisil. The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel. Christiania, 1905. Towards the end of its portrait of Eric, Fagrskinna cites the Eiríksmál ("Lay of Eric"), an anonymous panegyric written in commemoration of Eric's death and according to the saga's introduction, commissioned by his widow Gunnhild. [10] Except for a single stanza in the Edda, the skaldic poem is preserved nowhere else and what has survived may represent only the opening stanzas. Nóregs konungatal (c. 1190, preserved in Flateyjarbók), ed. Kari Ellen Gade, Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. The E-text reports, however, that in 952, "the Northumbrians drove out King Olaf and accepted Eric, son of Harold." [72] The Annals of Ulster for the same year report a victory of the "foreigners", i.e., the Northmen or the Norse-Gaels, over "the men of Scotland and the Welsh [ Bretnu, i.e., Britons of Strathclyde] and the Saxons." [73] Exactly what this succinct account may tell us of his second rise to power, if anything, is frustratingly unclear. He may have led the Viking forces in a second bid for the throne, or only returned from the sideline to exploit the ravages of defeat. [70] His reign proved once again of a short duration, since in 954 (a date on which MSS D and E agree), the Northumbrians expelled him, too. [74] After Malcolm Falkus and John Gillingham, Historical Atlas of Britain. Kingfisher, 1989. p. 52; and David Hill, An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. Toronto, 1981.The sources differ on the length of Eric's reign in Norway and on whether it was preceded by one of joint rule at all, although a number of them appear to agree on a total of five years ( Nóregs konungatal stanza 10, Ágrip ch. 5). Eric's period of joint rule with his father, if given at all, varies between two years ( Ágrip ch. 5) and three years ( Fagrskinna ch. 5, Heimskringla (Haraldar saga) ch. 42.). The Historia Norwegiæ notes only one year of rule and Theodoricus monachus (ch. 2) uniquely distinguishes between two years of single rule and one of joint rule with his brother. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba records that shortly thereafter, in 948 or 949, Malcolm (I) of Scotland and Cumbria, at Constantine's instigation, raided Northumbria as far south as the River Tees and returned with many cattle and captives. [69] Marios Costambeys suggests that it "may have been directed against, or mounted in favour of, Eirik, though the protagonist could just as easily have been Óláf Sihtricson." [70] Eric's second reign (952–954) [ edit ] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS E) 952. Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, assigns it to the fourth year of Eadred's reign.

Corpus of Early Medieval Coin Finds (EMC), at the Department of Coins and Medals, Fitzwilliam Museum. Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. af Nóregskonungasögum, ed. and tr. M.J. Driscoll, Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 10. 2nd ed. 2008 (1995).Calverley, W.S. "Stainmoor." Notes on the early sculptured crosses, shrines and monuments in the present diocese of Carlisle, ed. W.G. Collingwood. Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 11. Kendal, 1899. 264–8. Anderson, Early Sources, vol. i, p. 441; Downham, Viking Kings, p. 121; Dumville, "St Cathroe of Metz", p. 177 Adam of Bremen, Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum II xxv (§ 22), tr. Francis J. Tschan, History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen. New York, 1959. pp 70–1. Orkneyinga saga (ch. 8–9 and 17), ed. Finnbogi Guðmundsson, Orkneyinga saga. Íslenzk fornrit 34. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1965; tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. London: Hogarth Press, 1978. Republished 1981, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, ed. W.F. Skene. Chronicles of the Picts and Scots: And Other Memorials of Scottish History. Edinburgh, 1867. 8–10.