HARALD III. (1015-1066), king of Norway, surnamed Haardraade, which might be translated "ruthless," was the son of King Sigurd and half-brother of King Olaf the Saint. At the age of fifteen he was obliged to flee from Norway, having taken part in the battle of Stiklestad (1030), at which King Olaf met his death. He took refuge for a short time with Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod (a kingdom founded by Scandinavians), and thence went to Constantinople, where he took service under the empress Zoe, whose Varangian guard he led to frequent victory in Italy, Sicily and North Africa, also penetrating to Jerusalem. In the year 1042 he left Constantinople, the story says because he was refused the hand of a princess, and on his way back to his own country he married Ellisif or Elizabeth, daughter of Yaroslav of Novgorod. In Sweden he allied himself with the defeated Sven of Denmark against his nephew Magnus, now king of Norway, but soon broke faith with Sven and accepted an offer from Magnus of half his kingdom. In return for this gift Harald is said to have shared with Magnus the enormous treasure which he had amassed in the East. The death of Magnus in 1047 put an end to the growing jealousies between the two kings, and Harald turned his attention to subjugating Denmark, which he ravaged year after year; but in 1064 he gave up the attempt and made peace. In 1066, possibly instigated by the banished Earl Tostig, he invaded England. In September 1066 he landed in Yorkshire with a large army, reinforced from Scotland, Ireland and the Orkneys ; took Scarborough by casting flaming brands into the town from the high ground above it ; defeated the North umbrian forces at Fulford; and entered York on Sept. 24. But on the 25th the English Harold arrived from the south, and routed his forces at Stamford Bridge after the fall of their king. His many victories in the face of great odds prove him to have been a remarkable general, of never-failing resourcefulness and indomitable courage, in spite of the fact that he was an unpopular king.