Harald Greycloak

Harald Greycloak (Old Norse: Haraldr gráfeldr, lit. "Harald Grey-hide"; Norwegian: ; Danish: ; c. 935 – c. 970) was a king of Norway from the Fairhair dynasty. Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew of an Icelandic merchant ship which carried a large load of vararfeldir, a type of faux fur made from sheep's wool. The Icelanders were having trouble selling their faux furs so when the king asked them if they would make a present to him of one of the furs, which happened to be grey, the sailors did not hesitate and the king immediately used it as a cloak. This set an instant fashion trend and before long the Icelanders had sold their entire load of previously unsalable furs to the king's men and the locals. Harald was ever after known as Harald "Gray-hide". Harald was the son of Eric Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Fairhair. His mother was Gunnhild, the sister of King Harald Bluetooth. After his father's death in 954, Harald and his brothers allied with their uncle, King Harald Bluetooth, against their half-uncle King Haakon the Good. They fought several battles against King Haakon including the Battle of Rastarkalv near the island of Frei in 955 and the Battle of Fitjar in 961.