And that's when the Norse will say " hey, you used to be Vikings" and drag them back to the Norse world
Harald Hardrada wins the crown: Collaborative timeline
- Thread starter The_Last_Plantagenet
- Start date
Your ugly map is appreciated marshal, and it shows that Harald has pretty much the hegemony over the North sea
When Harald dies who will inherit what? Olav will make a great King of England. He was supposedly a very peaceful man who was reserved and fun at parties.
Depends when harald dies. Magnus in otl died in 1069.
Harald dies before magnus then magnus is king of norway and olav is king of england. Both magnus and olav will have sons before they die so they'd want their own to inherit. Chances are one of those son (I'm looking at you Magnus Barelegs) will try and reunite the realms.
Magnus dies before Harald then olav will probably head back to norway to take over after magnus' death and then when harald dies, Olav will probably find a regent for norway (his nephew haakon, maybe?) and move back to england.
You want a united realm to last then you want to go with the latter. I suggested earlier that harald making magnus king of norway before sailing off the England might become a tradition wherein the heirs to the throne rule Norway before getting the promotion to England and passing on norway to their own heirs.
I'm proud of my little baby thread, my first one died a long and lingering death but this one is actually alive 
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but Hardrada's expeditions east into the Barents Sea was most likely to search for a route to the riches of the Orient.
He did spend a deal of time as a Varangian, he knew how important and profitable that trade was. With the eastern route dismissed, Harald still alive and now in possession of England, I'm sure he will send expeditions west.
Unfortunately, they will probably stick to a northern route because they know it will be shorter if it does exist. But still vikings in the Hudson Bay and probably exploring down the St. Lawrence into the Great Lakes.
Who knows, maybe in this tl the rune stones in Minnesota are the real deal
He did spend a deal of time as a Varangian, he knew how important and profitable that trade was. With the eastern route dismissed, Harald still alive and now in possession of England, I'm sure he will send expeditions west.
Unfortunately, they will probably stick to a northern route because they know it will be shorter if it does exist. But still vikings in the Hudson Bay and probably exploring down the St. Lawrence into the Great Lakes.
Who knows, maybe in this tl the rune stones in Minnesota are the real deal
If Harry boy has his way they'll be finding more then runes in Minnesota, maybe a village or two
And also, I found a book I bought on the Norman Conquest and it should have some valuable information on what would England look like without the Normans
Ah good good, but now we need to think what it would be like with a massive Nordic influence
Indeed, but a part of that is knowing what advancements the Saxons already had going for them and if the Norse would adapt it or do away with it.
The witan is a very interesting concept, as is the idea of central government in Anglo-Saxon England, as the King was the religious head as well as the secular head. So definitely no Papal influence if Olaf is influenced by Anglo-Saxon traditions and his own father's influence.
The Scandinavian part of the book is coming up soon so I will have more info on that in a bit.
I'm thinking that as we go on it'll result in a Nordic church being introduced as an early opponent to Catholicism
Also another point I'd like to make is that now maybe England/Wales, Scotland and Ireland all under the hand a Norse king is that they will all have Nordic style cross flags
Also another point I'd like to make is that now maybe England/Wales, Scotland and Ireland all under the hand a Norse king is that they will all have Nordic style cross flags
I'm thinking that as we go on it'll result in a Nordic church being introduced as an early opponent to Catholicism
Remember that England is more populous and more pro Rome than the North. Not for nothing were they nicknamed the Angels
Things'll probably end up with England traditionally getting more religious autonomy than OTL with the Popes accepting a Royal Veto.
Too early for traditional flags.
There may be stronger influence for saltires here if we accept the attributed Mercian one - maybe they end up being called Nordic style
Hmm, but the Saxon Kings were viewed as the religious and secular leader of the kingdom. One of the reasons the Pope gave William all the niceties and regalia to take to England was to bring it closer to Rome. So without Norman(Papal) influence, maybe the Anglo-Norse would pursue their own form of Christianity.
So if the Normans don't pop up with the pope holding their hand, who knows what could happen?
And yet there was no break with the Roman Church under any of the Angle or Saxon kings...
The point is they will stay status quo unless the Pope overstays his hand, and I doubt he'll call for a anachronous crusade, merely state an underling misquoted him and he's happy with the current arrangements.
After all the French Church was effectively autonomous for centuries before Protestantism arose
So the Anglo-Norse branch of the church will be autonomous in all actuality? Sounds good. The Pope will have a lot more on his plate than just the investiture crisis. Speaking of which, will the HRE still fold to Rome? I dont see why it wouldn't, but it would still be interesting. Maybe thats a POD for another day.