This is a Tale episode, our Friday tradition: one true story from history, told at the fireside. You will cross half the known world with Harald, from a frozen battlefield in Norway to the golden halls of Constantinople and home again, and every step of it comes from the sagas and from the historians who have weighed them.

This is roughly a one hour story inside a three hour video. The tale ends softly around the 51 minute mark, and then a quiet hearth carries on until morning. Black screen friendly.

Chapters:
0:00 Welcome
3:44 The Boy at Stiklestad
8:35 The Road to the East
11:55 Miklagard, the Great City
15:52 The Years of Gold and Salt Water
21:19 The Long Way Home
25:13 The Hard Ruler
30:21 The Empty Throne of England
35:08 The Green Valley
38:16 Stamford Bridge
42:57 The End of an Age
47:19 Drifting
51:00 The hearth until morning

Listen with the video on YouTube: add the episode link.

New episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6pm Eastern. Nights carry you inside an ordinary evening from the past. Tales, every Friday, tell one true story from history, calm enough to sleep to and interesting enough to stay up for.

🕯 Kingdoms at Dusk: https://kingdomsatdusk.com
📜 All our worlds: https://gildenmyth.com
🌙 Norse myth sleep stories, The Sleeping Almanac: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSleepingAlmanac
🕊 Goddess sleep meditations, The Tender Hour: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTenderHourChannel
🎙 David's interview podcast, Conversations That Count: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC
🎧 Also on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3J6lZ10GvK07qCv3aQxnkR and Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/conversations-that-count-a31f16a6-3131-4c8f-982f-19d52407e8eb/id1890348796

Sources: Snorri Sturluson, King Harald's Saga from the Heimskringla; and the modern historians of the Viking age who have tested the sagas against the record.

A real human voice with AI assistance, fully disclosed. No mid roll ads, ever, so nothing wakes you.