Harald Hardrada met his death in 1066, fighting at Stamford Bridge agains King Harold Godwinson of England. The story goes that when shown, at his own request, the fatal arror that had been taken out of him he remarked, "yes, the man who made this knew his trade". Snorri Sturluson's saga tells us quite alot about Harald, and here, Henry Treece, creates part of Harald's early life in the form of a novel.