diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-09 16:57:43 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-09 16:57:43 -0800 |
| commit | c313aa2e4e782e010ea99abdf3bc8567ef8f7d31 (patch) | |
| tree | 60e32c57bb80ce4dfe4b18c1645a74bae6b75629 /59531-0.txt | |
| parent | 8fc4adddc81082dc55a7608bbc583b5292138f1f (diff) | |
Diffstat (limited to '59531-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 59531-0.txt | 10224 |
1 files changed, 10224 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/59531-0.txt b/59531-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1ad8a36 --- /dev/null +++ b/59531-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10224 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59531 *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + THE WORLD'S BEST HISTORIES + + NORWAY + + BY + + SIGVART SÖRENSEN + + EDITOR "MINNEAPOLIS TIDENDE" + + _WITH FRONTISPIECE_ + + THE CO-OPERATIVE PUBLICATION SOCIETY + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + + + + + COPYRIGHT 1899 + BY PETER FENELON COLLIER + _Norway_ + + + + +Illustration: THE INVASION OF GREAT BRITAIN BY THE NORTHMEN + _Norway._ + + + + +PREFACE + + +In preparing this volume it has been my aim to omit as few important +events as possible without making the book a mere enumeration of names +and dates. Above all, I have tried to be accurate. Among the works +which I have used as sources, the first one to be mentioned is the +great work of Snorre Sturlason: "The Heimskringla, or The Sagas of the +Norse Kings," and I have used the English translation of the same by +Samuel Laing, Esq., revised edition by Rasmus B. Anderson (Scribner & +Welford, New York, 1889). I have also found much assistance in O. A. +Överland's "Norges Historie." Among many other works used as sources or +consulted, are: J. E. Sars's "Udsigt over den Norske Historie"; Jacob +Aall's "Erindringer"; F. Winkel Horn's "History of the Literature of +the Scandinavian North," translated by R. B. Anderson (S. C. Griggs +& Co, Chicago, 1895). The Constitution of Norway, the most liberal +Constitution of Europe, appeared to me to be an appropriate closing +chapter in a History of Norway. This interesting document has been +translated into English by the Honorable Knute Nelson, United States +Senator from Minnesota, to whom I am under obligation for permission to +use his translation. S. S. + MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., 1899. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER I + + THE NORTHMEN + + PAGE + + The Ancestors of the Present Norwegians--Early Social + Conditions--Independence and Self-government of the People--The + Kings of the old Northmen 15 + + + CHAPTER II + + THE RELIGION OF THE NORTHMEN + + The Creation of the World--Ask and Embla, the first Human + Couple--Asgard, the Dwelling of the Gods--The Struggle between Good + and Evil--The End of the World--A new Race 18 + + + CHAPTER III + + THE VIKING AGE + + The three Stages of the Viking Age--Cruises to Scotland, Ireland, + England and other Countries--Norse Kingdom in Ireland 26 + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE YNGLING FAMILY--HALFDAN THE SWARTHY + + Beginning of Authentic History--Olaf the Tree-feller--Halfdan + Whiteleg--Gudrod the Hunter--Halfdan the Swarthy gives the Eidsiva + Law--Queen Ragnhild's Dream 29 + + + CHAPTER V + + HARALD THE FAIRHAIRED (860-930)--NORWAY UNITED + + King Harald's Courtship--The Battle of Hafrsfjord--Norway United + under one King--Emigration of the Discontented--Settlement in + Iceland--The Cruise of Gange-Rolf--Northmen settle in Normandy--King + Harald's Sons--Death of King Harald 31 + + + CHAPTER VI + + BIRTH OF HAAKON THE GOOD--ERIK BLOOD-AXE (930-935) + + Sigurd Ladejarl--Erik and Queen Gunhild--Haakon, Athelstan's + Foster-son, proclaimed King--Erik Blood-Axe exiled and killed in + a Battle in England 36 + + CHAPTER VII + + HAAKON THE GOOD (935-961) + + The Laws Improved--Other Reforms--First Attempts to Introduce + Christianity--Norway attacked by the Gunhild-sons--Battle of + Fitje--Death of Haakon 39 + + + CHAPTER VIII + + HARALD GRAYFELL AND HIS BROTHERS (961-970) + + Return of the Gunhild-sons--Earl Sigurd of Lade killed--The Murder + of Trygve Olafson and Gudrod Biornson--Earl Haakon--Harald + Grayfell killed in Denmark 42 + + + CHAPTER IX + + EARL HAAKON (970-995) + + Attacks by the Danish King, Harald Bluetooth--The + Joms-vikings--Sigvalde Jarl makes War on Haakon--The Battle in + Hjorungavaag--Revolt against Earl Haakon--Olaf Trygvason arrives + in Norway--Earl Haakon killed by his Slave 45 + + + CHAPTER X + + THE YOUTH OF OLAF TRYGVASON + + The Birth of Olaf--Flight to Sweden and Russia--Olaf sold as a + Slave--Freed by his Uncle--Viking Cruises to Vendland, England + and other Countries--Return to Norway 51 + + + CHAPTER XI + + OLAF TRYGVASON (995-1000) + + Christianity Introduced in Viken--Erling Skialgson of Sole--Great + Opposition to Christianity--Founding of the Town of Nidaros--Olaf + woos Queen Sigrid the Haughty--He marries Thyra from Denmark-- + Building of the "Long Serpent"--Einar Thambaskelfer--Expedition to + Vendland--Battle of Svolder--Death of Olaf Trygvason 54 + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA + + Erik the Red finds Greenland--Christianity Introduced--Biarne + Heriulfson sees Strange Lands--Leif Erikson, the Discoverer of + America--The new Country is called Vinland--Subsequent Journeys + to Vinland--Thorfin Karlsefne 65 + + + CHAPTER XIII + + THE EARLS ERIK AND SVEIN, SONS OF HAAKON (1000-1015) + + Norway Divided between the Victors at Svolder--Erling Skialgson + of Sole--Earl Erik leaves for England 70 + + + CHAPTER XIV + + THE YOUTH OF OLAF HARALDSON + + Olaf's Childhood--Olaf on his Viking Expeditions--Battles in England 73 + + + CHAPTER XV + + OLAF THE SAINT (1015-1028) + + Return to Norway--Capture of Earl Haakon--The Earl vows never to + fight King Olaf--Olaf's Reception by his Mother and Father-in-law, + Sigurd Syr--Meeting of the District Kings--Olaf driven away from + Nidaros--Battle of Nesje--Death of Earl Svein--Trouble with the + Swedish King--Thorgny Lagman dictates to the King--Enforcing + Christianity--Conspiracy against the King--Olaf's Half-brothers--The + Peace of Konungahella--Dale-Gudbrand--Canute the Great claims + Norway--Battle of Helge-Aa--Killing of Erling Skialgson--Olaf's + Flight to Russia 75 + + + CHAPTER XVI + + THE BATTLE OF STIKLESTAD (1030) + + Biorn Stallare's Visit to Olaf in Russia--King Olaf returns to + Norway--His Vision--Thormod Kolbrunarskald--Battle Of Stiklestad + --King Olaf's Death--Olaf Sigurdson leaves Norway 99 + + + CHAPTER XVII + + KING SVEIN ALFIFUSON (1030-1035) + + The Rule of Alfifa--Attempt to introduce Feudal Laws--The Sanctity + of King Olaf--Rumors of Miracles--Olaf declared the National + Saint--Trygve Olafson--Magnus Olafson returns to Norway--Alfifa and + Svein flee to Denmark 105 + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + MAGNUS THE GOOD (1035-1047) + + Magnus's Birth and Baptism--Agreement with the Danish King, + Hardeknut--Magnus and Kalf Arneson on the Battlefield of + Stiklestad--Warning to the King--The Gray Goose--Magnus claims + the Danish Throne--Svein Estridson appointed Earl--Battle at + Lyrskog Heath--Battles at Aaros and Helganes--Return of Harald + Sigurdson--Death of King Magnus 109 + + + CHAPTER XIX + + HARALD HAARDRAADE (1047-1066) + + Harald's Adventures in Southern Cities--Conflicts with Svein + Estridson--Quarrels with Einar Thambaskelfer--Murder of Einar and his + Son--Agreement with Haakon Ivarson--Treachery to Kalf Arneson--Battle + of Nis-Aa--Peace Meeting at Gaut River--Earl Toste arrives in + Norway--The Battle at Stanford Bridge--Death of King Harald--The + Founding of Oslo 116 + + + CHAPTER XX + + OLAF KYRRE (1066-1093) + + Magnus and Olaf divide the Power--Peace made with + Svein Estridson--Death of Magnus--The Founding of + Bergen--Guild-brethren--Skule, Toste's Son--Changes in Court + Customs--Death of Olaf Kyrre 127 + + + CHAPTER XXI + + MAGNUS BAREFOOT (1093-1103) + + Haakon Proclaimed King in Throndhjem--Haakon dies on the Dovre + Mountain--Rebellion led by Thorer of Steig--Expedition to the + Western Isles--War with Sweden--Peace Meeting at Konungahella-- + Second Expedition Westward--Death of King Magnus in Ulster 131 + + + CHAPTER XXII + + SIGURD THE CRUSADER (1103-1130) AND HIS BROTHERS, EYSTEIN AND OLAF + + Division of the Country between the Brothers--Sigurd's Crusade--Visit + to Jerusalem--Return to Norway--King Eystein's Peaceful Work at + Home--Annexation of Jemteland--King Sigurd and Borghild of Dal--The + "Man-measuring"--Death of Eystein--The Kalmar Levy--Sigurd shows + Signs of Insanity--Ottar Birting--Sigurd marries Cecilia--Death of + Sigurd 136 + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + MAGNUS THE BLIND AND HARALD GILLE (1130-1136) + + Harald Gille comes to Norway as a Pretender--Harald and Magnus divide + the Kingdom--Battle between the two Kings at Fyrileif--Harald takes + Magnus prisoner at Bergen--Magnus maimed--Sigurd Slembe arrives in + Norway--Harald Gille murdered--Konungahella destroyed 147 + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + SIGURD MUND, EYSTEIN, AND INGE KROKRYG, THE SONS OF HARALD GILLE + (1136-1161) + + Sigurd and Inge proclaimed Kings--Sigurd Slembe supports Magnus the + Blind--Battles at Minne and Krokaskog--Battle at Holmengraa--Magnus + and Sigurd Slembe killed--Eystein proclaimed King--Ottar Birting + assassinated--King Sigurd slain--Death of Eystein--Haakon, Sigurd + Mund's Son, given Title of King--Fall of King Inge at Oslo 151 + + + CHAPTER XXV + + THE CHURCH + + Visit of Cardinal Nicholas--An Archbishopric established at + Nidaros--Cloisters in Norway 159 + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + HAAKON HERDEBRED (1161-1162)--ERLING SKAKKE + + Erling Skakke has his Son Magnus proclaimed King--He seeks aid in + Denmark--Defeats Haakon at Tunsberg--Battle of Sekken--Haakon + killed 161 + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + MAGNUS ERLINGSON (1162-1184)--THE BIRCHLEGS + + Sigurd Markusfostre--Battle of Ree--Magnus Crowned--Norway + attacked by the Danish King--Rebellion of the Hat-Swains--Peace + with Denmark--Erling made Earl of Viken--Harald Sigurdson + Beheaded--Eystein Meyla--The Birchlegs--Eystein killed--The Youth of + Sverre Sigurdson--Sverre Proclaimed King at the Oere-Thing--Battle + at Kalveskindet--The fall of Erling Skakke--Battle of the + Ilevolds--Battle at Nordnes--Erik Sigurdson (King's-son)--Battle of + Fimreite--Fall of King Magnus 163 + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + SVERRE SIGURDSON (1184-1202) + + Sverre appoints Lawmen and Prefects--A new Pretender--The Kuvlung + Party--The Varbelgs--Rebellion of the Oyskeggs--Battle of + Florevaag--Sverre's Struggle with the Hierarchy--Bishop Nicholas + Arneson--Sverre Excommunicated--Sverre Crowned in Bergen--Organization + of the Bagler Party--Burning of Bergen--Papal Interdict against + Norway--The Baglers Defeated at Strindsö--Uprising in Viken--The + Siege at Tunsberg--Sverre's Sickness and Death 178 + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + HAAKON SVERRESON (1202-1204), GUTHORM SIGURDSON (1204), AND INGE + BAARDSON (1204-1217) + + Reconciliation with the Church--Inge Magnusson Killed--Death of + King Haakon--Election of Guthorm Sigurdson--The Pretender Erling + Steinvegg--Death of Guthorm Sigurdson--Inge Baardson Proclaimed + King--Birth of Haakon Haakonson--His Journey across the Mountains + --The Baglers visit Nidaros--Death of Erling Steinvegg--Philip made + King of the Baglers--Compromise at Hvitings Island--Jealousy of + Haakon Galen--Young Haakon Disinherited--Death of King Inge 190 + + + CHAPTER XXX + + HAAKON HAAKONSON THE OLD (1217-1263) + + Haakon Proclaimed King--Earl Skule's Demands--Rebellion of the + Slitungs--The Ribbungs--Treachery of Earl Skule--State Meeting in + Bergen--King Haakon Married--Death of Bishop Nicholas and Sigurd + Ribbung--Skule Raised to the Rank of Duke--Duke Skule Proclaimed + King--Battles at Laaka and Oslo--Duke Skule Killed--Coronation of + Haakon--King Haakon's Fame Abroad--Expedition to Scotland--Haakon's + Death 199 + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + SNORRE STURLASON + + The Family of Snorre Sturlason--The Snorrelaug--Visit to + Norway--Snorre Murdered--"The Heimskringla"--"The Edda" 209 + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + MAGNUS LAW-MENDER (1263-1280) + + Peace Concluded with Scotland--Magnus as a Law-Giver--Privileges + Granted to the Hanseatic League--The First Nobility--Death of King + Magnus 212 + + + CHAPTER XXXIII + + ERIK PRIEST-HATER (1280-1299) + + New Struggle with the Church--War with Denmark--The Peace of + Kalmar--Earl Alf Erlingson executed--The Maid from Norway--Death + of King Erik 214 + + + CHAPTER XXXIV + + HAAKON V. MAGNUSSON (1299-1319) + + Audun Hugleikson Condemned for Treason--The false "Maid from + Norway"--The Peace of Copenhagen, 1309--New Law of Succession--Death + of King Haakon 217 + + + CHAPTER XXXV + + MAGNUS ERIKSON SMEK (1319-1374)--HAAKON VI. MAGNUSSON (1355-1380) + + Magnus Smek Becomes King of Norway and Sweden--Erling Vidkunson + Appointed Regent--Haakon Magnusson Acknowledged as King of + Norway--Battle at Enköping--Death of Magnus--Flood in the Gaula + Valley--The Black Death 219 + + + CHAPTER XXXVI + + OLAF HAAKONSON THE YOUNG (1381-1387) + + Olaf Becomes King of Denmark and Norway--The first Union with + Denmark--A Pretender Executed 223 + + + CHAPTER XXXVII + + MARGARET (1387-1389)--ERIK OF POMERANIA (1389-1442)--THE KALMAR UNION + (1397) + + Margaret Acknowledged as Ruler of Norway--Erik of Pomerania Chosen as + King--The three Countries United--The Kalmar Union--Death of Queen + Margaret--The Victualia Brethren--Bergen Plundered--Revolt of Amund + Bolt--Erik of Pomerania Deposed in Denmark 224 + + + CHAPTER XXXVIII + + CHRISTOPHER OF BAVARIA (1442-1448) + + Norway at first Loyal to Erik--Christopher Finally + Accepted--Restrictions of the Hansa Privileges 229 + + + CHAPTER XXXIX + + THE UNION WITH DENMARK--CHRISTIAN I. (1450-1481) + + Christian Elected by one Party and Carl Knutsson by Another--Christian + Crowned--Closer Union with Denmark--The first of the Oldenborgs--War + with Sweden--War with the Hansa--Christian Pawns the Norwegian + Possessions 231 + + + CHAPTER XL + + HANS (1483-1513) + + King Hans Crowned in Throndhjem--The Victory of the + Ditmarshers--Revolt of Knut Alfson--Prince Christian as Regent + --War with the Hansa Towns 235 + + + CHAPTER XLI + + CHRISTIAN II. (1513-1523) + + The Lovely Dyveke and her Mother--The King's Marriage--The Death of + Dyveke--Torben Ox Executed--Christian Crowned as King of Sweden--The + Carnage of Stockholm--Gustavus Wasa--The Flight of Christian II 239 + + + CHAPTER XLII + + FREDERICK I. (1524-1533) + + Lady Inger of Oestraat--The King's Recess--Attempt of Christian II. + to Recover Norway--Christian Imprisoned 243 + + + CHAPTER XLIII + + INTERREGNUM (1533-1537) + + The Count's Feud--King Christian Recognized--Revolt of the + Archbishop--The Flight of Olaf Engelbrektson 247 + + + CHAPTER XLIV + + CHRISTIAN III. (1537-1559)--THE REFORMATION INTRODUCED + + The Catholic Faith Abolished--The Church Ordinance--Norway declared + a Danish Province--Robbing the Norwegian Churches 250 + + + CHAPTER XLV + + FREDERICK II. (1559-1588) + + The Northern Seven Years' War--Battle of Svarteraa--Throndhjem + taken by the Swedes--Burning of Oslo--Sarpsborg Burned--Peace at + Stettin--Misrule in Norway--Erik Munk Deposed and Imprisoned--City + of Fredericksstad Founded 252 + + + CHAPTER XLVI + + CHRISTIAN IV. (1588-1648) + + The Popular King--Frequent Visits to Norway--The Laws Improved--War + with Sweden--The Scotch War--Colonel Sinclair Killed--Peace at + Knaeröd--The Peace of Lubeck--Second War with Sweden--Peace at + Bromsebro--The Hannibal's Feud--The City of Christiania 255 + + + CHAPTER XLVII + + FREDERICK III. (1648-1670)--ABSOLUTISM INTRODUCED (1660) + + The last Royal Charter--War with Sweden--The Krabbe War--Peace at + Roskilde--The Peace broken by the Swedish King--Siege of Halden--Peace + of Copenhagen--The King's Revolution--Absolutism Introduced--Kort + Adeler 261 + + + CHAPTER XLVIII + + CHRISTIAN V. (1670-1699) + + Extravagance at Court--German Manners Introduced--A new + Nobility--Peter (Schumacher) Griffenfeld--The Scania War--The + Gyldenlöve Feud--A new Code of Laws 267 + + + CHAPTER XLIX + + FREDERICK IV. (1699-1730) + + War with the Duke of Holstein--The Great Northern War + (1709-1720)--Naval Battle in Kjögebugt--Charles XII. Invades + Norway--The Heroic Anna Kolbjörnsdatter--King Charles at + Frederickshald--Peter and Hans Kolbjörnson--Peter Wessel + Tordenskiold--The Battle of Dynekilen--King Charles XII. Killed + before Frederickssteen--The Peace of Fredericksborg--The Sale of + Norwegian Church Property--Hans Egede, Greenland's Apostle 272 + + + CHAPTER L + + CHRISTIAN VI. (1730-1746) + + Pietism and Hypocrisy--Confirmation Introduced--Improvement in + Popular Education--Famine in Norway--Ludvig Holberg--Erik + Pontoppidan 281 + + + CHAPTER LI + + FREDERICK V. (1746-1766) + + More Liberal Christianity--Luxury at Court--An "Extra Tax"--Revolt + in Bergen--Promotion of Science and Art 284 + + + CHAPTER LII + + CHRISTIAN VII. (1766-1808) + + Johan Frederick Struensee--Reforms without Preparation--Struensee + Executed--The Guldberg Period--Prosperity in Norway--Crown + Prince Frederick as Regent--The Bernstorf Ministry--The "Armed + Neutrality"--Naval Battle at Copenhagen, 1801--The Peace of + Tilsit--Bombardment of Copenhagen, 1807--The Norwegian + "Government Commission" 286 + + + CHAPTER LIII + + FREDERICK VI. (1808-1814) + + War with Sweden--Battles at Lier, Toverud, Trangen, and + Prestebakke--Armistice, December, 1808--Gustavus IV. + Deposed--Christian August becomes Crown Prince of Sweden--Peace + of Jönköping--The Society for Norway's Welfare--The University + of Norway--Famine and Distress in Norway 293 + + + CHAPTER LIV + + MARSHAL BERNADOTTE + + Candidates for the Swedish Succession--Baron Mörner goes to + Paris--Marshal Bernadotte--Crown Prince Charles John--Rupture with + Napoleon--Agreement with Russia--Norway Promised to Sweden--Treaty + of Kiel--Norway ceded to the Swedish King 298 + + + CHAPTER LV + + NORWAY DECLARES HER INDEPENDENCE + + Norwegians Refuse to Recognize the Treaty of Kiel--Christian Frederick + as Regent--The Constitutional Convention at Eidsvold--Constitution of + May 17, 1814--Christian Frederick elected King of Norway 302 + + + CHAPTER LVI + + WAR WITH SWEDEN--UNION OF NOVEMBER 14, 1814 + + The Powers demand Acceptance of the Treaty of Kiel--War breaks + out--Surrender of Fredericksstad--Siege of Frederickssteen--The + Swedes defeated at Lier and Matrand--Convention at Moss--The + Storthing Convened--Christian Frederick Abdicates-Union with Sweden + --Charles XIII. elected King of Norway 306 + + + CHAPTER LVII + + THE UNION WITH SWEDEN + + The Rigsakt of 1815--Charles XIV. John ascends the Throne--Nobility + Abolished--The Storthing rejects the King's Propositions--Independence + Day--The Storthing Dissolved in 1836--Minister Lövenskiold + Impeached--Oscar I. becomes King--Norway gets her own Flag--The + German-Danish War--Charles XV.--Norway Prosperous--A Union + Committee--Oscar II. ascends the Throne--The Office of Statholder + Abolished--Conflict between King and Storthing--Parliamentarism + Adopted--The Absolute Veto--The Resolution of June 9, 1880--Selmer + Ministry Impeached--The April Ministry--Johan Sverdrup forms + a Ministry--Trial by Jury Introduced--Emil Stang--Rector + Steen's Ministry--The Consular Question--Stang again--Hagerup's + Ministry--Negotiations with Sweden--Steen's Second Ministry--Universal + Suffrage--The Norwegian Flag 310 + + + CHAPTER LVIII + + NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 318 + + + CHAPTER LIX + + THE CONSTITUTION OF NORWAY 325 + + + + +HISTORY OF NORWAY + + + + +CHAPTER I + +_The Northmen_ + + +Norway (in the old Norse language _Noregr_, or _Nord-vegr_, i.e._, +the North Way), according to archæological explorations, appears to +have been inhabited long before the historical time. The antiquaries +maintain that three populations have inhabited the North: a Mongolian +race and a Celtic race, types of which are to be found in the Finns and +the Laplanders in the far North, and, finally, a Caucasian race, which +immigrated from the South and drove out the Celtic and Laplandic races, +and from which the present inhabitants are descended. The Norwegians, +or Northmen (Norsemen), belong to a North-Germanic branch of the +Indo-European race; their nearest kindred are the Swedes, the Danes, +and the Goths. The original home of the race is supposed to have been +the mountain region of Balkh, in Western Asia, whence from time to time +families and tribes migrated in different directions. It is not known +when the ancestors of the Scandinavian peoples left the original home +in Asia; but it is probable that their earliest settlements in Norway +were made in the second century before the Christian era. + +The first settlers probably knew little of agriculture, but made +their living by fishing and hunting. In time, however, they commenced +to clear away the timber that covered the land in the valleys and +the sides of the mountains and to till the ground. At the earliest +times of which the historical tales or _Sagas_ tell us anything with +regard to the social conditions, the land was divided among the free +peasant-proprietors, or _bonde_ class. Bonde, in English translation, +is usually called peasant; but this is not an equivalent; for with the +word peasant we associate the idea of inferior social condition to +the landed aristocracy of the country, while these peasants or bondes +were themselves the highest class in the country. The land owned by a +peasant was called his _udal_. By udal-right the land was kept in the +family, and it could not be alienated or forfeited from the kindred +who were udal-born to it. The free peasants might own many thralls or +slaves, who were unfree men. These were mostly prisoners captured by +the vikings on their expeditions to foreign shores; the owners could +trade them away, or sell them, or even kill them without paying any +fine or _man-bote_ to the king, as in the case of the killing of a free +man. As a rule, however, the slaves were not badly treated, and they +were sometimes made free and given the right to acquire land. + +In early days Norway consisted of a great number of small states called +_Fylkis_, each a little kingdom by itself. The free peasants in a +Fylki held general assemblies called _Things_, where laws were made +and justice administered. No public acts were undertaken without the +deliberation of a Thing. The _Thing_ was sacred, and a breach of peace +at the _thing_-place was considered a great crime. At the Thing there +was also a hallowed place for the judges, or "lag-men," who expounded +and administered the laws made by the Thing. Almost every crime could +be expiated by the payment of fines, even if the accused had killed +a person. But if a man killed another secretly, he was declared an +assassin and an outlaw, was deprived of all his property, and could +be killed by any one who wished to do so. The fine or man-bote was +heavier, the higher the rank of the person killed. For a thrall or +slave no man-bote was paid. + +The _Thing_ or _Fylkis Thing_ was not made up of representatives +elected by the people, but was rather a primary assembly of the free +udal-born peasant-proprietors of the district. There were leading men +in the _fylki_, and each _fylki_ had one or more chiefs, but they had +to plead at the _Thing_ like other free men. When there were several +chiefs, they usually had the title of _herse_; but when the free men +had agreed upon one chief, he was called _jarl_ (earl), or king. +The king was the commander in war, and usually performed judicial +functions; but he supported himself from his own estates, and the free +peasants paid no tax. The dignity of the king was usually inherited +by his son, but if the heir was not to the liking of the peasants +or people, they chose another. No man, however clear his right of +succession, would think of assuming the title or power of a king except +by the vote of a Thing. There he was presented to the people by a free +peasant, and his right must be confirmed by the Thing before he could +exert any act of kingly power. The king had a number of free men in his +service, who had sworn allegiance to him, and who served him in war and +in peace. They were armed men, kept in pay, and were called _hird-men_ +or court-men, because they were members of the king's _hird_ or court. +If they were brave and faithful, they were often given high positions +of trust; some were made _lendermen_ (liegemen), or managers of the +king's estates. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +_The Religion of the Northmen_ + + +The religion of the ancient Norwegians was of the same origin as that +of all the other Germanic nations, and its main features will be given +in this chapter. + +In the beginning of time there were two worlds; in the south was +Muspelheim, luminous and flaming, with Surt as a ruler. In the north +was Niflheim, cold and dark, with the spring Hvergelmer, where the +dragon Nidhugger dwells. Between these worlds was the yawning abyss +Ginungagap. From the spring Hvergelmer ran icy streams into the +Ginungagap. The hoar-frost from these streams was met by sparks +from Muspelheim, and by the power of the heat the vapors were given +life in the form of the Yotun or giant Ymer and the cow Audhumbla, +on whose milk he lives. From Ymer descends the evil race of Yotuns +or frost-giants. As the cow licked the briny hoar-frost, the large, +handsome and powerful Bure came into being. His son was Bur, who +married a daughter of a Yotun and became the father of _Odin_, Vile, +and Ve. Odin became the father of the kind and fair _Æsir_, the gods +who rule heaven and earth. + +Bur's sons killed Ymer, and in his blood the whole race of Yotuns +drowned except one couple, from whom new races of Yotuns or giants +descended. Bur's sons dragged the body of Ymer into the middle of +Ginungagap. Out of the trunk of the body they made the earth and of his +blood the sea. His bones became the mountains, and of his hair they +made trees. From the skull they made the heavens, which they elevated +high above the earth and decorated with sparks from Muspelheim. But +his brain was scattered in the air and became clouds. Around the earth +they let the deep waters flow, and on the distant shores the escaped +Yotuns took up their abode in Yotunheim and in Utgard. For protection +against them the kind gods made from Ymer's eyebrows the fortification +Midgard as a defence for the inner earth. But from heaven to earth they +suspended the quivering bridge called Bifrost, or the rainbow. + +The Yotun woman Night, black and dark as her race, met Delling (the +Dawn) of the Æsir race, and with him became the mother of Day, who +was bright and fair as his father. Odin placed mother and son in the +heavens and bid them each in turn ride over the earth. Night rides +ahead with her horse Hrimfaxe, from whose foaming bit the earth is +every morning covered with dew. Day follows with his horse Skinfaxe, +whose radiant mane spreads light and air over the earth. + +A great number of maggots were bred in Ymer's body, and they became +gnomes or dwarfs, little beings whom the gods gave human sense +and appearance. They lived within the mountains and were skilful +metal-workers, but they could not endure the light of day. Four dwarfs, +the East, West, North, and South, were placed by the gods to carry the +arch of heaven. + +As yet there were no human beings on earth. Then, one day, the three +gods, Odin, Hoener, and Lodur, were walking on the shore of the sea, +where they found two trees, and from them they made the first man and +the first woman, Ask and Embla (ash and elm). Odin gave them life, +Hoener reason, Lodur blood and fair complexion. The gods gave them +Midgard for a home, and from them the whole human race is descended. + +The ever green ash tree Ygdrasil is the finest of all trees. It shoots +up from three roots. One of them is in the well Hvergelmer in Niflheim, +and on this the dragon Nidhugger is gnawing. The other root is in +Yotunheim, in the wise Yotun Mimer's fountain. One of Odin's eyes, +which he pledged for a drink of the fountain, is kept here. Whoever +drinks of this fountain becomes wise. The third root is in heaven, +at the Urdar well, where the gods hold their Thing or court. To this +place they ride daily over the bridge Bifrost. Here also the three +Norns abide, the maidens Urd, Verdande, and Skuld (past, present, and +future). They pour water from the well over the roots of the tree. The +Norns distribute life and govern fate, and nothing can change their +decision. + +The dwelling in heaven of the _Æsir_ or gods is called Asgard. In its +middle was the field of Ida, the gathering place of the gods, with +Odin's throne, Lidskialv, from which he views the whole world. Odin +is the highest and the oldest of the gods, and all the others honor +him as their father. Odin's hall is Valhalla. The ceiling of this hall +is made of spears, it is covered with shields, and its benches are +ornamented with coats of mail. To this place Odin invites all who have +fallen in battle, and he is therefore called Valfather, _i.e._, the +father of the fallen. The invited fallen heroes are called _Einherier_; +their sport and pastime is to go out every day and fight and kill each +other; but toward evening they awake to life again and ride home as +friends to Valhalla, where they feast on pork of the barrow Særimner, +and where Odin's maidens, the Valkyrias, fill their horns with mead. +These Valkyrias were sent by Odin to all battles on earth, where they +selected those who were to be slain and afterward become the honored +guests at Valhalla. At Odin's side sit the two wolves, Gere and Freke, +and on his shoulders the ravens Hugin and Munin. These ravens fly forth +every morning and return with tidings from all parts of the world. +Odin's horse is the swift, gray, eight-footed Sleipner. When he rides +to battle he wears a golden helmet, a beautiful coat of mail, and +carries the spear Gungner, which never fails. Odin is also the god +of wisdom and poesy; in the morning of time he deposited one of his +eyes in pledge for a drink of Mimer's fountain of wisdom, and he drank +Suttung's mead in order to gain the gift of poesy. He has also taught +men the art of writing Runes and all secret arts. + +Thor, the son of Odin, is the strongest of all the gods. His dwelling +is called Thrudvang. He rides across the heavens in a cart drawn by two +rams. He is always at war with the Yotuns or evil giants, and in battle +with them he uses his great hammer, Mjolner, which he hurls at the +heads of his enemies. The earth trembles under the wheels of his cart, +and men call the noise thunder. Thor's wife is Sif, whose hair is of +gold. + +Balder is a son of Odin and Frigg. He is so fair that his countenance +emits beams of brightness. He is wise and gentle, and is therefore +loved by all. His dwelling is Breidablik, where nothing impure exists. +Nanna is his wife. + +Njord comes from the race of the wise Vanir. He rules the wind, can +calm the sea and stop fire, and he distributes wealth among men. His +aid is invoked for success in navigation and fishing. His wife is +Skade, daughter of a Yotun, and his dwelling is Noatun by the sea. + +Frey, the son of Njord, rules rain and sunshine and the productiveness +of the soil, and his aid is needed to get good crops, peace, and +wealth. His dwelling is Alfheim. He sails in the magnificent ship +"Skibladner," which was built for him by the dwarfs. His wife is the +Yotun daughter Gerd, but in order to get her he had to give away his +good sword, so that he will be unarmed in the coming final battle of +the gods. + +Tyr, Odin's son, is the god of courage and victory, whom brave men call +upon in battle. He has only one hand, for the Fenris-Wolf bit off his +right hand. + +Brage, the long-bearded, is the god of eloquence and poetry. His wife +is Idun, who has in her keeping the apples of which the gods eat to +preserve their eternal youth. + +Heimdal, the white god with teeth of gold, was in the beginning of time +born by nine Yotun maidens, all sisters. He is the watchman of the +gods. He is more wakeful than birds. He can see a hundred miles off, +and he can hear the grass grow. His dwelling is Himinbjorg, which is +situated where the Bifrost bridge reaches heaven. When he blows his +Gjallar-horn it is heard throughout the world. + +Among the other gods were Haad, son of Odin, blind but strong; the +silent and strong Vidar; Vale, the archer; Ull, the fast ski-runner, +and Forsete, the son of Balder, who settles disputes between gods and +men. + +Among the goddesses (or _asynier_), Frigg, Odin's wife, is the +foremost. She knows the fate of everybody and shields many from danger. +Her dwelling is Fensal. Next comes Freya, the goddess of love. She is +the daughter of Njord and sister of Frey. She is also called Vanadis, +or the goddess of the Vanir. She was married to Odd, and by him had a +daughter, Noss. But Odd left her, and Freya weeps in her longing for +him, and her tears are red gold. When she travels her wagon is drawn +by two cats. The name of her dwelling is Folkvang. There were also a +number of other goddesses, who were in the service of either Frigg or +Freya. + +Æger, the ruler of the turbulent and stormy sea, is a Yotun, but he +is a friend of the gods. When they visit him his hall is lighted with +shining gold. His wife is Ran, and their daughters are the waves. + + * * * * * + +In the beginning there was peace among gods and men. But the arrival +of the Yotun women in Asgard undermined the happiness of the gods, and +in heaven and on earth a struggle commenced which must last until both +are destroyed. The Yotuns continually attack the inhabitants of Asgard, +and it is only the mighty Thor who can hold them at bay. It is the evil +Loke, who is the worst enemy of gods and men. He belongs to the Yotun +race, but was early adopted among the gods. He was fair in looks, but +wily and evil in spirit. He had three evil children--the Fenris-Wolf, +the Midgard-Serpent, and Hel. The gods knew that this offspring of Loke +would cause great trouble; therefore they tied the Fenris-Wolf, threw +the serpent into the sea, and hurled Hel down into Niflheim, where she +became the ruler of the dead. All who die from sickness or age are sent +to her awful dwelling, Helheim. + +The greatest sorrow which Loke caused the whole world was that by his +deceit he caused the death of the lovely god, Balder. Then the gods +took an awful revenge. They tied him to three stones, and over his head +they fastened a venomous serpent, whose poison always was to drip upon +his face. Loke's faithful wife, Sigyn, placed herself at his side and +held a cup under the poisonous drip; but whenever the cup is full and +she goes to empty it, the poison drips into Loke's face, and then he +writhes in agony so that the whole world trembles. This is the cause of +earthquakes. + + * * * * * + +There will come a time when these gods and the world shall perish in +_Ragnarokk_, which means the perdition of the gods. They will have many +warnings. Corruption and wickedness will be common in the world. For +three years there will be winter without sun. The sun and the moon will +be swallowed up by the wolves of the Yotuns, and the bright stars will +disappear. The earth will tremble, and the mountains will collapse, and +all chains and ties are sundered. The Fenris-Wolf and Loke get loose, +and the Midgard-Serpent leaves the ocean. The ship "Naglfar" carries +the army of the Yotuns across the sea under the leadership of the Yotun +_Rym_, and Loke advances at the head of the hosts from the abode of +Hel. The heavens split, and the sons of Muspel come riding ahead, led +by their chief Surt. As the hosts are rushing across the Bifrost, the +bridge breaks behind them. All are hastening to the great battle-place, +the plains of _Vigrid_, which is a hundred miles wide. Now Heimdal +arises and blows his Gjallar-horn, all the gods are assembled, the ash +Ygdrasil trembles, and everything in heaven and on earth is filled with +terror. Gods and Einherier (the fallen heroes) arm themselves for the +battle. In the front rides Odin with his golden helmet and beaming coat +of mail and carrying his spear, Gungner. He meets the Fenris-Wolf, who +swallows him, but Vidar avenges his father and kills the wolf. Thor +crushes the head of the Midgard-Serpent, but is stifled to death by its +venom. Frey is felled by Surt, and Loke and Heimdal kill each other. +Finally Surt hurls his fire over the world, gods and men die, and the +shrivelling earth sinks into the abyss. + + * * * * * + +But the world shall arise again and the dead come to life. From above +comes the all-powerful one, he who rules everything, and whose name no +one dares utter. All those who were virtuous and pure of heart will +gather in _Gimle_ in everlasting happiness, while the evil ones will go +to Naastrand at the well Hvergelmer to tie tortured by Nidhugger. A new +earth, green and beautiful, shall rise from the ocean. The gods awake +to new life and join _Vidar_ and _Vale_, and the sons of Thor, Mode and +Magne, who have survived the great destruction and who have been given +their father's hammer, because there is to be no more war. All the gods +assemble on the field of Ida, where Asgard was located. And from _Liv_ +and _Livthraser_, who hid themselves in Ygdrasil during the burning of +the world, a new human race shall descend. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +_The Viking Age_ + + +It is but natural that the ancient Norwegians should become warlike +and brave men, since their firm religious belief was that those who +died of sickness or old age would sink down into the dark abode of +Hel (Helheim), and that only the brave men who fell in battle would +be invited to the feasts in Odin's Hall. Sometimes the earls or kings +would make war on their neighbors, either for conquest or for revenge. +But a time came when the countries of the north with their poorly +developed resources became overpopulated, and the warriors had to seek +better fields abroad. The viking cruises commenced, and for a long time +the Norwegians continued to harry the coasts of Europe. + +At first the viking expeditions were nothing but piracy, carried on +for a livelihood. The name Viking is supposed to be derived from the +word _vik_, a cove or inlet on the coast, in which they would harbor +with their ships and lie in wait for merchants sailing by. Soon +these expeditions assumed a wider range and a wilder character, and +historians of the time paint the horrors spread by the vikings in dark +colors. In the English churches they had a day of prayer each week to +invoke the aid of heaven against the harrying Northmen. In France the +following formula was inserted in the church prayer: "_A furore Norman +norum libera nos, o Domine!_" (Free us, O Lord, from the fury of the +Northmen!) + +Gradually the viking life assumed a nobler form. There appear to be +three stages or periods in the viking age. In the first one the vikings +make casual visits with single ships to the shores of England, Ireland, +France or Flanders, and when they have plundered a town or a convent +they return to their ships and sail away. In the second period their +cruises assume a more regular character, and indicate some definite +plan, as they take possession of certain points, where they winter, +and from where they command the surrounding country. During the third +period they no longer confine themselves to seeking booty, but act as +real conquerors, take possession of the conquered territory and rule it. + +In the latter part of the eighth century the vikings first found their +way across the North Sea to the islands north of Scotland. In 787 +they landed for the first time on the British coast. In that year it +is recorded in the English annals that Norwegians came in three ships +and committed great ravages on the coasts of Wessex. Six years later +they attacked Northumberland, where they caused even greater ruin. +They especially plundered churches and cloisters. Soon they extended +their plundering expeditions to the northern coast of France, where +the powerful emperor Charlemagne was then the ruler. They made only +small progress as long as he lived, but during the reigns of his weak +successors they made havoc along the coasts of France, and also forced +the Straits of Gibraltar and made unwelcome visits to the countries +on the Mediterranean. Some of the French kings knew no better remedy +than to pay the vikings great sums of money to keep them away from the +country. Thus King Charles the Baldheaded paid in the year 846 a sum of +7,000 pounds of silver, and in 877 a further sum of 5,000 pounds, for +this purpose. + +The Northmen, by their viking expeditions, early took possession of the +Orkneys, the Shetland Islands, the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands. In +going westward to these islands they were sometimes driven out of their +course, and thus Nadodd, who was on his way to the Faroe Islands, was +driven far to the north and northwest and found a large uninhabited +country, which was afterward called Iceland. + +The vikings often came to Ireland, and about the year 837 they +succeeded, under the leadership of the chieftain Thorgeisl, in +establishing a kingdom at Dublin, which they strongly fortified. +Thorgeisl appears to have ruled in Ireland until about 846, when he was +drowned. A more permanent kingdom was established by Olaf the White, +who took possession of Dublin and the surrounding country in 852. The +dominion in Dublin of the Norwegians is supposed to have lasted for +three and a half centuries. + +As to the influence of the Northmen on the development of the countries +visited by them during the later Viking periods, the eminent English +writer Samuel Laing, the translator of the "Heimskringla," or the Sagas +of the Norse kings, says: + +"All that men hope for of good government and future improvement in +their physical and moral condition--all that civilized men enjoy +at this day of civil, religious and political liberty--the British +constitution, representative legislation, the trial by jury, security +of property, freedom of mind and person, the influence of public +opinion over the conduct of public affairs, the Reformation, the +liberty of the press, the spirit of the age--all that is or has been of +value to man in modern times as a member of society, either in Europe +or in the New World, may be traced to the spark left burning upon our +shores by these northern barbarians." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +_The Yngling Family--Halfdan the Swarthy_ + + +The authentic history begins with Halfdan the Swarthy, or Halfdan +the Black, who reigned from about the year 821 to about 860. The +Icelander Snorre Sturlason, who, in the twelfth century, wrote the +"Heimskringla," or the Sagas of the Norse Kings, gives a long line of +preceding kings of the Yngling race, the royal family to which Halfdan +the Swarthy belonged; but that part of the Saga belongs to mythology +rather than to history. + +According to tradition the Yngling family were descendants of Fiolner, +the son of the god Frey. One of the surnames of the god was Yngve, from +which the family derived the name Ynglings. Their original home is said +to have been Upsala in Sweden, but they were driven away on account +of their cruelty. One of them, whose name was Olaf, emigrated with +his followers to Vermeland, which he made habitable by cleaning away +a great deal of the timber. Hence he was called Olaf the Tree-feller +(Tre-telgja). His son, Halfdan Whiteleg (Hvitbein), conquered Romerike +and other Norwegian districts, and Halfdan's son also became king of +Vestfold, or the country west of the Folden, the bay now called the +Christiania Fjord. Vestfold now became the most important part of the +country. In the neighborhood of the present town of Laurvik a famous +temple was founded in Skirings-sal, where the kings often resided, and +which soon became a popular trading place. + +Halfdan Whiteleg's grandson, Gudrod the Hunter, made war on Harald +Redbeard, who was king of Agder, the southwestern part of Norway. He +killed Harald and his son Gyrd, and took a great booty. He afterward +married Harald's daughter, Asa. + +Gudrod's son, Halfdan, surnamed the Swarthy, was only a year old when +his father was killed, and his mother Asa then returned with him to +Agder, where he grew up and became stout and strong. At the age of +eighteen he became king in Agder, and soon afterward went to Vestfold, +where he divided that kingdom with his brother Olaf. Halfdan increased +his possessions, both by marriage and by warfare, until he ruled over +the whole country around the Christiania Fjord, Thoten, Land, Hadeland, +Romerike and Sogn. King Halfdan was a wise man, a lover of truth and +justice. He made good laws, which he observed himself and compelled +others to observe. He fixed certain mulcts, or penalties, for all +crimes committed. His code of laws, called the Eidsiva Law, was adopted +at a common Thing at Eidsvold, where about a thousand years later the +present constitution of Norway was adopted. + +Halfdan became the ancestor of the royal race of Norway, his son, +Harald the Fairhaired, being the first king of united Norway. According +to tradition, when Queen Ragnhild was with child she dreamed that +she was standing in her herb-garden, and she took a thorn out of her +chemise, and while she was holding it in her hand it grew into a great +tree, one end of which struck roots into the earth, while the other +raised itself in the air until she could hardly see the top or the end +of its widely spread branches. The lower part of the tree was red with +blood, but the stem was beautifully green, and the branches white as +snow, and they spread over all Norway, and even much more. This dream +was years afterward interpreted as having foretold the destiny of +Ragnhild's son. + +One day in the spring of 860, when Halfdan the Swarthy was driving home +from a feast across the Randsfjord, he broke through the ice and was +drowned. He was so popular that when his body was found the leading +men in each _Fylki_ demanded to have him buried with them, believing +that it would bring prosperity to the district. They at last agreed to +divide the body into four parts, which were buried in four different +districts. The trunk of the body was buried in a mound at Stein, +Ringerike, where a little hill is still called Halfdan's Mound. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +_Harald the Fairhaired (860-930)--Norway United_ + + +Harald was only ten years old when he succeeded his father. Many of +the chiefs thought that it would be an easy matter now to divide the +country between them, but Guthorm, a brother of Harald's mother, who +was at the head of the government and commander of the army, soon +subdued them. + +When Harald had become old enough to marry, he sent his men to a girl +named Gyda, a daughter of King Erik of Hordaland, who was brought up +as a foster-child in the house of a rich _Bonde_ in Valders. Harald +had heard of her as a very beautiful though proud girl. When the men +delivered their message, she answered that she would not marry a king +who had no greater kingdom than a few _Fylkis_ (districts), and she +added that she thought it strange "that no king here in Norway will +make the whole country subject to him, in the same way as Gorm the Old +did in Denmark, or Erik at Upsala." When the messengers returned to the +king, they advised him to punish her for her haughty words, but Harald +said she had spoken well, and he made the solemn vow not to cut or comb +his hair until he had subdued the whole of Norway and had become the +sole king. + +Harald immediately gathered an army and went northward over the Dovre +Mountain, and after several battles conquered the whole of Trondelag, +the common name of all the districts about the Throndhjem (Drontheim) +Fjord. Here he procured ships, sailed southward along the coast and +conquered one district after another in the western part of the +country. Finally, the remaining kings gathered their men and ships and +met Harald in naval battle in Hafrsfjord, a little inlet in Jæderen, +near the present city of Stavanger. The battle was fierce and long, +but Harald finally gained the day. After this battle, which occurred +in 872, King Harald met no opposition, and was acknowledged as king of +the whole of Norway. Shortly after the battle the king attended a feast +given by Ragnvald, the Earl of More (Morejarl), and the latter cut the +king's hair, which had not been cut or combed for ten years, and gave +him the surname, the Fairhaired. Harald shortly afterward married Gyda. + +King Harald deprived the peasant-proprietors of their allodium or +udal-right, and compelled them to pay land dues of their possessions. +Over every _Fylki_ or district he placed an earl (_jarl_), who was +to administer justice and collect the taxes, of which he retained +one-third as salary. In case of war the earl was to serve the king with +sixty warriors. Each earl had under him four _herses_, each of whom had +a royal estate of twenty marks annual income to manage, and was bound +to support twenty men-at-arms. + +Many of the proud peasants objected to the rule of Harald and to the +payment of taxes. They wanted to be independent, as before, and left +the country. Many of them settled on the Faroe Islands and the Scotch +islands, and in the summer they would make viking cruises and harry the +coasts of Norway to revenge themselves on the king. To stop this Harald +sailed westward one summer with a fleet, fought the vikings and took +possession of Shetland and the Orkney Islands, and placed an earl in +charge of them. Many of the fleeing Northmen then sailed northward with +their goods and men and settled in _Iceland_, where they established a +free state, which existed for nearly 400 years. + +Earl Ragnvald (Morejarl) was King Harald's dearest friend, and the king +had great regard for him, but he did not allow that to excuse a crime +committed by his son. Ragnvald had a son by the name of Rolf, who was +so stout and strong that no horse could carry him, and therefore he was +called Gange-Rolf, or Rolf the Walker. He went early on viking cruises +to the shores of the Baltic Sea. One summer, on his return from one of +his expeditions, he made _strand-hug_ in Viken. (Strand-hug was a foray +for cattle to provision the viking ships.) Harald had declared this a +great crime, and when he heard what Rolf had done, he called an extra +session of the Thing, and had Rolf declared an outlaw in all Norway. +Gange-Rolf, however, did not remain in Norway, but sailed westward +to the Sudreys, the present Hebrides, and afterward joined the army +of vikings, which, in the year 885, went to France and plundered the +country around Paris and the province of Bourgogne. The Frenchmen made +a compromise with the vikings, and for some years they spared the +French coasts, but later Gange-Rolf returned with a great number of +vikings, and finally compelled the French king, Charles the Simple, by +the peace of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte to cede to him and his successors a +large province, which he peopled with Northmen, and which, therefore, +was afterward called Normandy. The French king also promised to let +him marry his daughter Gizela if he would adopt Christianity. This +Rolf agreed to, and he was baptized in the year 912, being christened +Robert. He ruled his new country well, and died in the year 931. From +him descended the mighty earls of Normandy, who in time conquered the +kingdoms of England and Naples. + +King Harald had many sons, and as they grew up they created a great +deal of disturbance in the country. They had come from such different +stock on the maternal side, and had been brought up so far from +each other by rich peasants in different parts of the country, that +brotherly feelings were little known to them. They became jealous of +each other, and also jealous of the many mighty earls. They drove some +of the earls from their estates, and even killed some of them. Thus +two of the brothers set out one spring with a great force to attack +Ragnvald, Earl of More, surrounded his house and burned him with sixty +of his men. + +Hoping to avoid further domestic disturbances, Harald called together a +_Thing_ at the Eidsiva Thing-place (the present Eidsvold), and summoned +to it all the people of the Uplands. Here he gave to all his sons the +title of king, and proclaimed a law that his descendants in the male +line should each succeed to the title and dignity of king; but his +descendants by the female side were to become only earls. He divided +the country among his sons, but his dearest son, Erik, who was his son +by the Danish Princess Ragnhild, and thus of royal birth on both sides, +was to be acknowledged as their overlord. This the other brothers +did not like, and the result was bloody conflicts. Erik first killed +Ragnvald Rettilbeine, the ruler in Hadeland, because he was said to be +a sorcerer. Next he attacked his brother Biorn, who generally lived at +the trading-place Tunsberg, and who was called Biorn Farmand, or Biorn +the Merchant, because he cared little for war, but more for trading +expeditions. As he refused to pay tribute to Erik, the latter attacked +and killed him, and plundered his house. King Biorn lies buried in the +Seaman's Mound (Farmandshaugen) at Sæheim (in the present Sem's parish) +in Jarlsberg. Halfdan the Black, who ruled in Throndhjem, resolved to +avenge his brother Biorn's death, and collected a great force of men +and ships. Erik sought the aid of his father Harald, who also equipped +a fleet and took up a position at Rein-plain on the north side of the +Throndhjem Fjord; but now friends of both interceded in order to bring +about a reconciliation. In Halfdan's army there was a clever man called +Guthorm Sindre, who had formerly been in the service of Harald, and +was a great friend of both. He was a great skald (poet), and had once +composed songs about the father and the son, for which they had then +offered him a reward. He would take nothing at the time, but was given +the promise that, some day or other, they should grant him any request +he should make. He now went before King Harald with words of peace, +and made the request that the kings should become reconciled. And the +Saga adds: "So highly did the king esteem him that, in consequence of +his request, they were reconciled." + +When Harald the Fairhaired was eighty years old, he became very weak +and unable to bear the burden of the government. Then he brought his +son Erik to his royal high-seat and gave him the power and the command +over the whole land (930). Three years later King Harald died of old +age. He was buried under a mound at Hauge, near Haugesund in Ryfylke. +The gravestone is still to be seen. At the grave a large monument in +memory of Harald was erected in 1872, one thousand years after the +battle of Hafrsfjord. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +_Birth of Haakon the Good--Erik Blood-Axe (930-935)_ + + +When Harald the Fairhaired was nearly seventy years old, he begat a +son by Thora Moster-stang (Moster-pole). She was so called because she +was tall, and her family came from the island of Moster. She was very +handsome, and was descended from good people, but was called the king's +servant-girl, for at that time, as the Saga says, "many were subject +to service to the king who were of good birth, both men and women." +Sigurd Ladejarl, or Earl of Lade (near Throndhjem), was a friend of +Thora's family, and when she was about to be confined he brought her in +his ship from Moster northward to Sæheim, where King Harald was then +living. They spent the night at the shore south of the Alv-island, and +here Thora bore her child, on a stone near the ship's gangway. It was +a male child, and Earl Sigurd baptized him in heathen fashion, and +called him Haakon after his own father. The boy soon grew handsome, +large in size, and very like his father King Harald. When the king +felt that he was not going to live much longer, he sent Haakon over to +England to be brought up by the English king, Athelstan, the grandson +of Alfred the Great. King Athelstan had Haakon baptized and brought up +in the Christian faith, and in good habits and all sorts of exercises, +and it is said he loved Haakon above all his relations. He gave him a +sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold; but the blade was still +better, for with it Haakon cut a millstone to the centre eye. The sword +was thereafter called Kvernbite (millstone cutter), and Haakon carried +it to his dying day. + +As stated, Erik was proclaimed king by his father in 930. Erik had +early gone out on viking expeditions, and his daring enterprises had +given him the surname Blood-Axe. He was handsome and manly-looking, +but morally weak. He was hated during his father's lifetime, because +he had killed his brother Biorn the Merchant; but still more hated was +his cruel and treacherous queen, Gunhild. She enticed him into killing +several of his brothers, and it began to be the common belief that +Gunhild and Erik were going to remove all his brothers, in order to +secure the whole of the kingdom for themselves and their children. This +plan, however, was frustrated by Haakon, the youngest son of Harald. + +When Haakon, Athelstan's foster-son, heard of his father's death, he +immediately prepared to leave England, and was given men and ships +by King Athelstan. He sailed north to Tröndelagen, where he found +the mighty Sigurd, Earl of Lade, who had been his mother's friend and +his guardian in early childhood. Sigurd received him well, and Haakon +promised him great power if he became king. They assembled a great +meeting of the peasants, where Earl Sigurd made a speech and advised +the people to make Haakon their king. Thereupon Haakon arose and made +a speech, which greatly pleased the peasants. They said to each other +that it looked as if Harald the Fairhaired had come back and had become +young again. Haakon promised, in case they would make him their king, +to give them back the udal-right (allodium), which Harald had taken +from them. His speech was so well received that the people cheered +wildly, and with great enthusiasm they proclaimed him their king. He +immediately started southward, and the other districts followed the +example of Tröndelagen and swore allegiance to Haakon. + +Erik made a desperate attempt to raise an army, but not succeeding, +he had to leave the country with his wife Gunhild, his children, +and a few followers (935). For some time he harried the coasts of +Scotland and England as a viking, until finally he accepted a portion +of Northumberland from King Athelstan on the condition that he was to +defend the country against Norwegian and Danish vikings. Erik remained +in England under shifting conditions, until he was killed in a battle +in 954. After his death Queen Gunhild had a poem written in his honor, +the so-called Eriksmál, of which a beautiful fragment still exists. +Shortly after Erik's death Queen Gunhild went to Denmark with her sons, +and was well received by the Danish king, Harald Bluetooth (Blaatand), +the son of Gorm the Old. The children of Erik Blood-Axe and Gunhild +were: Gamle, Guthorm, Harald, Ragnfred, Ragnhild, Erling, Gudrod, and +Sigurd Sleva. All the boys were handsome and of manly appearance, but +in character they resembled their mother. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +_Haakon the Good (935-961)_ + + +Haakon did a great deal to improve the internal conditions of +the country. He regulated the judicial districts, and gave the +Gulathings-law for the western district, with common Thing-place +at Gula (in Ytre Sogn), and the Frostathings-law for the northern +district, with common Thing-place at Frosten (peninsula in +Throndhjems-fjord). Much was done for the defence of the country +against enemies. The whole coast was divided into _Skibredes_, or +ship districts, each of which was to build, equip, man, and provision +a ship for use in case of war. In order to inform the inhabitants of +the approach of an enemy, King Haakon built _Varder_, or signal fires, +on the highest mountains at proper distances from each other. By the +successive lighting of these signal fires the news of war could be +carried from the southernmost signal-place to the northern end of +Halogaland in seven days. Warning was also to be sent around from house +to house by _Budstikke_ as a signal for the people to assemble. The +_Budstikke_ was a stick of wood like a very heavy cane, with a spike +at the end of it. If the bearer of the message found nobody at home, +he would stick the cane on the side of the door, and the owner of the +house would, on his arrival home, immediately despatch it to the next +house. + +King Haakon, who had been brought up in the Christian faith, resolved +to introduce Christianity in Norway, but when he took the preliminary +steps he found no support from his otherwise faithful friend, Earl +Sigurd of Lade, who was an ardent adherent of the Asa-faith. Fearing +to offend the earl, Haakon postponed his effort for a time, until he +thought he had gained sufficient popularity in the country. He then +sent to England for a bishop and other teachers, and announced that +it was his intention to have the whole people embrace the Christian +religion. When he made this announcement to the assembled peasants at +Throndhjem, they declined to commit themselves, and asked to have this +very important matter referred to the Frosta-thing, where it could be +legally settled. + +At the Frosta-thing, where a great number of people were assembled, +King Haakon made an earnest speech, in which he said that it was his +command and his prayer to all, rich and poor, young and all, that they +should forsake the old heathen gods, be baptized, and believe in the +one living God, Jesus Christ, the son of the Virgin Mary, abstain from +work every seventh day, Sunday, and fast every Friday. A great murmur +ran through the crowd of peasants, who complained that the king wanted +to deprive them of their work and their old faith, and the mighty +peasant, Asbiorn of Medalhus, arose and made a speech to the king, in +which he said that they had had great faith in him when they chose him +for their king, but now they had made up their minds to part with him +and choose another if they were not left free to retain the religion +they believed in. And the king was told that he must accept one of +these conditions before the meeting was concluded. The king felt that +there was no escape but to yield to the peasants, and Earl Sigurd of +Lade, who had all the time been near the king, arose and said: "King +Haakon is willing to acquiesce in your wishes, peasants. Never will he +give up your friendship." Encouraged by this the peasants afterward +made the king participate in their heathen sacrifices, and the king was +obliged to give up the attempt to introduce Christianity in Norway. + +King Haakon soon afterward had to meet other demands upon him, when +the southern parts of the country were attacked by the sons of his +brother Erik, who, after their mother, were called the Gunhild-sons. +Several times Haakon defeated the invaders, and after one great battle +they stayed away for six years. Finally, in the twenty-sixth year of +Haakon's reign, while he and his men were enjoying a feast at Fitje on +the island Stord in Hordaland, the enemy appeared again with a great +naval force. Although greatly outnumbered by the enemy, Haakon's men +won the battle, and the aggressors were obliged to flee to their ships; +but when Haakon pursued them without his coat of mail, he was hit in +the armpit by a deadly arrow and received a wound from which he died, +after being brought, shortly after the battle, to "Haakon's Rock," +where he had been born. Before he died he requested his friends to +send a ship after the sons of Gunhild, with the message asking them to +return and assume the government, giving due respect to his adherents. +He himself had no sons, and his daughter Thora could not, according to +the law, succeed to the throne. Haakon was deeply mourned by friends +and foes, and all said that Norway would never again get such a good +king. The poet Eyvind Skaldaspiller composed a poem in his honor, +the Haakonarmaal, in which he praised his virtues and described his +reception in Odin's Valhalla. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +_Harald Grayfell and his Brothers (961-970)_ + + +The Gunhild-sons (or Eriks-sons) immediately returned to Norway +when they received the message that Haakon the Good had named them +as heirs to the throne. The oldest one, Harald Grayfell (Graafeld, +so named after having once worn a gray fur robe), was considered as +chief king, but their mother Gunhild was in fact the chief ruler. They +were penurious and cruel, and soon became widely hated. There were +many chiefs in the country at that time. Trygve Olafson, a grandson +of Harald the Fairhaired, ruled in Viken, or the country around the +Christiania Fjord; his cousin Gudrod, son of Biorn the Merchant, was +chief in Westfold, and Earl Sigurd of Lade ruled the country around +Throndhjem. Gunhild's sons at first resided mostly in the middle of the +country, but soon laid plans to obtain more power. By great promises +they bribed Griotgard, a brother of Earl Sigurd, to send them word when +there might be a favorable opportunity to attack and kill the earl. +This plan succeeded. Having been notified by Griotgard that Earl Sigurd +was at a feast at Oglo in Stjoradal and had but few men with him, King +Harald Grayfell and his brother Erling surrounded the house at night, +set fire to the building, and burned the earl and all his men. + +When the people heard of Earl Sigurd's death, there was a great +uprising. They gathered a large fleet, and, after having proclaimed +Sigurd's son, Haakon, as their earl and commander-in-chief, they +steered out of the Throndhjem Fjord, intent upon taking vengeance. +When Gunhild's sons heard of this, they fled southward to Raumsdal and +South More. Some time afterward the Gunhild-sons attacked and murdered +Trygve Olafson, king in Viken, and Gudrod Biornson, king in Westfold. +Harald Grayfell hastened to Trygve Olafson's home, hoping to be able to +exterminate the whole race; but Trygve's widow, Astrid, had fled with +her foster-father, Thorolf Lusarskeg. + +Gunhild's sons collected a great army in Viken and sailed northward, +collecting men and ships on the way from every district for the purpose +of fighting Earl Haakon. When Earl Haakon heard of this, he also +collected men and fitted out ships, but when he ascertained the size of +the approaching fleet, he sailed with a few men south to Denmark, where +he was well received by King Harald Bluetooth (964). Gunhild's sons +brought their army north to Throndhjem, and subdued the country and +collected taxes, of which they had received none while Earl Haakon was +there. + +In Denmark Earl Haakon laid some deep plans to obtain power again. A +nephew of King Harald Bluetooth, called Gold-Harald, had returned home +and demanded half of the kingdom. As the king had no desire to yield to +his demand, but still feared Gold-Harald's influence with the people, +Earl Haakon advised him to get Norway for his nephew instead. He was +to invite the Norwegian king, Harald Grayfell, on a friendly visit to +Denmark, and then have Gold-Harald kill him. Afterward it would be easy +to take Norway on account of the very hard times prevailing there, and +the great unpopularity of the Gunhild-sons. The plan was followed; but +when Gold-Harald had killed Harald Grayfell, he was in turn attacked +and killed by Earl Haakon. Soon after King Harald Bluetooth sailed for +Norway with 720 ships. He had with him Earl Haakon, Harald Grenske, a +son of King Gudrod, and many other great men who had fled from their +udal estates in Norway on account of Gunhild's sons. They won the +country without resistance, and King Harald installed Haakon as earl +of the northern and western parts of the country. The earl was to pay +certain taxes to the king and help him with armed men in case of war. +The king retained for himself the country around Viken, and left Harald +Grenske there as his representative. + +The two surviving brothers, Gudrod and Ragnfred, fled with their +mother, Gunhild, to the Orkneys. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_Earl Haakon (970-995)_ + + +Earl Haakon subdued all those parts of the country belonging to his +dominion, and remained all winter (970) in Throndhjem. As he proceeded +along the coast he ordered that in all his dominions the heathen +temples and sacrifices should be restored, and continued as of old. +The people thought they soon had proof that the gods were pleased with +Haakon's action, for, according to the saga, "the first winter that +Haakon ruled over Norway the herrings set in everywhere through the +fjords to the land, and the seasons ripened to a good crop all that had +been sown," while for several years previously dearth and hard times +had prevailed. + +Earl Haakon waited for an opportunity to repudiate his obligations to +the Danish king, and it came in time. In 973, when Otto II. became +emperor of Germany, King Harald Bluetooth prepared himself for war in +order to resist the emperor's claim to sovereignty over Denmark, and +in 975 he ordered Earl Haakon to come to his aid with all the forces +it was possible to raise. Haakon complied with the request, and for +a time successfully fought the Germans. But when he had boarded his +ships and prepared to sail homeward, the emperor returned for a second +attack, and soon compelled the Danish king to make peace. King Harald +Bluetooth agreed to introduce Christianity both in Denmark and in +Norway. He sent for Earl Haakon and made him accept baptism and promise +to introduce Christianity in Norway. Priests were sent with him to help +him with this work. Haakon set sail with the priests on board; but no +sooner did he get a favorable wind than he put the priests ashore, and +sailed away. From now on he considered himself the sworn enemy of the +Danes. He steered through the Sound, and harried the coasts on both +sides. At the coast of East Gautland he made a great heathen sacrifice. +Thereupon he burned his ships and marched through the country with his +men. He defeated Earl Ottar, the ruler in Gautland, and continued his +march through Smaaland and West Gautland to Norway. He again took up +his residence in Throndhjem. + +King Harald Bluetooth was greatly incensed at Earl Haakon's action, and +decided to take an awful revenge. He collected a great fleet, which he +brought to Norway. He burned and destroyed the settlements and killed a +great number of people wherever he came. In Lærdal in Sogn, it is said +that only five dwellings were left unburned. The inhabitants fled to +the woods with such movable goods as they could save. As soon, however, +as it was reported that Earl Haakon was coming southward with a fleet, +King Harald lost his courage, set sail, and returned to Denmark. + +When Harald Bluetooth died (985), his son Svein, who afterward was +given the surname Tjuguskeg (Fork-beard), became king of Denmark. He +instigated the Joms-vikings to make war on Earl Haakon. These vikings +were Danes, who lived at Jomsborg, Pomerania, on the island Wollin +or Jom, at the mouth of the river Oder. They were very powerful and +warlike, and had very strict laws. No one could join their company who +was older than fifty or younger than eighteen years, and no woman was +permitted to enter their burgh. They considered it a disgrace to show +fear or to complain of pain. Earl Sigvald (Sigvalde Jarl), a son of +King Strut-Harald of Scania (Skaane, in the southern part of Sweden), +was chief of the Joms-vikings at this time. King Svein of Denmark +invited these vikings to a great feast in memory of his father, and +as Earl Sigvald's father had fallen about the same time, he suggested +that they should also drink his "funeral-ale." The Joms-vikings came +to the festival with their bravest men, forty ships of them from +Vendland (Pomerania), and twenty ships from Scania. All the guests +drank a great deal, and there was great gayety in the hall. According +to old custom on such occasions they made solemn vows, in emptying the +drinking-horns. King Svein, in drinking to his father's memory, made +the solemn vow, that before three winters were past he would go with +his army to England and conquer King Ethelred. The guests also drank +Christ's health, and a bowl to the memory of Saint Michael. Thereafter +Earl Sigvald drank to his father's memory, and made a vow, that before +three winters came to an end he would go to Norway and either kill Earl +Haakon or chase him out of the country, and the other Joms-vikings +vowed that they would go with Earl Sigvald to Norway and share in the +fight. The next morning, when they had slept off their drink, they +thought they had promised rather much, and, in order to find Earl +Haakon unprepared, they sailed away on their expedition at once. + +When Earl Erik, the son of Haakon, who was then in Raumarike, heard +of the festival and of the vows of the Joms-vikings, he immediately +gathered his men, and went to the Uplands, and thence over the +mountains to Throndhjem, and joined his father, Earl Haakon. They +immediately sent warnings around, and sent messages to North More and +South More, and to Raumsdal, and also north to Namdal and Halogaland, +summoning all the country to furnish men and ships. Earl Haakon went +with an army to South More, and Erik was to follow with what army he +could collect from the north. + +Meanwhile, the Joms-vikings sailed slowly northward, plundering the +coasts. Christmas night they were at Jæderen. At Hjorungavaag (on the +island Hareidland in South More) they met Earl Haakon and his sons +Erik, Svein, Sigurd and Erling. The earl had 180 ships and boats, fully +manned and equipped, and the Joms-vikings had 60 ships. A bloody and +fierce battle followed, probably the greatest that had ever taken place +in Norway. At first the advantage was on the side of the Joms-vikings, +and Earl Haakon was hardly pressed. So many spears were thrown against +him that his armor was split asunder, and he threw it off. It is said +that Earl Haakon then sacrificed his young son Erling to the gods in +order to gain victory. A great hailstorm arose, and the Joms-vikings +were defeated, but only after a most desperate fight. Earl Sigvald +turned and fled with some of his ships; but many of his men preferred +to fall in battle. Haavard the Hewer (Huggende) stood on his knees and +fought, after both his feet had been cut off. One of the champions, Bue +the Thick (Digre), received a terrible cut that took away his under-lip +and chin, and, seeing that resistance was in vain, he took a chest +full of gold in each hand and shouted: "Overboard, all Bue's men," +and jumped into the sea. After the battle the dead were ransacked by +Haakon's men, and the booty brought together to be divided; and there +were twenty-five ships of the Joms-vikings in the booty. + +While Earl Haakon ruled over Norway there were good crops in the +land and peace internally among the peasants. The earl, for a long +time, was therefore well liked; but later he became proud and much +given to debauchery. According to the saga, he would go so far as to +have the daughters of people of high station brought home to him, +and after keeping them a week or two send them home in shame. The +people therefore began to murmur loudly, and finally they rose against +him. Early in the year 995 Earl Haakon was at a feast at Medalhus in +Gauldal. There was a mighty peasant in the neighborhood, by name Orm +Lyrgja, who had a wife called Gudrun, a daughter of Bergthor of Lundar. +She was called the Lundar-sun, because she was so beautiful. The earl +sent his slaves to Orm, with the errand that they were to bring Gudrun +to the earl. Orm first invited the slaves to take supper, and while +they were eating and drinking he sent word around to all his neighbors, +and soon had so many gathered at his house that he could refuse to let +his wife be taken away. The slaves departed with many threats; but Orm +sent out messages to all the neighboring country, and soon a large body +of armed men were marching toward Medalhus where Haakon was. With a +single thrall (slave) called Kark, who had been with him since boyhood, +Earl Haakon fled across the Gaula River, rode his horse into a hole, +and left his cloak behind on the ice, in order to make his pursuers +believe that he had been drowned. Then he went to the estate of Rimul, +where one of the earl's mistresses, Thora, lived, and asked her to hide +him for a few days until the army of the peasants had dispersed. They +went to a swine-sty, where Kark dug a deep hole and covered it with +boards. The earl and Kark went into the hole, and Thora covered it, and +threw earth and manure over it, and drove the swine upon the top of it. + +Olaf Trygvason had just then arrived in the country, and when the +peasants heard he was of the family of Harald the Fairhaired, they +flocked around him and hailed him as their king. Then they all set +about hunting for Earl Haakon. At Rimul they looked everywhere for him +without finding him. Then Olaf held a House-Thing or council out in the +yard, and stood upon a great stone which lay beside the swine-sty, and +made a speech to the people, in which he promised rewards and honors to +the man who should kill the earl. This speech was heard by the earl and +the thrall Kark. + +"Why art thou so pale," asked the earl, "and now again black as earth? +Thou hast not the intention to betray me?" + +"By no means," replied Kark. + +"We were both born on the same night," said the earl, "and the time +will be short between our deaths." + +King Olaf went away in the evening. When night came the earl kept +himself awake; but Kark slept, and was disturbed in his sleep. The earl +woke him, and asked him what he had been dreaming. + +Kark answered: "I was at Lade, and Olaf Trygvason was laying a golden +ring about my neck." + +The earl then said: "It will be a bloody ring Olaf will lay about thy +neck if he catches thee. Take care of that! From me thou shalt enjoy +all that is good, therefore betray me not." + +Then they both kept awake, evidently mistrusting each other. But toward +morning the earl dropped asleep. Then Kark killed him, and cut off +his head, and hastened to Olaf Trygvason with it, but Olaf had the +faithless thrall decapitated. Earl Haakon was fifty-eight years old at +his death, in February, 995. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +_The Youth of Olaf Trygvason_ + + +When the Gunhild-sons had killed Trygve Olafson, king in Viken (the +grandson of Harald the Fairhaired), in 963, Trygve's widow Astrid fled +with her foster-father, Thorolf Lusarskeg. Astrid was pregnant with +a child of King Trygve, and she went to a lake and concealed herself +on a small island with a few followers. Here she gave birth to a boy, +and she called him Olaf, after his grandfather. She remained there +all summer, but when the nights became dark, and the days began to +shorten and the weather to be cold, she travelled further with Thorolf +and a few others until she reached Ofrustad, where her father, Erik +Biodaskalle, lived, and they remained there during the winter. But in +the spring spies were sent out by Gunhild to find the boy, and Astrid +had to flee again with her son. She proceeded eastward, and at last +came to her father's friend, Haakon the Old, in Sweden, where she and +her son remained a long time and were well treated. When Gunhild heard +that Astrid and her son Olaf were in Sweden, she sent ambassadors +to the king of Sweden with the request that the king assist them in +getting hold of Olaf Trygvason, to bring him back to Norway, where +Gunhild would bring him up. Astrid then determined to go with her son +to Gardarike, or Russia, where she had a brother, Sigurd Eriksson, who +held a high position there. Olaf was then three years old. As they +sailed out into the Baltic, however, they were captured by vikings from +Esthonia, who made booty both of the people and their goods, killing +some, and taking others as slaves. Thorolf, whom they considered too +old for a slave, was killed. Olaf was separated from his mother, and +an Esthonian took him and a son of Thorolf as his share of the booty. +The boys were sold for a stout and good ram, and a third man, called +Reas, afterward bought Olaf for a good cloak. Olaf remained with Reas +in Esthonia for six years (967-972), was treated well, and was much +beloved by the people. + +Sigurd Eriksson, the brother of Astrid, happened to come to Esthonia +to collect taxes for King Valdemar (or Vladimir), king in Novgorod, +Russia. In the market-place he saw a very handsome boy, and as he could +see that he was a foreigner, he asked him his name and family. The boy +answered that his name was Olaf, that he was a son of Trygve Olafson, +and that Astrid, a daughter of Erik Biodaskalle, was his mother. Sigurd +thus discovered that the boy was his sister's son, and he bought him, +and took him with him to Novgorod, He at first said nothing to the boy +about their relationship, but treated him well. Olaf was then nine +years old. + +One day Olaf was in the market-place, where a great many people were +assembled. There he saw and recognized Klerkon, who had killed his +foster-father, Thorolf Lusarskeg, on the journey from Sweden. Olaf had +a little axe in his hand, and with it he clove Klerkon's skull, and +then he ran home and told his uncle Sigurd what he had done. Sigurd +immediately took Olaf to Queen Allogia, told her what had happened, +and begged her to protect the boy. The queen took a liking to the boy, +paid the fine for the manslaughter he had committed, and induced King +Valdemar to admit him to his court, where he was brought up as a king's +son. Olaf remained with King Valdemar nine years (973-981). + +At the age of eighteen Olaf was given ships by King Valdemar and +set out on viking cruises. After a plundering visit to the island +of Bornholm he came to Vendland (Pomerania), where he married Queen +Geira, the daughter of King Burislav, and subdued the countries which +had formerly belonged to her dominions, but had lately failed to pay +her taxes. Every summer he made viking cruises, and in the winter he +stayed with Queen Geira. Olaf had been three years in Vendland when +Geira was taken sick and died. His grief was so great that he could +not afterward stay in Vendland. He then provided himself with warships +and made viking cruises to Denmark, England, Northumberland, Scotland, +the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and western France. On returning from +France he was driven by a storm to the Scilly Isles, where he and all +his men were baptized in the Christian faith. Afterward Olaf came to +England, and married Princess Gyda, a daughter of the Irish king Olaf +Kvaran. The English annals contain many references to Olaf Trygvason, +and name him as chief of a fleet of nearly 400 ships which, in the +year 991, harried the east coast of England and won a great battle, +after which the Englishmen were compelled to pay him 10,000 pounds in +silver. Three years later he again attacked the coast of England, and +the English king, Ethelred, had to beg for peace and promise to pay him +16,000 pounds in silver. Olaf and his army went into winter quarters +in Southampton. Soon afterward King Ethelred invited him to his home; +Olaf accepted the invitation, and the two became good friends. During +his stay with the king, Olaf was confirmed, and King Ethelred himself +became his sponsor and gave him many precious gifts. Olaf, for his +part, made a solemn vow that he would never again attack the coasts of +England, a promise which he appears to have kept. + +Early in the year 995 Olaf proceeded to Norway, and arrived at +Throndhjem just when the peasants had risen against Earl Haakon. They +made him their chief, and when the earl was dead, and his sons had +fled, Olaf Trygvason became king of Norway. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +_Olaf Trygvason_ (995-1000) + + +Olaf Trygvason was twenty-seven years old when he came to Norway. +At a general Thing at Throndhjem the people elected him king of all +Norway, as Harald the Fairhaired had been, and in return he promised to +enforce law and justice. The following spring and summer Olaf travelled +through the whole country, to the southernmost part of Viken, and +everywhere he was hailed as king, even by the chiefs in the Uplands and +in Viken, who, during the reign of Earl Haakon, had at least nominally +acknowledged the suzerainty of the Danish king. In the Uplands the +petty kings, who were descendants of Harald the Fairhaired, were +allowed to retain their possessions on the old conditions. + +Olaf had decided, before he left England, to introduce Christianity +in Norway, and he found it advisable to commence this work in Viken, +where he had many of his relatives and warmest friends. Here was the +rich and influential Lodin, who, some time before, had married Olaf's +mother Astrid. His mother's brothers and two brothers-in-law of Olaf +were also mighty people in that part of the country. Another reason for +starting the work here was that a good many had already adopted the +Christian faith under the influence of missionaries from Germany and +Denmark. During his stay in Viken, Olaf called his relatives together +and informed them of his intention to convert the whole of Norway to +the Christian faith. He would accomplish that, he said, or die in +the attempt. But he promised to make his relatives great and mighty +men if they would support him with all their power. This they agreed +to do, and as the most powerful men among the people had now acceded +to King Olaf's request, the others followed their example, and all +the inhabitants of the east part of Viken allowed themselves to be +baptized. Greater opposition was met in the north part of Viken (around +"Folden"), where Christianity had not had so many former adherents. But +Olaf would tolerate no opposition; those who opposed him he punished +severely, killing some, mutilating others, and driving some into +banishment. During that summer (996) and the following winter all Viken +was made Christian. + +The next spring King Olaf christianized Agder. He met no opposition +until he came to Hordaland, where there were many mighty men. They met +him fully armed at a public assembly, ready to resist; but after he had +made his speech entreating them to accept Christianity, but adding that +those who would not submit must expect punishment, their courage failed +them, and all the people present were baptized before the assembly +was dissolved. King Olaf then went with his men to the _Gula-Thing_, +where one of the chieftains asked of the king, as a sign of goodwill, +that he give his sister Astrid in marriage to their relation, Erling +Skialgson of Sole, whom they looked upon as one of the most hopeful men +in the country. This the king readily acceded to, since Erling was a +man of good birth and fine appearance. Erling Skialgson and Astrid were +married in the summer, and the king, who was present at the wedding, +at his departure invested Erling with all the land north of the Sogne +Fjord and east to the Lidandisnes, on the same terms as Harald the +Fairhaired had given land to his sons. + +After having christianized the people of Sogn, South More, Raumsdal and +North More, King Olaf, after a year's absence, returned to Throndhjem. +At Lade he had the great heathen temple razed to the ground, took all +the ornaments, and burned the temple with all the images. When the +people heard of this they sent out war-tokens and collected a great +force, with which they intended to attack the king. In the meantime +Olaf sailed with his men out of the fjord along the coast northward, +intending to proceed to Halogaland and baptize there. But when he came +out to Bjarnaurar (Björnör), he heard from Halogaland that a force was +assembled there to defend the country against the king. The chiefs of +this force were Harek of Thiotta, Thorer Hiort from Vagar, and Eyvind +Kinrifa. At the same time he learned that the peasants in Throndhjem +had now dispersed. He therefore turned about and sailed in through the +Throndhjem Fjord again. + +In the fall King Olaf laid the foundation of the future city of +Nidaros at the mouth of the river Nid. He built his royal residence at +Skipakrok (the ships' creek), built a church further up, and laid out +building lots for the people. The work was pushed forward with energy, +so that Olaf could take up his residence there in the winter, and by +Christmas the church was also ready. + +At the beginning of the winter Olaf summoned the peasants to a Thing at +Frosta, and they came in great numbers, but also well armed. When the +Thing was called to order, the king began in a mild manner to preach +Christianity; but the peasants soon objected, and the mighty Jernskegge +(Ironbeard), who was their spokesman, said that the will of the people +was now, as formerly, that the king should not break the laws. They +wanted the king to offer sacrifice, as other kings before him had done. +If he did not do as they wanted, they would kill him or banish him from +the country. Seeing that the people were in earnest, and had a superior +force present, King Olaf talked to them in a more conciliatory manner, +promised to be present at their midwinter sacrifices, and said that +they could then further discuss the proposed change of faith. This +speech was well received, and the assembly dispersed. + +When Yuletide came, Olaf invited all the mighty peasants from Strinden, +Gaulardal, and Orkadal to a feast at Lade. They came, were entertained +in the best possible manner the first evening, and toward morning +became quite drunk. The next day he called a House-Thing, where +his men were present in much greater number than the peasants. He +made a speech, in which he said that at Frosta he had offered them +Christianity, but instead of accepting it they had demanded that he +should offer sacrifice to their gods, as other kings had done. "Now," +he continued, "if I shall turn again to making sacrifice, then will I +make the greatest of sacrifices that are in use, and I will sacrifice +men. But I will not select slaves or malefactors for this, but will +take the greatest men only to be offered to the gods." Thereupon he +selected eleven of the principal men, and all these, he said, he would +offer in sacrifice to the gods for peace and a fruitful season, and +ordered them to be laid hold of immediately. As the peasants saw that +resistance was useless, they all submitted to the king's demands. He +spared their lives on the condition that they should be baptized, take +an oath to support the true faith, and renounce all sacrifices to the +heathen gods. They were then baptized, and had to send their sons, +brothers or other near relations as hostages. Later on, King Olaf came +with his men to Mærin, where the people were assembled. He promised to +go into their temple to look at their ceremonies; but while there, he +and his men knocked down and demolished the images of the gods, while +the chief of the peasants, Jernskegge, was killed outside of the temple +by one of the king's men. When the king came outside, he demanded that +the peasants be baptized, or fight with him on the spot, and as their +chief was dead, and there was a superior force against them, they +yielded, were baptized, and gave hostages for their perseverance in the +faith. + +In this and similar ways King Olaf succeeded in christianizing, in +name at least, practically the whole of Norway. Christianity was also +introduced in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Orkneys. + +Queen Sigrid the Haughty (Storraade), widow of King Erik of Sweden, +resided on her large estates in Gautland and wielded a great influence. +Her son, Olaf the Swede, besides being king of Sweden, also ruled +over Denmark, whence Svein Tjuguskeg had been expelled. Many were her +wooers, but she had so far rejected all, and she even caused two of +them, her foster-brother Harald Grenske and the Russian king Vsevolod, +to be killed, by being burned in their lodgings, in order, as she +said, to make petty kings quit courting her. Olaf Trygvason evidently +thought that it would strengthen him if he could marry Sigrid, and sent +messengers to her with a request for her hand. They were well received, +and it was agreed that Olaf and Sigrid should meet at Konungahella, at +the boundary line between Norway and Sweden, early in the spring. King +Olaf sent Queen Sigrid as a gift the great gold ring he had taken from +the heathen temple at Lade. She was greatly pleased with this ring, and +had it passed around in her hall to be admired. When it came to her two +goldsmiths they shook their heads, and upon being pressed, pronounced +the ring false. The queen ordered the ring to be broken into pieces, +and it was found to be copper inside. Sigrid became very angry, and +said that Olaf would probably deceive her in more ways than this one. + +Early in the spring Olaf met Queen Sigrid at the appointed place, and +it seemed that they were coming to an agreement. But when Olaf insisted +that Sigrid should become a Christian and be baptized, she answered: +"I must not part from the faith which I have held, and my forefathers +before me; but, on the other hand, I shall make no objection to your +believing in the god that pleases you best." Then King Olaf became +angry and struck her in the face with his glove, saying: "Why should +I care to have thee, an old faded woman, and a heathen jade?" Greatly +enraged Sigrid cried: "This may some day be thy death." Thus they +parted. The king set off to Viken, and the queen returned to Gautland. + +King Olaf unexpectedly met a new bride. The Danish king, Svein +Tjuguskeg, had compelled his sister Thyra to marry King Burisleif of +Vendland;[1] but Thyra had been with this heathen and dissolute husband +only a week when she fled back to Denmark, and afterward, in order to +avoid her brother, went to Norway, where she met King Olaf. "Thyra was +a well-spoken woman," says the saga, "and the king had pleasure in her +conversation." He also saw that she was a handsome woman, although she +can not have been very young at that time, and the result was that they +were married, much against the wish of Svein Tjuguskeg. + +[1] Vendland, or Vindland, the country inhabited by the Vends, seems to +have included Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and Prussia on the Baltic. + +Shortly after this Sigrid the Haughty married Svein Tjuguskeg, who, by +this relationship with King Olaf the Swede, recovered back his kingdom, +Denmark. Their family connections also included the two sons of the +late Earl Haakon, Erik, who married Svein Tjuguskeg's daughter Gyda, +and Svein, who married Holmfrid, a sister of Olaf the Swede. Thus the +chain was formed, which for a long time was to have influence on the +destiny of Norway. + +Olaf Trygvason and his wife, Thyra, spent the winter after their +marriage at Nidaros (Throndhjem). Queen Thyra often complained, and +wept bitterly over it, that she, who had great possessions in Vendland, +had no property here suitable for a queen, and she entreated the king +to go to Vendland and have her property there restored to her. But all +King Olaf's friends advised him not to undertake such an expedition. It +is told that on Palm Sunday the king was walking in the street, and met +a man with a number of fine angelica roots, remarkably large for that +early season. The king bought one, and brought it home to Queen Thyra, +whom he found crying. He said to her: "See here, queen, is a great +angelica stalk, which I give thee." But she threw it away and said: "A +greater present my father, Harald Gormson, gave to my mother; and he +was not afraid to go out of the country and take what was his; but thou +darest not go across the Danish dominions for that brother of mine, +King Svein." Then King Olaf sprang up, and answered with a loud oath: +"Never did I fear thy brother, King Svein; and if we meet he shall give +way before me!" + +Shortly after Easter the king convoked a Thing in the town, and +proclaimed to the people that in the summer he would go upon an +expedition abroad, and announced how many ships and men he wanted +from each district. The king had then just finished a ship which was +larger and more magnificent than any other ship in the country. This +ship was called the "Long Serpent" (Ormen lange). The crew was made up +of picked men of great strength and courage, none of them more than +sixty or less than twenty years of age. The only exception was Einar +Thambaskelfer, who was only eighteen years old. Einar was unusually +strong, and was considered the most skilful archer. He had a bow called +Thamb, which he was wont to make quake; hence his name (Thambaskelfer, +_i.e._, Thamb-quaker). The king himself commanded the "Long Serpent." +His half-brother, Thorkel Nefia, commanded the "Short Serpent," and +his mother's brothers, Thorkel Dydril and Jostein, had the "Crane" +(Tranen), and both these ships were well manned. King Olaf had sixty +ships when he left Norway, and sailed southward through the Sound to +Vendland. With him, on board the "Long Serpent," were Queen Thyra, +his sister Ingibjorg, bishop Sigurd, and several priests. Many of +his friends had joined him on the journey south along the Norwegian +coast, among them his brother-in-law, Erling Skialgson of Sole, who had +a large and well-equipped ship. When King Olaf arrived in Vendland, +he was well received by King Burisleif, his claims to Queen Thyra's +estates were peaceably settled, and he remained there a portion of the +summer. + +Sigrid the Haughty was Olaf Trygvason's bitterest enemy after their +meeting at Konungahella, when he struck her in the face with his glove. +She urged King Svein much to fight King Olaf, saying that he had the +more reason to do so, as Olaf had married his sister Thyra without +his leave. King Svein finally resolved to attack King Olaf. He sent +messengers to his brother-in-law, King Olaf the Swede, and to Earl +Erik, inviting them to join him with an army, so that they all together +might attack King Olaf Trygvason. He also sent Earl Sigvald to Vendland +to spy out Olaf Trygvason's movements, and by pretending friendship +gain his confidence and lead him into a trap. + +Between the island of Rügen and the mainland of the present Prussian +province of Pomerania lies a little island called Greifswalder Oie, +or Svolder, as it was called at that time. Here lay on the 9th of +September, in the year 1000, a fleet of eighty ships. Sixty of them +belonged to the Danish king Svein Tjuguskeg, fifteen to the Swedish +king Olaf, and five to Earl Erik. They lay there waiting for King Olaf +to pass by on his return home from Vendland. + +With a light but favorable breeze the Norwegian fleet sailed out of the +harbor, where it had been lying during the stay in Vendland. All the +small vessels, which sailed faster, got out to sea before the others. +Earl Sigvald with his ships remained near the king for a while, and +then sailed ahead telling the king to sail in his keel-tracks, as +he knew best where the water was deepest. The earl, who was informed +of the presence of the Danish fleet, sailed close under the island +of Svolder, and Olaf Trygvason with his remaining eleven large ships +followed. Meanwhile the Danish king Svein, the Swedish king Olaf, and +Earl Erik, gathered their forces and made ready for battle. + +When Olaf Trygvason sailed in toward the island, the whole fleet of +the enemy came out against him. When his chieftains saw this superior +force they begged the king to proceed on his way, and not risk a battle +against such odds. But the king, standing high on the quarter-deck of +the "Long Serpent," replied: "Strike the sails; never shall men of mine +think of flight. I never fled from battle. Let God dispose of my life, +but flight I shall never take." + +King Olaf ordered the ships to close up to each other. The "Long +Serpent" lay in the middle of the line; on one side lay the "Little +Serpent," and on the other the "Crane." King Olaf stood on the +quarter-deck of the "Serpent," high over the others. He had a gilt +shield, and a golden helmet, and over his armor he had a short red +jacket, so that he was easily distinguished from the others. When he +saw the enemy's ships drawing up for battle, he asked: "Who is the +chief of the force right ahead of us?" The answer came that it was King +Svein with the Danish army. The king said; "We are not afraid of these +soft Danes, for there is no courage in them. But who are those on the +right?" He was answered, that it was King Olaf with the Swedish forces. +"Better it were," said King Olaf, "for these Swedes to stay at home +licking their sacrificial vessels,[2] than to come under our weapons. +But who owns the large ships on the other side of the Danes?" "That is +Earl Erik, the son of Haakon," said his men. Then the king said: "He, +methinks, has good reason for meeting us; and from these men we may +expect the sharpest conflict, for they are Northmen like ourselves." + +[2] The Swedes were then still heathens. + +The battle commenced and became very severe, and many people were +slain. King Svein made a violent attack on the "Long Serpent," but was +soon compelled to retreat. Then Olaf the Swede came up with his fifteen +ships, but he fared no better, and the king himself had a narrow escape +from death. When Earl Erik came up with his ships the fight became most +severe, and a great number of people fell. The men from the smaller +ships soon began to seek refuge on board the "Long Serpent," and at +last all King Olaf Trygvason's ships were cleared of men except the +"Long Serpent." Then Earl Erik brought his ship up to the side of the +"Serpent," and the fight went on with battle-axe and sword. + +Einar Thambaskelfer stood at the mast of the "Serpent" and sent deadly +arrows from his bow. He sent an arrow at Earl Erik, which hit the +tiller-end just above the earl's head so hard that it entered the wood +up to the arrow-shaft. The earl had hardly time to ask whose shot it +was, when another arrow flew between his arm and his side, and clear +through a board behind him. Again Einar drew his bow, when it was hit +by an arrow from the enemy and broke in two. "What was it that broke +with such a noise?" cried King Olaf. "Norway, king, from thy hands," +answered Einar. "Not so," said the king, "take my bow and shoot," and +the king threw his own bow to Einar. Einar took the bow, and drew it +over the head of the arrow. "Too weak, too weak," said he, "is the bow +of the king," and, throwing it aside, he took sword and shield, and +fought desperately. + +Finally, after a terrible combat, the earl's men boarded the "Serpent," +and the few men who were left were killed or leaped overboard. King +Olaf held his shield over his head when he threw himself in the water, +and was drowned. Among the last men to leave the ship were Einar +Thambaskelfer, who was captured in the water, and Thorkel Nefia, who +swam ashore. + +King Olaf Trygvason was thirty-six years old when he fell at Svolder. +His widow, Queen Thyra, died shortly afterward from grief. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +_The Discovery of America_ + + +During the reign of Earl Haakon a man from Jæderen, called Erik the +Red, being obliged to leave Norway because he had killed a man, +proceeded to the western part of Iceland. Here he committed a similar +offence and was condemned at Thorsnes Thing to banishment. He had +heard that a man called Gunbiorn, son of Ulf Krage, had some time ago +been driven by the storm far westward and had seen a great country. +Erik the Red fitted out a vessel and told his friends that he intended +to find the country Gunbiorn had seen. He took with him a man by the +name of Heriulf Bardson. They found the country (984), and on a visit +later to Iceland Erik the Red gave such a fine description of the new +country that it was called Greenland. A number of colonists returned +with him to the new country, and the foundation of several settlements +were laid. In the summer of 999 Leif Erikson, a son of Erik the Red, +made a visit to Norway, and as he met King Olaf Trygvason he adopted +Christianity, and passed the winter with the king. In the following +spring King Olaf sent Leif Erikson, together with a priest and other +teachers, to Greenland to proclaim Christianity there. Flourishing +colonies, with churches, monasteries, and bishoprics, are known to have +been maintained in Greenland until the end of the fourteenth century. + +Biarne Heriulfson, a son of the above-named Heriulf Bardson, while +sailing westward from Iceland in search of his father, met with stormy +weather, northerly winds and fogs, and was driven out of his course. +As he came to different shores, which, from the description he had +received, could not be those of Greenland, he turned around, and, +sailing in a northeasterly direction, finally arrived at his father's +home in Greenland. When telling of his discovery he was much ridiculed +for not having landed and examined the new countries. Leif Erikson +bought Biarne's ship, and with a crew of thirty-five men set out, in +the year 1000, to look for these lands. He came first to a land on +his right as he sailed southward. It had great icy mountains in the +interior and a shore of flat stones. He therefore named the country +Helluland (from the Norse _helle_, a flat stone). He continued his +course southward, and came to another country, which was level and +covered with woods and had a low coast. He called this country Markland +(outfield or woodland). The antiquaries consider Helluland to have +been Newfoundland, and Markland some part of Nova Scotia. Leif and +his party put to sea again with a northeast wind, and after two days' +sailing made land, and came to an island lying on the north side of +the mainland. They entered the channel between the island and a point +projecting northeast from the mainland, and at last landed at a place +where a river which came from a lake fell into the sea. They found +the country very agreeable, and, resolving to winter there, erected +some houses. Leif divided his people into two parties, to be employed +in turns in exploring the country and working about the houses. One +evening it happened that one of the exploring party, a German by +birth, named Tyrker, was missing. They went out to search for him, +and when they met him he told them he had been up the country, and +had discovered vines and grapes, a fruit with which he was acquainted +from his native country. They now occupied themselves in gathering +grapes and cutting vines, and felling timber with which they loaded the +vessel. Leif called the country Vinland. Toward spring they made ready +and sailed away, and returned to Greenland. + +In the year 1002 Leif Erikson's brother, Thorvald, fitted out a ship +and sailed southward with thirty men, after consulting with Leif. They +came to Vinland, to the houses put up by Leif, where they remained +quietly all winter, and lived by fishing. In the spring Thorvald sent a +party in the long-boat to explore the country to the south. They found +the country beautiful and well wooded, but with little space between +the woods and the sea, and the strand full of white sand. There were +also many islands, and shallow water. They came back in the autumn to +Leif's houses. The following spring Thorvald sailed with his vessel +eastward, then northward along the land. Outside of a cape they met +bad weather and were driven ashore and broke their keel. They remained +there a long time to repair their vessel. Thorvald said to his men: +"We will stick up the keel here upon the ness and call the place +Keelness."[3] Then they sailed eastward along the country and landed on +a headland, which Thorvald liked so well that he said he would like to +make his home there. On going on board they saw three little hills on +the sandy shore. They went up to them and found they were three canoes, +made of skin, with three natives--or _Skrælings_, as the Northmen +called them--under each canoe. They killed eight of them, while one +made his escape in his canoe. Afterward a great number of the natives +attacked Thorvald's party. They were repulsed, but Thorvald was wounded +by an arrow and died. He was buried on the headland which he had said +he liked so well. His men remained there during the winter, and in the +spring returned to Greenland. + +[3] Keelness (old Norse _Kjalarnes_) is supposed by the antiquaries to +be the present Cape Cod, Massachusetts. + +In the summer of 1006, an Icelander by the name of Thorfin Karlsefne +came to Greenland, and, in the winter, married Gudrid, the widow of +Thorstein, third brother of Leif Erikson. By her advice he resolved +to undertake an expedition to Vinland and establish a colony there. +In the spring (1007) they set out with three ships, 160 men, and all +kinds of live stock, and sailed to Vinland. Some time after their +arrival there Gudrid bore a son, who was named Snorre. The colonists +occasionally traded with the _Skrælings_, giving them pieces of cloth +and dairy products for their skins; but when they refused to sell them +weapons, the _Skrælings_ became hostile to the settlers and attacked +them repeatedly. These constant hostilities so disheartened the +settlers that they resolved to leave the country, and, after three +years' sojourn in Vinland, Thorfin Karlsefne and his party returned +to Greenland. Another expedition to Vinland was undertaken, shortly +after their return, by Freydis, the illegitimate daughter of Erik the +Red, her husband Thorvald, and two Norwegians named Helge and Finboge. +This party quarrelled among themselves, and Freydis, who is described +as a very bad woman, caused a great number of them to be murdered. The +survivors returned to Greenland in the spring of 1013. The next summer, +Thorfin Karlsefne went to Norway with his Vinland cargo and sold it to +great advantage. He returned to Iceland and bought land there, and, +according to the saga, many men of distinction are descended from him +and his son Snorre, who was born in Vinland.[4] + +[4] Accounts of these journeys to Vinland are contained in the +_Flateyar-bok_, or Flatey Codex, an Icelandic manuscript, which takes +its name from the island Flatey, Iceland, where it was preserved. It +was written by two priests between the years 1387 and 1395. The work is +a collection of sagas transcribed from older manuscripts and arranged +chronologically. The book is written on parchment, and is one of the +most beautiful works of penmanship from that time in Europe. It is +known that Christopher Columbus came to Iceland in 1477, on purpose to +gain nautical information, and it would seem next to impossible that +he should not have heard of the written accounts of the discoveries +recorded in the Flatey Codex. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +_The Earls Erik and Svein, Sons of Haakon (1000-1015)_ + + +After the battle of Svolder, the three allied princes divided the +kingdom of Norway between them. King Olaf the Swede got four districts +in the Throndhjem country, and the districts of North More and South +More and Raumsdal, and in the eastern part of the country he got +Ranrike from the Gaut River to Svinesund. Earl Erik got four districts +in the Throndhjem country, and Halogaland, Naumudal, the Fjord +districts, Sogn, Hordaland, Rogaland, and North Agder, all the way to +the Naze (Lindesnes, the southernmost point in Norway). The Danish +king, Svein Tjuguskeg, retained Viken, which he had held before, and +Raumarike and Hedemarken. After the division, the Swedish king gave his +Norwegian possessions into the hands of his brother-in-law Svein, the +brother of Earl Erik, on the same conditions as the sub-kings or earls +held such possessions formerly from the chief king. At the same time +the Danish king gave most of his possessions in Norway in fief to Earl +Erik. Thus the two brothers together ruled over a larger territory than +their father, Earl Haakon, had held; but they were not able to wield +the same power. During his whole time, Earl Erik received no taxes from +Rogaland, which Erling Skialgson ruled over with unlimited authority. +The earls Erik and Svein were baptized, and adopted the Christian +faith; but as long as they ruled in Norway they allowed every one to +do as he pleased as to the manner of observing his Christianity. On +the other hand, they upheld the old laws, and all the old rights and +customs of the country. They were popular men and good rulers. Of the +two brothers Earl Erik had most to say in all public matters. + +The earls tried to gain the friendship of Olaf Trygvason's old friends, +and in many cases they succeeded. The brave young Einar Thambaskelfer +was won over by their giving him great fiefs in Orkadal, so that he +became one of the most powerful and esteemed men in all the Throndhjem +country. They also gave him their proud sister Bergliot in marriage. +One mighty man, however, they tried in vain to conciliate. That was +Erling Skialgson, the brother-in-law of Olaf Trygvason. He could +not forgive Earl Erik for having joined the Swedes and Danes in an +unexpected attack on Olaf Trygvason and causing his death. He managed +to maintain a firm hold on the dominions his brother-in-law had given +him. If the earls visited a neighborhood where they knew that Erling +was staying, they always took with them a large armed force, and they +never thought of visiting Erling on his estate, Sole. He had with him +never less than ninety free men. If it was reported that the earls were +in the neighborhood, he had two hundred men or more. He never went by +water from one place to another except in a fully-manned ship of twenty +benches of rowers. In the summer he used to make viking cruises in +order to procure means with which to support his many men. + +Erling was a good master. At home, on his estate, he always had thirty +slaves besides the many servants engaged in work outside. He gave each +of them a certain day's work; when one of them was through with that, +he had the balance of the day at his own disposal. Each one received a +piece of land to cultivate, and what grain he produced he could sell +and use the proceeds toward buying himself free. The amount needed +for this purpose was fixed by the earl, and it was so low that many +bought their freedom at the end of a year, while all who were at all +industrious could make themselves free within three years. He also +assisted his men after they had become free. Some of them were given +land to clear and cultivate, while others were shown how to conduct the +herring-fisheries. + +After the death, in England, of the Danish king, Svein Tjuguskeg, his +son, Canute (Knut) the Mighty, sent word to Earl Erik in Norway (his +brother-in-law) to come over and help him to conquer England. The +earl immediately called together the mightiest peasants, and in their +presence divided the country between his brother Svein and his son +Haakon. As the latter was only seventeen years old, the earl appointed +his brother-in-law, Einar Thambaskelfer, guardian for him. Thereupon +Earl Erik set sail for England. He met King Canute there, and was with +him when he captured London. He was given Northumberland to govern, and +remained there until his death. + +From the short joint reign of Earl Svein and Earl Haakon in Norway +only one event of importance is known. As soon as Earl Erik had left +the country, they effected a reconciliation with the mighty Erling +Skialgson at Sole, who had never been able to forgive Earl Erik for +the assault on Olaf Trygvason, but readily made peace with Svein and +Haakon; and the new friendship was further cemented by Aslak, Erling's +son, marrying Earl Svein's daughter Gunhild (or Sigrid, as the name +is given in another place). One good reason why the earls sought to +strengthen their power by an alliance with the powerful chieftain, +Erling Skialgson, was no doubt the unexpected appearance of a most +threatening enemy, the young pretender to the throne, Olaf, son of +Harald Grenske. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +_The Youth of Olaf Haraldson_ + + +Olaf Haraldson, after his death called Olaf the Saint, was the son of +Harald Grenske and Aasta. Harald Grenske, who, as we have seen, at one +time governed Viken under the suzerainty of the Danish king, was the +grandson of Biorn the Merchant--who was killed by Erik Blood-Axe--and +a great-grandson of Harald the Fairhaired. Olaf was born shortly after +the death of his father. His mother Aasta was then staying at the +home of her father, Gudbrand Kula, a mighty man in the Uplands. Soon +afterward, Aasta was married again to Sigurd Syr, who was king in +Ringerike and a descendant of Harald the Fairhaired, and in his house +Olaf was brought up. When King Olaf Trygvason came to Ringerike to +spread Christianity, he induced Sigurd Syr and his whole family to be +baptized, and he acted as godfather at the baptism of little Olaf. + +One day, when Olaf was ten years old, King Sigurd wanted to ride out, +and, as there was nobody else about the house, he told his stepson +Olaf to go and saddle his horse. Olaf did not refuse, but he went to +the goats' pen, and put the king's saddle on the largest he-goat, led +him up to the door, and went in and told King Sigurd that his horse +was saddled. When King Sigurd came out and saw what Olaf had done, he +said: "Easy it is to see that thou wilt little regard my orders; and +thy mother will think it right that I do not order thee to do anything +against thy own inclination. I see well enough that thou art far more +proud than I am." Olaf answered little, but went his way laughing. + +When Olaf grew up he became of medium height, but very stout and +strong. He had light brown hair, and a broad face which was white and +red. He had particularly fine eyes, which were beautiful, but piercing, +so that one was afraid to look him in the face when he was angry. +Olaf was very expert in all bodily exercises, understood well how to +handle his bow, and was especially an expert in throwing his spear. He +was well liked by his friends and acquaintances, was ambitious in his +sports, and always strove to be the first. + +Olaf was twelve years old when, for the first time, he went on board +a ship of war (1007). His mother, Aasta, got Rane, who was called +foster-father of kings, to command the ship and take Olaf under his +charge. The men on board, however, gave Olaf the title of king. With +two ships, Olaf first steered to Denmark and then to Sweden, where he +harried the coasts and fought with vikings. Afterward he made cruises +to Finland, Russia, and Gotland. Later he turned westward to Friesland +and England, where he took part in the fights between the Danes and the +Anglo-Saxons. From the poems of the Skalds it appears that he took part +in the battle of Hringmara (1010), and in the storming of Canterbury +(1012). In company with Thorkel the Tall (a brother of Earl Sigvald) he +entered the English king Ethelred's service, took part in his battles +against the Danish vikings, and accompanied Ethelred on his flight to +Normandy. From here he thought of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; +but on the way he had, according to tradition, a remarkable dream. +He thought he saw a tall and handsome man, who told him to return to +Norway and take his Udal, adding "for thou shalt be king over thy +country forever." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +_Olaf the Saint (1015-1028)_ + + +Leaving his long-ships (battleships) behind him at Northumberland, Olaf +sailed, in the fall of 1015, with two merchant-ships and 120 well-armed +men, across the North Sea to Norway. After a stormy voyage he landed on +the west coast of Norway, near a small island called Sæla. King Olaf +thought this was a good omen, because that word means luck. He sailed +southward to Ulfasund, where he heard that Earl Haakon was south in +Sogn, and was expected north with a single ship as soon as the wind was +favorable. King Olaf then sailed further south, and when he came to +Saudungssund he laid one of his vessels on each side of the sound, with +a thick cable between them. Soon after Earl Haakon came rowing into +the sound with a manned ship; they saw Olaf's ships, but thought they +were only two merchant vessels, and rowed in between them. When the +ship was over the cable, Olaf's men on each side wound it up with the +windlass, so that Haakon's ship upset, and all his men plunged into the +water. Most of them, however, were picked up and taken on board Olaf's +ship; only a few were drowned. Among those saved was Earl Haakon. He +was a very handsome boy of eighteen years, with fair, silken hair, +bound about his head with a gold ornament. When Olaf saw him, he said: +"True it is what has been said of your family: you are handsome people; +but now your luck has deserted you." Haakon replied: "It is always so, +that sometimes one is victorious, and sometimes another. I am little +beyond childhood in years; besides, we did not expect any attack. It +may turn out better with me another time." "But dost thou not fear that +thou art now in such a condition that, hereafter, there will be neither +victory nor defeat for thee?" asked the king. "That all depends upon +thee," said the earl. Olaf then asked what he would give if he were +allowed to go unhurt. The earl asked what he demanded. "Nothing," said +the king, "except that thou shalt leave the country and take an oath +that thou shalt never go into battle against me." Earl Haakon agreed to +this, took the oath, and rowed away with his men. As soon as possible +he sailed over to England, to his mother's brother, King Canute, who +received him well. His father, Earl Erik, whom he afterward joined, +considered his son's oath binding upon him also, and he therefore made +no attempt to win back the lost kingdom, but remained in Northumberland +until his death (1024). + +King Olaf now went southward along the coast, holding Things with the +peasants in many places. Many went willingly with him, while others, +who were Earl Svein's relations or friends, refused him allegiance. He +therefore decided first to apply to his relations, the kings in the +Uplands, and see what support he could gain from them for his cause. +He sailed east to Viken, set his ships on land, and proceeded with +one hundred and twenty men up the country to Ringerike, to meet his +stepfather, Sigurd Syr. The story of his reception at his mother's +home, as detailed in Snorre Sturlason's _Heimskringla_, is very +interesting, and gives a vivid picture of the life and customs at the +home of a rich and mighty Norwegian in those days. The main portion of +the description is here given. + +As Olaf was approaching Sigurd Syr's home some of the servants ran +ahead to the house. Olaf's mother, Aasta, was sitting in the room, and +around her some of her girls. When the servants told her that King Olaf +was coming, and that he might soon be expected, Aasta immediately got +up, and ordered men and girls to put everything in the best order. She +ordered four girls to bring out all that belonged to the decoration +of the room, and put it in order with hangings and benches. Two men +brought straw for the floor, two brought forward four-cornered tables +and the drinking-jugs, two bore out victuals and placed the meat on +the table, two she sent away from the house to procure in the greatest +haste all that was needed, and two carried in the ale; and all the +other serving men and girls went outside of the house. Messengers +went to seek King Sigurd wherever he might be, and brought to him his +dress-clothes, and his horse with gilt saddle, and his bridle which was +gilt and set with precious stones. Four men she sent off in different +directions to invite all the great people to a feast, which she was +preparing as a rejoicing for her son's return. She made all who were in +the house dress themselves with the best they had, and lent clothes to +those who had none suitable. + +King Sigurd Syr was in the field superintending the harvest work when +the messengers came to him with the news, and told him all that Aasta +was doing at the house. He had many people with him working in the +field. He probably did not like the interruption of the work caused +by his wife's message, but he dressed himself in the fine clothes sent +him, mounted his horse, and rode home together with thirty well-dressed +men whom he had sent for. As they rode up to the house, Olaf, under his +banner, was seen coming up from the other side with one hundred and +twenty men all well equipped. People were also gathered all around. +King Sigurd saluted his stepson, and invited him and his men to come +and drink with him. But Aasta went up and kissed her son, and invited +him to stay with them, saying that all the land and people she could +furnish would be at his service. King Olaf thanked her kindly for her +invitation. Then she took him by the hand, and led him into the room to +the high-seat, while King Sigurd got men to take care of their clothes, +and see that the horses were cared for. Then Sigurd went in, and a +great feast was had. + +King Olaf had not been at the place many days before he called his +stepfather, King Sigurd, his mother Aasta, and his foster-father Rane +to a conference and consultation. He informed them that it was his +intention to win back from the Danes and the Swedes the land of his +forefathers or die in the attempt. He asked Sigurd to help him, and +give him the best possible advice in the matter. King Sigurd thought +the plan was very risky, but knew from experience that it would be +useless to try to dissuade Olaf from it. He would, therefore, help him +with goods and money; but he would not bind himself to anything more, +before he knew the views and intentions of the other Upland kings. + +In the Uplands there lived at that time many descendants from Harald +the Fairhaired. They all bore the title of king, although their +possessions were small. After the death of Olaf Trygvason they had +acknowledged the suzerainty of the Danish king. One of them ruled over +Raumarike, Hadeland and Thoten, another over Valders. In Gudbrandsdal +there was a king named Gudrod, and in Hedemarken two brothers, Rorek +and Ring, were the rulers. With these district-kings Sigurd Syr had +a meeting in Hadeland which King Olaf also attended. Here Sigurd +announced his stepson Olaf's purpose, and asked their aid to accomplish +the plan. He also told of the many brave deeds which Olaf had performed +on his war expeditions. + +King Rorek then made a speech against the proposed change. The people, +he said, had had many experiences. When King Haakon, Athelstan's +foster-son, was king, all were content; but when Gunhild's sons ruled +over the country, they became so hated for their tyranny that the +people would rather have foreign kings, who usually left the people to +themselves if only the taxes were paid. When Earl Haakon had succeeded +in establishing himself firmly as a ruler with the help of the people, +he became so hard and overbearing toward them that they could no +longer tolerate him. They killed him, and raised to the kingly power +Olaf Trygvason, who was udal-born to the kingdom, and in every way +well qualified to be a chief. The whole country's wish was to make him +supreme king, and raise again the kingdom which Harald the Fairhaired +had established. But when King Olaf had become secure in his power, +no man could manage his own affairs for him. With the small kings he +was very hard, and collected even greater tribute than Harald the +Fairhaired had done. A man was not even allowed to believe in what +god he pleased. After Olaf Trygvason had been taken away, they had +kept friendly with the Danish king, and had received great help from +him in everything; they had been allowed to rule themselves, and had +experienced no oppression. Rorek was, therefore, inclined to let well +enough alone, and declined to take any part in the proposed plan. His +brother Ring was of a different opinion. He said that even if he only +could keep the same power and property that he held now, he would +prefer to see one of his own race as supreme king rather than a foreign +chief. And if Olaf succeeded in making himself supreme king, those of +them would fare best who had best deserved his friendship. He believed +Olaf to be an honorable man, and if they gave him aid now he would +certainly show his gratitude afterward. He was in favor of giving Olaf +all possible friendship and support. The others, one after the other, +expressed the same opinion, and the result was that the most of them +entered into a league with King Olaf. This league was confirmed by oath. + +Thereafter the kings summoned a Thing, and here Olaf explained in a +long speech what claims he had to the throne of Harald the Fairhaired. +He requested the peasants to elect him king, and he promised them +to uphold the old laws, and to defend the country. His speech was +very well received. Then the different kings spoke in support of his +request, and the result was that King Olaf was proclaimed king over the +whole country according to the laws of the Uplands. The king thereupon +proceeded through the Uplands accompanied by three hundred and sixty +men, and from all directions the people flocked to him and hailed him +as their king. + +From the Uplands King Olaf hastened over the Dovre Mountain to the +Throndhjem country. It was of importance to come there before the +reports of his proceedings reached Earl Svein, who was about to +celebrate Christmas at Steinker. At Medaldal, in Orkedal, he summoned +the peasants to a Thing, where he requested them to accept him as +king. They were without a leader and did not have sufficient strength +to offer opposition to the king; so the result was that they took the +oath of allegiance. At Griotar he met an army of about eight hundred +men, which had been collected by Einar Thambaskelfer, but had been left +without a leader while Einar went to Gauldal to get more men. Olaf +offered the men peace and law, "the same as King Olaf Trygvason offered +before me," and then presented them with two conditions--either to +enter his service or fight him. The result was that they hailed him as +their king. When Earl Svein heard of this, he fled from Steinker with a +long-ship and proceeded to Frosta. After having reached Steinker, Olaf +again summoned a Thing, and compelled the people to recognize him as +their king. He thereupon sailed to Nidaros, where he made preparations +to celebrate Christmas. Earl Svein and Einar Thambaskelfer meanwhile +gathered an army of 2,400 men, with which they suddenly descended upon +Nidaros. Olaf and his men barely escaped, and fled southward to the +Uplands by the same way they had come. Earl Svein took the Christmas +provisions which Olaf's party had been obliged to leave and then burned +the town of Nidaros. + +Olaf spent the winter in the Uplands, and in the spring gathered an +army with which he intended to meet Earl Svein. The kings in Hedemarken +furnished him with many armed men, and his stepfather, Sigurd Syr, +joined him with a great force. During the winter he had built a +ship, which was named "Karlshoved" (Carl's Head, possibly intended +to represent the head of Charlemagne, whose name was held in great +veneration). On the bow of the ship was a crowned head, which the king +himself had carved. With a fine and well-equipped fleet Olaf set out +from Viken, going first to Tunsberg. + +Earl Svein in the meanwhile collected a great force in the north. Many +of the chiefs were his relatives and friends, and were able to give him +great assistance. His brother-in-law, Einar Thambaskelfer, was on his +side, and with him many other lendermen (a sort of local governors); +and among them were many who had taken oath of allegiance to King Olaf +the winter before. Earl Svein sailed south along the coast, drawing +men from every district. When they came to Rogaland, Erling Skialgson +of Sole joined them with a considerable force. Svein's fleet is said +to have consisted of forty-five ships, with probably upward of 2,500 +men; Olaf hardly had half the number of ships, but his ships were +considerably larger, so that the number of men was probably about the +same. Toward the end of Easter he entered Viken with his fleet and put +in at Nesiar (Nesje), a headland on the east side of the bay (near +Fredriksværn). + +On Palm Sunday, March 25, 1016, the two fleets met in battle. Before +opening the battle Olaf had his ships tied together, his own ship, +"Karlshoved," occupying a place in the centre. On this ship were one +hundred and twenty men armed in coats of mail, French helmets, and +white shields, on which was a gilt or painted cross. Olaf had a white +banner on which the figure of a serpent was sewed. The king instructed +his men to defend themselves with the shields in the beginning, and +take care of their lances and arrows, so that they were not thrown +away to no purpose. This advice was followed with good results. When +the conflict had become exceedingly sharp, and the missiles began to +be scarce on the earl's side, Olaf's men were well supplied, and their +attack was very severe. Men fell in great numbers on both sides, but +mostly on the earl's ships. King Olaf with the "Karlshoved" engaged +Earl Svein's ship, and his men were soon preparing to enter it. The +earl, seeing his defeat, ordered his ship cut loose from the others, +and at the last moment his brother-in-law, Einar Thambaskelfer, +succeeded in pulling the ship out of the line of battle from behind, +using his own vessel as a tow-boat. When the earl's ship was gone, the +flight became general. Some of the earl's men fled up the country, +others surrendered on the king's mercy, but Earl Svein and his +followers escaped out through the bay. Svein proceeded to Sweden to +seek the aid of the Swedish king, while Erling Skialgson and some other +chiefs sailed westward and returned to their homes. Earl Svein was well +received by King Olaf the Swede, and it was agreed that next winter +they should proceed with an armed force overland through Helsingland +and Jemteland and down to the Throndhjem country, for the earl depended +upon the faithful help of the people there. The summer was to be spent +in viking expeditions in the Baltic. Svein made a cruise to Russia and +plundered the coasts; in the fall he was taken sick there and died +(1016). + +King Olaf went north after the battle of Nesje, and settled down in +Nidaros, where he rebuilt the royal residence and the church, and +helped the merchants to rebuild the town. After the death of Earl +Svein he was readily recognized by all the people in that part of the +country as the rightful king. The Swedish king became very angry when +he heard that he had lost the possessions in Norway which he had won +by the battle of Svolder, and he threatened to take great revenge upon +Olaf the Big, a nickname which he had given his Norwegian opponent on +account of his stoutness. He sent tax-collectors into Norway, and when +these were harshly treated, some of them even being killed, Olaf the +Swede was highly enraged, and war between the two kings was threatened. +King Olaf made preparations for an emergency, although he much +preferred peace, and even wished to marry the Swedish king's daughter. +He built fortifications on a headland in the river Glommen, near the +falls of Sarpen, and around these fortifications he laid the foundation +of the town of Borg or Sarpsborg. The people on both sides of the +boundary were very much displeased with the feud between the kings, +and on both sides the kings were urged to make peace. The Norwegian +king was willing enough, and sent conciliatory messages to Olaf the +Swede, but the latter rejected all overtures. Finally the matter was +brought to a crisis at a general Thing assembled at the Swedish city of +Upsala. Here the king at first also refused to hear the propositions +for peace, when Thorgny Lagman (lawman, a kind of judge at the Thing) +rose, and made the following speech: "The disposition of Swedish kings +is different now from what I hear it was formerly. My grandfather, +Thorgny, could well remember the Upsala king Erik Eymundson, and used +to tell of him that when he was in his best years he went out every +summer on expeditions, and conquered Finland and Karelen, Esthonia and +Courland and many parts of the eastern country. Even at the present day +the earth-bulwarks and other great works which he made are to be seen. +And yet, he was not so proud that he would not listen to those who had +something to say to him. Thorgny, my father, was a long time with King +Biorn, and well knew his ways and manners. At that time the kingdom was +in great power and suffered no losses. He, too, was sociable with his +men. I also remember Erik the Victorious, and was with him on many a +war expedition. He enlarged the Swedish dominion and bravely defended +it, and with him also it was easy to talk about public affairs. But the +king we now have allows no one to talk with him of anything but what he +himself desires to hear. He wants to have Norway laid under him, which +no Swedish king before him ever desired, and thereby causes many men +to be alarmed. But now it is the will expressed by us peasants that +thou, King Olaf, make peace with the king of Norway, and give him thy +daughter Ingegerd in marriage. If thou wilt reconquer the countries on +the Baltic which thy relations and ancestors had there, we will all +go with thee. But if thou wilt not now consent to what we demand, we +will no longer suffer law and peace to be disturbed, but will attack +thee and kill thee. So our forefathers did when, at the Mora Thing, +they drowned five kings in a morass because they were filled with the +same insupportable pride thou hast shown toward us. Now tell us, in +all haste, which of these two conditions thou wilt choose." The whole +public approved, with clash of arms and shouts, the speech of Thorgny +Lagman. Then the king rose and said he would do as the people desired. +"All Swedish kings," he said, "have done so, and have allowed the +peasants to rule in all according to their will." The murmur among the +people then came to an end, and it was decided that the terms of peace +offered by the Norwegian king were to be accepted, and that Ingegerd, +the king's daughter, was to be married to King Olaf of Norway. + +In the meanwhile King Olaf travelled through the country, and +carefully investigated the manner in which Christianity was observed. +Where he found the people lacking in Christian knowledge, he taught +them and furnished them with Christian teachers. If he met with +obstinate opposition, he acted with severity and cruelty. "If any there +were," says the saga, "who would not renounce heathen ways, he took the +matter so zealously that he drove some out of the country, mutilated +others on hands or feet, or stung their eyes out; hanged some, slew +some with the sword; but let none go unpunished who would not serve +God." In this way he proceeded through the country, accompanied by +three hundred and sixty armed men. + +King Olaf soon found that Christianity was thriving less the further +he proceeded into the interior. In the Uplands five small kings +came together at Ringsaker, and under the leadership of King Rorek +conspired to kill King Olaf. "But it happened here," says the saga, +"as it usually does, that every one has some friend even among his +enemies." Ketil Kalf of Ringenes, who was present at the meeting of the +conspirators, went down after supper to the lake (Miosen), and boarded +a little vessel which King Olaf had made him a present of after the +battle at Nesje. He had forty well-armed men with him, and rowed in all +haste down the lake. He arrived early in the morning at Eid (Eidsvold), +where he found the king and told him of the intention of the small +kings of Upland. King Olaf immediately gathered his men, sailed north +to Ringsaker, surprised the conspirators, and captured them. + +King Olaf now availed himself of the opportunity that chance had given +him, to rid himself of royal rivals who, as descendants of Harald +the Fairhaired, claimed under the law to have as much right to their +possessions as any supreme king, and who had always been in the way +of a national unity. King Olaf now, by one decisive act, secured the +unity and independence of the country, and prepared the way for the +victorious entrance of Christianity. + +King Ring and two other kings were banished from Norway, under oath +never to return. Rorek was a treacherous man and could not be depended +upon, so the king ordered both his eyes put out, and afterward +took him with him in that condition wherever he went. He ordered +Gudrod Valley-king's tongue to be cut out, and of the lendermen and +peasants who were implicated in the conspiracy some he banished from +the country, some he mutilated, and with others he made peace. King +Olaf took possession of the land that these kings had possessed. His +stepfather, Sigurd Syr, who had had nothing to do with the conspiracy +of the other small kings, died during the winter (1018), and now Olaf +alone bore the title of King in Norway. + +Shortly after his stepfather Sigurd Syr's death, Olaf went to visit +his mother, Aasta, and on this occasion it is told that she took her +boys (half-brothers of Olaf) to show them to the king. King Olaf took +Guthorm on one knee and his brother Halfdan on the other. He made a wry +face at the boys, and pretended to be angry, and they became frightened +and ran away. Then Aasta brought in her youngest son, Harald, who was +then three years old. The king made a wry face at him also, but the +boy only stared back at him. The king then took hold of the boy's hair +as if to pull it, but the boy in return pulled the king's whiskers. +"Thou wilt probably be revengeful some day, my friend," said the king. +The following day Olaf and Aasta were watching the boys at play down +by the lake (at the Tyrifjord). Guthorm and Halfdan had built houses +and barns and had little figures representing cattle and sheep. +Little Harald was down by the water, where he had little chips of wood +floating. The king asked him what they were, and Harald answered that +they were warships. The king laughed, and said: "The time may come, +kinsman, when thou wilt command ships." Then the king called Guthorm +and Halfdan up to him, and asked them what they would like to have +above all. "Fields," answered Guthorm. "And how large?" asked the +king. "I would have that headland yonder sown with corn every summer," +answered the boy. The headland included ten farms. "There would be a +great deal of corn there," said the king. Turning to Halfdan, he asked +what he would like best to have. "Cows," said Halfdan. "And how many?" +asked the king. "So many that when they came to the lake to drink they +would stand close together around the whole lake," was the answer. "You +both take after your father in wanting a great husbandry," said the +king. "But what wouldst thou have?" he asked Harald. "Men," replied +the boy. "And how many?" "So many that in a single meal they would eat +all of Halfdan's cows," was the answer. The king laughed, and said to +Aasta: "Here, mother, thou art bringing up a king." "And more is not +related of them on this occasion," says the saga; but the prophecy was +fulfilled, for Harald, Sigurd's son, in time became king of Norway. + +The Swedish king broke the promises he had given at the Upsala Thing, +and did not send his daughter Ingegerd to the appointed meeting-place +on the boundary, when King Olaf of Norway came to fetch his bride. +Shortly afterward the Swedes revolted, and the Swedish king again had +to make concessions, and promise to make peace with the king of Norway. +The latter had, in the meanwhile, against the wishes of her father, +married Astrid, a younger half-sister of Ingegerd. At the peace of +Konungahella, where the kings finally met, this marriage was approved +by the Swedish king, the boundary lines between the two countries were +finally agreed upon, and friendly relations were established. + +After the peace of Konungahella, King Olaf was able to pay more +attention to the domestic affairs of the country. He went north, +and in the fall came to Nidaros, where he prepared to take up his +winter residence. He made careful inquiries as to the condition of +Christianity, and learned to his regret that it was not observed at +all up north, in Halogaland, and was not observed as it should be in +Naumdal and the interior of the Throndhjem country. In the spring +Olaf started on an expedition north to Naumdal, where he summoned the +peasants to meet him, and at every Thing he was accepted as king. He +had the laws read to the people, and threatened them with loss of life, +limbs, and property, if they would not subject themselves to Christian +law. They all promised to obey, and the rich men made great feasts +for the king. Thus he proceeded north to Halogaland, where Harek of +Thiotta, a mighty man of the family of Harald the Fairhaired, after +having made a feast for the king, was made lenderman, and was given the +same privileges he had enjoyed under former rulers. The king remained +most of the summer in Halogaland, went to all the Things, and baptized +all the people. Thorer Hund, who lived on the island Biarkey and was +one of the most powerful men in that northern country, also became one +of Olaf's lendermen. Toward the end of the summer King Olaf sailed back +to Throndhjem. + +During his stay at Nidaros the king ascertained that the people of the +interior of the Throndhjem country were still offering sacrifices +to the heathen gods for peace and a good season, and that Olver +of Eggja, a mighty man in that neighborhood, presided over these +sacrifice-feasts, although he had twice assured the king that the +people were loyal Christians. Learning that they were preparing such +a feast at Mæren, the king proceeded to that place one night with +three hundred and sixty armed men, captured Olver of Eggja, and had +him killed together with many others, and severely punished all the +peasants who had taken a leading part in the sacrifices. In this way he +brought the people back to the Christian faith, gave them teachers, and +built and consecrated churches. The widow of Olver of Eggja, who was +young and handsome, of good family, and rich, was given by the king in +marriage to Kalf Arneson, a young favorite among the king's men. The +king also gave him an office, and Kalf thus became a great chief. + +In the summer of 1021 King Olaf proceeded to Moere and Raumsdal. In +the fall he left his ships in Raumsdal and proceeded to Gudbrandsdal. +The mightiest man there was Dale-Gudbrand, who ruled over the valley +districts there with the authority of a king, although he did not bear +the title. When he heard that Olaf was approaching, he summoned all the +men in the valley to a Thing, where they decided to resist the attempt +to force Christianity upon them. A force of eight hundred men, under +the leadership of Alf, the son of Gudbrand, was sent against Olaf, +but a battle had scarcely begun when the peasants fled, and Alf was +captured. Then the king was invited to hold a Thing with the peasants, +so they could discuss the proposed change of faith. To the request +of the king that the people should believe in the true God and be +baptized, Dale-Gudbrand replied: "We do not understand of whom thou art +speaking. Dost thou call him God whom neither thou nor any one else +can see? But we have a god who can be seen every day, although he is +not out to-day, because the weather is wet. I expect that fear will mix +with your very blood when he comes into the Thing. Now, since thy God +is so great, let him make it so that to-morrow we have a cloudy day but +without rain, and then let us meet again." The next day when the Thing +had assembled, the weather was such as Gudbrand had desired. Bishop +Sigurd stood up in full vestments, with mitre on his head and crosier +in his hand, and spoke to the peasants of the true faith, and of the +many miracles that God had performed. On the third day the peasants +came to the assembly carrying between them a great image of the god +Thor, which they placed on the green. Dale-Gudbrand then said: "Where +now, king, is thy god? I think he will now carry his head lower; and +neither thou nor thy bishop are so bold to-day as on former days; for +now our god, who rules over all, has come, and looks on you with an +angry eye. And now I see well enough that you are terrified." + +The king instructed one of his men, Kolbein Sterke (Kolbein the +Strong), to strike the image with his club with all his might, if in +the course of the king's speech it should happen that all the people +looked in another direction. Then the king spoke to the people, saying: +"Much hast thou talked to us this morning, and greatly hast thou +wondered that thou canst not see our God. But I expect that he will +soon come to us. Thou wouldst frighten us with thy god, who is both +blind and deaf, and can neither save himself nor others, and cannot +even move without being carried; but now I expect that he will soon +come to grief. For turn your eyes toward the east. Behold our God +advancing in great light!" The sun was just rising, and all turned to +look. Immediately Kolbein struck the idol with his club, so that it +burst into many pieces, and out of it ran rats as big as cats, snakes, +and lizards, which had fattened on the good things that had daily +been given to the god. At this the peasants became greatly terrified +and fled. But the king ordered them together again, and urged them to +abandon their worthless heathen gods, and finally he gave them the +choice between accepting Christianity and fighting. Dale-Gudbrand then +arose and said, that since their own god would not help them, they +would have to believe in the king's God and serve him. Then Olaf caused +all the people in the valley to be baptized, and gave them teachers. +Gudbrand himself and his son were baptized by the bishop. Gudbrand +built a church on his estate, and he and Olaf parted as friends. + +With the same firm hand King Olaf established Christianity in +Hedemarken and Raumarike. During his stay in Raumarike he assembled +a great Thing at Eidsvold and proclaimed the Eidsiva law for all the +Uplands. + +King Olaf succeeded in having Christianity established by law +throughout the whole of Norway. He built many churches and gave +property to them, so that there was at least one priest in each Fylki. +With the assistance of Bishop Grimkell he had a church law adopted. He +also improved the civil laws, and had a fourth _law-thing_ established +for Viken, the Borge-Thing, which had its own law, and was held at the +city of Borg (now Sarpsborg). However, by his cruel way of introducing +Christianity, and his relentless way of enforcing all laws, Olaf +gradually made many enemies; he severely punished all who broke the +laws, whether they were high or low, and one after the other among +the chiefs became unfriendly to him. Among the most dangerous of these +enemies were Erling Skialgson of Sole, Thorer Hund of Biarkey and Harek +of Thiotta. + +At this time Canute (Knut) the Great, called by some Canute the Old, +a son of the Danish king, Svein Tjuguskeg, was king of England and +Denmark. Canute claimed the hereditary right to all Norway, and his +sister's son, Earl Haakon, who had held a part of it, appeared to him +to have lost it in disgrace. Many of the discontented Norwegians went +over to England, pretending various errands, and visited Canute the +Great and Earl Haakon, who was staying with Canute. Every one who thus +came was most hospitably received, and were given costly presents. The +young earl listened with pleasure to the complaints of the discontented +about King Olaf's tyranny, and to their appeals for a return of the +former state of affairs. Haakon forgot the oath he had given to King +Olaf, and begged his uncle Canute to try if King Olaf would not +voluntarily surrender the kingdom or at least a part of it. King Canute +then sent magnificently equipped messengers to Norway, bearing his +letter and seal. + +King Olaf had come down from the Uplands in the spring (1025) and was +sojourning in Tunsberg, when the messengers of Canute the Great arrived +and made known their errand. "King Canute considers all Norway as his +property," they said, "his forefathers before him having possessed the +kingdom; but as he offers peace to all countries, he will not invade +Norway with an army if it can be avoided. But if King Olaf Haraldson +wishes to remain king of Norway, he must come to King Canute, and +receive the kingdom in fief from him, become his vassal, and pay the +tribute which the earls before him have paid." To this King Olaf +replied: "I have heard that the Danish king Gorm was considered a good +and popular king, although he ruled over Denmark alone; but the kings +who succeeded him were not satisfied with this. It has now come so far +that King Canute rules over Denmark and England, and has also conquered +a great part of Scotland. And still he lays claim to the kingdom I have +inherited. I think he ought to be satisfied with what he has. Does he +wish to rule over all the countries of the North? Will he eat up all +the cabbage in England? He will have to do so before I show him any +kind of vassalage. Bring him this answer: I will defend Norway with +battle-axe and sword as long as life is given me, and will pay tribute +to no man for my kingdom." + +Later in the summer the discontented Norwegians in England were +reinforced by Aslak and Skialg, the sons of Erling Skialgson of Sole, +who, no doubt with their father's knowledge and consent, went over to +England and were received by King Canute with open arms. + +King Olaf understood the danger that was threatening him and took +measures to protect himself. He had spies out to keep an eye on the +movements of Canute, and in the fall he sent messengers eastward to +Sweden to his brother-in-law, King Anund Jacob, who had succeeded +his father, Olaf the Swede, as king of Sweden, and let him know King +Canute's demands upon Norway, adding that, in his opinion, if Canute +subdued Norway, King Anund would not long enjoy the Swedish dominions +in peace. He therefore thought they ought to unite for their defence. +King Anund received this message favorably, and promised to arrange a +personal meeting with King Olaf in the near future. + +In the autumn King Canute the Great came from England to Denmark, +and remained there all winter with a large army. Believing that an +offensive and defensive alliance between Norway and Sweden would be +fraught with danger to his Danish kingdom, he sent messengers to the +Swedish king, in order to win his friendship or at least secure his +neutrality. But, although the messengers brought many costly presents +for King Anund, they were very coolly received, and returned to King +Canute with the information that he could not depend much upon the +friendship of King Anund. + +King Olaf spent the winter at Sarpsborg. Early in the spring he and +King Anund met at Konungahella, on the Gaut River, where their alliance +was concluded. + +King Olaf set out with his men and raised a levy over the whole +country. All the lendermen in the North followed him except Einar +Thambaskelfer, who remained quietly on his great estate. Olaf sailed +with his fleet south around Stadt, and many people from the districts +around joined him. At Hordaland he heard that Erling Skialgson had +left the country with a great force and several ships, and had sailed +westward to England to Canute the Great. King Olaf proceeded eastward +and then south to Denmark, where he first ravaged the coast of Seeland, +and afterward met King Anund Jacob of Sweden, and with him harried +the coast of Skåne (Scania, then a part of Denmark, now belonging to +Sweden). They proclaimed to the people that they intended to conquer +Denmark, and asked the support of the people for this purpose. Many men +entered the service of the kings, and agreed to submit to them. + +When King Canute heard in England that King Olaf had gone to Denmark +with a plundering army, he collected a great force and a large fleet +with which he proceeded to Denmark. Earl Haakon was second in command. +King Olaf and King Anund now sailed eastward, and put up in Helgeaa, +a short but wide river forming the outlet of a number of lakes near +what was then the boundary between Sweden and Denmark. When they heard +that King Canute was coming after them with his great force, they made +preparations to receive him. They dammed up the lake at the head of the +river, so that the water rose to a considerable height in the lake, +while the river was quite low. Then the allies made their ships ready +for battle. When Canute arrived, it was too late in the evening to +begin the battle, and seeing the harbor empty, he entered it with as +many ships as possible. Early in the morning the dam was broken, and +the water rushed with great force down upon Canute's fleet. A good many +people were drowned, and the ships were scattered, some of them in a +considerably damaged condition. However, when the fleet had again been +collected, the allied kings perceived that it was of too formidable +strength to be attacked, and so they withdrew. King Canute, after +having vainly lain in wait for Olaf, and having no special desire for +a war between Denmark and Sweden, sailed away and returned to England. +King Olaf returned overland through Sweden to Norway. + +In the following year (1028) Canute the Great returned with a large +fleet to Norway. By a policy of general bribery he had won the +friendship of a great many of the discontented chiefs. The saga says +"that every man who came to him, and who he thought had the spirit of a +man and would like his favor, got his hands full of gifts and money." +He first landed in Agder, where he summoned a Thing and received the +oath of allegiance from the peasants. King Olaf was then in Tunsberg. +Canute sailed northward along the coast, and everywhere he was hailed +as king. In Ekersund Erling Skialgson came to him with many people, +and King Canute and Erling renewed their league of friendship. Canute +then continued his journey until he came to Throndhjem, and landed at +Nidaros. Here a Thing was summoned, at which King Canute was proclaimed +king of all Norway. Thorer Hund and Harek of Thiotta were present, and +the king divided Halogaland between them. The king made Earl Haakon +governor-in-chief of all the land he had taken on this expedition. At +the same time he appointed his son Hardeknut king of Denmark. He gave +Einar Thambaskelfer great gifts, and restored to him the fiefs he had +formerly held. + +When King Olaf heard that King Canute had gone south to Denmark he +sailed with a few ships, and as many men as would follow him, up along +the coast. When he came north to Eikundasund (Ekersund), he heard +that Erling Skialgson was ready to meet him with a great force. On +the 21st of December the king sailed out of the harbor, and the wind +being strong and favorable, he sailed past the place where Erling was +with his fleet. Erling soon pursued him, but was separated from his +main force, and when he overtook King Olaf he was met by the whole of +the latter's force. A severe fight began, and many men fell on both +sides; but finally Erling was the only man left on his ship. King +Olaf who, with his men, had entered the ship, called out to him from +the fore-deck: "Thou hast turned thy face straight against us to-day, +Erling." "Face to face shall eagles fight," said Erling. The old man's +courage and manly defence had awakened Olaf's sympathy, and the king +asked him if he would enter his service. "That I will," said Erling. +He took off his helmet, laid down his sword and shield, and went +forward to the fore-deck. King Olaf, who half regretted his kindly +feelings toward the conquered man, gently scratched his cheek with +the edge of his battle-axe, saying: "The traitor to the king must be +marked." Immediately one of the king's men, Aslak Fitiarskalle, rushed +up, and cleft Erling's skull with his axe, saying: "Thus we mark the +traitor to the king." When the king saw the old chieftain lying dead at +his feet he deeply regretted the ill-considered scorn he had uttered, +and said to Aslak: "Ill luck was that stroke; for thou hast struck +Norway out of my hands." Erling Skialgson was sixty-two years old at +the time of his death, and the saga says that he was the greatest and +worthiest man in Norway of all those who had no higher title. + +Olaf continued his journey northward, but was soon pursued by Erling's +sons, who had raised a great army. When he heard that Earl Haakon was +also coming against him with an army from Throndhjem, he found himself +compelled to flee from the country. He landed at Valdal and crossed the +mountains to Gudbrandsdal and thence to Sweden, where he left his wife +Astrid and his daughter Ulfhild. Olaf, with his son Magnus and a few +faithful friends, travelled to Russia, where he was well received by +his brother-in-law, King Jaroslav, who had married Ingegerd, the sister +of the Swedish king, Anund Jacob. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +_The Battle of Stiklestad (1030)_ + + +In the summer of 1029 Earl Haakon went to England to fetch his bride, +Gunhild, a daughter of Canute's sister. Everything was satisfactorily +arranged, but on his return voyage his vessel foundered, and all on +board were lost. + +One of King Olaf's best friends, Biorn Stallare,[5] believing that +Olaf would not return to Norway, had been induced by great gifts and +promises to give allegiance to Earl Haakon and King Canute; but when he +heard that the earl had perished, so that the country was again without +a chief, he greatly regretted that he had failed to be true to King +Olaf, and it seemed to him that there was now some hope that Olaf might +again become king if he came back to Norway. He therefore immediately +journeyed east to Russia to Olaf, and told him of Earl Haakon's death, +and brought him other news from Norway. When the king asked him how +his friends had kept their fidelity toward him, Biorn answered that it +had been different with different people. Then he fell at the king's +feet, and said: "All is in your power, sire, and in God's. I have taken +money from King Canute's men, and sworn them allegiance; but now I +will follow thee, and not part from thee so long as we both live." The +king answered: "Arise, Biorn; thou shalt be reconciled with me; but +reconcile thy perjury with God. I must know that but few men in Norway +have adhered to their fealty to me, when such a man as thou art could +be false to me." Biorn named those who had principally bound themselves +to be his enemies; among them were Erling's sons, Einar Thambaskelfer, +Kalf Arneson, Thorer Hund and Harek of Thiotta. + +[5] A _Stallare_ was a very influential officer, a kind of court +marshal. + +Olaf now made preparations for his return to Norway, and shortly after +Christmas started with two hundred and forty men. His young son, +Magnus, was left behind with King Jaroslav in Russia. In Sweden, King +Anund received his brother-in-law well, and gave him four hundred and +eighty picked warriors to go with him. When it was reported in Norway +that King Olaf had come from the east to Sweden, his friends gathered +aid for him in Norway. The most distinguished man in this party was +Harald Sigurdson, Olaf's half-brother, who was then quite young, but +very stout and manly of growth. Many other brave men were there also; +and they were in all seven hundred and twenty men, when they proceeded +eastward through the Eid forest and Vermeland, and met Olaf in Sweden. +Olaf's kinsman, Dag Ringson, collected an army of about 1,400 men, with +which he joined King Olaf. + +When King Olaf had crossed the mountain and was descending on the west +side, where it declines toward the sea, and he could see the country +for many miles, he became sad and rode by himself in silence for quite +a while. Finally, Bishop Sigurd rode up to him, and asked him why he +was so silent, and what he was thinking of. The king answered: "Strange +things came into my mind a while ago. As I looked down the valley, it +appeared to me that I was looking over all Norway. It then came into my +mind how many happy days I have had in this country. My vision went +further, until I looked over the whole wide world, both land and sea. +I recognized places where I have been before; but I also saw places +of which I had never heard, both inhabited and uninhabited, as far as +the world goes." Then the bishop dismounted from his horse, kissed the +king's foot, and said: "It is a holy man whom we are now following." + +When King Olaf came down into Verdalen, he mustered his force, and he +then had over 3,600 men. Among them were about six hundred who were +heathens, and who refused to be baptized. These men were sent back, as +Olaf would not have any heathens among his warriors. + +In the evening Olaf's whole forces took up their night-quarter in +one place, and lay down under their shields; the king lay long awake +in prayer to God, and slept but little. Toward morning he slumbered +for a while, and when he awoke, day was breaking. The king thought +it too early to awaken the army, and asked where the bard Thormod +Kolbrunarskald was. Thormod was near by, and asked what the king +desired. The king said: "Sing us a song." Thormod arose and sang, so +loud that the whole army could hear him, the old Biarkemaal.[6] Then +the troops awoke, and, when the song was ended, the people thanked him +for it, and the king gave him a fine gold ring. + +[6] The _Biarkemaal_ is so called because it was composed and sung by +Bodvar Biarke, a Norwegian, who, with Rolf Krake and others, was killed +in battle. Rolf Krake was king in Seeland (Denmark); he had twelve +powerful warriors called _Berserks_ (_i.e._ dressed in bear skins); +among them was Bodvar Biarke. Rolf and his men were attacked during +the night, and the Biarkemaal was then sung to encourage Rolf's men to +fight valiantly for their chief. + +The king now led his army further down the valley until he came to +Stiklestad, where he placed his army in battle array against the +peasants' army. The lendermen and peasants had collected a vast army; +it is said to have numbered 14,400 men. When the armies were near +together, Thorer Hund went forward in front of the banner with his +troop, and called out: "Forward, forward, Bonde-men!" The peasants +repeated this war-cry and shot their arrows and spears. The king's men +now raised their battle-cry, and encouraged each other to advance, +shouting: "Forward, forward, Christ-men! cross-men! king's-men!" King +Olaf's army rushed down the hill upon the peasant army with a fierce +assault, and for a moment drove it from its original position; but the +chiefs urged their men forward, and forced them to advance again. The +peasant army pushed forward from all quarters, and the battle became +very severe. Those who stood in front hewed down with their swords; +those who stood next thrust with their spears, while those in the +rear shot arrows, cast spears, or threw stones, hand-axes, or pieces +of timber. Many fell on both sides. When the ranks in front of the +king's banner began to be thinned, he ordered the banner moved forward, +and the king himself followed with a party of chosen men, and placed +himself in the front rank. King Olaf fought most desperately. He hewed +at Thorer Hund, and struck him across the shoulders; but the sword +would not cut, and it was as if dust flew from Thorer's reindeer-skin +coat. Then the king said to Biorn Stallare: "Do thou kill the dog on +whom steel will not bite." (Thorer's surname Hund means dog.) Biorn +turned the axe in his hand, and gave Thorer such a blow with the hammer +of it on the shoulder that he staggered; but the next moment Thorer +ran his spear through the body of Biorn, and killed him, saying: +"Thus we hunt bears north in Finmark." (Biorn means bear.) Thorstein +Knarrarsmid, one of Thorer Hund's followers, struck at King Olaf with +his axe, and the blow hit his left leg above the knee. Fin Arneson +immediately felled Thorstein; but the king, badly wounded, staggered +toward a stone, threw down his sword and shield, and prayed God to help +him. Then Thorer Hund struck at him with his spear, and the stroke went +in under his mail-coat and into his abdomen. Still another wound was +given the king on the left side of the neck, and these three wounds +caused the death of King Olaf. He was then thirty-five years old. + +The battle had lasted an hour and a half, and was now virtually ended. +Dag Ringson and his men still fought desperately for a while, but +they were soon overwhelmed by numbers and fatigue, and were obliged +to retire. There was a valley through which many fled, and men lay +scattered on both sides; many were severely wounded, and many so +fatigued that they were unable to move. The peasants pursued them only +a short way; for their leaders soon returned to the battlefield, where +they had friends and relatives to care for. + +It is said that Thorer Hund went to where King Olaf's body lay, laid +it out on the ground, and spread a cloak over it. He told afterward +that when he wiped the blood from the face it was very beautiful, +and the cheeks were red. Some of the king's blood came on Thorer's +wounded hand, and it healed so speedily that he did not need to dress +it. This was told by Thorer himself when King Olaf's holiness came to +be generally reported among the people; and Thorer Hund was among the +first of the king's powerful opponents who endeavored to spread abroad +the belief in Olaf's sanctity. + +Harald Sigurdson, King Olaf's half-brother, was severely wounded at +Stiklestad; but one of Olaf's men brought him to a peasant's house the +night after the battle, and the peasant cared for Harald, and healed +his wound in secret, and afterward gave him his son to attend him. + +Some time after the battle, two young men were one day riding across +the mountain to Jemteland in order to reach Sweden. One of them was a +peasant's son from Verdalen, the other a young warrior, the last one of +King Olaf's men who fled from the country. As they were passing over +the ridge, the young man turned to his companion, and sang: + + "The wounds were bleeding as I rode; + And down below the peasants strode, + Killing the wounded with the sword, + The followers of their rightful lord. + From wood to wood I crept along, + Unnoticed by the peasant-throng; + Who knows, I thought, a day may come + My name will yet be great at home." + +It was Olaf's brother, Harald, who was setting out to try his luck in +foreign countries, whence he was to return one day, rich in honors and +goods. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +_King Svein Alfifuson (1030-1035)_ + + +When King Canute the Great heard that Earl Haakon had been lost in a +shipwreck on his way to Norway, he concluded to put his natural son +Svein on the throne of Norway. Svein's mother was Ælfgifa, a daughter +of an English chieftain in Northampton, but the Norwegians called +her Alfifa and her son Svein Alfifuson. Svein had, a couple of years +before, been appointed by King Canute to govern Jomsborg in Vendland; +but after Earl Haakon's death King Canute sent word to him to proceed +to Denmark and from there to Norway, to take that kingdom in charge and +assume the title of king of Norway. With a number of men from Denmark, +Svein proceeded to Norway together with his mother, Alfifa, and he was +hailed as king at every Thing. He had come as far as Viken at the time +the battle was fought at Stiklestad, where King Olaf fell. He continued +his journey northward until, in the autumn, he came to the Throndhjem +country; and there, as elsewhere, he was received as king. + +Svein was very young and inexperienced, and it was his mother who had +most to say in governmental affairs. Together with Bishop Sigurd and +some Danes, whom she had brought with her from Denmark, she commenced +to rule the country in a very arbitrary manner, and the people soon +became greatly discontented. For a time the disaffection smouldered +beneath the surface; but when the foreign rulers proceeded to introduce +a new system of laws, fashioned in accordance with the development of +the feudal system in the rest of Europe, there was a general uprising +throughout the country. + +Among the laws introduced in King Svein's name were the following: +No man must leave the country without the king's permission; or if +he did, his property fell to the king. Whoever killed a man should +forfeit his land and movable property. At Christmas every man had +to give the king a certain portion of the products of his farm. The +peasants were obliged to build all the houses the king required on his +farms. For every seven males over the age of five years one man was to +be furnished for the service of war. Every ship that went out of the +country should have storage reserved for the king in the middle of the +ship. Several heavy taxes were provided. And to all this was added a +provision that the testimony of one Dane should invalidate that of ten +Norwegians. + +When these laws were announced at the Thing in Throndhjem, loud murmurs +were heard among the people. Those who had not taken part in the +uprising against King Olaf said: "Now take your reward and friendship +from Canute and his race, ye men of the interior of Throndhjem who +fought against King Olaf, and deprived him of his kingdom. Ye were +promised peace and justice, and now ye have got oppression and slavery +for your great treachery." This was true, and the chiefs felt it well +enough; but they were afraid of making open rebellion, as many of them +had given King Canute their sons or other near relatives as hostages. + +At this time the people began to talk much of King Olaf's sanctity. +There were many rumors of miracles in connection with the dead king, +and it gradually became the general opinion that a great mistake or +rather a crime had been committed by the rebellion against King Olaf. +People began to severely reproach those who had excited opposition to +the king, and among those especially accused was Bishop Sigurd. He got +so many enemies that he found it most advisable to leave the country, +and proceeded to England to King Canute. When Bishop Sigurd had left, +the people of Throndhjem sent word to Bishop Grimkell, desiring him to +come to Throndhjem. King Olaf had sent Bishop Grimkell back to Norway +when he went east to Russia, and since that time Grimkell had been +in the Uplands. He now came north and visited Einar Thambaskelfer, +who received him with open arms. Einar congratulated himself upon not +having taken part in the strife against King Olaf, and was now one of +the mighty men who looked upon the dead king as a saint. Einar and the +bishop obtained King Svein's leave to exhume the body of Olaf. It is +said that they found that the coffin had raised itself almost entirely +to the surface of the earth, and when the coffin was opened they found +that the king's face was red as if he had merely fallen asleep, and his +hair and nails had grown as if he had lived all the time. Grimkell now +declared that King Olaf was truly a holy man, and with the approbation +of the king and the decision of the Thing Olaf was declared the saint +of the nation. His body was transported into Clement's church, where +a place was made for it near the high altar. The coffin was covered +with costly cloth, and stood under a gold embroidered tent. People soon +began to make pilgrimages to the shrine of Saint Olaf, and gradually a +great number of churches were built and dedicated to him, not only in +Norway, but also in other countries. + +When King Svein had been three years in Norway, a young man, who called +himself Trygve, and professed to be a son of Olaf Trygvason and Queen +Gyda of England, came from the west with an armed force, intending to +claim the throne of Norway. Svein called upon his chiefs to furnish +him with men and ships in defence of the country, and an army was soon +ready; but Einar Thambaskelfer, and Kalf Arneson, and some others +refused to give aid. King Svein sailed south and met Trygve in battle +in Sognesund. In this battle Trygve fell, and many of his men with him; +but some fled, and others received quarter. + +After the battle in Sognesund King Svein returned to Throndhjem; but +his stay there was not of long duration. He met the people at a Thing, +and heard their complaints, but no understanding could be reached. +Shortly afterward the situation became so strained that King Svein and +his mother found it necessary to remove to the southern part of the +country to spend the winter. During this winter Einar Thambaskelfer and +Kalf Arneson had many consultations in Nidaros with the other chiefs, +and the result was that in the spring a deputation of prominent chiefs, +including Einar Thambaskelfer and Kalf Arneson, proceeded east to King +Jaroslav in Russia to offer the throne of Norway to Magnus, the son +of Olaf the Saint, who had been raised at King Jaroslav's court. They +asked and received full forgiveness for having fought against Magnus's +father at Stiklestad. They thereupon swore allegiance to Magnus, who, +on the other hand, promised them under oath that he would be true and +faithful to them all when he got the dominions and kingdom of Norway. +Einar and Kalf were to act as his foster-fathers and counsellors. +Magnus returned with them to Norway and was welcomed with great joy. At +Oere-Thing he was proclaimed king over the whole land. When King Svein +heard this news he tried to raise an army; but nobody would listen to +him, and he and his mother were obliged to flee to Denmark. Here Svein +died in the year 1036; his father Canute dying a short time before him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +_Magnus the Good (1035-1047)_ + + +Magnus was a natural child of Olaf the Saint, his mother being a girl +by the name of Alfhild, who was usually called the king's slave-woman, +although she was of good descent. She was a very handsome girl and +lived in King Olaf's court. It is said that when Magnus was born she +was very sick, and it was some time after the birth before it could +be discovered whether the boy was alive. A priest, who was present, +requested Sigvat the Skald (poet) to hasten to the king and tell him +of the event; but Sigvat refused, as the king had strictly forbidden +anybody to awaken him in the middle of the night. As the child was +very weak, however, they decided to baptize it, and Sigvat the Skald +named the boy Magnus. The next morning the king demanded to know why +they had named the boy Magnus, since there was no such name in his +family. Sigvat said: "I called him after King Carl Magnus (Emperor +Charlemagne), who, I knew, had been the best man in the world." This +satisfied the king. + +Magnus was only eleven years old when he was proclaimed king at +the Oere-Thing. In the beginning he allowed Kalf Arneson and Einar +Thambaskelfer to take care of all government matters in his name; but +he soon developed into a clever, intelligent young man with a great +deal of independence. Hardeknut, who was then king of Denmark, was +inclined to press his claims to Norway, which he had inherited from +his father, Canute the Great, and collected an army. King Magnus also +armed himself, and they were about to meet in battle at the Gaut River. +However, the chiefs on both sides, who very much desired to avoid war, +made overtures for peace, and the result was a friendly meeting between +the kings at the Brenn Islands at the mouth of the Gaut River. They +arranged for a brotherly union, under oath, to keep the peace with each +other to the end of their lives; and if one of them should die without +leaving a son, the survivor should succeed to both countries. Twelve of +the principal men in each kingdom swore to the kings that this treaty +should be observed. + +After the conciliation at the Brenn Islands Magnus was in undisputed +possession of his father's throne. During his stay in the southern part +of the country he had come in contact with his father's former friends +and faithful adherents, who had a great deal to say about the actions +of the Throndhjem people toward King Olaf. Magnus listened with great +eagerness to this talk, and, before he really understood it, he had +become possessed of a bitter feeling against those men who had been +his father's opponents. He especially began to dislike Kalf Arneson, +who, according to common belief, had dealt King Olaf the last deadly +blow at Stiklestad. One day the king was at a feast at the Haug estate +in Verdalen. At the table he said to Einar Thambaskelfer: "Let us ride +to-day over to Stiklestad. I wish to see the different reminders of +the battle." Einar replied: "Well, I know little about how matters went +there; but take Kalf with thee: he can give thee information about all +that took place." When the tables were removed, the king made himself +ready, and said to Kalf: "Thou must go with me to Stiklestad." After +repeating this command the king went out. Kalf put on his riding +clothes in all haste, and said to his foot-boy: "Ride immediately to +Eggja, and order my house-servants to have all my property on board my +ship before sunset." + +The king and Kalf now rode over to Stiklestad. They alighted from their +horses, and went to the place where the battle had been. "Where did the +king fall?" asked Magnus. Kalf pointed with his spear, and said: "There +he lay when he fell." The king further asked: "And where wast thou +then, Kalf?" "Here, where I am now standing," answered Kalf. The king +turned red as blood in the face, and said: "Then thy axe could well +have reached him." + +Kalf replied: "My axe did not come near him." Then he immediately +went to his horse, and rode away with all his men, while the king +returned to Haug. When Kalf reached home he found his ship ready, and +immediately sailed for the Orkneys. The king confiscated the Eggja +estate and other possessions which Kalf left behind him. + +Magnus commenced to severely punish many of those who had borne +arms against Saint Olaf. He drove some of them out of the country, +took large sums of money from others, and had the cattle of others +slaughtered for his use. Thorer Hund had escaped punishment by making +a pilgrimage to Jerusalem shortly after Olaf's fall, and it is said +that he never came back. Harek of Thiotta was killed with the king's +consent by Asmund Grankelson, whose father had been killed by Harek. +The people soon began to murmur, and the discontent spread throughout +the country. In Sogn the people even gathered an armed force, and were +determined to fight, if Magnus came into their district. When the +young impetuous king heard of this, and made up his mind to punish the +rebellious Sognings, his friends, who knew that the disaffection was +widely spread through the country, decided to warn him of his danger. +Twelve of his friends came together, and determined, by casting lots, +which one of them should inform the king of the discontent of the +people, and the lot fell upon Sigvat the Skald. + +Sigvat then composed a poem, which he called "The Free-speaking Song" +(_Bersöglisvísur_), in which he reminded the king of the promises +he made when he was proclaimed king, and advised him to be guided +by that respect for the laws and the rights of the people which his +predecessors had shown. He blamed him for his severity, and warned him +of the danger threatening him and his country. + +Sigvat's song made a deep impression on the young king, and from now on +he was an entirely changed man. He consulted the most prudent men, and +revised the laws, repealing such of Svein Alfifuson's laws as were most +obnoxious to the people. He codified the laws in a written book called +"The Gray Goose" (_Graagaasen_).[7] It was only a short time before +King Magnus became very popular, and was beloved by all the country +people, who now called him Magnus the Good. + +[7] "The Gray Goose," so called probably from the color of the +parchment on which it is written, is one of the most curious relics +of the Middle Ages, and gives us an unexpected view of the social +condition of the Northmen in the eleventh century. Law appears to +have been so far advanced among them that the forms were not merely +established, but the slightest breach of the legal forms of proceeding +involved the loss of the case. "The Gray Goose" embraces subjects not +dealt with probably by any other code in Europe at that period. The +provision for the poor, the equality of weights and measures, police +of markets and of sea havens, provision for illegitimate children of +the poor, inns for travellers, wages of servants and support of them +in sickness, protection of pregnant women and even of domestic animals +from injury, roads, bridges, vagrants, beggars, are subjects treated of +in this code. (S. Laing.) + +The Danish king, Hardeknut, who was also king of England, died of +apoplexy at a wedding-feast at Lambeth, England, in June, 1042. This +was the end of Danish rule in England. After the death of Hardeknut, +his half-brother, Edward the Good, a son of the English king Ethelred +and Queen Emma, was chosen king of England. + +When King Magnus heard of Hardeknut's death, he immediately sent word +to Denmark that he intended to claim the Danish throne in accordance +with the agreement made between himself and Hardeknut at their meeting +at the Gaut River. Shortly afterward King Magnus proceeded to Denmark +with a fine fleet of seventy ships. He was well received, and at a +Thing assembled at Viborg, Jutland (where the Danes always elected +their king), he was proclaimed king of all the Danish dominions. He +remained in Denmark during the summer (1042), and wherever he came he +was received with enthusiasm. He divided the country into districts and +appointed administrative officers, gave fiefs to influential men, and +took all steps to secure himself in power. In the autumn he returned to +Norway. + +Among the Danes who swore allegiance to King Magnus was Svein, commonly +called Svein Estridson, a son of Earl Ulf. His mother was Estrid +(Astrid), a daughter of King Svein Tjuguskeg. She was a sister of +Canute the Great by the father's side, and of the Swedish king Olaf +by the mother's side, her mother being Queen Sigrid the Haughty. One +day, as King Magnus was sitting in his high-seat with a large number of +men around him, and with Svein Estridson sitting on a footstool before +him, the king made a speech, in which he said that he had promised the +Danes a chief who could defend and rule the country in the absence of +the king. "And," he continued, "I know no better man fitted, in all +respects, for this than Svein. I will therefore make him my earl, and +give him the government of my Danish dominions while I am in Norway, +just as King Canute the Great set his father, Earl Ulf, over Denmark +while he was in England." Einar Thambaskelfer, who was with the king, +was very ill-pleased with this appointment, as he put no faith in +Svein, and said to the king: "Too great an earl, too great an earl, my +foster-son!" + +King Magnus had an early opportunity to regret his choice, for, +the same winter in which Svein was given the administration of the +government of Denmark as earl, he successfully courted the friendship +of the most influential men, and assumed the title of King of Denmark. +King Magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of +Vendland had a large army with which they plundered in Denmark. He +then gathered a large force, with which he sailed to Denmark. There he +summoned the people to come to him, and drew together a great army in +Jutland. Ordulf, the duke of Brunswick, who the year before had married +Ulfhild, the daughter of King Olaf the Saint, and the half-sister of +King Magnus,[8] also came to his aid with a great force. King Magnus +met the Vends in battle at Lyrskog Heath in Schleswig and gained a +great victory. It was generally reported in the army that King Magnus +had a vision the night before the battle, in which Olaf the Saint had +appeared and had given the king advice. "It is the common saying," says +the saga, "that there never was so great a slaughter of men in the +northern lands, since the time of Christianity, as took place among the +Vendland people on Lyrskog Heath." This was on the 28th of September, +1043. King Magnus followed up his victory, and sailed to Vendland, +attacked and captured the fortress of Jomsborg. A great many of the +people of Vendland submitted to King Magnus, while others fled the +country. + +[8] From this union descended, in direct line, the royal house of +Brunswick and Saxony, whose members until lately occupied the thrones +of Hanover and Brunswick and still reign in England. + +After this King Magnus turned his attention to Earl Svein. A battle was +fought, and Svein had to flee to his relatives in Sweden. But as soon +as Magnus went to Norway, Svein would return to Denmark and strengthen +himself with the Danes, and Magnus had continual wars with his earl. +Among the principal battles were those at Aaros (now Aarhus) and +Helganes. + +When King Magnus came back to Norway in the autumn of 1045, after +one of his battles with Svein, he heard that his relative, Harald +Sigurdson, had come to Sweden on his way to Norway, and that Harald and +Svein had come to an understanding, and intended to endeavor to subdue +both Denmark and Norway. King Magnus then ordered a general levy over +all Norway, and he soon collected a great army with which to meet the +intruder. The relatives and friends of both Harald and Magnus, however, +said that it would be a great misfortune if there should be war between +them, and the result was a friendly meeting, where Magnus gave Harald +half of his kingdom. They were to rule together on equal terms; but +whenever they were together in one place King Magnus was to be "the +first man in seat, service and salutation." King Magnus died the +following year (1047) on one of his expeditions to Denmark. Before his +death King Magnus declared that Svein Estridson was to have Denmark, +while Harald should rule over Norway. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +_Harald Haardraade (1047-1066)_ + + +Harald, the son of Sigurd Syr and Astrid, now became the sole king +of Norway. As we have seen, Harald fled from the country after the +battle of Stiklestad (1030). He went to Russia to the court of King +Jaroslav, who received him with kindness and made him a commander in +the army. Harald remained in the service of King Jaroslav for three +years, and then went with a body of men to Constantinople (called by +the Northmen Miklagaard), where he soon became the captain or chief +of the Varings. (The Varings were the bodyguard of the emperors, and +the guard was composed mostly of Northmen.) With them he went on many +expeditions, and always gained victories and a great deal of booty. He +conducted expeditions against the Saracens in Africa (which the Varings +called Serkland), where he gathered great wealth in gold, jewels, +and other precious things. He also served in Sicily, where he won +several battles. After having spent several years in these campaigns +he returned to Constantinople, and then went to Jerusalem, and bathed +in the river Jordan, according to the custom of other pilgrims. +Thereafter he returned to Russia and was received in the most friendly +way by King Jaroslav. He married the latter's daughter, Elisabeth, or +Ellisif, as the Northmen called her. + +When King Magnus died, Harald, as already stated, became sole king +of Norway. But he also wanted Denmark, and called his men-at-arms +together, and told them that he intended to go with an army to Viborg +Thing and there proclaim himself king of Denmark, to which, he said, +he had the hereditary right, as well as to Norway. The friends of the +late King Magnus, however, did not like this, and Einar Thambaskelfer +said that he considered it a greater duty to bring his foster son King +Magnus's corpse to the grave, and lay it beside his father King Olaf's +north in Throndhjem, than to be fighting abroad, and taking another +king's dominions and property. He ended his speech with saying that +he would rather follow King Magnus dead than any other king alive. +The result was that King Harald returned to Norway with his army. For +many years thereafter King Harald was at war with Svein Estridson (or +Ulfson), but did not succeed in driving him away from Denmark. + +Einar Thambaskelfer was the most powerful man in the Throndhjem +country. There was but little friendship between him and King Harald, +although Einar retained all the fiefs he had held under King Magnus. +Einar had many large estates, and was married to Bergliot, a daughter +of Earl Haakon. Their son Eindride was married to Sigrid, a daughter of +Ketil Kalf and Gunhild, King Harald's sister's daughter. Einar was well +versed in law, and often acted as spokesman for the peasants at the +Things, when the king demanded more of the people than was his right. +This happened more than once, for Harald's rule was quite severe. +Therefore he was called Harald _Haardraade_, or Hard-ruler. Einar did +not lack the boldness to assert his opinions at the Things, even in the +presence of the king; and for this reason he was held in high esteem +by the people, while the king came to hate him more after every such +dispute. Einar, therefore, began to keep a number of men around him +whenever the king was in the neighborhood. One day he came to the town +(Nidaros) with eight or nine ships and nearly six hundred men. When +Harald, who was standing in the doorway of his house, saw Einar going +ashore, he exclaimed in verse: "Here I see Einar Thambaskelfer land +with quite a force. In his haughtiness he probably expects even to fill +the royal chair; for often has even an earl a smaller force of men +with him. This Einar will some day deprive me of my kingdom, unless he +himself has to kiss the thin lips of the axe." + +One day there was a meeting, at which the king himself was present. A +thief had been caught and was brought before the Thing. The man had +been in the service of Einar, who had liked him very well. Einar well +knew that the king would not let the man off, especially as Einar +took an interest in him. He therefore let his men arm themselves, +went to the Thing, and took the man away by force. The mutual friends +of the king and Einar then intervened and tried to bring about a +reconciliation, and they succeeded so far that a day was appointed for +a meeting between them at the king's house at the river Nid. The king +had the shutters for the smoke-hole in the roof closed so as to exclude +the light. When Einar came into the yard with his people, he told his +son Eindride to remain outside with the men, "for there is no danger +here for me." Eindride remained standing outside the door. When Einar +came into the room, he said: "Dark it is in the king's Thing-room." +At this some men fell upon him with spears and swords. "Sharp are now +the bites of the king's dogs," said Einar, and rushed toward the king, +but was felled to the floor by the king's men. When Eindride heard the +noise he drew his sword and rushed into the room; but he was instantly +killed along with his father. The king then went with all his men +to his ships, and rowed down the river, the peasants not having the +courage to pursue him after having lost their leader. Einar's wife +Bergliot, who came up from her home, and in vain urged the peasants to +pursue the murderers, said: "Now we miss my kinsman, Haakon Ivarson: +Einar's slayer would not be rowing out of the river if Ivar stood here +on the river-bank." + +Bergliot sent word to Haakon Ivarson (a son of Ivar the White, nephew +of Earl Haakon the Great), who was a mighty man in the Uplands, and +requested him to avenge the death of Einar and Eindride. Meanwhile +King Harald proceeded to his kinsman by marriage, Fin Arneson, who +lived at Austraat in Yrjar, and persuaded him to first go to Nidaros +and bring about a reconciliation with the peasants, and thereafter to +proceed to the Uplands and reach an understanding with Haakon Ivarson, +so that he would not oppose the king. In return for this the king +promised to recall to the country Fin's brother Kalf, and restore to +him the estates and dignities of which King Magnus had deprived him. To +Haakon Ivarson, Fin was to offer any favor he might wish short of the +kingdom. Fin successfully accomplished both of the missions intrusted +to him. Haakon Ivarson said, as to the conditions of peace: "I will +be reconciled with King Harald if he will give me in marriage his +relation Ragnhild, King Magnus Olafson's daughter, with such dower as +is suitable to her and she will be content with," and Fin agreed to +this on behalf of the king. + +The next Christmas Haakon went to King Harald to ask the fulfilment +of the pledges given him. The king said that he, for his part, would +adhere to the whole agreement; but as for Ragnhild it would be +necessary for Haakon to ask her consent himself. When Haakon came to +Ragnhild, and paid his addresses to her, she answered: "I have no +fault to find with thee, for thou art a handsome man, expert in all +exercises. But thou must remember I am a king's daughter, while thou +art only a lenderman. Had my father, King Magnus, lived he would have +found that no man less than a king was suitable for me; so it is not +to be expected that I will marry one who has no princely rank." Haakon +then went to the king and demanded that he be made an earl under the +agreement made with Fin Arneson. This the king refused to do, saying +that it had been the custom since the time of Saint Olaf to have only +one earl in the country, and he could not take the title from Orm, who +now held it. Haakon now understood that there was nothing to obtain +from the king, and left in disgust. Fin Arneson became very angry, and +told the king that he had broken his word. + +Haakon shortly afterward left the country with a well-manned ship, +and went to King Svein of Denmark, who received him well and made him +commander of his coast defence against the vikings from Vendland, +Kurland and other eastern countries. + +It was not a long time before Fin Arneson fell out with the king. +His brother Kalf, who had been on a viking cruise to the "Western" +(British) countries ever since he had left Norway, was recalled by the +king and given back his estates according to agreement. But shortly +afterward, during an expedition to Denmark, the king sent Kalf ashore +on the island Fyen with a small force of men, and commanded him to +attack a much stronger Danish force, promising that he would soon make +a landing with the others and come to their assistance. Kalf obeyed, +and was attacked by a great force of the enemy, and he and many of his +men were killed. A long while afterward, when the Danes had withdrawn, +Harald landed and made a plundering expedition into the country. Later +he composed some verses, in which he boasted of having caused the death +of thirteen men, and Fin rightly supposed that his brother was one of +them. Fin took this matter so much to heart that he left Norway and +went to King Svein of Denmark, who gave him a friendly reception. He +swore allegiance to King Svein, and was made earl of Halland (now a +province of Sweden), where he remained for a long time and defended the +country against the Northmen. + +Haakon Ivarson showed great zeal in his position as commander of the +Danish coast defence, being out with his warships both winter and +summer, and was in high favor with King Svein, until he attacked and +killed the king's nephew, Asmund, an ungovernable young man, who had +been killing and plundering everywhere, both abroad and at home, and +whom Haakon thought the king much desired to get rid of. The king sent +Haakon a message that he had better leave the country. "Tell him," he +said, "that I will do him no harm; but I cannot answer for all our +relations." Haakon then proceeded north to his estates in Norway. +During his stay in Denmark his relative, Earl Orm, had died. His +many friends therefore gave themselves much trouble to bring about a +reconciliation between him and King Harald, and in this they succeeded. +Haakon was given the title of earl, with the same power that Earl Orm +had had, and was married to Ragnhild, King Magnus's daughter. He swore +to King Harald an oath of fidelity and pledged himself to render all +the service he was liable to. + +In the winter of 1061-62, King Harald resided at Nidaros, where he +commenced building a large warship. He sent a message south to Denmark +to King Svein, and challenged him to meet him in the spring at the Gaut +River and fight, with the understanding that the one who gained the +victory should have both kingdoms. King Svein accepted the challenge, +but did not keep the appointment. King Harald, who had arrived at the +place agreed upon, heard that Svein's forces lay in the south, partly +at Fyen and partly about Seeland. Harald then sailed southward along +Halland with one hundred and eighty of his ships, and brought up his +fleet at the Nis-Aa (Nis River). Shortly afterward King Svein came upon +them with a Danish fleet consisting of three hundred and sixty ships. +King Harald held a war council, and many said that it would be better +to fly than to fight with a fleet twice the size of their own. The king +replied: "Sooner shall we all fall and lie dead one upon another than +fly." King Harald drew up his ships in battle array, laying his great +dragon ship in the middle. At his side lay Ulf Stallara, and on the +other wing lay the ships of Earl Haakon Ivarson from the Uplands. At +the extremity of the other side lay the Throndhjem chiefs. It was late +in the day when the battle began, and it continued the whole night. +The battle was very severe, and toward morning the greater part of +the Danish fleet broke into flight. While Harald pursued some of the +Danes, King Svein made his escape with the aid of Earl Haakon Ivarson, +who, during the battle, had contributed more than any one else to the +victory of the Norwegians. + +King Harald sailed north to Viken with all the conquered ships after +the battle of Nis River, and spent the winter at Oslo. Earl Haakon went +to the Uplands and remained in his dominions there during the winter. +In the spring, however, he gathered all his loose property and fled +eastward; for he heard that King Harald had again become his enemy, +mainly because Haakon had allowed King Svein to escape after the battle +of Nis River. Haakon proceeded to King Steinkel of Sweden, who gave him +the province of Vermeland to govern. When Haakon heard that King Harald +had gone north to Throndhjem, he made a hurried expedition back to the +Uplands and collected the taxes due him. The next summer King Harald +in vain tried to collect taxes in the same places. Then King Harald +gathered an army, with which he invaded Sweden, and defeated Haakon. +Upon his return he severely punished the people of the Uplands for +having been disloyal. He maimed some, killed others, and robbed many of +all their property. + +Year after year King Harald had made war on Denmark without coming +nearer to King Svein's throne. It appears that finally the people in +both counties became tired of this continual and wasteful warfare, and +during the same winter that Earl Haakon had settled down in Vermeland, +Sweden, there were many negotiations between leading men of both +countries who wanted peace and demanded that their kings should come +to an agreement. The result was a meeting of the two kings at the Gaut +River, where peace was agreed upon. Harald was to have Norway, and +Svein Denmark; the war should cease as it now stood, each retaining +what he had got, and this peace should endure as long as they were +kings. This peace was confirmed by oath, and the kings parted, having +given each other hostages (1064). + +In the year 1066, Earl Toste came from England and asked King Harald +to aid him in an attempt to conquer England from his brother Harald +Godwinson, who had been proclaimed king of England. Earl Toste had +already been on a similar mission to Denmark, but King Svein Estridson +had declared that he would be content if he could keep his own kingdom +and defend that against the Northmen. King Harald Sigurdson looked +upon the plan with more favor, and promised his help. He collected +an army and sailed for England with a large fleet. Before he left +Throndhjem he gave the reins of the government to his son Magnus, +whom he had proclaimed king at the Oere-Thing. He took with him his +younger son Olaf, the queen and two daughters. At first King Harald +was very successful against the Englishmen, and after a great victory +the citizens of York surrendered the city to him. In the evening he +returned to his ships to spend the night. Later in the same evening, +however, King Harald Godwinson arrived with a numerous army, and rode +into the city with the goodwill and consent of the people of the +castle. All the gates and walls were beset so that the Northmen could +receive no report of their arrival, and the army remained all night in +the town. + +In the morning King Harald Sigurdson landed with a portion of his +army, leaving the remainder behind with the ships. As they came across +Stanford Bridge, they discovered a numerous army approaching. Earl +Toste advised a speedy return to the ships to get more men and arms; +but Harald Sigurdson did not wish to appear cowardly, and elected +instead to send three messengers with their fastest horses back to +the ships with an order to the men there to immediately come to their +assistance. Harald then arranged his men in a line of battle, long but +not deep. Then he turned both wings backward until they met together, +so that the army formed a wide ring of the men standing shield to +shield. Thus he would defend himself against the enemy's horsemen, +from whom he expected a violent attack. Those in the first rank were +ordered to set the spear-shaft on the ground, and the spear-point +against the horseman's breast; those in the next rank were to direct +the spear-point against the horse's breast. Inside the ring, the bowmen +were to stand, and here he also selected a place for himself and Earl +Toste, and a body of chosen men. Now the English king approached with +his army, which was twice as large as that of the Northmen. While +Harald was yet arranging his army, riding around on his black horse, +twenty horsemen came riding up from the English army, and asked if Earl +Toste was there. The earl himself answered: "Here you can find him." +One of the horsemen, speaking for the English king, then offered the +earl peace and a third of the kingdom if he would be reconciled with +his brother. The earl said: "But if I accept this offer, what will he +give King Harald Sigurdson for his trouble?" The horseman replied: "He +will give him seven feet of English ground, or as much more as he may +be taller than other men." "Then," said the earl, "return and tell King +Harald to get ready for battle. Never shall the Northmen have a chance +to say that Earl Toste left King Harald Sigurdson to join his enemy." +Then the horsemen returned to the English army. King Harald Sigurdson +said to Earl Toste: "Who was the man who spoke so well?" "That was my +brother, King Harald Godwinson," said the earl. "Too late I learned +that," said the king; "for he had come so near to our army that he +never should have been able to report the felling of our men." + +Now the battle began, the English horsemen advancing against the +Northmen; but as long as the Northmen remained standing in a ring, +shield to shield, and with the spears pointing out, the enemy could +do nothing against them. But when the Northmen thought the enemy was +retiring, they were imprudent enough to pursue the Englishmen, and thus +break their own invincible ring. Then the Englishmen rode up from all +sides, and made a terrible attack. Many people fell on both sides. King +Harald Sigurdson was hit by an arrow in the throat and fell dead to the +ground, and most of his men fell around him. Harald was fifty-one years +old when he died (1066). + +The town of Oslo (now a suburb of Christiania) was founded during the +reign of King Harald Sigurdson. A church was built there and dedicated +to the Virgin Mary. The shrine of the holy Halvard, lately discovered +and acknowledged as a national saint, was placed in this church. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +_Olaf Kyrre, the Quiet (1066-1093)_ + + +The English king permitted King Harald Sigurdson's son Olaf to leave +the country with the men he had left. Olaf proceeded to the Orkney +Isles, where he remained during the winter (1066-67). The next summer +he returned to Norway, where he was proclaimed king along with his +brother, Magnus taking the northern and Olaf the eastern part of the +country. + +Shortly after the two brothers had assumed the government, the Danish +king, Svein Estridson, gave notice that the peace between the Northmen +and the Danes was at an end. The brothers hurriedly collected armies +to defend the country, and Svein set out from the south with a Danish +force. He met King Olaf on the coast of Halland, where an indecisive +battle was fought. Soon afterward Magnus arrived with reinforcements +from the north, but then negotiations were opened, and peace was +concluded on the old conditions at Konungahella. The agreement here +made was confirmed by Olaf taking King Svein's daughter Ingerid in +marriage. + +The following year King Magnus died at Nidaros, April 28, 1069, after +being ill for some time. His son, Haakon, who was fostered by Thorer of +Steig in Gudbrandsdal, being only an infant child, Olaf now became sole +king of Norway. + +After the short conflict with Denmark, Olaf had no wars. A long period +of peace was something new in the history of the country, and the +people therefore gave King Olaf the surname _Kyrre_, _i.e._, the Quiet. +He preserved law and order with firmness, and did a great deal to +promote commerce and the prosperity of the towns. Before his time there +were three towns in Viken (Tunsberg, Oslo, and Sarpsborg), and one in +Throndhjem (Nidaros). King Olaf founded the merchant town of Bergen +(then Björgvin), where many wealthy people settled down, and the place +was soon regularly frequented by merchants from foreign countries. The +other towns also made good progress. + +In King Olaf's time there were held a greater number of general +entertainments and hand-in-hand feasts than formerly. Already, during +the heathen time, the Northmen used to arrange feasts by clubbing +together. After the introduction of Christianity they were continued, +but naturally changed their character. These feasts, which from +the time of Olaf Kyrre were called guilds, had a partly religious +character, and appear to have been regular meetings of fraternities, +whose members were pledged to defend and help each other. The members +were called guild-brethren and guild-sisters, and each guild was under +the protection of a saint. The members were governed by strict laws, +and in order to insure good and peaceful behavior, men of dignity, both +clergymen and laymen, were present at the meetings. King Olaf built +several guild-halls in different parts of the country, among them the +great guild-hall in Nidaros. The guild-brethren built Margaret's church +in Nidaros. + +There are many stories of King Olaf's good works. Once when he sat +in the great guild-hall in Nidaros, one of his men said to him: "It +pleases us, king, to see you so happy." He answered: "Why should I +not be happy when I see my subjects sitting happy and free in a guild +consecrated to my uncle, the sainted King Olaf. In the days of my +father these people were subjected to much terror and fear; the most +of them concealed their gold and their precious things, but now I see +glittering on his person what each one owns, and your freedom is my +gladness." + +At the Things, King Olaf did not speak much, preferring to let others +speak for him. One who was often intrusted with this duty was his +foster-brother Skule, who was a son of Earl Toste, and was usually +called the king's foster-son. Skule, who had come over with him from +England, was made commander of King Olaf's court-men and was given the +king's cousin Gudrun in marriage. He was a dear friend of the king, +who gave him fine estates near Konungahella, Oslo, and Nidaros. The +principal one of these estates was Reine in Rissen, which became the +seat of this afterward powerful family. Skule was the ancestor of King +Inge Baardson and Duke Skule. + +King Olaf made several changes in the rooms on the king's estates. The +king had formerly had his high-seat on the middle of one of two long +benches at the long walls of the house; but Olaf had the high-seat +removed to a cross-bench at the short wall facing the entrance. +Formerly the fire was in the middle of the floor between the long +benches; but Olaf had the fireplace removed to one corner of the room, +where he had a kind of a chimney-place built. He had the floors, which +had formerly been without covering, covered with stone and strewed +with juniper-tops. He introduced table-cups instead of the deer-horns +out of which they formerly used to drink. Much unusual splendor and +foreign fashions in the cut of clothes were also introduced. King Olaf +doubled the number of attendants, so that he had one hundred and twenty +courtmen-at-arms (_hird-men_), sixty "guests,"[9] and sixty house +servants. He used the fashion, which was introduced from the courts +of foreign kings, of letting his grand butler stand at the end of the +table, and fill the cups for himself and the other distinguished guests +who sat at the table. He had also torch-bearers, who held as many +torches at the table as there were guests of distinction present. + +[9] The "guests" were one division of the king's men. They were of a +lower rank than the _hird-men_. + +King Olaf Kyrre was a devout Christian. A better order was introduced +in the affairs of the church, and the country was divided into three +bishoprics. Many churches were built, among the largest of which were +the Christ Church in Bergen and the Christ Church in Nidaros. + +King Olaf died on his estate, Haukby, in Ranrike, September 22, 1098. +His body was brought north to Nidaros and buried in Christ Church. The +saga says of King Olaf: "He was the most amiable king of his time, and +Norway was much improved in riches and cultivation during his reign." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +_Magnus Barefoot (1093-1103)_ + + +Immediately after the death of Olaf Kyrre, his son Magnus was +proclaimed at Viken king of all Norway; but the Upland people chose his +cousin Haakon, the foster-son of Thorer of Steig, as king. Haakon and +Thorer went north to Throndhjem and summoned the Oere-Thing at Nidaros, +and the people there proclaimed Haakon king of half of Norway, as his +father had been. In order to win the goodwill of the Throndhjem people, +Haakon relieved them of all harbor duties, did away with the Christmas +gifts to the king, and gave them many other privileges. Thereafter he +returned to the Uplands, where he gave the people the same privileges. + +In the meanwhile King Magnus proceeded north to Nidaros, took +possession of the king's house built by Harald Haardraade, and remained +there the first part of the winter. When Haakon heard of this he also +came up to Nidaros, and negotiations were opened for a settlement +between the rival kings, Haakon offering to accept half the kingdom +and let Magnus retain the other half. Magnus refused to acknowledge +any rights of Haakon, and a conflict seemed imminent. However, one +day, after having made quite a demonstration with his force, Magnus +sailed southward, and Haakon also decided to go south, taking the +inland route. While he was crossing the Dovre Mountain, he pursued a +ptarmigan, which flew up beside him; and during this chase he was taken +violently ill, and died on the mountain. His body was brought back to +Nidaros, and all the people went to meet the body, as the saga says, +"sorrowing, and the most of them weeping; for all the people loved him +with sincere affection." Haakon, who was twenty-five years old at his +death, was laid at rest in Christ Church (February, 1094). + +Magnus Olafson was now sole king of Norway. A rebellion was started by +some of the adherents of the late King Haakon, under the leadership of +Thorer of Steig and the late Haakon's near friend, Svein, who aspired +to become king. Svein was a Dane by birth, said to be of high family +and a brave warrior. His father was one Harald Flette, of whom nothing +is known. Several chiefs took part in this movement, among them the +rich and powerful man, Skialg Erlingson from Jadaren, and Egil Aslakson +of Aurland. The force proceeded from Gudbrandsdal down to Raumsdal, +and afterward north to Throndhjem. King Magnus's liegeman and devoted +friend, Sigurd Ulstreng, collected a force and met Thorer and Svein in +battle, but suffered a bad defeat. He fled to King Magnus, who then +collected an army, and proceeded north to Throndhjem. Magnus scattered +the rebels, and captured Thorer of Steig and Egil Aslakson, and hanged +them. Svein, Harald Flette's son, fled out to sea first, and then +sailed to Denmark and remained there. King Magnus punished severely all +who had been guilty of treason toward him, killing some and burning the +houses of others. + +King Magnus now had undisputed control of Norway, and devoted himself +to the care of his country and his people. By his vigorous rule he +maintained peace and order, and rooted out all vikings and lawless +men. With his restless and ambitious disposition, however, he yearned +for greater deeds and for fame in war. Wishing to retake the western +countries, which had been dependencies of Norway under his ancestors, +he set out with a great fleet, and first came to the Orkney Islands. +There he took the two earls, Paul and Erlend, prisoners, and sent +them to Norway, and placed his eight year old son Sigurd as chief of +the islands, leaving some wise men with him as counsellors. Then King +Magnus proceeded to the Southern Hebrides, where he harried the coasts +and plundered wherever he came. Afterward he sailed to Wales and won a +battle at Anglesey Sound, and took the Anglesey Isle. After this battle +he returned north with his fleet, and came first to Scotland. He made +a peace with the Scotch king, by which all the islands lying west of +Scotland should belong to the king of Norway. King Magnus remained all +the winter in the southern isles, and the next summer he returned with +his fleet to Norway (1099). + +During their long stay in the Western countries King Magnus and his +men had adopted some of the habits and fashions of clothing of those +countries. They wore short jackets and kilts without breeches. On +account of this the king was called Magnus Barefoot or Bareleg. + +A short time after his return to Norway, King Magnus became involved in +war with the Swedish king, Inge Steinkelson. Magnus insisted that the +Gaut River and Lake Venern should be considered the boundary between +the countries, so that the Swedish district of Dalsland would belong to +Norway. This war lasted for two years, and was generally unsuccessful +for King Magnus. In the spring of 1100 there was a battle at Foxerne +(at the Gaut River, between Kongself and Wenersborg), in which the +Norwegians were overwhelmed by numbers, driven to flight, and many +of them killed by the pursuing Swedes. King Magnus was easily known, +for he was a stout man, had a red cloak over him, and bright yellow +hair that fell over his shoulders. Ogmund Skoptason, who was also a +tall and handsome man, rode at the side of the king. He saved the king +by putting on the king's cloak. He started off in a little different +direction, and the Swedes, supposing him to be the king, rode after +him, while the king proceeded to his ships. Ogmund escaped with great +difficulty, but succeeded at last in reaching the ships. King Magnus +then sailed down the river and proceeded north to Viken. + +The next summer a meeting of the kings was agreed upon at Konghelle +on the Gaut River. The Danish king, Erik Eiegod, desired to have an +archbishopric established for the northern countries, and it was +important to have the other kings with him to execute this plan. By +his mediation the meeting of the three kings was arranged, and they +soon came to an understanding. Each should possess the dominions his +forefathers had held before him, and each should make good to his own +men the loss and manslaughter suffered by them. King Inge agreed to +give King Magnus his daughter Margaret in marriage. This agreement was +proclaimed to the people, and thus, within a short hour, the greatest +enemies were made the best of friends. + +Shortly afterward Margaret, King Inge's daughter, came to Norway with +an honorable retinue, and her wedding with King Magnus was celebrated +with great festivities. The Norwegians liked their new queen, whom they +considered as a pledge of the peace with Sweden, and they therefore +called her _Fridkolla_, _i.e._, the peace-girl. + +When Magnus had been nine years king of Norway, he again sailed +westward with a great force. He first conquered the Isle of Man, and +afterward proceeded to Ireland and conquered a great part of that +country. He lay at Ulster, and was about ready to return to Norway, +when he was suddenly attacked by an Irish army. King Magnus had a +helmet on his head, a red shield on which there was a golden lion, and +was girt with his costly sword, Legbit; in his hand he had a short +spear, and over his shirt a red silk cloak. King Magnus received a +wound, being pierced by a spear through both thighs above the knees. +The king took hold of the shaft between his legs, broke the spear in +two, and said: "This way we break spearshafts, boys; let us go briskly +on; nothing ails me." A little later King Magnus was hit in the neck +with an Irish axe, and this was his death-wound. Then those who were +behind fled. Vidkun Jonson, from Biarkey (a great-grandson of Thorer +Hund), instantly killed the man who had given the king his death-wound, +and fled, after having received three wounds; but he brought the king's +banner and the sword Legbit to the ships. Vidkun Jonson was the last +man who fled. The Northmen who escaped sailed away immediately. + +King Magnus was thirty years old when he fell. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +_Sigurd the Crusader (1103-1130), and his Brothers, Eystein and Olaf_ + + +In the autumn the remnants of King Magnus's army and fleet left the +island of Man, and with his thirteen year old son, Sigurd, returned +to Norway. On their arrival in Norway, Sigurd and his two brothers, +Eystein and Olaf, were proclaimed kings. Eystein, who was fourteen +years old, was to have the northern, and Sigurd the southern, part of +the country. Olaf was then four or five years old, and his third part +of the country remained under the control of his two brothers. + +When the three sons of Magnus Barefoot had been chosen kings of Norway, +several of those who had been away taking part in the crusades returned +home. They had made themselves renowned, and had many things to relate. +Some had been to Jerusalem and some to Constantinople, and it was said +that those who would enter the military service at Constantinople had +the best of opportunities to earn great money. By these extraordinary +tidings many of the Northmen were seized by a desire to make similar +expeditions, and they asked of the two kings that one of them should +place himself at the head of such an expedition. The kings agreed to +this, and had the preparations made at their common expense. Many of +the great men in the country took part in this enterprise, and when all +was ready it was decided that Sigurd was to go with the crusade, while +Eystein was to stay at home and govern the country for their joint +account. + +Four years after the fall of King Magnus (1107), King Sigurd sailed +from Norway with sixty ships. He first visited the king of England, +Henry I., and remained with him during the winter. In the spring he +sailed with his fleet to Valland (the west of France), and in the +fall came to Galicia, Spain, where he stayed the second winter. Along +the coast he had several battles with the heathens. At the Straits +of Gibraltar he defeated a large viking force, and on the island of +Forminterra, east of Spain, he exterminated a band of Moorish brigands +and took a great booty. After similar victories on the islands of Ivica +and Minorca, he came to Sicily, where he was very well received by Duke +Roger. It is stated in the saga that King Sigurd, during his stay in +Sicily, conferred upon Duke Roger the title of king, though with what +right he did so does not appear, nor is it mentioned by contemporary +historians. + +In the summer King Sigurd sailed to Palestine, and at Acre met Baldwin, +king of Palestine, who received him particularly well, accompanied him +to Jerusalem and showed him the holy sepulchre and other sacred places. +They also rode to the river Jordan and bathed in it, and then returned +to Jerusalem. King Baldwin and the patriarch of Jerusalem presented +Sigurd with a splinter of the holy cross, with the condition that he, +and twelve other men with him, should swear to promote Christianity +with all their power, and erect an archbishop's seat in Norway if +possible, and the splinter was to be kept where the holy king Olaf +reposed. Thereupon King Sigurd with his fleet assisted King Baldwin +in capturing the town of Sidon, Syria, and received his share of a +great booty. He then proceeded to Constantinople, and was received in +the grandest style by Emperor Alexius. After having stayed here for +some time and enjoyed the great festivities given in his honor, King +Sigurd made preparations for his return home. He gave the emperor all +his ships, and the valuable dragon head which had adorned his own ship +was set up in the Sophia church. The emperor gave him horses and guides +to conduct him through his dominions. Leaving quite a number of his +men, who went into the service of the emperor, King Sigurd started +homeward on horseback through Bulgaria, Hungary and Germany. When in +the midsummer of 1111 he came to Schleswig in Denmark, Earl Eilif gave +him a magnificent reception. Here he also met the Danish king Nils, who +had married his stepmother, Margaret Fridkolla. King Nils accompanied +him north to Jutland, and gave him a ship provided with everything +needful. He then returned to Norway, where he was joyfully received by +his people. He had been absent three years and a half, and all agreed +that no one had ever made a more honorable expedition from Norway. From +this day he was given the surname _Jorsalfar_, _i.e._, the Crusader. + +While King Sigurd was attaining fame on his journeys far away from his +country, King Eystein was occupied with peaceful achievements at home. +A great deal was done for the real benefit of the country, and under +his wise government Norway made progress in the same way that it had +done in the time of his grandfather Olaf Kyrre. He improved the laws, +built churches and monasteries, made harbors, and established beacon +lights. On the mountain of Dovre he built cabins, where travellers +could find shelter. In Bergen he built the monastery at Nordnes, +Michael's Church, the Church of the Apostles, and the great king's +hall. In Nidaros he built the Church of St. Nikolas. He also built a +Church at Throndenes in Halogaland. King Eystein also extended the +limits of the country, not by warfare and bloodshed, but by peaceful +negotiations. Thus he gained the allegiance of the inhabitants of the +Swedish province Jemteland, which was formerly a Norwegian province, +but was taken by Sweden after the fall of Olaf Trygvason. + +King Olaf was taken sick and died before he reached manhood, and +it seems to have been only in name that he had any share in the +government. The relation between Eystein and Sigurd was not always the +most cordial, and Sigurd was usually to blame for it. The winter of +1112-13 King Eystein spent most of the time at Sarpsborg. There lived +at that time at Mikle-Dal in Aamord a rich and influential man called +Olaf of Dal. He spent a good part of the winter at Sarpsborg with his +daughter Borghild, a very handsome and accomplished girl. Borghild and +King Eystein often met, and the king found great pleasure in conversing +with her. The people began to talk about this friendship, and King +Sigurd, who was then at Konghelle, also heard of the girl that his +brother had taken a liking to. When Borghild heard it whispered that +people talked ill of her intimacy with King Eystein, she took it much +to heart. When Eystein had gone north she went to Sarpsborg, and, after +suitable fasts, carried red-hot irons to prove her innocence, endured +the test, and thus cleared herself from all offence. Sigurd then rode +over to her home, where he remained all night, made Borghild his +concubine and took her away with him. They had a son, who was called +Magnus, and was immediately sent to Halogaland to be fostered by Vidkun +Jonson of Biarkey. + +The relation between the brothers remained strained as long as they +both were kings, but it never came to a breach of peace. Occasionally +they even peacefully met as each other's guests. On one of these +occasions, when the two kings were feasting together at one of +Eystein's estates, they had what was called a "man-measuring," or +comparison of merits. The saga says that in the evening, when the +people began to drink, the ale was not good, so that the guests were +very quiet and still. Then said King Eystein: "Why are the people so +silent? It is more proper in parties that people are merry, so let us +find some jest over our ale that will amuse us; for surely, brother +Sigurd, all will like to see us happy." + +Sigurd replied, rather bluntly: "Do you talk as much as you please, but +give me leave to be silent." + +Eystein said: "It is a common custom over the ale-table for one person +to compare himself with another, and now let us do so." Sigurd did not +answer. + +"I see," said Eystein, "that I will have to begin this amusement, and +I will take thee, brother, to compare myself with; we are both kings, +have equal property, and there is no difference in our birth." + +Sigurd then said: "Dost thou remember that I could always throw thee +when we wrestled, although thou art a year older?" + +Eystein: "But I remember also that I was better at the games which +require limberness." + +Sigurd: "But how was it when we were swimming? I could duck thee +whenever I wanted to." + +Eystein: "But I could swim as far as thou, and could dive as well; and +I could run on ice-legs[10] so well that nobody could beat me, while +thou couldst no more do it than a cow." + +[10] Ice-legs were skates made of sheep legs. + +Sigurd: "I consider it a more useful and suitable accomplishment for a +chief to be an expert at his bow; but I think thou couldst hardly draw +my bow, even with the help of the foot." + +Eystein: "I am not as strong at the bow as thou art, but my aim is +as good; and I can run on skis[11] much better than thou, and that is +usually held a great accomplishment." + +[11] Ski (pronounced she), the long snow-shoe used in the North. + +Sigurd: "It is much better for a chief who is to be the superior of +other men that he is conspicuous in a crowd, and strong and powerful in +weapons above other men." + +Eystein: "It is just as well to be handsome, so as to be easily known +from others on that account; and this behooves a chief, as a fair face +and fine clothes go well together. I am also better versed in law than +thou, and can speak better." + +Sigurd: "It may be that thou hast learned more law-quirks than I, for I +have had something else to do; neither will any one deny thee a smooth +tongue. But many say that thy words are not to be trusted; that thy +promises are not kept, and that thou talkest according to what those +who are about thee say, which is not kingly." + +Eystein: "Often I promise what people ask of me, as I like to have all +be joyful about me, and it happens that conflicting interests afterward +appear, which must be considered. But thou mostly promisest people what +is evil, and no one is pleased because thy promises are kept." + +Sigurd: "All say that the expedition I made out of the country was a +princely expedition, while thou wert sitting at home like thy father's +daughter." + +Eystein: "Now thou hast touched the tender spot, and I would not have +brought up this conversation if I had not known what to reply on this +point. I think I equipped thee from home for this expedition like a +sister." + +Sigurd: "Thou must have heard that I was in many battles in the +Saracen's land, and gained victory in all. I brought to this country +many valuables, the like of which had never been seen here before. I +became acquainted with great men, and was respected by them. I went +to the Saviour's grave, and saw thee not there. I went to the river +Jordan, in which the Lord was baptized, and I swam across, but I saw +thee not there. On the edge of the river there is a bush of willows, +and there I twisted a knot of willows, and said that this knot thou +shouldst untie, brother, or take the curse thereto attached." + +Then King Eystein said: "I have heard that thou hast had some battles +abroad, but it was more useful for the country what I was doing here +at home. North in Vaagen (Lofoten) I put up booths, so that the +poor fishermen could find shelter; I also had a church built there, +appointed a priest, and gave land for the support of the church; before +that, they were nearly all heathens there. These people will remember +that Eystein was king in Norway. Across the Dovre Mountain lay the +road from Throndhjem. Formerly many froze to death, and all suffered +hardships on the journey; but I built a mountain inn and endowed it +with property. Those who hereafter travel there will remember that +Eystein was king in Norway. Off Agdanes there were breakers and shoals +and no harbor, so that many ships were wrecked; now there is a good +harbor and good anchorage for the ships, and a church has also been +built there. I had war-signals erected on the highest mountains, which +is of benefit to all who live in the interior. I built the royal hall +in Bergen and the Apostles' Church and a covered passage between them. +The kings who succeed us will remember my name. I built St. Michael's +Church at Nordnes (in Bergen) and the monastery Munkeliv at the same +place. I improved the laws, brother, so that everybody could deal +justly with his neighbor, and if the laws are upheld the government +will be better. More by gentle words and wise dealings than by violence +and breach of peace did I succeed in making the inhabitants of +Jemteland subjects of this kingdom. All these things may be considered +small matters, but they will benefit the people of the country more +than the fact that thou hast butchered bluemen in Serkland for the +devil and hurled them into hell. And if thou didst tie a knot for me, +I will not untie it; but I think that if I had been inclined to tie a +knot for thee, I could have tied such a knot that thou wouldst not have +been king of Norway on thy return to this country with but a single +ship." + +This was the end of the "man-measuring." There was silence in the hall, +and both kings were very angry. Several other incidents are recorded, +which show the jealousy that existed between the kings. However, peace +was preserved between them as long as they lived. + +Six years after his brother Olaf's death, King Eystein was taken +suddenly sick and died at the age of thirty-three, August 29, 1122. He +was buried in Christ Church in Nidaros, and it is said that so many +mourners had never stood over any man's grave in Norway since the death +of King Magnus the Good. + +Sigurd was now sole king of Norway and free from the restraint which +the pacific disposition of the popular Eystein had placed upon him. +Shortly after the death of Eystein, King Sigurd entered into an +agreement with the Danish king Nils Sveinson, who had married his +stepmother, Margaret Fridkolla. They agreed upon a joint invasion of +Sweden. The real motive was probably to secure this kingdom, which was +at the time torn by internal strifes, for Margaret's son Magnus Nilson; +but the avowed purpose was to christianize the inhabitants of the +Swedish province of Smaaland, where paganism still lingered. The two +kings were to meet with their armies at Oeresund. King Sigurd collected +a fleet of about three hundred and sixty ships and proceeded to the +meeting-place; but through some mistake the Danish army had already +returned home. King Sigurd held a council with his men, at which they +spoke of King Nils' breach of faith and determined to take revenge by +plundering his country. They first plundered the town of Tumartorp, and +then sailed east to the merchant town Kalmar, which they attacked. They +plundered in the province of Smaaland, compelled the people to accept +Christianity, and imposed on the country a tribute of 1,800 cattle. +After this King Sigurd returned to Norway with a great booty. This +expedition was called the Kalmar levy, and was the only levy Sigurd +carried out while he was sole king. + +During the later years of his reign, King Sigurd was often violent and +showed unmistakable signs of insanity. One Whit-Sunday he sat in his +high-seat with Queen Malmfrid at his side, and in his hand he held +the holy book, written in gilded letters, which he had brought with +him from Constantinople. On the benches were seated many friends and +guests. Then the king suddenly got one of his attacks. He rolled his +eyes and looked all around him, and then said: "Many are the changes +which may take place during a man's lifetime. Two things were dearer +to me than anything else, namely, this book and the queen; and now it +is quite different. The queen does not know herself how hideous she is; +for a goat's horn is standing out of her head. And this book is good +for nothing." Thereupon he threw the book on the fire which was burning +on the floor, and gave the queen a blow with his fist between the eyes. + +Before the king stood the young taper-bearer, Ottar Birting, who was on +duty that day. He was of small stature, but of agreeable appearance, +lively and bold. His surname Birting had been given him on account of +his black hair and dark complexion. He sprang forward and snatched the +book from the fire, held it out, and said: "Yes, sire, different were +the days when you came with great state and splendor to Norway, and +all your friends hastened to welcome you. Now days of sorrow have come +over us; for to this holy festival many of your friends have come, +and cannot be cheerful on account of your sad condition. Now, good +king, follow my advice! Make peace first with the queen, whom you have +so highly affronted, and then gladden by gentleness all your chiefs, +friends, and servants." "What?" cried King Sigurd. "Dost thou dare +to give me advice, thou black churl, thou great lump of a houseman's +lad!" And he sprang up, drew his sword, and swung it, as if going to +cut him down. But Ottar stood quiet and upright, and looked the king +straight in his face. The king turned round the sword-blade, and gently +touched Ottar on the shoulder with it. Then he sat down in silence on +his high-seat. All were silent, for nobody dared to utter a word. In a +little while the king had quieted down. He then rebuked his liegemen +for not having stopped his insane acts, and thanked Ottar for what he +had done. He concluded his speech by making Ottar a liegeman, and +said: "Go thou now and sit among the lendermen, and be a servant no +longer." + +Ottar Birting became in later years one of the most celebrated men in +Norway. + +A few years before his death King Sigurd, in spite of the strong +protest of Bishop Magne, discarded Queen Malmfrid, and married a +beautiful and high-born woman, named Cecilia. The last winter of his +life King Sigurd spent in Oslo. In the spring he was taken violently +sick. His friends saw in this the punishment of Heaven for his improper +marriage, and urged him to dissolve it; but he loved Cecilia too dearly +to acquiesce in this. At last, she herself suggested a separation. "I +did not know that thou, too, wouldst leave me like the others," said +the king sadly. He grew gradually worse after this, and on March 26, +1130, he died, forty years old. His body was deposited in a vault in +St. Halvard's Church. According to the saga, "the time of his reign was +good for the country, for there was peace, and crops were good." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +_Magnus the Blind and Harald Gille (1130-1136)_ + + +The year before King Sigurd's death a young man named Harald Gille +(or Gillekrist, _i.e._, dedicated to Christ) came to Norway from +Ireland with his mother, and declared that he was a son of King +Magnus Barefoot. It is known that Magnus Barefoot had had a mistress +in Ireland, and composed a verse once, in which he said he loved his +Irish girl above all others. When the young man and his mother came to +King Sigurd and told their story, the king told Harald that he would +not deny him the opportunity to prove his birth by submitting to the +ordeal by fire, but on condition that, if he should prove his descent, +he should not claim the kingdom in the lifetime of King Sigurd, or of +his son Magnus, and to this Harald Gille bound himself by oath. Harald +agreed to the ordeal fixed by Sigurd, and walked over nine glowing +plowshares with bare feet, attended by two bishops. Three days after +the iron trial his feet were examined, and were found unburned. This +ordeal was considered a divine judgment, and King Sigurd acknowledged +Harald as his brother. + +It became a source of danger to the country that Harald was +acknowledged as a son of Magnus Barefoot; for at that time the law of +royal inheritance was that every son of a king, the illegitimate as +well as the legitimate, had a right to the kingdom. This encouraged +many to proclaim themselves rightful heirs to the throne and to prove +their rights by the ordeal of fire. The priests had the charge of such +ordeals, and they probably had the result in their power. + +Sigurd's son, Magnus, conceived a great hatred of Harald, and in this +he had the sympathy of many of the leading men. + +Immediately after the death of Sigurd, his son Magnus summoned a Thing +at Oslo, and was there proclaimed king of all Norway, according to an +oath which the people had formerly sworn to King Sigurd. Harald Gille +was in Tunsberg when he heard of Sigurd's death. He broke his promise +to the late king, summoned a Thing, and had his followers proclaim him +king of half the country. Negotiations were opened with King Magnus, +and, as the latter found he had fewer people, he was obliged to divide +the kingdom with Harald. + +For about three years the two kings kept the peace, although there was +little friendship between them. They both passed the fourth winter at +Nidaros, and invited each other as guests, but their people were always +ready for a fight. In the spring King Magnus sailed southward with his +fleet, and collected men from all districts, telling the people that he +wanted to take the kingly dignity from Harald and give him such a part +of the country as might be suitable. Harald proceeded from Throndhjem +overland to the Uplands and Viken, and, when he heard what Magnus was +doing, he also collected an army. At Fyrileif in Viken a battle was +fought, and Magnus, who had a much superior force, won a decisive +battle. Harald's army was put to flight, and he himself barely escaped +to his ships. He sailed south to Denmark, and was well received by the +Danish king, Erik Emune, who gave him the province of Halland in fief. + +After the battle of Fyrileif (August 10, 1134), King Magnus proclaimed +himself sole king of Norway. He showed great lenience toward Harald's +men, and had the wounded taken care of equally with his own men. His +leading men advised him to keep his army together in Viken, and remain +there, in case Harald should return from the south; but he thought +this was not necessary, allowed the men to return to their homes, and +proceeded with his court-men to Bergen. It was not long before King +Magnus had cause to regret that he had disregarded the advice of his +friends. Harald had soon gathered a sufficient force to invade Norway, +and, while he proceeded along the coast, a good many people joined +him. He came to Bergen, where he met only nominal resistance, and +King Magnus was taken prisoner. King Harald held a meeting with his +counsellors, and here it was decided that Magnus should be deprived +of his dominions and should no longer be called king. He was then +delivered to the king's thralls, who put out both his eyes, cut off one +foot, and otherwise mutilated him. Magnus, who after this was given +the surname "the Blind," was brought north to Nidaros and entered the +Nidarholm cloister. + +When Harald Gille had been six years king of Norway, Sigurd Slembe came +to the country, and claimed that he too was a son of Magnus Barefoot. +Sigurd was in his childhood kept at his book, became a clergyman, +and was consecrated a deacon. He showed early traces of a haughty, +ungovernable spirit, and was therefore called Slembidjakn (_i.e._, the +bad deacon). When he heard that he was the son of Magnus Barefoot, he +laid aside all clerical matters and set out on trading expeditions. +In Denmark he claimed to have established his parentage by the iron +ordeal in the presence of five bishops, and when he arrived in Bergen +he requested Harald Gille to acknowledge him as his brother. King +Harald, however, accused him of being an accomplice in a murder case, +and attempted to capture him. Sigurd escaped and afterward arranged +a conspiracy, in which many of Harald's court-men took part. On St. +Lucia's night, December 13, 1136, they came to the house where Harald +was sleeping with his mistress, Thora, Guthorm's daughter, killed the +guardsmen outside, broke into the house, and killed the king in bed. +Sigurd and his men then took a boat and rowed out in front of the +king's house. It was then just beginning to be daylight. Standing in +his boat Sigurd spoke to the men on the king's pier, avowed the killing +of Harald, and requested them to choose him as chief according to his +birth. But all replied with one voice, that they would never give +obedience to a man who had murdered his own brother. "And if thou art +not his brother, thou hast no claim by descent to be king." Thereupon +they outlawed Sigurd and all his men. Sigurd and his men saw it was +best for them to get away, and fled northward to North Hordaland. + +King Harald Gille was thirty-two years old when he was slain. He was +buried in the old Christ Church in Bergen. It was a few months before +his death that pirates from Vendland, under their king, Rettibur, +pillaged and burned the town of Konungahella (Konghelle). The town was +afterward rebuilt, but never rose to the importance it had had before. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +_Sigurd Mund, Eystein, and Inge Krokryg, the Sons of Harald Gille +(1136-1161)_ + + +Queen Ingerid, the widow of Harald Gille, immediately after her +husband's death held a consultation with the liegemen and court-men, +and they decided to send a fast sailing vessel to Throndhjem to request +the people there to take Harald's son (with Thora, Guthorm's daughter), +Sigurd, for king. Sigurd, who was then in his fourth year, was being +fostered by Gyrd Baardson. The people of Throndhjem assembled at a +Thing and proclaimed Sigurd king. Queen Ingerid herself proceeded to +Viken, where her son with Harald, the one year old Inge, was fostered +by Aamunde Gyrdson. A Borgar-Thing (Thing at Borg or Sarpsborg) was +called, at which Inge was chosen king. "Thus," it is related in +the saga, "almost the whole nation submitted to the brothers, and +principally because their father was considered holy; and the country +took the oath to them, that the kingly power should not go to any other +man as long as any of King Harald's sons were alive." It was agreed +that the chief liegemen should rule in the name of the brothers while +they were in their infancy. + +Sigurd Slembe proceeded north to Nidaros, and took Magnus the Blind +out of the cloister in the hope that, by making common cause with him, +he could secure a better following. In this he succeeded to some +extent, many of King Magnus's old friends joining him. With quite a +force they went south to the mouth of Raumsdal Fjord. Here Sigurd and +Magnus divided their forces, Sigurd sailing westward to the Orkneys +to seek aid. Magnus proceeded with his force through Raumsdal over +to the Uplands, where he remained during the winter and collected an +army. When it was rumored in Viken that Magnus the Blind had come to +the Uplands, Thiostolf Aaleson and the other chiefs who were with +King Inge gathered a great army and proceeded up to Lake Miosen, and +met the forces of Magnus at Minne (1137). A great battle was fought, +and Magnus was defeated. It is related that Thiostolf Aaleson carried +the child-king, Inge, in his tucked-up cloak during the battle; but +Thiostolf was hard pressed by fighting, and it was said that King Inge +suffered an injury there, which he retained as long as he lived. His +back was knotted into a hump, and one leg was shorter than the other. +Hence he was afterward called Inge Krokryg, _i.e._, Inge the Hunchback. +Magnus fled eastward to Gautland, where he received aid from the +Swedes, but being again defeated at Krokaskog he fled to Denmark. + +Magnus the Blind was well received by the Danish king, Erik Emune, who +collected a force and sailed north to Norway with two hundred and forty +ships. Attacks were made at different places, and the town of Oslo was +burned, including St. Halvard's Church; but King Erik soon returned +to Denmark after having suffered great losses, and the expedition was +pronounced a total failure. + +Sigurd Slembe about this time returned from the West, and made cruises +against the pirates in Vendland, and occasionally harried the coasts of +Norway. In the fall of 1139 Sigurd Slembe and Magnus the Blind came up +to Norway from Denmark with thirty ships manned by Danes and Northmen. +They met the fleet of kings Sigurd and Inge at Holmengraa (the gray +holm), where a battle was fought. After the first assault, the Danes +fled home to Denmark with eighteen ships, and thus Sigurd had to fight +against a greatly superior force. One after another of his ships was +cleared. The blind and crippled Magnus lay in his bed and could do +nothing to defend himself. When his ship was almost entirely bare of +men, his old and faithful court-man, Reidar Griotgardson, took King +Magnus in his arms and tried to leap over to another ship with him. But +just then he was struck between his shoulders by a spear, which went +through him and also killed King Magnus. Reidar fell backward on the +deck and Magnus upon him. Everybody afterward spoke of how honorably +he had followed his master and rightful sovereign. "Happy are they +who are given such praise after death," adds the writer of the saga. +Sigurd Slembe leaped overboard and would probably have escaped, if +he had not been betrayed by one of his own men. He was captured and +put to death with the most horrible tortures. The men who took upon +themselves to kill him, and who had personal grievances to avenge, +broke his shin-bones and arms with an axe-hammer. Then they stripped +him and flogged him, broke his back, and finally hanged him. He bore +the tortures with great fortitude. He never moved and never altered +his voice, but spoke in a natural tone until he gave up the ghost, +occasionally singing hymns. Sigurd's friends afterward came from +Denmark for his body, took it with them and interred it in Mary Church +in Aalborg. + +When Sigurd was dead, it was acknowledged by all, both enemies and +friends, that he was the most remarkable and most gifted man that had +lived in Norway within memory of anybody living; "but in some respects +he was an unlucky man," says the saga. Magnus the Blind was twenty-five +years old when he fell. Thiostolf Aaleson transported his body to Oslo +and buried it in St. Halvard's Church, beside King Sigurd, his father. + +Norway now had peace for some years. About six years after Sigurd and +Inge had been proclaimed kings, a third son of Harald Gille, named +Eystein, came from Scotland accompanied by his mother, Biadok, and by +three men of high standing. They immediately proceeded to Throndhjem, +and at the Oere-Thing Eystein was chosen king and given a third of +the country with his brothers, Sigurd and Inge. King Harald himself +had spoken to his men about this son, so that Eystein did not have to +resort to the ordeal of iron in order to prove his right. A fourth son +of Harald Gille, Magnus, who was being fostered by the great chief +Kyrpinga-Orm at Studla, was also given the title of king, so that for +a short time there were nominally four kings; but Magnus was deformed, +lived but a short time, and died in his bed. + +Shortly after the death of Harald Gille, his widow, Queen Ingerid, had +married the liegeman, Ottar Birting of Throndhjem, who thus became +King Inge's stepfather and guardian, and who strengthened King Inge's +government much during his childhood. King Sigurd was not very friendly +to Ottar Birting, because, as he thought, Ottar always took King Inge's +part. One evening Ottar was assassinated in Nidaros as he was going +to the evening service. His relatives and friends accused King Sigurd +of having instigated this deed and were much enraged against him. A +peasant army under the leadership of King Eystein came to Nidaros and +a conflict seemed inevitable. But King Sigurd then offered to clear +himself by the ordeal of iron, and peace was made. King Sigurd hastened +to the southern part of the country, and the ordeal was never heard of +again. Many other things contributed to make Sigurd unpopular. As he +grew up he became a very ungovernable and restless man. He was a stout +and strong man, of a brisk appearance. He had light brown hair and +quite a handsome face except that he had an ugly mouth. For that reason +he was called Sigurd Mund (Mouth). His great immorality gave general +offense to the people. He was not married, but had several illegitimate +children. + +In 1153 King Eystein made a cruise to the Orkneys. Some time after his +return there was a quarrel between him and King Sigurd, because the +latter had killed two of Eystein's court-men. A conference to settle +this affair was arranged in the winter (1154-55) in the Uplands. They +not only settled their difficulty, but privately arranged for a meeting +of the three kings in Bergen next summer. It was said that their plan +was to depose King Inge and give him two or three estates and a certain +income, as he had not health to be a king. Their plan might possibly +have succeeded if it had not been for King Inge's faithful man, +Gregorius Dagson, who was then Inge's guardian and adviser. He made +preparations for the meeting, and when Sigurd arrived in Bergen, King +Inge had a superior force. After some hostile acts, King Sigurd was +attacked in his lodgings by Gregorius Dagson and slain, June 10, 1155. +Two or three days after King Eystein arrived from the east with thirty +ships. He had along with him his brother's seven year old son Haakon, +a son of King Sigurd. When he heard what had happened in Bergen, +Eystein did not come up to the town, but anchored at Florevaag, while a +reconciliation between the brothers was attempted. The result was that +King Eystein returned to Viken and King Inge to Throndhjem, and they +were in a way reconciled; but they did not meet each other. + +About a year later, after several quarrels and provoking incidents, the +two brothers met with hostile fleets at Fors, Ranrike, and made ready +for battle. So many of King Eystein's ships left him, however, and +joined King Inge that Eystein had no choice but flight. He was captured +by his brother-in-law, Simon Skalp, who murdered him after having +allowed him to hear mass (August 21, 1157). King Eystein was buried in +Fors Church. + +Inge was now sole king, but it was only a short time that he was in +undisputed possession of the country. The adherents of the late kings, +Eystein and Sigurd, chose the latter's son as their chief and gave him +the title of king. He was then ten years old. He was afterward given +the surname Herdebred, _i.e._, the broad-shouldered. Haakon and his +adherents were outlawed by King Inge, who took possession of all their +estates, after they had sought refuge in Sweden. Gregorius Dagson was +then in Konungahella, where the danger was greatest, and had with him +a strong and fine body of men, with which he defended the country. He +defeated Haakon's force in a decisive battle at Konungahella (1159). +Later Haakon, who had strengthened his forces with a number of robbers +and adventurers, harried the frontier districts in Viken. One day he +came to the estate of Haldor Brynjolfson, a brother-in-law of Gregorius +Dagson, set fire to the house and burned it. Haldor came out, but was +instantly cut down together with his house-men; in all about twenty +men were killed. Haldor's wife, Sigrid, Gregorius Dagson's sister, +escaped to the forest in her night-dress; but the five year old Aamunde +Gyrdson, a nephew of Gregorius, was carried away by Haakon's men. + +When Gregorius Dagson heard of this he took it much to heart, and set +out to avenge the outrage. On January 7, 1161, Gregorius caught sight +of Haakon's force. There was a river, called Befia, between them, and +in trying to cross it on the unsafe ice Gregorius fell through, and, +while struggling to get ashore, was killed by an arrow shot by one of +Haakon's men. When King Inge, who was then in Oslo, heard of Gregorius +Dagson's death, he cried like a child, and, after having recovered +himself, swore to attack Haakon, and either avenge his friend's death +or die in the attempt. On the 3d of February, 1161, King Inge's spies +brought him word that Haakon was coming toward the town (Oslo). The +king ordered his men called together, and when they were drawn up in +line they numbered nearly 4,800. When the night was well advanced, the +spies came and informed the king that Haakon and his army were coming +over the ice, which lay all the way from the town to the Hoved Isle. +King Inge then led his army out on the ice, and drew it up in order of +battle. The king and his brother Orm took their places under the banner +in the centre. On the right wing, toward the nunnery, was Gudrod, the +exiled king of the South Hebrides, and Jon Sveinson, a grandson of +Bergthor Buk. On the left wing, toward Thrælaberg, stood the chiefs +Simon Skalp and Gudbrand Skafhoggson, who was married to King Eystein +Magnusson's daughter Maria. When Haakon and his army came near to King +Inge's array, both sides raised a war shout. But then it appeared that +there were traitors in Inge's army. Gudrod and Jon gave the enemy a +signal, and when Haakon's men in consequence turned that way, Gudrod +immediately fled with 1,800 men; and Jon, and a great body of men with +him, ran over to Haakon's army and assisted them in the fight. When +this news was told to King Inge, he said: "Such is the difference +between my friends. Never would Gregorius have done so in his life." +Some of Inge's men now advised him to mount a horse and ride up to +Raumarike, where he could get help. But he refused to do so. "I have +heard you often say, and I think truly, that it was of little use to my +brother Eystein that he took to flight; and yet he was in many ways an +abler man than I. I was in the second year of my age when I was chosen +king of Norway, and I am now twenty-six. I have had misfortune and +sorrow under my kingly dignity, rather than pleasure and peaceful days. +I have had many battles; and it is my greatest luck that I have never +fled, even when fighting against a superior force. God will dispose of +my life, but I shall never betake myself to flight." As a result of the +traitors' work Haakon gained a complete victory. When daylight came, +King Inge was among the fallen. His brother Orm tried to continue the +battle, but at last had to take flight. On the following day Orm was +to have married Ragna, a daughter of Nikolas Mase and widow of King +Eystein; but after the battle Orm fled to Svithiod, Sweden, where his +brother Magnus was then king. Haakon and his men took possession of +the town, and feasted on what had been prepared for the wedding. Those +of Inge's friends who survived the battle fled in all directions. Only +Kristina, Sigurd the Crusader's daughter, remained in town, for she had +a promise to the late king to fulfil. She found King Inge's body, and +had it laid in the stone wall of Halvard's Church, on the south side +below the choir. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +_The Church_ + + +From the time of Olaf Kyrre (the Quiet) there were three bishops in +Norway; one in Nidaros, one in Bergen, and one in Oslo. During the +reign of Kings Eystein and Sigurd the Crusader a bishopric was also +established in Stavanger. The bishops were chosen by the king, and the +bishops appointed the priests. + +For the last half century the Norwegian Church, as well as the Swedish, +had been under the Danish archbishop at Lund. This arrangement appeared +very unsatisfactory, as the Norwegian Church covered extended territory +which called for special supervision. Since the time of Sigurd the +Crusader there had been a constant desire to obtain an independent +Norwegian archbishopric. Finally, during the reign of Harald Gille's +sons, the pope sent Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear of Alba from Rome to +Norway (1152). Cardinal Nicholas, who was an Englishman by birth and +a very able and conscientious man, arrived in Nidaros, and seems to +have immediately understood the situation. The saga says that he had +taken offence at the brothers Sigurd and Eystein. The reason is not +stated, but it was perhaps on account of their immoral life. "They were +obliged to come to a reconciliation with him; on the other hand, he +stood on the most affectionate terms with King Inge, whom he called +his son." When an understanding had been arranged with the kings, the +cardinal had John Birgerson consecrated archbishop of Throndhjem and +gave him the consecrated vestment called pallium. He further settled +that the archbishop's seat should be in Nidaros, in Christ Church, +where King Olaf the Saint reposed. At the same time a new bishopric +was established at Hamar, on Lake Miosen. Under the jurisdiction of +the archbishopric at Nidaros were included the four other bishoprics +of Norway, Oslo, Hamar, Stavanger, and Bergen, and those of the +dependencies, Iceland, the Orkneys, the Faroes, Greenland, and the +Hebrides with the Isle of Man. + +The establishment of the archbishopric at Nidaros was probably the most +important result of the mission of Cardinal Nicholas, but he also left +other traces of his work. He changed the manner of choosing bishops, so +that instead of being appointed by the king they were now to be elected +by the canonical communities established at the cathedrals. The bishops +after this exercised much greater authority than they had done before. + +The saga says of Cardinal Nicholas that "he improved many of the +customs of the Northmen while he was in the country. There never came +a foreigner to Norway whom all men respected so highly, or who could +govern the people so well as he did. After some time he returned to the +South with many friendly presents, and declared ever afterward that he +was the greatest friend of the people of Norway." + +Cardinal Nicholas was, shortly after his return to Rome, elected pope +and consecrated under the name of Adrian IV. + +There were also several cloisters for monks in Norway at this time. +They were generally quite wealthy, as many people would give all they +had to the cloisters. There were at Throndhjem two cloisters, the +Nidarholm and Elgeseter; in Bergen, Munkeliv, and a little further +south Lyse Cloister, and near Oslo the Hoved Isle. At Gimsoe near Skien +there was a convent for nuns. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +_Haakon Herdebred (1161-1162)--Erling Skakke_ + + +After the fall of King Inge in the battle at Oslo, Haakon Herdebred +(the Broad-shouldered) took possession of the whole country. He +distributed all the offices, in the towns and in the country, among +his own friends. As he was only about fourteen years old, he could +not, of course, be expected to attend personally to the affairs of the +government; but his liegemen governed in his name. + +Many of the adherents of the late King Inge refused to acknowledge King +Haakon. Among them was the powerful and wily chieftain Erling Skakke. +He was of a distinguished family, which resided on the Studla estate +in Söndhordland. In his youth he had made a crusade to the Holy Land. +On his way back through the Mediterranean he had a fight with pirates +and was wounded in the neck, which compelled him afterward to carry his +head on one side; hence his surname (_skakke_, wry). By the assistance +of King Inge he obtained in marriage Kristina, a daughter of King +Sigurd the Crusader and Queen Malmfrid. A year after their marriage she +bore him a son, who was named Magnus. + +Erling Skakke called together in Bergen all the chiefs who had been +attached to King Inge, and all his court-men, and the house-men of the +late Gregorius Dagson. When they met they discussed the situation, and +resolved to keep up their party and to elect a king in opposition to +Haakon. Erling proposed to make the boy Nicholas, a son of Simon Skalp +and Harald Gille's daughter Maria, king; but the others objected to +this, and, after some discussion, Erling was persuaded to do what had +probably been his intention from the beginning, namely, to let his own +son, Magnus, be proclaimed king, although this was against the law of +the country, the boy not being of royal birth on his father's side. A +Thing was held in the town, and here Magnus Erlingson, then five years +old, was proclaimed king of the whole country. + +Erling did not consider himself strong enough to immediately take +up the fight with King Haakon. He therefore proceeded to Denmark, +accompanied by his son and a large party. The Danish king, Valdemar the +Great, received them hospitably and promised to furnish the necessary +help to win and retain Norway, on condition that King Valdemar was to +get that part of Norway which his ancestors, Harald Gormson and Svein +Tjuguskeg, had possessed. With the help obtained in Denmark, Erling +crossed over from Jutland to Agder, and thence sailed northward to +Bergen, where he punished those who had given allegiance to Haakon. +Then he returned along the coast, and attacked and defeated Haakon at +Tunsberg. Haakon proceeded to Throndhjem, where he had most of his +friends, and Erling returned to Bergen, after having reduced the whole +of Viken in obedience to King Magnus. + +In the spring King Haakon started southward with quite a fleet. By a +stratagem Erling succeeded in surprising him, when his forces were +divided, at Sekken, in Raumsdal, where a battle was fought. Haakon was +defeated, and the young king himself was killed (1162). Haakon's body +was buried in Raumsdal; but afterward his brother, King Sverre, had the +body removed to Nidaros and laid in the stone wall in Christ Church +south of the choir. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +_Magnus Erlingson (1162-1184)--The Birchlegs_ + + +After the battle of Sekken, Erling Skakke proceeded with King Magnus +and the whole army up to Nidaros, where the Thing was convened, and +Magnus was proclaimed king of all Norway. They remained there but +a short time, however, for Erling did not put great faith in the +Throndhjem people. Erling returned with his son to Bergen, and later in +the fall went to Tunsberg, where he intended to stay during the winter. + +Some of the late King Haakon's chiefs, who had not been present at the +battle, among them Earl Sigurd of Reyr, refused to acknowledge King +Magnus. They left their ships in Raumsdal and went over to Uplands, +where they found many adherents. They chose for their king a young son +of King Sigurd Mund, named Sigurd Markusfostre (_i.e._, foster-son +of Markus), who had been brought up by Markus of Skog, a friend and +relative of Earl Sigurd. Quite an army was collected, but as the +territory they held was small, their foraging became burdensome to the +people, and there was considerable dissatisfaction. Erling Skakke took +advantage of this, and when finally a battle was fought at Ree, near +Tunsberg, he easily defeated Sigurd's adherents. Earl Sigurd fell in +the battle (February, 1163). Sigurd Markusfostre and his foster-father +were captured and killed in the fall of the same year. + +The archbishop in Nidaros was at that time Eystein, a son of Erlend +Himalde, who descended from a very influential family in the Throndhjem +district. In the summer of 1164 Erling Skakke had a conference with +Archbishop Eystein in Bergen, where all the bishops of the country were +then assembled, together with the legate from Rome, Stephanus. The +result of the conference was that Magnus was to be anointed and crowned +as king by the archbishop, while on the other hand it was agreed that +in the future the church--represented by the archbishop and the other +bishops, together with twelve leading men from each bishopric selected +by the bishop--was to decide at the death of a king which one of his +heirs was to succeed him; and if the king left no heirs of whom the +magnates approved, they were to elect a successor to the throne. In +the presence of the papal legate, the bishops, and a great many other +clergymen, King Magnus, who was then eight years old, was anointed and +crowned by the archbishop. Magnus, Erling's son, was the first crowned +king in Norway. By this solemn act Erling Skakke believed he had +secured his son's dynasty on the throne, and he could now with greater +safety turn his whole attention to internal and foreign enemies, as he +felt convinced that the greater part of the people would rally around +the anointed king. + +When King Valdemar of Denmark heard that Erling Skakke had defeated +Haakon Herdebred and Sigurd Markusfostre, and that his son Magnus had +been crowned king of the whole country, he sent a message to Erling +and reminded him of the agreement, by which Viken was to be ceded +to the Danish king, if Magnus became king of Norway. Erling and his +advisers showed no inclination to adhere to the agreement, and the +messenger returned to Denmark without having accomplished anything. +In the spring of 1165 King Valdemar sailed with a fleet north to +Viken in order to take possession of the province. He tried peaceful +proceedings; but he was so coolly received by the people of Viken that +he returned to Denmark, preferring, as he said to his men, to use his +army against the heathens of Vendland. The hostility between Norway and +Denmark, however, lasted some time. Erling made a cruise to Jutland +and defeated the Danes in a battle at Dyrsaa, and returned to Norway +with a great booty. A second expedition of King Valdemar to Viken +in the spring of 1168 became as indecisive as the first, so far as +establishing any authority there; but he dealt the inhabitants of Viken +a hurtful blow by forbidding them to trade with Denmark, at the same +time forbidding the Danes to export grain to Norway. + +While Erling Skakke was absent on an expedition to Denmark, a band of +rebels was organized under the leadership of a new pretender, Olaf, a +son of King Eystein Magnusson's daughter Maria, in her marriage with +the chief Gudbrand Skafhoggson, who fell with King Inge in the battle at +Oslo. Olaf was brought up by an influential man named Sigurd Agn-Hat. +Probably from the latter's surname the adherents of Olaf were called +Hat-Swains (Hættesveiner). The Hat-Swains proclaimed Olaf king, and +went through the Uplands, and sometimes down to Viken, or east to the +forest settlements. At Rydjokel, near Lake Oiern, they surprised +Erling Skakke and his men early one morning, and in the fight that +followed killed several of Erling's men and drove the remainder down +to their ships. Because Olaf did not succeed in capturing Erling, +although the odds were all in his favor, he was afterward called Olaf +the Unlucky (Ugæva). The following spring the Hat-Swains met Erling +in battle at Stanger, in the eastern part of Viken, where Erling won +a decisive victory. Sigurd Agn-Hat and many others of Olaf's men fell +here. Olaf escaped by flight, went south to Denmark, and spent the +winter in Aalborg, where he died of sickness the following spring +(1169). + +The interruption of the navigation between Norway and Denmark under +the decree of King Valdemar worked great hardship to the Norwegians, +especially the inhabitants of Viken, and Erling Skakke was finally +induced to open negotiations for peace. He spent a winter in Denmark, +and in the following spring peace was finally concluded, the terms +being that Viken should be under the sovereignty of the Danish king, +but Erling was to hold it in fief as King Valdemar's vassal with the +title of Earl. Erling returned to Norway, and the peace with Denmark +was afterward well preserved. + +Erling Skakke considered it a policy of necessity to remove any person +who by reason of royal birth might become rivals of his son to the +throne. King Sigurd Mund had left a daughter named Cecilia. As soon +as she became old enough, he sent her to Vermeland and made her the +mistress of Folkvid the lawman, knowing that the children from such a +connection could not become dangerous rivals. About the same time one +of the king's men discovered and brought to Erling a young man named +Harald, who in all secrecy had been brought up in the Uplands. He was +the son of Erling's own wife Kristina, and his father was the late +King Sigurd Mund. An illicit intimacy between such near relatives as +Kristina and Sigurd was, under the church laws of the time, considered +one of the greatest sins, and everything had therefore been done to +keep the matter secret, and Kristina had heretofore succeeded in +concealing her guilt. When Erling saw the illegitimate son of his wife +before him, he said very little, and those present understood that the +young man was doomed. King Magnus, who had taken a liking to Harald, +interceded in his favor; but his father answered: "Thou wouldst govern +this kingdom but a short time in peace and safety, if thou wert to +follow the counsels of the heart only." Earl Erling ordered Harald to +be taken to Nordnes, where he was beheaded. + +Erling Skakke, however, did not succeed in removing all pretenders. +In the year 1174 there appeared on the scene a young man called +Eystein, who claimed to be a son of King Eystein Haraldson. He was +small of stature, and had a fine, soft face, and he was therefore +generally called Eystein Meyla (Little Maiden). He first went on a +visit to Gautland to Earl Birger Brosa, who was married to Eystein's +aunt, Brigida, a daughter of Harald Gille. They received him well, +and furnished him some assistance in men and money. Eystein then +proceeded to Norway, and when he came to Viken many people flocked +to him. His followers proclaimed him king, and he remained in Viken +during the winter. His means of subsistence being soon exhausted, they +commenced to rob and steal wherever there was an opportunity. They +were not strong enough to remain long in any one place, but roamed +about in mountains and forests. They suffered great hardships. Their +clothes being worn out, they wound the bark of the birch-tree about +their legs, and therefore the people called them Birkebeiner (_i.e._, +Birchlegs). During the two years which the Birchlegs spent in and about +Viken (1174-76), they had three battles in regular array with the +peasants, and were victorious in them all; but at Krokaskog they came +near meeting a disaster in encountering a superior force, and they only +saved themselves by a hasty flight. + +In the third summer (1176), when Magnus had been king for thirteen +years, the Birchlegs started on a more serious expedition. They +procured ships and sailed along the coast gathering goods and men. +After having passed out of Viken they proceeded with great speed +northward to Nidaros, and no news preceded them until they reached +the Throndhjem Fjord. Erling and his son Magnus, who were in Bergen, +did not hear of their having sailed by. The Birchlegs easily overcame +the opposition in Nidaros, and Eystein was proclaimed king by the +Throndhjem people, who had never liked King Magnus. The Birchlegs +afterward proceeded to Orkedal, where, upon reviewing the troops, they +found that they had about 2,400 men. They then went to the Uplands, and +on to Thoten and Hadeland, and from there to Ringerike, subduing the +country wherever they came. + +Earl Erling and King Magnus had remained in Bergen while the Birchlegs +were in the North. Then they agreed that Erling should remain with a +strong force in Bergen, in case the enemy should come down along the +coast, while King Magnus, who was now twenty years old, was to go +to Viken and take up his residence in Tunsberg, in order to protect +that part of the country from possible enemies. King Magnus went to +Tunsberg, where he and Orm, "King's-brother," had their Christmas +festivities. In January, 1177, King Magnus with his army met the +Birchlegs at Ree, and won a decisive victory over them. The whole +body of the Birchlegs was scattered far and wide. Eystein fled into +a peasant's house, and begged for his life; but the peasant killed +him and brought his body to King Magnus at the Ramnes farm. All the +Birchlegs took flight, as they had no hope of mercy from Erling Skakke +or King Magnus. Some went to Thelemark, where they had their families, +and others proceeded east across the frontier to Sweden. King Magnus's +men pursued the fugitives for a time, and killed as many as they could +overtake. + +King Magnus then returned to Tunsberg, and gained great renown by this +victory. It had heretofore been said by all that Erling, his father, +was his best shield and support. But after gaining a victory over so +strong and numerous a force with fewer men, King Magnus had shown +that he could stand alone, and it was predicted that he would become +a warrior as much greater than his father, Earl Erling, as he was +younger.[12] + +[12] With this battle at Ree end the Sagas of the Norse Kings by Snorre +Sturlason. + +The defeated Birchlegs, who fled across the Swedish frontier, met in +Vermeland a man who was especially qualified to take the leadership of +this headless band. His name was Sverre, and he claimed to be a son of +King Sigurd Mund. He was at present staying with his sister Cecilia, +who was the mistress of Folkvid lawman. + +During the latter part of the reign of Harald Gille's sons a combmaker +in Bergen by the name of Unas married a girl by the name of Gunhild. +Unas was probably a Faroe Islander by birth; his brother Roe +became bishop of the Faroe Islands in 1157. Gunhild belonged to a +distinguished family in western Norway. Shortly after their marriage +Gunhild bore a son, who was named Sverre, and everybody supposed that +Unas was his father. Sverre remained in Bergen until he was five +years old, when he was sent over to the Faroe Islands, to be brought +up by Unas's brother Roe. He was educated for the priesthood and was +in time ordained as deacon. When he was twenty-four years old, his +mother disclosed to him the fact that Unas, who had died a short time +ago, was not his father, but that he was the son of King Sigurd Mund. +From that day Sverre became very thoughtful. It appeared to him to +be too great a task to make war on King Magnus and Earl Erling; but, +on the other hand, it did not seem manful to sit quietly as a poor +peasant's son when he was the son of a king. He therefore gave up his +clerical position and embarked for Norway. Here he was informed that +his kinsman, Eystein Meyla, had accepted the title of king from the +Birchlegs; but he did not consider it wise to enter into any dealings +with him. Without making himself known, he spent some time in different +parts of Norway, investigating the sentiment of the people. He made +the acquaintance of Earl Erling and King Magnus, and often talked with +them and their court-men, who found the young clergyman from the Faroe +Islands a pleasant and entertaining companion, and by his cunning he +learned from them many things which they would not have talked about if +they had known who he was, or what plans he was nourishing. The next +winter he went to Sweden, first to Earl Birger and then to his sister +Cecilia in Vermeland, where he met the remnants of the Birchleg band. +The Birchlegs told him of the fall of Eystein Meyla and urged him to +become their chief. Sverre for a long time declined, as the whole band +consisted of only seventy men, who were all in great poverty, some +of them wounded and without clothes, and all almost unarmed. All his +objections, however, were of no avail, and they finally compelled him +to become their chief. + +In the spring of 1177 Sverre set out with his seventy men to fight for +the crown of Norway. He first went south toward Viken, and on the way +he was joined by so many that, when he came to Saurboe, he had four +hundred and twenty men. He held a Thing, and against his protest they +proclaimed him king. Sverre soon discovered that a good many of his +followers were but thieves and rascals, who were very much dissatisfied +when he forbade them to rob and plunder the peasants. He started +back toward Vermeland, and when he arrived at Eidskog and mustered +his force, he found that it had again shrunk to seventy men. As he +heard that the peasants of Thelemark, some of whom had served in the +Birchleg bands under Eystein Meyla, were unfriendly to Earl Erling and +King Magnus, he sent messages to them and promised to redress their +grievances if they would join him. They were requested to meet him up +north, where he was now going. Sverre well understood that, with his +small force, he could not reach the Throndhjem country through the +eastern, well-populated district, so he decided to proceed by unknown +and almost impassable roads and make an unexpected invasion into the +country. He passed through dense forests and wildernesses, through +Dalarne and Jemteland, where he and his men underwent untold hardships. +At times they had nothing to eat but sap, bark, and berries, dug up +from under the snow. Finally, after many struggles, Sverre reached his +destination early in June, 1177. His band had received some additions +on his way through Jemteland, and he was now joined by eighty peasants +from Thelemark, so that he had a force of about two hundred men. +Outside of Nidaros he defeated and dispersed an army that was sent +against him, and then marched into the town, where he met practically +no opposition. He showed himself as a generous victor, and gave quarter +to all who asked for it. After a few successful expeditions in the +neighborhood he summoned the Oere-Thing, where he was proclaimed king +of Norway (1177). + +When King Magnus and Earl Erling heard what had been going on in +Throndhjem, they gathered a large fleet and sailed northward along +the coast. Sverre's force was so small that he did not dare to await +their arrival, but left Nidaros with his men and proceeded across the +mountains toward the southern part of the country. For two years he and +his men now led a life of want and suffering, wandering from district +to district, living most of the time in the forests and mountains, and +subsisting on what they could obtain on their foraging expeditions into +the settlements. They were pursued from time to time by King Magnus's +men, and had many small battles with them. It was only by Sverre's +great cunning, wisdom and perseverance that they got through some of +the greatest dangers. + +At last, in June, 1179, Sverre considered himself strong enough to +meet Erling and Magnus, and in a battle at Kalveskindet, near Nidaros, +he defeated their forces. Earl Erling fell in the battle, and King +Magnus saved himself by flight. In the battle King Magnus suffered +a considerable loss. Several of his prominent liegemen and sixty +court-men were slain. Sverre captured most of the enemy's ships, among +them the "Olafssuden," which King Magnus himself had commanded. Erling +Skakke was buried outside the Christ Church, and Sverre, who seldom +lost an opportunity to make a speech, held a funeral sermon over him. + +The battle at Kalveskindet and the fall of Earl Erling brought a great +change in the fortunes of Sverre and the Birchlegs. Sverre's power and +influence grew rapidly, and in a short time the greater part of the +people outside of King Magnus's immediate surroundings were willing +to acknowledge him as king. Heretofore the name "Birchlegs" had been +a contemptuous nickname; but now it became an honorable appellation, +which everybody was proud to carry. King Magnus and Sverre seemed to +have exchanged roles. Magnus, the anointed and crowned king, was now +considered the usurper, while Sverre was considered the rightful king. +Magnus's court-men and men-at-arms were soon looked upon as a band of +adventurers, and they were called "Heklungs," because it was told of +them that they had once robbed a beggar-woman, who had her few coins +wrapped up in her cloak (_hekl_). + +After the battle at Kalveskindet, King Sverre's men received pay for +their services, and he distributed among them the honors and dignities +which he had promised them. He appointed district officers throughout +the whole of the Throndhjem country. Many prominent and high-born +men of this part of the country soon came to him and offered their +allegiance, and he therefore declared that Throndhjem should hereafter +be considered his real home, and he called the people there his dearest +subjects, remembering what loyalty they had always shown his father and +his family. + +King Magnus spent the year following his defeat mostly in Bergen, +where he had many strong friends, among them Archbishop Eystein and +Orm King's-Brother (a half-brother of Harald Gille's sons). Afterward +he went to Viken, where he spent the winter and gathered an army for +a new expedition against his rival. After a short stay at Nidaros, +King Sverre made a levy throughout Throndhjem, and proceeded with a +fleet south to Bergen; but when he arrived there Magnus had already +gone to Viken. He therefore returned to Nidaros, but on his way north +he installed officers in all the districts he passed. The winter of +1179-80 he spent in Nidaros. + +In the spring King Magnus appeared outside of Nidaros with a force much +more numerous than the one Sverre had been able to muster, and a bloody +battle was fought on the plains of the Ilevolds. The battle resulted in +a complete victory for Sverre. King Magnus and some of his chiefs saved +themselves by flight and sailed south with a few ships. + +King Magnus went first to Bergen, but soon after proceeded south to his +kinsman, King Valdemar of Denmark, by whom he was well received. But +Orm King's-Brother went to Viken, and Archbishop Eystein sailed over +to England, where he remained for three years. From here he had Sverre +declared under the ban of the church; but Sverre does not seem to have +paid any attention to this step. + +About a month after the battle at the Ilevolds, King Sverre appeared +with his fleet outside of Bergen. Resistance was useless, and the +inhabitants gave him a good reception. He remained in Bergen all winter +(1180-81), and early in the spring quelled an uprising of peasants +under the leadership of Jon Kutiza. Sverre promptly punished the +rebels, and the peasants had to pay heavy fines. Later in the spring +King Magnus and Orm King's-Brother came north with a strong fleet, and +a battle was fought at Nordnes, near Bergen. A good many men fell on +both sides; but Magnus was again defeated and compelled to save himself +by flight. The Birchlegs captured eighteen of Magnus's ships and +brought them into the town. They also took other rich booty, for Magnus +was at that time well supplied with money and goods. + +Magnus went to Stavanger, and it was but a short time before he was +again ready to attack Sverre at Bergen. This time, however, Sverre +wished to avoid a battle, and sailed with his ships north to Nidaros, +where he proceeded to improve the fortifications of the town. Meanwhile +Magnus remained in Bergen. + +During Sverre's stay in Nidaros there came to him a young man named +Erik, who claimed to be a son of King Sigurd Mund. He had been +in many foreign lands, had been in the service of the emperor at +Constantinople, and on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he had +bathed in the river Jordan. He now asked leave to prove his royal +descent by the iron ordeal. After a consultation with his friends and +chiefs, Sverre permitted him to undergo the ordeal upon the condition +that he must not aspire to the crown. Sverre prescribed the oath to be +taken by the young man in submitting to the ordeal to prove that he was +the son of Sigurd Mund "and the brother of Sverre." In this way Sverre +meant to obtain incidentally a confirmation of his own title. But Erik +refused to undertake to establish the descent of anybody but himself, +and omitted the additional words. He successfully underwent the ordeal, +and King Sverre acknowledged him as his brother, and gave him a command +in his royal guard. + +The conflict between Sverre and Magnus continued for three years +more. In 1181 King Sverre opened negotiations for a cessation of +hostilities, offering first to share the kingdom with Magnus, and +afterward proposing that they should reign alternately for three years +each. Magnus, however, declined all offers, and the war was continued. +During the years 1181 and 1182, King Magnus made three attacks on the +Birchlegs at Nidaros with varying success. In the summer of 1183 Sverre +sailed with a fleet down to Bergen, where he surprised and defeated the +Heklungs, and compelled Magnus to flee east to Viken. The Birchlegs +did not pursue the enemy very far, but returned to Bergen, and took +possession of Magnus's whole fleet and a rich booty. Magnus's crown, +sceptre and whole coronation outfit fell into Sverre's hands. Many men, +who had heretofore been attached to Magnus, now joined King Sverre and +swore him allegiance. Archbishop Eystein, who had just returned to +the country after a three years' sojourn in England, was reconciled +to King Sverre, and returned to his archbishopric in Nidaros. After +a short stay in Bergen, and having installed district officers in +Sogn, Hordaland, and Rogaland, Sverre returned with his whole army to +Nidaros. Magnus again proceeded to Denmark, where the previous year +King Knut VI. had succeeded his father, Valdemar the Great, on the +throne. + +Magnus made a final attempt to defeat Sverre in the summer of 1184, +when he came up from Denmark with a large fleet. King Sverre had sailed +into the Norefjord, a narrow arm of the Sognefjord, in order to punish +the inhabitants of Sogn for having killed his prefect, Ivar Darre, +and some other officers. Magnus sailed in after him with his greatly +superior force, and a fierce battle was fought at Fimreite, June 15, +1184. The Birchlegs fought with great heroism, and a large number of +men fell. The battle commenced in the afternoon. At sundown the first +Heklungs turned to flee, and at midnight the battle was finished. The +Heklungs had been completely routed. Two thousand men had fallen, among +them King Magnus himself and the most prominent chieftains, the flower +of the aristocracy of Gulathingslag and Viken. Among the slain were +Harald, the son of King Inge; Orm King's-Brother and his son, Ivar +Steig; Aasbiorn Jonson of Thiorn; Ragnvald, the son of Jon Hallkelson; +Eindride Torve, Jon Kutiza's son, and many other prominent men. + +King Magnus was twenty-eight years old at the time of his death, having +borne the title of king for twenty-three years. His body was found two +days after the battle, and was brought to Bergen, where it was buried +with great ceremony. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +_Sverre Sigurdson (1184-1202)_ + + +After the fall of Magnus Erlingson, King Sverre brought the whole +country under his control, and no one dared to refuse him obedience. +The same sagacity that he had shown in his struggles to gain the power, +he also used in his efforts to maintain and strengthen it. He knew that +he could expect nothing from the magnates of the powerful families, who +resided on the largest estates throughout the country, and who looked +with contempt upon the poor and lowly people that had constituted +his following and helped him into power. He had to try to weaken the +influence of this higher class and to look to the common people for +his main support. The changes which King Sverre introduced in the +domestic conditions of the country were in close coherence with the +development of the country since the time of Harald the Fairhaired and +Olaf the Saint. The kingdom of his predecessor had been upheld by the +clergy and the aristocracy, the latter endeavoring to strengthen its +power and dignity by united action, while the clergy tried to enforce +the hierarchical principles of the time in the Church of Norway. King +Sverre, on the other hand, depended upon the masses of the people, +with their traditions and customs. For their benefit King Sverre +appointed a new class of officers, who were called lawmen. They were +to be learned in the law, and their duty was to see that the law was +justly administered at the Things, and to aid the peasants in all legal +matters. There had been a similar class of officers before, bearing the +same title, but they had been elected at the Things, while from now +on they were appointed by the king, especially for the benefit of the +poorer classes, who themselves had little knowledge of the law, and +often needed protection against the rich and powerful. Another class of +officers whose functions were changed in such a manner as to greatly +strengthen the king's power were the prefects (_Sysselmen_), whom the +king appointed throughout the country. These prefects did not have +the inherited dignity of the liegemen (_lendermen_), who were royal +vassals and exercised independent authority, but were servants of the +king and the representatives of his power. They supplanted the liegemen +in their executive and judicial functions, and gradually transferred to +the crown a great part of the power of the aristocracy. + +Sverre was too shrewd to break entirely or too suddenly with the old +influences, and where they had been loyal, he selected men from the +high old families for his officers. This was especially the case in +the Throndhjem country, where his party was strongest. But he found +positions enough with which to reward the faithful men who had followed +him through his struggles. Some were made chiefs in the army, and some +were appointed prefects; some were given landed estates, and others +were helped to rich marriages. Baard Guthormson of Rein was married to +the king's own sister, Cecilia, after her marriage with Folkvid Lawman +had been declared void. King Sverre himself married Margreta, a sister +of the Swedish king, Knut Erikson. Before this marriage King Sverre +had four children, namely, two sons, Sigurd (called Lavard) and Haakon, +and two daughters, Cecilia and Ingeborg. With Queen Margreta he had +only a daughter, Kristina. + +The peace was not of long duration. The remnants of the Heklung party, +which had been broken up by the battle in Norefjord, with several +leading men, only waited for a favorable opportunity to start a revolt, +and the opportunity soon offered itself. A monk, who called himself Jon +and claimed to be a son of King Inge the Hunchback, left the cloister +on the island near Oslo, and soon gathered about him a numerous band. +He first went to Tunsberg, where, in September, 1185, he attacked and +killed one of Sverre's prefects together with thirty men, and then +summoned a Thing and was proclaimed king. The Birchlegs called this new +party the Kuvlungs or Cowlmen, because their leader had worn a monk's +hood or cowl. The Kuvlungs continued the rebellion for three years with +varying success. They made several attacks on Bergen and Nidaros, and +at times their strength was quite formidable. Finally their band was +destroyed in Bergen, in December, 1188, and their leader was killed. +After his death it appears to have been satisfactorily proven that Jon +Kuvlung was not the son of King Inge the Hunchback, as he had claimed. + +The rebellious spirit had become quite general, and King Sverre +had many of these revolts to suppress. After the Kuvlung party had +been broken up, a new band, called the Varbelgs (Wolf Skins), was +organized by the chief, Simon Kaareson, who had brought from Denmark, +as a pretender to the throne, a boy named Vikar, said to be a son +of King Magnus Erlingson. This party was badly defeated in a battle +near Tunsberg, where Simon Kaareson and the little Vikar were both +killed. Another band, under the leadership of Thorleif Breidskegg, +who claimed to be a son of King Eystein Haraldson, was next destroyed +in Viken (1191). The next party that made war on King Sverre were the +Oyskeggs (the Islanders), so called because they received considerable +aid from the Orkney Islands, where Earl Harald favored them. Their +leaders were Hallkel Jonson, who was married to King Magnus Erlingson's +sister Ragnhild, and Olaf, a brother-in-law of Earl Harald of the +Orkneys. They chose Sigurd, a son of King Magnus, as their king. The +Oyskeggs developed a considerable strength in Viken, and from there +made piratical expeditions to the Danish waters and the Baltic, and +therefore boastingly called themselves the Goldlegs (_Gullbeiner_). +One of the men, whom King Sverre sent against them, Sigurd Jarlson +(earl's son), an illegitimate son of Erling Skakke, turned traitor, +and became one of the leaders of Sverre's enemies. In the fall of 1193 +the Oyskeggs captured Bergen without much resistance, King Sverre +being then in Throndhjem. In the spring King Sverre came south with a +fleet, and a bloody battle was fought at Florevaag, near Bergen (April +3, 1194). The Oyskeggs were finally defeated, a great number of them, +including Hallkel Jonson, Olaf (Earl Harald's brother-in-law), and +Sigurd Magnusson, the pretender, being slain. King Sverre had thus +gained a victory, but at great cost, for many of his best men had +fallen, or died from the wounds they had received in the battle. Among +the latter was Baard Guthormson of Rein. + +While King Sverre was almost constantly engaged in quelling rebellion, +he was also carrying on a hard struggle with the hierarchy. Archbishop +Eystein had been obliged to make peace with King Sverre; but when +Eystein died (1188), Bishop Erik of Stavanger, a man with strong +hierarchical tendencies, became his successor. Archbishop Erik named +as his own successor to the bishopric of Stavanger one of Sverre's +bitter enemies, Nicholas Arneson, a half-brother of King Inge the +Hunchback. King Sverre refused to recognize this selection, because +he had not been consulted, and named another in his place. Finally, +through the mediation of Queen Margreta, who was a relative of Nicholas +Arneson, the matter was compromised, and Sverre consented to Nicholas +being installed as bishop in Oslo. The fight between the king and the +hierarchy was, however, continued in other matters. Archbishop Erik +was constantly trying to extend the prerogatives of his office. He +claimed the exclusive right to the control of all church property; +he wanted the tribute to the church paid according to actual weight +in silver instead of in current coin, whereby he would about double +the tax, and, finally, he wanted to surround himself with a court +and keep ninety men-at-arms in his service, while the law allowed +only thirty men altogether, and only twelve of them armed. During his +stay in Nidaros, in 1191-92, King Sverre summoned a Thing to have +these matters settled. The law was read, and the case was decided in +favor of the king. Archbishop Erik now found the surroundings too +uncomfortable, and hurried away from the town, taking with him all the +goods he could collect. He proceeded to Denmark, where he was cordially +received by Archbishop Absalon. Shortly after his arrival in Denmark he +prepared a letter to the pope, in which he complained of King Sverre's +infringements on the rights of the Church. In response to this letter, +Pope Celestinus III., on the 15th of June, 1194, declared King Sverre +in the ban of the church. Before the papal bull reached Norway, +however, King Sverre had compelled the bishops to crown him at Bergen, +June 29, 1194. For some time King Sverre treated the papal bull with +contempt, and even intimated that it was an invention of the bishops in +Denmark; but later he sent ambassadors, under the leadership of Bishop +Thore of Hamar, with a message to the Pope, in which he put matters in +a different light from that given them by Archbishop Erik. The fate +of these ambassadors is enveloped in mystery. They remained in Rome +till the end of 1196, and then started for home. During their homeward +journey they were suddenly taken sick in Denmark and died, having +probably been poisoned. Some time afterward some Danes came to King +Sverre with letters bearing the seal of the Pope, and which, they said, +had been pawned with them by the ambassadors for a certain amount of +money. Sverre redeemed the documents, which purported to revoke the ban +against the king, and had them publicly read in the churches. Whether +King Sverre knew that these documents were not genuine does not appear. + +By the united efforts of King Sverre's enemies among the clergy and +the aristocracy a rebellious band was organized in 1196, which was +to become more dangerous than all the enemies he had heretofore had +to fight. The principal leader of this movement was Bishop Nicholas +Arneson, who was prepared to do anything to overthrow King Sverre. A +favorable opportunity offered itself. The Byzantine emperor, Alexios +Komnenos, had sent a Norwegian named Reidar the Messenger (_Sendemand_) +to Norway to ask King Sverre to send him 1,200 good mercenaries for +the service of the emperor. King Sverre replied that he had no troops +to spare; but he was persuaded to allow Reidar to enlist such sons of +peasants and traders as might wish to enter the service of the emperor. +After Reidar had collected a considerable force, he was induced by +Bishop Nicholas to enter into a league with him against King Sverre. At +a fair in Halland he met Bishop Nicholas and Archbishop Erik, who had +with them a large body of Norwegians, mostly from Viken. With them was +also a young man named Inge, said to be a son of King Magnus Erlingson. +The two armies united and proclaimed Inge king, and then made an +invasion in Viken, where they were soon joined by Sigurd Jarlson, the +former Oyskegg chief, and many other prominent men. The new rebel army +was called _Baglers_, from the word _bagall_, a bishop's crosier, to +signify that Bishop Nicholas was considered the real founder and chief +leader of the party. + +During the last six years of his life King Sverre had a continual war +with the Baglers. His first encounter with them was in Saltoe Sound, in +Viken. After an indecisive battle there he returned with his ships to +Bergen and proceeded to Nidaros, where he spent the winter 1196-97. The +Baglers meanwhile summoned the Borgar-Thing, where Inge was proclaimed +king. The next year King Sverre gathered a strong force and proceeded +to Viken, and defeated the Baglers at Oslo, July 26, 1197. After the +battle Bishop Nicholas sent a messenger to King Sverre that he was +willing to make peace; but Sverre, who knew how little Bishop Nicholas +was to be depended upon, sent word back that he would only treat with +him if he would come in person. Bishop Nicholas did not go to meet the +king, but instead hastened with the chiefs and the remaining force of +the Baglers overland to Nidaros, where the wooden citadel (blockhouse) +"Zion" fell into their hands by the treason of its commander, +Thorstein Kugad. They destroyed some of the fortifications and burned +a number of Sverre's ships and took possession of the remainder. A +part of the Bagler force went aboard the captured ships, and sailed +southward under the leadership of Sigurd Jarlson. The others returned +to Viken the same way they had come. King Sverre spent the following +winter in Bergen, and in the spring (1198) sailed north and met the +Baglers in battle at Thorsberg, near the mouth of the Throndhjem Fjord. +After a hard fight the Birchlegs were defeated with great loss. The +king then hastened back to Bergen, which had in the meantime been +occupied by the Bagler chief Sigurd Jarlson. The latter, however, +having, by a clever trick of one of the Birchlegs, been led to believe +that King Sverre was approaching with a much superior force, left the +town before Sverre arrived. + +During the summer of 1198, which for a long time afterward was called +the Bergen-summer, there was continual skirmishing in and about Bergen. +On the night after August 10th the Baglers, led by Bishop Nicholas, +rowed up to the landings with two ships full of wood. At the bishop's +command they set fire to the town in three different places, and soon +the greater part of it, including six churches, was laid in ashes. The +Birchlegs had all they could do to save the wooden citadel (_Sverre's +Borg_). The inhabitants of Bergen could never afterward forgive Bishop +Nicholas and his party for the loss they suffered by this fire; but as +heartily as they had heretofore hated the Birchlegs they now hated the +Baglers. Sverre found his position untenable after the town had been +burned, and proceeded with his men overland to Throndhjem. Meanwhile +the Baglers, who had many ships, were masters on the coasts. Many +deserted the king and supported the Baglers; but there were also some +of their men who went over to Sverre. Among the latter was Thorstein +Kugad, who had surrendered his garrison in Nidaros, and who now +returned to Sverre and begged his pardon. This was given, and Thorstein +became one of Sverre's useful men. + +King Sverre spent the winter 1198-99 in Nidaros. His position was a +desperate one. Outside of the Throndhjem country he had very little +power, and the Baglers were masters at sea. Then, furthermore, a +terrible blow was dealt Sverre, as Pope Innocent III., in October, +1198, issued his bull declaring Sverre to be in the ban of the Church, +and laying the whole country under interdict, closing all churches and +forbidding the administration of the sacraments wherever the people +acknowledged King Sverre. It is easily understood what horror such a +papal bull would create at that time. Sverre did not lose courage, +however, but called the Throndhjem people together and asked them to +help him. They showed their usual loyalty, and with their help he set +to work to build a new, strong fleet and to improve the fortifications +of the town. In the spring the Baglers appeared in the Throndhjem Fjord +with a strong fleet, and, after some skirmishing, the two fleets met +in battle at Strindsö, June 18, 1199. It was a desperate fight, where +no quarter was given. The result was a victory for King Sverre and +the Birchlegs, who returned to town with most of the enemy's ships. +The prisoners taken on this occasion were nearly all slain. Bishop +Nicholas, who watched the beginning of the battle from a safe distance, +fled with his ship when he saw that the Baglers were losing, and Sigurd +Jarlson and Reidar the Messenger followed his example. + +The Baglers who escaped from the battle of Strindsö proceeded to +Denmark. Sverre, with his fleet, pursued them a part of the way, +but gave up the chase and proceeded to Oslo, where he intended to +go into winter-quarters. In January, 1200, the Baglers came up from +Denmark with a number of small ships under the leadership of Reidar +the Messenger and Inge Bagler-King. Some of them landed near Oslo +and killed Sverre's kinsman, Earl Philip. Not feeling strong enough, +however, to attack King Sverre's forces they withdrew during the night +and sailed to Bergen. Afterward they made a sudden but unsuccessful +attack on Nidaros, which was defended by an army of 1,800 peasants. + +During the winter King Sverre attempted to make a levy of troops in +Viken, intending to send home some of his Throndhjem people; but the +inhabitants, who had never been greatly attached to King Sverre, +murmured at this, and the result was a great uprising of the peasants +in Viken and the Uplands. On the day secretly appointed, March 1st, +Sverre's prefects at Tunsberg and several other places were killed, +and a few days later a force many times as large as Sverre's marched +against him from three different directions. On this occasion Sverre +displayed a masterly leadership, and his men fought like heroes. During +the day there were eight desperate encounters, and, in spite of the +seemingly overwhelming force of the rebels, Sverre won the day. He +afterward punished the peasants by exacting large fines in money and +provisions. + +Sverre had a few indecisive battles with the Baglers the same year, and +spent the following winter in Bergen. In the spring of 1201 he called +a new levy from the north, and, during the summer, sailed to Viken. +Reidar the Messenger, with several chiefs and two hundred and forty +men, had fortified himself on the _Slotsberg_ (Castle Mountain) at +Tunsberg, and defied any attack. King Sverre organized a regular siege, +determined not to abandon it until he had conquered this dangerous +enemy. Finally, when the Baglers were nearly starved to death, Reidar +and his little band surrendered to Sverre, who not only spared their +lives, but gave them the best of treatment. He advised them not to eat +much in the beginning; but several of them disregarded this advice and +died. This remarkable siege had lasted for twenty weeks, or from the +first week in September, 1201, to the fourth week in January, 1202. + +At last King Sverre's physical strength succumbed to the hardships +and cares which night and day he had had to endure. During his stay +in Tunsberg he had been ailing, but, at first, his illness did not +seem to be serious. When he left Tunsberg, however, he was obliged to +keep his bed. He had his bed placed on the raised deck in the stern +of his ship, and here also stood the bed of the Bagler chief, Reidar. +During the journey the king found much pleasure in talking with the +intelligent old chief, who could tell him of his crusades and other +journeys in distant countries. They arrived in Bergen toward the end +of February, and the king was carried to the royal residence, where +his bed was placed in the large hall. When he understood that death +was near, he called the priests and his trusted friends to him. He +first let them read and seal a letter which he had prepared, to his +son Haakon in Throndhjem, about the management of the affairs of the +government after his death. Then he solemnly declared that he had only +one son living, namely Haakon (his other son, Sigurd Lavard, having +died the year before), so that if any one else should claim after +his death to be his son he would be an impostor. Then he desired to +be lifted into his high-seat, and seated there he received the last +ointment. Afterward he said: "I have had more strife, disturbance, and +adversity than quiet and peaceful days during my reign, and, so far as +I can judge, many have been my maligners only from enmity toward me. +God forgive them all, and judge between them and me in my whole cause." +Soon after, on Saturday, March 9, 1202, King Sverre expired. His body +was buried in the Christ Church, and on his tombstone was engraved the +following epitaph: "Here lies one who was the ornament of kings, the +support, picture and paragon of faith, honor and bravery, his country's +defence, the vindication of justice, the delight of all his men." After +his death even those who had been his enemies said that such a man as +Sverre had not lived in Norway in their time. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +_Haakon Sverreson (1202-1204), Guthorm Sigurdson (1204), and Inge +Baardson (1204-1217)_ + + +After Sverre's death his only son, Haakon, who was then twenty-eight or +thirty years old, was proclaimed king of Norway. In the letter which +Sverre wrote to his son on his death-bed, he advised him to make peace +with the Church, and Haakon lost no time in calling the archbishop +back to the country and in reconciling himself with the bishops. The +clergy seemed to be very eager for peace, and each bishop returned to +his bishopric, while the archbishop revoked the ban and the interdict +without even taking time to obtain the consent of the pope. For this +haste in making peace with the king the archbishop was afterward +sharply reprimanded by the pope; but in the meanwhile the good +relations between king and clergy had strengthened Haakon's position, +and the people in general readily acknowledged him. The Bagler party +gradually lost most of its support, and after their so-called king, +Inge Magnusson, had been killed by one of his own men on an island +in Lake Miosen (1202), the party was, for the time being, broken up. +Some went to King Haakon and begged for mercy, the remainder fled +either to Sweden or Denmark, and there was again peace in the country. +The peace, however, did not last very long, this time probably on +account of strained relations between the king and his stepmother, the +queen-dowager Margreta. During the festivities in Bergen at Christmas, +1203, King Haakon was taken suddenly ill, and on January 1, 1204, he +died, with all the symptoms of having been poisoned. It was the general +opinion that Queen Margreta was the cause of his death. She was obliged +to leave the country, and returned to her old home in Sweden. The death +of King Haakon caused great sorrow, for he had been very popular; +besides, it was generally supposed that he left no issue. + +Two days after Haakon's death, a council was held by Bishop Martin +and the chiefs of the Birchlegs, and it was decided to elect Haakon's +nearest heir, his nephew, Guthorm Sigurdson, a son of Sigurd Lavard, +as his successor, although he was only four years old. Haakon Galen, +a son of Sverre's sister Cecilia and Folkvid Lawman, was to conduct +the government under the title of earl. When this hasty election of a +king was reported throughout the country, the Bagler party reorganized +themselves under the leadership of Erling Steinvegg (Stonewall), who +claimed to be a son of King Magnus Erlingson. This new pretender soon +had a large following and also obtained substantial support from the +Danish king, Valdemar II. Bishop Nicholas at first opposed him, as he +wanted his own nephew, Philip, a grandson of Harald Gille's queen, +Ingerid, elected king; but they finally came to an agreement, Erling +promising to make Philip earl and to otherwise favor the bishop. With +the aid of the bishop, Erling then proved his right to the throne by +the ordeal of fire, the event taking place with great ceremony in +Tunsberg in the presence of the Danish king and a large assemblage +of people. King Valdemar made Erling a present of thirty-five fully +equipped ships. The following day a Thing was summoned, and Erling was +proclaimed king. He immediately appointed Philip as his earl. Both +solemnly acknowledged the Danish king as their overlord and gave him +hostages. The whole of Viken had soon acknowledged Erling as king, and +the few Birchlegs who were there fled to the northern or western part +of the country. + +The child king, Guthorm Sigurdson, died suddenly in Nidaros, August +11, 1204, and there was a strong suspicion that he had been poisoned +by Christina, the mistress of Haakon Galen. The Thing was immediately +convened, and the people elected Inge Baardson of Rein as king. Inge +was a younger half-brother of Haakon Galen, being a son of King +Sverre's sister, Cecilia, and her husband, Baard of Rein. For some +time there was again continual warfare between the Baglers and the +Birchlegs. In the summer of 1205, King Inge and Earl Haakon made a +cruise to Viken and had some encounters with the Baglers, and in +the fall King Inge returned to Nidaros, while Earl Haakon went into +winter-quarters in Bergen. + +Shortly after Christmas it was reported in Nidaros that a body of +warriors had come across the mountain from the south, and that they +had the son of a king with them. It was feared that a new band of +rebels was coming, and King Inge called all his men to arms. Two of +his court-men, who were sent out to ascertain the object of the coming +warriors, were met by some messengers, who had been sent ahead to +inform King Inge of their errand. It was quite true that they had the +son of a king with them, but he was as yet only a babe. It was learned +that the approaching warriors were a number of good Birchlegs, and that +the prince who was with them was the infant son of their late beloved +master, King Haakon Sverreson. + +During his visit in Sarpsborg, in 1203, King Haakon Sverreson had +become enamored of a handsome girl of high birth, Inga of Varteig. +She reciprocated his affection, and the intimacy that grew up between +them was no secret to the king's friends. Soon after the king's death, +Inga, who was then at the parsonage Folkisberg (in the present Eidsberg +parish), gave birth to a son. The priest, Thrond, who well knew who the +father was, baptized the boy and named him Haakon, after his father. +Thrond kept the child at his home, but did all he could to keep the +matter secret. Later he took Erlend of Huseby, a distant relative of +King Haakon, into his confidence, and it was decided to get the child +away from Viken, on account of the constant danger from the Baglers. +Toward Christmas, 1205, when the boy was about a year and a half old, +his mother, Inga of Varteig, the priest Thrond, and Erlend of Huseby +started out on the dangerous journey. They arrived at Hamar Christmas +eve, but were afraid to stay there long, and therefore continued their +journey as soon as possible. They first came to Lillehammer, where a +number of Birchlegs joined them, and then proceeded across the mountain +to Oesterdalen, and thence north to Nidaros. During the journey across +the mountain they suffered untold hardships on account of snow and +cold, being often obliged to spend the night in the wilderness. Once +the storm had become so severe that they did not know where they were. +The royal child was then given to the two best ski-runners in the +party, Thorstein Skevla and Skervald Skrukka, who started ahead of the +others in order to find shelter if possible. They did not succeed in +reaching any settlement that night, but struck a mountain hay-shed, +where they made fire and prepared a couch for the child. The remainder +of the party reached the place later in the night. In the morning the +snow was so deep that it was only with the greatest difficulty that +they could proceed. When they reached the settlements, however, they +were well received, and many Birchlegs joined them on their journey +northward. + +When King Inge and his men heard of the journey of the royal child and +of the hardships which the party had suffered, they all thanked God +for having saved the child. The king and his whole court set out to +meet the party at the blockhouse, and, on their arrival, he took the +little boy in his arms and kissed him. The boy and his mother were +given the best of care in Nidaros. The child became very popular with +the old Birchlegs who had served under his father and his grandfather. +They came often to see how he was getting along, and would sometimes +playfully take him between them and stretch his arms and legs in order, +as they said, to make him grow faster. + +In the spring of 1206 Erling Steinvegg collected a fleet and proceeded +north to Throndhjem, in order to attack King Inge in his stronghold +in Nidaros. On Saturday, April 22, there were great festivities in +Nidaros, for King Inge was celebrating the wedding of his sister +Sigrid, daughter of Baard of Rein, to the liegeman, Thorgrim of +Ljaanes. All the prominent men in the surrounding country had come to +the wedding. There was much drinking during the night, and the king, +as well as his chiefs and warriors, went to bed intoxicated. Toward +morning the Baglers suddenly attacked the sleeping town and effected +a general massacre. Many of the prominent Birchlegs, who had been +with King Sverre in many of his battles, were killed by the Baglers +on this occasion. King Inge, who was not at the royal residence, but +was sleeping in the house of his mistress, was with some difficulty +awakened by the latter's servants. He escaped to a neighboring roof, +where he lay until the Baglers had passed the house; then he ran down +to the docks and threw himself in the icy river in order to swim +across. The strong current made this a very difficult task. Out in the +stream he caught hold of the anchor cable of a ship, to which he clung +for a while, but a man, who was keeping guard on board, pushed him off +with a pole, and he was obliged to swim further. He finally reached +the other shore, but was then so exhausted from cold and exertion that +he would probably have succumbed, if one of his faithful men, Reidulf +Baardsbrother, had not happened to come to his assistance. Reidulf took +off his cloak and wrapped the king in it, and carried him on his back +to Skyaas, where they obtained a horse and sled and escaped to Klæbu. + +In the meanwhile the Baglers continued their dreadful work in Nidaros. +They searched all the churches and killed those who had taken refuge +there, and committed numerous acts of plunder and depredation. King +Inge's half-brother, the seventeen year old Skule Baardson, escaped as +by a miracle. He crept along the house walls and reached the river, +where the chief, Jon Usle, and forty Birchlegs were just going across +in some boats they had secured. They crossed in safety, and later +proceeded to Klæbu, where Skule found the king with a hundred Birchlegs +and peasants, who had gathered about him. + +King Inge was greatly changed after the experiences of that awful +night. The light-hearted and social young man became gloomy and +melancholy. He never felt really at ease except on board his ship and +in the solitude of his room. He was averse to seeing new faces, and +only his nearest and dearest men were admitted to his presence. + +King Inge soon returned to Nidaros with a force of Birchlegs, while +the Baglers withdrew to Bergen with their large booty. Here they were +soon afterward overtaken by Earl Haakon and the Birchlegs, who defeated +them and took back the greater part of the spoil. Thus the two parties, +from time to time, continued to surprise and attack each other with no +other result than that the country suffered. Early in the year 1207 +the Bagler king, Erling Steinvegg, died, and Bishop Nicholas at last +succeeded in having his nephew, Philip, chosen as the third king of the +Baglers. + +In the summer of 1208 negotiations for peace were commenced. The manner +in which the war had lately been conducted indicates that the strength +of both parties was practically exhausted. The whole warfare was only +a sort of hide-and-seek play, or a continual cruising back and forth +between Bergen and Viken, in which they do not even seem to have tried +to meet in decisive battle, but only to forestall each other, attack +singly some one of the hostile party, and otherwise do as much damage +as possible by plunder and depredation. Everybody began to realize +that the resources of the country were thus being wasted, and that, +whichever party finally won, there would only be an impoverished land +and people to rule over. Bishop Nicholas saw this as well as any one, +and consulted the archbishop in Nidaros. The result was a meeting +of the chiefs of both parties at Hvitings Island (Hvitingsö), near +Stavanger, where the king of the Baglers, Philip, swore allegiance to +King Inge, and was, in return, made earl of Viken and the Uplands, and +was given Christina, the daughter of Sverre, in marriage. + +The war between the Baglers and the Birchlegs was thus ended, and +comparative peace was restored. One of the disturbing elements that +remained was the jealousy of Earl Haakon Galen and his ambitious wife. +As the nephew of King Sverre, he thought he had been as much entitled +to the throne as his half-brother, Inge. An open revolt was avoided; +but, probably by the intervention of Archbishop Thore, a compact was +made between the earl and the king (1212), by which it was decided that +illegitimate children were to be excluded from the succession to the +throne. This agreement was especially aimed against the young Haakon +Haakonson and Inge's own illegitimate child, Guthorm, and gave the +succession to Haakon Galen's own offspring. This agreement, however, +was not approved by the old warriors among the Birchlegs, who were +greatly attached to King Sverre's direct descendant, the young Haakon. + +In the evening, after the agreement had been made, the boy came home +from school to the court of Earl Haakon, by whom he was being raised, +and he hurried to the old veteran, Helge Hvasse, who was especially +fond of the boy, and used to give a great deal of attention to him. +This time, however, he turned away and would not speak to the child. + +"Why are you angry with me?" asked the boy. + +"Begone!" said Helge. "I will have nothing to do with you. You were +disinherited to-day." + +"How did that happen, and who did it?" asked little Haakon. + +"It was done at Oere-Thing," said Helge, "and it was done by the two +brothers, King Inge and Earl Haakon." + +"Be not angry with me, my own Helge," said the boy, "and do not care +anything about this; for this decision cannot possibly be valid. My +representatives were not present to answer in my behalf." + +"And who are your representatives?" asked Helge. + +"My representatives are God, the holy Virgin, and Saint Olaf," answered +Haakon; "in their hands have I left my case, and they will guard my +interests in the best possible way, as you will see, both as to the +division of the country and in my other welfare." + +Deeply moved, the old Birchleg took the boy in his arms and kissed him, +and said: + +"That was better said than unsaid, my prince, and I thank you for those +words." + +What this boy of eight years had said was soon reported among the +Birchlegs, who all greatly admired him. The story also soon reached +Earl Haakon and his wife Christina. The earl did not say much; but +Christina got very angry, and from that day treated the boy more +harshly than she had done before. + +Earl Haakon was taken sick and died in Bergen in January, 1214, and +his wife, Christina, who understood that she had made herself very +unpopular, hastened to leave the country with her young son, Knut, and +returned to Sweden. Young Haakon Haakonson was transferred to King +Inge's court. He and Guthorm, King Inge's son, were sent to school +together, and they were in every way treated alike. + +In the winter of 1216-17 King Inge was taken sick, and when he could +no longer attend to the public affairs he appointed his half-brother, +Skule Baardson, as regent with the title of earl. King Inge died April +23, 1217, and Earl Skule had him buried with great ceremony in Christ +Church in Nidaros. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +_Haakon Haakonson the Old (1217-1263)_ + + +After the death of King Inge, the discord which had been fermenting +began to show itself. The ambitious Earl Skule, while pretending to +favor King Inge's young son, Guthorm, really considered himself the +successor to the throne, while a few, who had been special friends +of the late Earl Haakon Galen, favored the latter's son Knut, who +was with his mother in Sweden. Earl Skule had the aid and sympathy +of Archbishop Guthorm and the other dignitaries of the cathedral at +Nidaros, and advocated a postponement of the election of a king, until +the archbishop, who was absent on a journey, should return. In spite +of all intriguing, however, the Birchlegs summoned the Oere-Thing and +proclaimed Haakon Haakonson king of Norway, and he swore fidelity to +the laws of the country, although he could not, according to usage, do +so on the shrine of Saint Olaf, because the canons of the cathedral +refused to allow the shrine to be taken out of the church and carried +to the Thing. The next day all the court-men and the delegates present +took the oath of allegiance to Haakon as king and to Skule as earl. The +king and the earl now proceeded to Bergen, where the Gula-Thing was +summoned, in order that Haakon might also be proclaimed king there. The +day before the Thing a meeting was held by the king and the earl and +their advisers. The king's advisers suggested that Earl Skule should +swear an oath of allegiance to King Haakon; but this the earl bluntly +refused to do, unless he was given in fief one-third of the kingdom +and of its dependencies. As it was learned that the earl had been +negotiating with the so-called Bagler king, Philip, in Viken, and the +king's party was hardly strong enough to fight a combination of that +kind, it was thought that there was nothing to do but to acquiesce +in the earl's demands. The next day, at the Thing, King Haakon made +his oath to uphold the laws, but the wily earl had made use of his +position as the king's guardian to insert in the oath a pledge to keep +the agreement already made between the king and the earl. Shortly +after this, news was received that the Bagler king, Philip, was dead. +King Haakon and Earl Skule immediately proceeded to Viken, where, at +the suggestion of Bishop Nicholas, negotiations were opened with the +Baglers. It was finally decided that the Baglers should retain, during +the coming winter, one-half of the fiefs which Philip had held as +earl, and that both parties should send men north to the archbishop +to request him, next summer, to arrange a permanent peace. The other +half of Viken was given up to King Haakon and Earl Skule, who appointed +prefects there. Thereupon they summoned the Hauga-Thing, where Haakon +was acknowledged as the rightful king. + +King Haakon had several enemies to contend with, and the most dangerous +among them were by no means those who were in open rebellion. A new +band of rebels was organized under the leadership of a chaplain by +the name of Benedict, or Bene Skinkniv (Skin knife), as the peasants +called him, who claimed to be a son of King Magnus Erlingson. His +followers were originally mostly thieves and bandits, who only sought +an opportunity for robbery and plunder. On account of their ragged +appearance they were called the "Slitungs" (vagabonds or "tramps"). +After a short campaign against the Slitungs, the king and the earl +returned northward. When they arrived in Nidaros, the earl was received +with the utmost courtesy by the archbishop, but the latter refused to +show the proper honor to the king; and the reason being given that +there was some doubt as to whether Haakon was really the son of Haakon +Sverreson, it was agreed that his mother, Inga of Varteig, was to +submit to the ordeal of fire. This was done in Bergen in the presence +of the king, the earl, the archbishop, and other bishops and chiefs. +The result was in every way satisfactory. The church declared that King +Haakon had proved his paternity, and Earl Skule was for the time being +apparently reconciled with the king. + +The strained relations between Earl Skule and the king soon came to the +surface again, however, and there were frequent conflicts between the +"earl's-men" and the "king's-men." The friends of both finally came to +the conclusion that something ought to be done to bind them together +by common interests, and as the best means to this end they proposed +a marriage between King Haakon and the earl's daughter, Margreta. The +plan was accepted by both parties, and the betrothal took place in +September, 1219. The actual marriage was preliminarily postponed on +account of the tender age of both parties, the king being then about +fourteen years and the bride scarcely more than nine years old. + +During the next winter a new band of rebels was organized in Viken +by Gudolf of Blakkestad, a former prefect, who had been discharged +from office on account of his harsh treatment of the peasants. The +Slitungs joined the new party, which was commonly called the Ribbungs +(robbers). They chose as their leader and candidate for the throne +a young man by the name of Sigurd, who claimed to be the son of the +former Bagler king, Erling Steinvegg. They seem to have had the secret +support of Bishop Nicholas, in spite of the fact that the latter had +professed friendship for King Haakon. After having fought this party +for about two years and defeated it several times, Earl Skule induced +Bishop Nicholas to assist in ending the struggle. In the spring of +1223, Sigurd Ribbung made overtures for peace, but had the audacity to +demand as a condition for laying down his arms one third of the kingdom +and the earl's daughter in marriage. The earl answered that he would +not give his daughter away to live in the woods, and as for the third +of the kingdom he would have to apply to King Haakon; but he promised +Sigurd and his men amnesty and safe conduct, in case Sigurd wished +to apply personally to the king. Although these conditions were more +severe than expected, Sigurd Ribbung surrendered. The earl was greatly +praised for having gained this victory without a battle, in having +induced such a mighty force to lay down their arms, and thus secured +peace throughout the country. This peace, however, was not as complete +as it was thought; for the earl was at this time cherishing more +far-reaching plans than ever before. It appears that he had made a levy +of troops and taxes outside of his own fiefs, and had been reprimanded +for this in a letter from King Haakon. After having made peace with +the Ribbungs, he immediately sailed for Denmark, it being no doubt his +intention to renounce his allegiance to King Haakon, and, with the aid +of the Danish king, take possession of the country and hold it in fief +from him. Upon arriving in Copenhagen he learned that King Valdemar +(the Victorious) had been taken prisoner by Count Henry of Schwerin and +brought to Mecklenburg. Earl Skule, therefore, was obliged to return +and continue to feign friendship for King Haakon. At a state meeting +in Bergen in the fall of 1223, where the archbishop, the bishops, and +other leading men of the country were present, Haakon's right to the +throne was reaffirmed, and Earl Skule agreed to take the northern third +of the country in fief instead of the southern part, which he had held +before. + +By the agreement at the state meeting in Bergen, Norway was divided +into two domains, of which that of the king included Viken, the +Uplands, and the Gulathingslag, except Söndmöre, while that of +the earl included everything north of the king's domain, and this +division remained in force for over fifteen years. The earl made his +headquarters in Nidaros, while the king took up his residence in Oslo. +Sigurd Ribbung remained with the earl, who had promised to watch him, +but escaped during the summer of 1224, and again organized a band of +rebels who resumed their old guerilla warfare. Whenever they were met +by a superior force, they would make their escape across the frontier +into the Swedish province of Vermeland, where they had many adherents. +At last King Haakon found it necessary to invade Vermeland with an +army of 2,400 men, early in 1225, in order to punish the inhabitants. +He burned a great number of houses, but did not succeed in meeting the +Ribbungs in any decisive battle. + +In April, King Haakon proceeded to Bergen, in order to celebrate his +marriage with Earl Skule's daughter, Margreta. The earl received him +apparently with great cordiality, and grand preparations were made for +the wedding, which took place May 25, 1225. This marriage had been +dictated by political considerations; but Earl Skule derived no direct +benefits from it, for during all the later struggles Margreta stood +faithfully by her husband, in spite of the fact that the principal +opponent was her own father. + +The Ribbungs continued their guerilla warfare, secretly aided by Bishop +Nicholas. The latter died in Oslo, November 7, 1225, after having +asked and obtained the king's forgiveness for all his treachery. He +was between seventy and eighty years old at the time of his death. +During the winter Earl Skule and the archbishop at Nidaros attempted +to negotiate peace between the Ribbungs and the king, but without any +success. In the spring of 1226 Sigurd Ribbung was taken sick and died, +and Squire Knut, the son of Haakon Galen and Christina, was induced +to become the chief of the Ribbungs. The Ribbungs suffered several +reverses, and in the following year Squire Knut disbanded his army and +submitted to King Haakon, whose devoted friend he ever remained. + +Earl Skule continued his intriguing for the ultimate overthrow of +the king, and, while strengthening himself at home, negotiated with +the king of Denmark for aid from that quarter. Meanwhile King Haakon +did everything to retain the earl's allegiance. In 1233 a meeting +was held in Bergen, where a new compact was made, only to be broken +shortly afterward by the earl. When the king discovered that the earl +had tried to involve him in a conflict with the Church, and had sent +damaging reports about him to Rome, he again summoned him to a meeting +in Bergen. This time Earl Skule did not see fit to come to the meeting, +but proceeded with an army across the mountains to the Uplands, thus +entering the reserved territory of the king. Through the mediation +of the archbishop peace was patched up for the coming winter, on the +condition that the earl was to have one-third of all the prefectures. +The following year a new agreement was made, by which Skule was to +retain the privileges thus obtained in the southern part of the +country, besides which he was raised to the rank of duke, a title which +no one so far had held in Norway. + +Nothing, however, seemed to satisfy Skule short of the dignity of +king. He prepared himself in every way for an open conflict--built +and equipped ships, and steadily increased his force of warriors. His +followers were called the "Varbelgs," the same name that a rebellious +party during the reign of King Sverre had carried. In November, 1239, +Duke Skule convened the Oere-Thing, where he had his friends proclaim +him king of Norway, whereupon he made the usual oath of fidelity to the +laws, with his hand upon Saint Olaf's shrine, which had been forcibly +taken from the cathedral and carried to the Thing. + +There was now open war between Duke Skule and King Haakon. The duke +proceeded south to the Uplands with an army of six hundred men. At +Laaka, Raumarike, he met and defeated the king's forces under Squire +Knut, who had been appointed earl in Skule's place. After this victory +he proceeded to Oslo, but here he was soon afterward attacked by King +Haakon and was badly defeated. A great many of the Varbelgs fell in +the battle, while others surrendered to the king and were pardoned. +Duke Skule with a few men escaped and fled north to Nidaros. Shortly +afterward the town was suddenly attacked by the Birchlegs, who, after +the battle of Oslo, had been sent north by King Haakon with a fleet +under the command of Aasulf of Austraat, one of Skule's bitter enemies. +Duke Skule, awoke by the alarm, armed himself and sent his messengers +around in the town to call the Varbelgs together; but they would not +obey orders, and his men took refuge in the churches. Skule himself +crossed the Nid River and hid himself with a few men in a forest near +by. Two days later the monks at Elgeseter Cloister sent them cloaks, +and thus disguised they reached the cloister. The Birchlegs, however, +discovered the duke's whereabout, and, proceeding to the cloister, +demanded that he be delivered up. This being refused they set fire +to the building. Skule then came out with his men, and they were all +slain, May 24, 1240. + +After the fall of Skule the rebellion of the Varbelgs died out +completely, the power of King Haakon was undisputed, and the country +could at last enjoy peace and order. On Saint Olaf's Day, July 29, +1247, King Haakon was crowned with grand ceremonies in Christ Church +in Bergen by Cardinal William of Sabina, whom the Pope had sent north +for that purpose. At the grand feast that followed there were so many +people present that there was not room enough in the king's mansion, +and the king therefore had a huge boat-house temporarily fitted out as +a festival hall, the walls being covered with colored cloth, and the +hall furnished with costly benches with gold-embroidered silk cushions. +This feast lasted for three days, and after that the king gave a party, +lasting five days, in the royal home for the cardinal and the most +prominent men. When the cardinal departed from Norway, the king sent +with him 15,000 marks sterling as a gift to the Pope, and also gave the +cardinal personally fine presents. + +The reign of King Haakon, after peace had been restored, was very +beneficial to the country. He improved the laws, and, among other +changes, abolished the ordeal of fire. This was done after consultation +with the visiting cardinal, who declared that it was not proper for +Christians to challenge God to give his verdict in human affairs. It +was decided that at the death of a king the oldest legitimate son +was to succeed to the throne, and the kingdom was not to be divided +between two or more princes. In architecture great progress was made, +and a great deal of money was spent for the erection of monasteries, +churches and royal mansions. A wall was built around the royal mansion +in Bergen; this wall was the beginning of the fort afterward called +Bergenhus. King Haakon also built the grand royal hall in Bergen and +a hospital for lepers. In Tunsberg he built a monastery, and the +strong wall of the fort is still to be seen. He began to Christianize +the Finns and built churches for them. The church which he built at +Tromsoe was the northernmost Christian church in the world. + +King Haakon gained a high reputation in foreign countries. The Russian +grand-duke, Vasilij, asked for the hand of his daughter Christina, +and the Spanish king, Alfonso X. of Castile, wooed her for one of his +brothers. The latter suit was accepted, and Christina was married to +the Spanish prince, Don Philip, in 1257. The pope wanted Haakon for +emperor of Germany, and the French king, Louis IX., urged him to take +the command of a crusade. + +During the reign of King Haakon, in 1261, Greenland was made a +dependency of Norway, and the next year Iceland acknowledged the +supremacy of Norway. The Icelanders agreed to pay the king of Norway a +tribute; but they were to retain their own laws and their own officers. + + +In the summer of 1263 King Haakon sailed with a strong fleet and a +large army westward to make war on Alexander III. of Scotland, who had +tried to annex the Norwegian possessions west and north of Scotland. +King Haakon proceeded to the Sudr Islands (the Hebrides), where he met +with terrible storms, during which his fleet suffered considerable +loss. In a battle at Largs, near the entrance to the Firth of Clyde, +some of Haakon's best men fell. Scotch and Norwegian accounts differ +as to which side was really defeated; but even from Scotch sources it +appears that there was for some time afterward a great dread of the +reappearance of "the black fleet of Norway." A contemporary Scotch poet +and soothsayer, Thomas of Erceldoune, wrote: + + It will be seen upon a day + Between the Bass and Bay, + Craigin and Fidderay, + The black fleet of Norroway. + Quhen the black fleet is come and gane, + Then may they bigg thair burgh of lime and stane + Quhilk they biggit of straw and hay-- + That will stand till doomes day. + +Shortly after the battle at Largs, King Haakon retired to the Orkneys, +intending to winter there and to renew the attack in the spring. In +the town of Kirkevaag (Orkneys) he was taken seriously ill; dying +December 15, 1263. During his illness he had his men read aloud to him +portions of the Bible and several books in Latin. Afterward he had +Norwegian books read to him, first the stories of holy men (legends) +and afterward the sagas of his ancestors, from Halfdan the Black down +to his grandfather, King Sverre. During the reading of Sverre's saga +he sank rapidly, and toward midnight, when King Sverre's saga was +finished, he expired. + +King Haakon was fifty-nine years old when he died. He had been king of +Norway forty-six years. His body was temporarily entombed in Kirkevaag, +and, in the following spring, was brought back to Norway and buried in +the Christ Church in Bergen. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +_Snorre Sturlason_ + + +During the reign of Haakon Haakonson lived the renowned author of +sagas, Snorre Sturlason. He was born in the year 1178 at Hvam (or +Kvam), in the western province of Iceland. His family traced their +lineage from the old Norse kings. In his third year Snorre was sent +to the rich and learned Jon Loftson to be fostered. Jon Loftson's +grandfather was Saemund Frode, the contemporary of Are, who first +committed the historical sagas to writing; Jon's mother, Thora, was +an illegitimate daughter of King Magnus Barefoot. In such a family, +says Mr. Laing, we may presume the literature of the country would be +cultivated, and the sagas of the historical events in Norway, and of +the transactions of her race of kings, would be studied with great +interest. Jon Loftson died when Snorre was nineteen years of age, but +he continued to live with his foster-brothers a couple of years after +that. He was quite poor, his mother having wasted his patrimony; but +marrying Herdis, the daughter of a wealthy priest, he obtained with +her a considerable fortune, which he afterward greatly increased. We +are told that he owned six large farms and had so many men under him +that he could appear at the Things with an armed body of six hundred +or eight hundred men. He fortified his main residence at Reykholt, and +also constructed there a bathing-house of cut stone, into which the +water was led from a neighboring geyser. This bath-house was called +Snorrelaug (Snorre's bath), and ruins of it are still to be seen. + +Snorre Sturlason held some important offices in Iceland. On a visit +to Norway he won the friendship of Duke Skule and King Haakon, and +the latter even appointed him a king's chamberlain. He is said to +have promised the king to induce the people of Iceland to submit to +the supremacy of the king of Norway; but if this promise was given +he seems to have forgotten it. When afterward, during the conflict +between Duke Skule and King Haakon, Snorre was said to be a friend or +adherent of Duke Skule, the king declared him to be a traitor, and, in +a letter, requested Snorre's son-in-law and bitterest enemy, Gissur +Torvaldson, to bring Snorre to Norway, dead or alive. On this authority +Gissur, and other relatives of Snorre, who were his enemies on account +of differences about the division of property, came on the night of +September 22, 1241, with seventy armed men to Snorre's residence at +Reykholt and murdered him in the sixty-third year of his age. It was +the same party which, two years afterward, brought Iceland under +subjection to the crown of Norway. + +Snorre Sturlason's famous work, the sagas (chronicles) of the kings +of Norway, reaches from the earliest times to the fall of Eystein +Meyla, in the battle at Ree, in 1177. The book is also called the +"Heimskringla"--the world's circle--from the first word of the +manuscript. It is written in the old Norse language. Snorre also wrote +a book called the "Edda,"[13] which treats of the old Norse mythology +and contains rules for the writing of poetry. + +[13] The word _Edda_ means great-grandmother. + +Snorre's nephew (his brother's son), Sturla Thordson, afterward wrote +the saga of King Haakon Haakonson. + +During the reign of King Haakon, another remarkable book was written, +"The King's Mirror." In the form of a dialogue between a father and +his son, it contains information about the seas and the countries +that Norway had communication with, especially Ireland, Iceland and +Greenland. It also gives the rules of life and conduct for traders and +for men at the royal court. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +_Magnus Law-Mender (1263-1280)_ + + +Haakon's son Magnus now became king of Norway. He had been crowned +six years before his father's death, and there was no one to dispute +his right, King Haakon having declared on his death-bed that he left +no other son. Magnus was twenty-five years old when he assumed the +government in his own name. He was a wise and peaceable ruler, and soon +made up his mind that it was not for the benefit of Norway to continue +the war with Scotland about the islands which were so distant and had +been of so little value to the country. He opened negotiations with +Alexander III., and on July 2, 1266, peace was finally concluded. The +Norwegian king ceded the Isle of Man and the Hebrides to Scotland, +although retaining the rights belonging to the Nidaros archbishopric. +On the other hand, the Scotch king agreed to pay the Norwegian king +4,000 marks sterling, besides a permanent annual tribute of one hundred +marks. + +When King Magnus had succeeded in ending the conflict with Scotland, +he turned his whole attention to the improvement of the domestic +affairs of the country. He undertook a thorough revision of the laws, +and, on account of his efforts in this direction, was given the +surname _lagaböter_, _i.e._, law-mender. He had a common code of laws +compiled for the whole country, while formerly there had been four +different laws administered respectively at the four Things; viz., the +Frosta-Thing for the Throndhjem country, the Gula-Thing for the western +coast, the Eidsiva-Thing for the Uplands, and the Borgar-Thing for the +country around Viken. The new general law, as codified by King Magnus, +remained in force for nearly four hundred years, and some of it is law +even yet. Among the new provisions was the one that, in the future, +changes in the laws were to be made only by the king and his "good men" +at a state meeting or state council. Thus the Things were deprived of +the privilege to make laws. + +Magnus also compiled a law for the cities and towns, and a new court +law (_Hirdskraa_) for his vassals and courtiers. This court law +prescribed rules for the proclamation of kings and described the duties +and rights of the courtiers, liegemen, etc. Among new offices created +were those of ensign (bearer of the colors), the chancellor, who kept +the royal seal, and the master of ceremonies. + +Toward the bishops King Magnus was very submissive. At a meeting in +Tunsberg, in 1277, he made a number of humiliating concessions to the +ambitious Archbishop Jon the Red. Thus the king agreed to abstain from +all interference in the selection of bishops, and surrendered to the +latter the right of filling all clerical offices. + +King Magnus granted the city of Lubeck and other North-German +cities--the Hanseatic League--a number of commercial privileges in +Norway, and from that time a great part of the commerce of Norway +gradually came to be controlled by the Hansa towns. + +In his legislation, King Magnus showed a disposition to abandon former +democratic characteristics of the institutions. He was fond of pomp +and ceremony, and adopted foreign, especially English, court customs. +In 1277 he ordained that the liegemen were to be called barons, and +the court officials, knights and squires. They were given a partial +immunity from taxes, but were to render additional services to the king +in case of war. The knights and their families soon began to adopt +coats-of-arms, and a kind of nobility was gradually formed. + +King Magnus died May 9, 1280, at the age of forty-two years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +_Erik Priest-Hater (1280-1299)_ + + +At the death of King Magnus only two of his children were alive, Erik, +who had already been proclaimed king, and Haakon, who had been made +duke at the same time. Erik was twelve, and Haakon ten years old. The +royal counsellors, among whom were the barons Hallkell Agmundson, Audun +Hugleikson, and Biarne Erlingson of Biarkoe and Giske, thought that +King Magnus had made too great concessions to the church and attempted +to curtail the power of the bishops. On account of their activity +against the clergy they were put in the ban of the church; but they +did not seem to pay much attention to this; and, as a result of the +struggle, Archbishop Jon the Red and two other bishops were outlawed +and compelled to leave the country (1282). + +The epithet "Priest-Hater," which, after this, was given King Erik, +does not seem to have been well deserved; for he always sought to +mediate in the conflicts with the archbishop, and he himself had no +ill-feeling toward the bishops, but rather seemed to be too kindly +disposed toward them. + +King Erik was only a very young man when he commenced a war with +Denmark, which lasted for twenty years, and was not terminated until +in the time of his successor. His mother, the queen-dowager Ingeborg, +was the daughter of the Danish king, Erik Plowpenny, and as her +inheritance, consisting of landed estates, had not been turned over +to the Norwegian king according to agreement, she induced her son +to make war on Denmark. The war was principally a naval war. One +who especially distinguished himself was the Norwegian baron, Alf +Erlingson of Tornberg (now Tanberg, Ringerike), a great favorite of the +queen-dowager. He captured a number of the enemy's ships, and preyed +upon the commerce in Danish waters. But the principal sufferers by this +warfare were the Hanseatic League, whose members, by the concessions of +King Magnus Lawmender, had practically a monopoly of the foreign trade +of Norway. Many ditties were composed about Alf Erlingson, and one +verse reads thus: + + Sailing Germans are northward bound + Carrying malt and meal; + But Alf is lying in Oere Sound + And robs them of all their weal. + +The conflict with the Hanseatic towns came to an end, through the +arbitration of the Swedish king, by the peace of Kalmar (1285), by +which the privileges of the Hansa towns were considerably extended. + +The hostilities with Denmark were continued, and the queen-dowager +was so well pleased with Alf Erlingson's piratical conduct of the war +that she had him created an earl, and induced the king to send him +as special ambassador to England. In 1286 a conspiracy was formed +in Denmark against King Erik Glipping, and he was murdered during a +hunting trip by Marshal Stig, Count Jacob of Halland and others. The +murderers, who were outlawed in Denmark, were well received by the +Norwegian king, and afterward accompanied him on his campaigns against +Denmark. + +By the death of Queen Ingeborg (1287), Earl Alf Erlingson lost his +special protector, and when he had committed extraordinary outrages +in Viken and murdered the commander of Oslo Castle, Baron Hallkell +Agmundson, he was sentenced as an outlaw and compelled to flee to +Sweden, where, for some time, he took refuge in a cloister. Later he +attempted piracy on his own account in Danish waters, but was captured, +and, by the command of Queen Agnes, executed on the rack (1290). + +King Erik made several successful cruises to Denmark, and that +country might have fared badly if his attention had not been drawn in +other directions. At an early age he had been married to Margaret of +Scotland, a daughter of his grandfather's enemy, King Alexander III. +This young queen died a year after the marriage, after having given +birth to a daughter, who was christened Margaret. When Alexander III. +died in 1286, without leaving any sons, the Scotch leaders acknowledged +King Erik's young daughter, Margaret, as the rightful heir to the +throne. In 1290 she was proclaimed queen of Scotland, and the young +princess--the "Maid from Norway," as she was called--accompanied by the +bishops of Bergen and other prominent persons, sailed for Scotland. +She was taken sick on the voyage, however, and died at the Orkneys. +King Erik afterward claimed the crown of Scotland as the heir of +his daughter, but was compelled to abandon the claim upon the armed +intervention of King Edward I. of England. + +King Erik died July 13, 1299, at the age of thirty-one years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +_Haakon V. Magnusson (1299-1319)_ + + +At the death of King Erik the throne of Norway was inherited by his +brother Haakon, who had, during his brother's reign, under the title of +duke, ruled his part of the country with royal authority. Shortly after +his succession to the throne, the knight, Audun Hugleikson Hestakorn of +Hegranes, who during the reign of King Erik had been highly esteemed +and had conducted negotiations with foreign powers, was imprisoned +in Bergen and tried for high treason, and, after three years of +imprisonment, was executed. The real nature of this man's crime is not +known. By some it was thought that he had insulted the king's bride; +but the actual crime was probably some frauds in connection with the +negotiation of a treaty with France. Apparently without any reason, +rumor has connected his case with another affair, which transpired +about the same time. In 1300 a woman arrived from Lubeck and created a +great deal of excitement by claiming to be the Princess Margaret--"The +Maid from Norway"--who had died at the Orkneys when on her journey to +Scotland to assume the Scotch throne. She was proven to be an impostor, +and was condemned and burned at the stake in 1301, and her husband, +who accompanied her, was beheaded. + +During Haakon's reign the war with Denmark, which had lasted for +twenty-eight years, was finally ended by the Peace of Copenhagen +(1309), by which Haakon obtained the province of Northern Halland in +settlement of his maternal inheritance. His rule was also in other +respects firm and prudent. He curtailed some of the privileges of the +Hansa towns and reduced the power of the bishops. He abolished the +positions of earls and liegemen, and adopted stricter regulations for +other officers, holding them to a faithful compliance with the laws. He +built the fortress of Akershus, near Oslo, where he resided much of the +time. + +King Haakon had no sons, but only a daughter, Ingeborg. In 1302 he +therefore proclaimed a new law of succession extending the right of +inheritance to the female line. By the same law a council of twelve +men were to conduct the government during the minority of an heir to +the throne. The king's daughter, Ingeborg, was afterward married to +Duke Erik of Sweden, and, in the year 1316, she bore a son, who was +christened Magnus. This caused great joy in Norway, and the king on +this occasion conferred knighthood on twenty-five men. But the joy +was of short duration. Duke Erik and his brother, Duke Valdemar, had +been quarrelling with their brother, King Birger of Sweden. The latter +pretended to desire a reconciliation and invited them to a feast at the +castle of Nyköping. During the night the sleeping-room of the dukes was +entered, and they were thrown into prison, where soon afterward they +died. Rumor said that they were starved to death. The tidings of this +tragedy so affected King Haakon that it hastened his death. He died at +Tunsberg, May 8, 1319, and with him the male line of the royal house of +Harald the Fairhaired became extinct. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +_Magnus Erikson "Smek" (1319-1374)--Haakon VI. Magnusson (1355-1380)_ + + +Magnus, the son of King Haakon V.'s daughter Ingeborg and Duke Erik of +Sweden, was only three years old at the death of his mother's father. +While he was in his minority the affairs of the government were managed +by a regency, the members of which had been selected by King Haakon. +In Sweden King Birger, who had become generally hated on account of +his treatment of his brothers, was deposed, and Magnus was proclaimed +king of Sweden. Thus, for the first time, Norway and Sweden were united +under one king. Both countries retained their own government and laws, +and the king was to divide his time equally between the two countries. +The Norwegians soon became dissatisfied with the government, which was +conducted mainly by the king's mother, Duchess Ingeborg, who caused +great scandal by her recklessness and wasted much of the revenue on her +lover, Knut Porse, duke of Halland, whom she afterward married. At a +general Thing, in Oslo, February 20, 1323, the regency was abrogated, +and the knight Erling Vidkunson of Biarkoe and Giske was appointed +regent. + +When King Magnus, who, by the Swedes, was surnamed "Smek" (the +fondling), reached his majority, in 1332, he himself assumed the +government in both countries. He was a good and kind man, but too weak +to govern two countries. Sweden took up most of his time, and he did +not come to Norway as often as he was expected to, and made no proper +arrangement for the government during his absence. This caused general +discontent, and a virtual separation of the countries was finally +arranged. At a great meeting in Varberg, August 15, 1343, King Magnus's +oldest son, Erik, was declared heir-apparent and co-regent in Sweden, +and his other son, Haakon, in Norway. On the same day the Norwegian +state counsellors acknowledged Haakon, who had been educated in Norway, +as their king, with the understanding that King Magnus was to conduct +the government until his son became of age. The separation of the +countries was further confirmed in 1350 in Bergen, where King Magnus +placed Haakon in the royal seat and arranged a separate court for him. +According to public documents, however, Haakon's reign dates only from +1355, when probably he had reached his majority. + +The Swedes were no more satisfied with King Magnus than the Norwegians +were. He succeeded in annexing the provinces of Scania, Halland and +Blekinge, which he bought for 34,000 marks silver from Duke John of +Holstein, who held them as a pledge; but the taxes he had to levy, in +order to raise this sum, caused great dissatisfaction. + +The king's recklessness and the great influence wielded by his vain and +malicious queen, Blanca of Namur, and his favorite, the young Swedish +knight, Bengt Algotson, increased the dissatisfaction to such a degree +that Prince Erik took up arms and declared Bengt to be a public enemy. +Erik died shortly afterward, but quiet was not restored. King Magnus's +ambiguous and pusillanimous action in allowing the wily King Valdemar +Atterdag of Denmark to seize the dearly-bought provinces of Scania, +Halland and Blekinge, created great discontent, which was increased +when his son, Haakon, married King Valdemar's eleven year old daughter +Margaret, although the Swedes, who expected Haakon to become their +future king, had decided upon another bride for him. When, after an +uprising, King Magnus banished forty of the most turbulent magnates, +the latter offered the crown to Albrecht of Mecklenburg, a nephew of +King Magnus, and returned with him to Sweden, where Magnus was deposed +and Albrecht elected king of Sweden (1363). Haakon, who shortly before +that had been elected king of Sweden, did not intend to give up the +kingdom without a fight, especially as he had several fortresses and +provinces in his possession. Both sides armed themselves, and a battle +was fought at Enköping, March 3, 1365. Magnus was taken prisoner and +brought to Stockholm, and Haakon, severely wounded, had to flee to +Norway. The war was continued with varying success until the Hanseatic +League interfered in the struggle, because Haakon had attempted to +expel the Germans from the country. The German merchants had obtained +great power in the country and shamefully abused it; they refused to +receive the king's coin, monopolized all trade, and defied the laws. +Haakon finally made peace with them, but only after granting them +some new privileges. After that he collected a great army and invaded +Sweden; even marching against Stockholm. An agreement was reached in +1371 with King Albrecht, by which Haakon was to pay 12,000 marks and +surrender the Swedish fortresses for the liberation of his father. +The latter had to give up all claim to the Swedish throne, but was to +have for his support Skara Stift, West Gautland and Vermeland. Haakon +afterward inherited these provinces. Magnus was drowned three years +later in the Hardanger Fjord at the age of fifty-eight years. His son +survived him only six years. He died at Oslo in June, 1380, about +forty-two years old, after having had the pleasure to see his only son +Olaf chosen king of Denmark. + +Great calamities befell the country during the reigns of Magnus and +Haakon. On April 4, 1328, the great cathedral in Throndhjem, the Christ +Church, was destroyed by fire. In 1344 the Gaula River suddenly changed +its course, owing to a mountain slide, flooded the Gaula Valley, and +caused great destruction. Forty-eight farms and some churches were +destroyed, and two hundred and fifty people and a great number of +cattle were drowned. Iceland suffered from earthquakes, and in 1341 +the sixth eruption of the volcano Hekla spread alarm and desolation. +In 1323 and 1346 the winters were so severe that a great number of +people froze to death. But the greatest calamity occurred in 1349, when +the Black Death, a terrible pestilence, after having ravaged Southern +Europe, was brought to Bergen by a merchant vessel from England. Before +the cargo of the vessel had been discharged, the whole crew died, and +immediately the pestilence spread with great rapidity over the whole +country. In a single day ninety persons were buried from a church in +Bergen, including fourteen priests and six deacons. In Throndhjem, +Archbishop Arne and the whole chapter, with the exception of a single +canon, died. Only one bishop in Norway, Salemon in Oslo, survived the +plague. In many districts the entire population was swept away. The +cattle died from hunger. For want of horses and laborers the farmers +were unable to cultivate their farms, and famine and distress resulted. +Many districts which had been fertile and populous were laid waste, and +were in time covered by a new growth of forests. Industries, trade and +commerce stagnated, and Norway sank into a state of debility from which +it took her centuries to recover. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +_Olaf Haakonson the Young (1381-1387)_ + + +Olaf, the only son of King Haakon Magnusson and the Danish Margaret, +was, at the death of his maternal grandfather, Valdemar Atterdag +(1376), proclaimed king of Denmark under the guardianship of his +parents, and at the death of his father four years later, when he was +ten years old, he inherited the throne of Norway. His mother proceeded +to Oslo, where a meeting of the Norwegian chiefs was held early in +January, 1381. Here it was arranged that Queen Margaret was to be +the guardian of her son and conduct the government in his name, when +she was in the country, but in her absence the administration should +be conducted by the chieftain Ogmund Finnson, as leader of the state +council. Olaf was crowned in Nidaros on Saint Olaf's Day, July 29, +1381. Thus commenced the union between Norway and Denmark, which lasted +for over four hundred years and proved so unfortunate for Norway. To +the great sorrow of the Norwegians, King Olaf, when scarcely seventeen +years old, was taken suddenly sick at Falsterbro Castle, Scania, and +died August 3, 1387. + +Fifteen years after Olaf's death an adventurer appeared who claimed to +be King Olaf, and the rumor soon spread that Olaf had escaped from his +mother shortly before the time of his alleged death. It was proven, +however, that the pretender was a German, and that some merchants, who +had noticed the great likeness he bore to Olaf, had induced him to make +the claim. The impostor was condemned to death and burned. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +_Margaret (1387-1389)--Erik of Pomerania (1389-1442)--The Kalmar Union +(1397)_ + + +As young Olaf left no offspring, it was quite generally supposed +in Norway that the kingdom would be given to his nearest relative, +Haakon Jonson, a grandson of King Haakon V.'s illegitimate daughter +Agneta; but the wily Queen Margaret (who had already been acknowledged +as reigning queen of Denmark), induced Archbishop Vinald and the +majority of the clergy to take her part, and, at the state council in +Oslo, February 2, 1388, she was, as Haakon's widow and Olaf's mother, +declared to be the rightful ruler of Norway and its dependencies. +According to law, however, the Norwegians were to be ruled by a king, +and could not long be satisfied with having the government conducted +in the name of a woman. She therefore induced the council to choose +her grandnephew, Erik of Pomerania, as king of Norway (1389), she to +continue the regency during his minority. + +King Albrecht of Mecklenburg, who was at this time reigning in Sweden, +had caused a great deal of discontent among the Swedish nobility, +because he had surrounded himself with Germans, whom he had given +places of influence and honor. The ambitious Queen Margaret, who hated +Albrecht deeply, because he had laid claim to the Danish throne, made +overtures to the Swedish magnates, with the result that they chose +her as "the mistress and rightful ruler of Sweden," and transferred +several fortified places to her, while she promised to reunite West +Gautland and Vermeland with Sweden. Albrecht proceeded to Germany to +collect an army, and swore that he would not put his hood on before he +had conquered Norway and Denmark. He sent Margaret several insulting +messages, called her "Queen Breechless," and sent her a whetstone on +which to sharpen her scissors and needles, saying that the good woman +ought to remain quietly at her spinning wheel. The queen's chiefs, Ivar +Lykke and Henrik Parow, invaded Sweden with an army, and won a battle +at Falköping in West Gautland. Albrecht was taken prisoner and was +brought before the queen, who reminded him of his insults. She gave him +a long fool's-cap to wear instead of the crown of Denmark, and sent him +to prison in the castle of Lindholm in Scania, where he remained six +years. + +Queen Margaret soon won the whole of Sweden except Stockholm, where the +German merchants and the hood-brothers made a determined resistance. +They received aid from the North German cities Rostock and Wismar, +whose rulers proclaimed that any one who would harry the coasts of +the Scandinavian countries could find refuge in their harbors; and +the result was a number of pirates, the so-called Victualia-Brethren, +made the northern waters unsafe for several years, and plundered many +of the coast towns. Thus they twice attacked and plundered Bergen. In +order to gain his liberty, Albrecht, in 1395, made an agreement that +within three years he would either pay 60,000 marks silver or release +Stockholm. He could not pay the money, and Stockholm's gates were +opened to Queen Margaret. + +In 1397 Queen Margaret's sixteen-year-old grandnephew, Erik of +Pomerania, was crowned in Kalmar as king of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, +in the presence of prominent men from the three countries. A document +was drafted containing the provisions regarding the triple union, and +it was signed on Margaret's Day, July 20, 1397. It could scarcely be +considered binding upon the three countries, as it was signed by only +seventeen of the gentlemen present, and they had not been given power +to act for their countrymen. The main stipulations of the agreement +were the following: + +1. The three countries were always hereafter to have the same king. + +2. One king was to be elected by authorized delegates from the three +countries. + +3. The countries were to help each other against foreign foes. + +4. Each country was to be governed by its own laws. + +Queen Margaret died at Flensborg, October 27, 1412, aged fifty-nine +years, leaving the government in the weak hands of King Erik. + +In the union Denmark soon assumed the position of the chief country. +In Sweden and Norway the people complained that the revenues of +the countries went to pay the expenses of the war with the Counts +of Holstein about Schleswig, although this war, which lasted for +twenty-six years, concerned only Denmark. The counts received aid +from the Hansa towns, which hated King Erik, because he encouraged +the Dutch trade with the northern countries. In 1427 he defeated the +Hanseatic fleet in Oere Sound, and in 1428, when they tried to attack +Copenhagen, the city was saved by his brave queen, Philippa of England. +She armed the citizens and the peasants, and the Germans were obliged +to withdraw. The final outcome of the war was, however, that King Erik +had to cede Schleswig to Count Adolph of Holstein by the peace at +Vordingborg (1435). + +Norway had occasion to feel the effects of King Erik's weakness. The +inhabitants of Finmark and Halogaland were attacked by Russians and +other enemies from the northeast, who did great damage and abducted +men and women, and the town of Bergen was left defenceless against the +attacks of the daring Victualia-Brethren. Thus in 1428 the pirate from +Wismar, Bartholomew Vot, came to Bergen with six hundred men, just as +the English traders were waiting there for the vessels from Northern +Norway to bring herring, stock-fish and other goods. The Englishmen, +believing that the whole fighting force of the Hansa towns was coming, +hastened aboard their ships and took flight. The bishop of Bergen, +who was seized with a similar fear, left everything behind for the +enemy and fled with the Englishmen. The robbers then went ashore and +plundered the town. At the bishopric they forced the iron doors to the +book-room and took away all the books, besides many other valuables. As +the traders from the north arrived with their full cargoes, the booty +of the pirates became so much larger, as they took possession of their +fish, furs and other goods. This success encouraged the robbers to +renew their attack on Bergen next year, when they again plundered the +bishopric, and then laid a great part of the town in ashes. + +In all three countries the people were dissatisfied with King Erik; +he coined bad money, levied new taxes, and appointed foreigners, +especially Germans, to the chief offices. In Sweden the first uprising +started. The peasants in Dalarne twice sent the gallant Engelbrekt +Engelbrektsson to Denmark to complain of the cruel prefects, but he +could obtain no redress. On his return he placed himself at the head of +a rebellion, which spread itself to the whole country. Engelbrekt was +murdered (1435); but in his place Carl Knutsson Bonde became the leader +of the rebellion and regent. + +In Norway the people followed the example of the Swedes. The peasants +in Viken revolted under Amund Sigurdson Bolt, captured Oslo, and drove +some of the Danish and other foreign officers out of the country. In +a proclamation issued, after this uprising, by the Norwegian Council +of State, calling upon the people to be loyal to King Erik (1436), +the council promised to request the king in the future not to appoint +foreigners to the high offices unless they had married into Norwegian +families. + +In Denmark also the people complained of the heavy taxes and the many +Germans who were imported and given high positions. Wearied of all +these complaints, and taking with him his mistress, Cecilia, the money +left in the treasury, and a number of important documents, King Erik +left the country and took up his residence on the island of Gotland, +where he had a fortified castle (1438). Shortly after this he was +formally deposed in Denmark and in Sweden, while in Norway they still, +for a time, remained loyal to him. As regent in Norway, during his +absence, the king appointed the influential Norwegian, Sigurd Jonson. +The latter descended from a powerful old family; he had inherited +Biarkoe, Giske and other estates, and was the richest man in the +country. For ten years King Erik lived in his castle in Gottland, +supporting himself by piracy, but was finally driven away by the +Swedes. He returned to his native country, Pomerania, where he ended +his long but inglorious life in 1459. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +_Christopher of Bavaria (1442-1448)_ + + +According to the provisions of the Kalmar Union, a new king was to +be elected by the authorized delegates of the three countries; but, +instead of that, the Danish Council of State summoned Erik's nephew +(sister's son), Christopher of Bavaria, who was first elected regent +and shortly afterward (1440) proclaimed king. In Sweden, Carl Knutsson +Bonde endeavored to prevent a renewal of the Union; but, with the aid +of the clergy, the rights of Christopher were acknowledged, and he was +proclaimed king of Sweden at Morasten, September 14, 1441. In Norway, +King Erik had many adherents, and his favorite, Bishop Thorleif, did +all in his power to retain Erik, or his cousin, Bugislav, as king; but +when it appeared that neither of them was coming to assert his claim, +the Norwegians finally also acknowledged Christopher, and he was +hailed as king of Norway, in Oslo, in 1442. He had thus succeeded in +reuniting the three countries, although he was crowned separately in +each of them. + +Christopher was a good-natured and jolly man, who wished everybody +well. In Sweden, there was naturally objection to the piracy committed +by his uncle from the island of Gottland; but when the Swedes +complained of this to the king, he answered merrily: "Our uncle is +sitting on a rock, and he, too, must have something to live off." + +In Norway, the administration of public affairs was fairly good. There +were no complaints against the king, and the country's own people had +their share in the government. The king made an effort to restrict +the Hanseatic League, which, together with the "Victualia-Brethren," +caused so much damage to Norway. For this purpose he tried to give +them commercial rivals by giving the citizens of Amsterdam trading +privileges in Norway. In 1444 he gave the town of Bergen new privileges +and announced several restrictions of the privileges of the Hansa +towns. The power and influence of the latter was shown by the fact that +this ordinance was repealed the next year, and the king was obliged to +confirm their old and "just" privileges. King Christopher, however, did +not abandon his purpose; but, just as he was about to bring new plans +into execution, death overtook him, January 6, 1448, when he was about +thirty-two years old. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +_The Union with Denmark--Christian I. (1450-1481)_ + + +After the death of King Christopher, the Swedes elected Carl Knutsson +Bonde king of Sweden, while the Danes elected Count Christian of +Oldenborg, at the age of twenty-two, because he was heir to Schleswig +and Holstein, and it was generally desired to have Schleswig reunited +with Denmark. In the Norwegian Council of State there was dissension. +The regent, Sigurd Jonson, the commander at Bergen, Olaf Nilsson, and +the commander at Akershus, Hartvig Krumedike, who was from the duchy +of Holstein, wanted to elect the Danish king, Christian, who was +remotely related to the old Norse kings, while another more popular +party, led by the Archbishop, Aslak Bolt, preferred the Swedish king, +Carl Knutsson. The council finally elected Christian, at Oslo, in +the spring of 1449; but, after his return to Nidaros, the archbishop +declared the election void, not having been voluntary, and joined the +people of the Throndhjem country and the Uplands in inviting King +Carl to come to Norway. With a mounted force of five hundred men, +King Carl proceeded through Vermeland and Solver to Hamar, where he +was proclaimed king of Norway, October 25, 1449, and a month later he +was crowned in Throndhjem by the archbishop. Early in 1450, however, +when King Carl attempted to capture Oslo, he was defeated, and an +armistice was arranged. The archbishop died shortly afterward, and, +at a meeting in Halmstad, in May, 1450, between Swedish and Danish +magnates, the Swedish delegates, in the name of King Carl, relinquished +all claims to Norway. Thus, when Christian came to Norway in the +summer, he was acknowledged by everybody, and was crowned in Throndhjem +on Saint Olaf's day, July 29, 1450. He then went to Bergen, where, on +the 29th of August, 1450, a closer union between Norway and Denmark +was concluded. The main provisions of the agreement were: 1. That +both countries were hereafter to be united in brotherly love, neither +country being the superior of the other; 2. That each country should be +governed by native-born officials, and enjoy their own laws, liberties +and privileges; 3. That both countries should henceforth remain under +one lord and king forever; 4. When the king died the councils of both +kingdoms were to meet at Halmstad and elect a new king from among the +late king's legitimate heirs. + +Thus the house of Oldenborg acquired the throne of Norway and continued +to rule the country for three hundred and sixty-four years. + +For several years there was war between Kings Carl and Christian, and +in this war Norway was also involved. In 1452 King Carl invaded Norway +with an army and captured Throndhjem; but he was afterward driven back +across the frontier by the commander in Bergen, Sir Olaf Nilsson. + +The German merchants (Hansa, Hanseatic League), who, after the war +under King Erik, had returned to Bergen, had become more powerful +and insolent than ever before. They drove the citizens of the town +away from the wharves and continually increased their own number by +importations. The commander, Olaf Nilsson, was very severe with the +Germans, and made them pay heavy taxes. They complained to the king, +and, as he feared that the Hansa might aid his enemy, King Carl, he +removed Olaf. The latter now set out as a pirate against the Hansa +towns, and captured several of their ships at sea. He also succeeded +in capturing the Swedish fort, Elfsborg, at the mouth of the Gaut +River, and offered it to the king if he were reinstated as commander at +Bergen. This offer was accepted, and Olaf returned to Bergen. Enraged +at this, the Germans armed themselves to the number of over 2,000, +intent upon killing the commander. Olaf sought refuge in the cloister +of Munkeliv, where his friend, Bishop Thorleif, tried in vain to +appease the Germans. They burned the cloister, killed the bishop--who +came out carrying the Sacrament--and three other priests, besides Olaf +Nilsson and his brother, with families and children; in all, sixty +people. This was the 1st of September, 1455. The king, who needed the +help of the Hansa towns, neither would nor could punish this great +crime. But the Pope placed the murderers in the ban of the church, and +compelled them to pay heavy fines for the murder of the bishop and to +rebuild the cloister. + +Internal dissensions in Sweden, involving a struggle between the king, +the bishops and the nobility, resulted in the expulsion of Carl and the +acceptance of Christian as the king of Sweden. Thus the three countries +again became united under one king (1457), and the next year the state +councils promised that, after the death of Christian, his son Hans was +to be king of all three countries. But King Christian made himself +hated by his oppression, and when he caused the imprisonment of the +powerful archbishop, Jens Bengtson Oxenstierna, the latter's nephew, +Ketil Carlsson Wasa, bishop of Linköping, swore that he would not put +on his bishop's robes until his country had been rid of its oppressor, +and he kept his word. Carl was recalled, and died, as king of Sweden, +in 1470, after several unsuccessful attempts by Christian to regain the +Swedish crown. In 1471 Christian was defeated in battle at Brunkeberg +(now a part of Stockholm) by King Carl's nephew, Sten Sture, whom the +Swedes had elected regent. After that King Christian made no further +attempts to recover Sweden. + +King Christian was a reckless spendthrift, and was always financially +embarrassed. The annual tribute for the Hebrides, which Scotland was to +pay to the king of Norway according to the peace made with King Magnus +the Law-Mender, had not been paid for some time, and King Christian +in vain demanded payment. In order to settle the matter peaceably +it was arranged that Christian's daughter Margaret was to marry the +Scotch king, James III., and her dowry was fixed at 60,000 gulden. +As Christian could not raise this amount, he obtained the consent of +the Norwegian Council of State to pawn the Orkneys for 50,000 gulden, +besides remitting the tribute for the Hebrides. Not being able to pay +the balance, he also, without consent, pawned the Shetland Isles. Thus +these ancient dependencies were lost to Norway, for they were never +redeemed, although each new king solemnly promised to do so. + +King Christian died May 21, 1481, at the age of fifty-five years, and +lies buried at the Cathedral of Roskilde. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +_Hans (1483-1513)_ + + +Christian's eldest son, Hans, or Johannes, had already as a child been +proclaimed as his father's successor in all three countries, but after +the death of Christian neither the Norwegians nor the Swedes showed +any great disposition to renew the union. The Norwegian Council of +State entered into a league with the Swedish regent, Sten Sture, at +Oslo, February 1, 1482, where it was agreed that hereafter Norway and +Sweden were to act together and mutually support each other for the +maintenance of their liberties, rights and welfare. But as Sten Sture +hesitated in openly declaring himself against Denmark, the Norwegians +again turned to that country and agreed to a joint election of a king +at Halmstad (January 13, 1483), where King Hans succeeded in inducing +Archbishop Gaute and the other delegates to acknowledge him as king +of Norway, after having promised to redress all wrongs and otherwise +comply with the wishes of the people. He was crowned in Throndhjem, +July 20, 1483. + +The king's chief efforts were now directed toward effecting the +submission of Sweden. The authorized delegates of the three countries +assembled at Kalmar, where the union was renewed, and the Kalmar Recess +was published (November, 1483); but through the influence of Sten Sture +the acknowledgment of King Hans was postponed from year to year. +Finally, in 1497, Hans invaded Sweden with a strong army, defeated +Sten Sture, and was proclaimed king of Sweden. Thus Hans had become +ruler of the three countries, and his son Christian was proclaimed +his successor. This power, however, was not of long duration. In the +western part of Holland there lived a people called the Ditmarshers, +whom the emperor had transferred to King Christian, although they had +always formerly been a free people. King Hans wished to subdue them, +and, in the year 1500, he and his younger brother, Duke Frederick +of Schleswig-Holstein, invaded the country with a large army. They +suffered a terrible defeat, however, as the inhabitants opened the +dikes and called in the ocean as their ally. The king and his brother +escaped with a loss of 4,000 slain or drowned, while enormous treasures +were lost. No sooner did the news of this disaster reach Sweden than +the Swedes took up arms. Sten Sture was again made regent, and King +Hans's own queen was made a prisoner in Stockholm. + +At the same time the Norwegians also revolted. The most powerful man +in Norway at that time was Sir Knut Alfson, owner of Giske and many +other estates. He had long been commander at Akershus; but had had a +quarrel with Henrik Krummedike, the commander at Bahus, and the king, +suspecting him of being friendly to the Swedes, had removed him. Now +that the Swedes had revolted, Sir Knut joined them and defeated the +Danes, after which he invaded Norway and captured the fortresses +Akershus and Tunsberghus. Henrik Krummedike proceeded with a strong +army to Oslo, in order to besiege Akershus. Negotiations were opened +for peace, and Henrik invited Sir Knut to a conference on board his +ship under safe conduct, but, on his arrival, foully murdered him +and threw his body into the water. The struggle of the discontented +Norwegians was continued under the leadership of Knut Alfson's widow, +the brave Lady Mette Dyre; but when the Danes received reinforcements +from Denmark the rebellion was soon suppressed, and Lady Mette was +obliged to flee to Sweden. Knut Alfson's large estates were confiscated +to the crown. + +The attempt to subdue the Swedes was not so successful, although some +strong attacks were made. The able regent, Sten Sture, died in 1503, +but his successor, Svante Nilsson Sture, who married Knut Alfson's +widow, defended his country's independence with courage and ability. He +died in 1512, and was succeeded by Sten Sture the Younger. + +In the year 1506 King Hans sent his son Christian to Norway to rule the +country in his name. Christian tried to rule as an autocratic king, +and to place Norway entirely under Danish rule. He installed Danes as +commanders of the fortresses, and also had Danes elected bishops. His +faithful servant and chancellor, Erik Valkendorf, was made archbishop +in Throndhjem. He understood that it was detrimental to the country +that the Hansa towns had a monopoly of the trade, and therefore tried +to restrict their privileges and to encourage the competition by the +merchants from Holland, and took many steps to help the Norwegian +towns. But in dealing with revolts he was very severe. An uprising by +the peasants of Hedemarken, under the leadership of Herlog Hudfat, was +promptly crushed, and the leaders were beheaded outside of Akershus. +Some of the captured peasants were tortured until they confessed that +Bishop Carl of Hamar was the real instigator of the rebellion. The +bishop was captured and held in prison until his death, and Christian +took possession of his estate. + +The Hansa towns were greatly enraged against Christian; but they hated +King Hans even more, because he interfered with their trade with Sweden +and encouraged the Dutch traders. It finally came to open war, and +the traders of Lubeck attacked and plundered the Danish islands. King +Hans, however, returned the attack with a strong fleet, defeated the +Lubeckers, and compelled them to make peace and to pay 30,000 gulden +in war indemnity. This was the first time that a Scandinavian king had +dared to go to war with the powerful Hansa towns. + +King Hans died at Aalborg, February 20, 1513, fifty-eight years old. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +_Christian II. (1513-1523)_ + + +After the death of King Hans, his only son, the cruel Christian, +mounted the throne; but the Council of State and the nobility, well +knowing that he would be a less compliant monarch than his father, +sought to secure their alleged rights by a new charter, which he was +compelled to sign before he was crowned. + +During his stay in Norway as viceroy, Christian had become acquainted +with a Dutch girl in Bergen, the beautiful Dyveke. They first met at +a ball, which he gave for the most prominent citizens in Bergen, and +where they fell in love with each other. He afterward brought the girl +and her wily mother, Sigbrit Willums, with him to Oslo and later to +Copenhagen, where Sigbrit continued to wield a great influence during +the whole of Christian's reign. Two years after his accession to the +throne, Christian married the wealthiest princess of Europe, Isabella, +a sister of Charles V., who afterward became emperor of Germany +and king of Spain. The wedding was celebrated with great pomp at +Copenhagen. The young queen brought him a dower of 250,000 gulden, and +she was as good and lovely as she was rich. Archbishop Erik Valkendorf +had brought the bride to the country, and had promised Charles V. to +see that Dyveke was kept out of the way. Sigbrit Willums heard of +this, and henceforth was the archbishop's bitter enemy. Neither did +the king listen to the archbishop's advice. Dyveke retained the favor +of the king until, a year and a half later, she suddenly died, and the +king's passionate love for her now led him to a cruel and unjust act. +The governor of the castle in Copenhagen, Torben Ox, had also fallen +in love with Dyveke, and, as she died shortly after having eaten some +cherries, it was rumored that the cherries had been poisoned, and that +Torben Ox had caused her death. The king summoned Torben before the +Council of State, which acquitted him. The king became enraged when he +heard the decision, and said: "If we had had as many friends in the +council as Torben had, the judgment would have been different; but even +if this ox has a neck as thick as that of a bull, he shall yet lose +it." Although, according to law, a nobleman could only be tried by the +Council of State, the king summoned twelve peasants to retry the case. +They found him guilty, and although the counsellors and the nobility, +the queen and the court ladies, all begged for mercy, the king was +unmoved, and Torben Ox was executed. + +The crown of Sweden was the great object of King Christian's ambition; +but it took years before he reached this goal. The Swedish regent, Sten +Sture the Younger, was very popular and had undisputed power, until +he was antagonized by the newly-elected archbishop at Upsala, Gustaf +Trolle, who, with many members of the old nobility, became jealous of +the power enjoyed by the Sture family and preferred to support King +Christian. Sten Sture defeated Gustaf Trolle, who was deprived of his +see and compelled to flee from his castle. Afterward Sten Sture was +placed in the ban of the church, and the archbishop received aid from +Denmark. King Christian made several expeditions to Sweden, and finally +his general, Otto Krumpen, defeated Sten Sture's army in a battle on +the ice at Bogesund, where Sten Sture was mortally wounded (February, +1520). Sture's widow, the courageous Christina Gyldenstierna, tried to +hold the party together, and, for a few months, defended Stockholm; +but finally had to surrender the city. The Swedes now acknowledged +Christian as hereditary king, and, on the 4th of November, 1520, he was +crowned by Gustaf Trolle in the Grand Church in Stockholm. After the +coronation great festivities were held for three days. On the fourth +day a number of the Swedish nobles were summoned to meet at the palace. +While the king was surrounded by his court, the representatives of +Gustaf Trolle stepped forward and demanded reparation for the wrongs +committed against the archbishop. Christian, who wished to subdue the +Swedish nobles, availed himself of the opportunity and followed the +bad advice given him. The document by which Gustaf Trolle had been +deposed was produced, and all who had signed it were arrested on the +spot. The following day, November 8, 1520, the accused were brought +before a court consisting of eleven Swedish priests and one Danish +bishop. The only question asked was whether men who had raised their +hands against the Pope and the Holy Church were heretics. The members +of the court answering in the affirmative, the accused were declared to +be heretics, and the king fixed the punishment at death. The condemned +were at once conveyed to the great market-place, where two bishops, +thirteen Counsellors of State and knights, and many other prominent +men, in all about fifty, were beheaded. This was the notorious Carnage +of Stockholm. + +After having left the conduct of the fight in Sweden in the hands +of his able admiral, Soefren Norby, King Christian now returned to +Denmark, where, during the next two years, he introduced several +excellent laws for the improvement of commerce, industry and culture. +But he also tried to establish himself as an autocratic king. He +abolished several of the privileges of the nobility and the bishops, +and planned the gradual extinction of the Council of State, by not +appointing any successors to members who died. + +The Swedes did not long endure the rule of King Christian and the +insolence of his officers. The people of the province of Dalarne +(Dalecarlia) rose under the leadership of Gustavus Eriksson Wasa, a +young nobleman whose father was among those beheaded in the Carnage +of Stockholm. They successfully fought the Danes and captured one +town after another, and elected Gustavus Wasa regent of Sweden. King +Christian prohibited all trade by the Hansa towns with Sweden, and let +his men capture their ships; thus he incensed the people of Lubeck, +who declared war against him and helped the Swedes. King Christian +then levied a new tax to cover the war expenses and summoned a meeting +of nobles. But now the nobles of Jutland rose against him and offered +to proclaim his uncle, Duke Frederick, king. Frederick accepted the +offer, and the nobles sent Christian a letter revoking their allegiance +to him. An inexplicable faint-heartedness now seized Christian, and, +instead of summoning his many faithful adherents to his support, he +commenced to negotiate with his enemies, and when that proved of no +avail, he embarked, April 20, 1523, with his queen, his children, Lady +Sigbrit and others, and sailed to Holland in order to seek the aid of +his powerful brother-in-law, Emperor Charles V. Duke Frederick was +now proclaimed king, but he had to divide the power with the Council +of State and sign a charter which gave the nobility many improper +privileges. Shortly afterward the Swedes elected Gustavus Wasa king, +and thus ended the union of the three countries. Both kings were +obliged to restore to the Hansa towns all trading privileges, in order +to be assured that they would not help King Christian to return. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +_Frederick I. (1524-1533)_ + + +Norway had taken no part in the expulsion of King Christian, and for +a time remained loyal to him. The newly-elected archbishop, Olaf +Engelbrektson, proceeded to Rome in order to obtain the recognition of +the Pope. During his absence Norway was to be governed by the Council +of State, which consisted of the bishops and a few noblemen. The +mightiest among the latter was Nils Henrikson of Oestraat, whose wife, +Inger Ottesdatter, was related to the old Norwegian royal house. This +ambitious woman, commonly called Lady Inger of Oestraat, took quite a +prominent part in public affairs, three of her daughters being married +to prominent Danes. + +King Frederick soon gained a number of influential adherents in Norway. +He sent to Bergen the Danish nobleman, Vincentz Lunge, who married +one of the daughters of Nils Henrikson and Inger of Oestraat. After +the death of Nils, Vincentz became a member of the Council of State +and commander at the fortress of Bergenhus. He used his influence +in favor of King Frederick; but he wanted the Council of State to be +as powerful in Norway as the Danish council was in Denmark. He was +supported by Archbishop Olaf, and the Council of State finally elected +Frederick king of Norway; but the king had to grant the council, and +especially Vincentz Lunge, great authority. The king issued a "Recess," +by which he pledged himself: 1. In the future not to sign himself heir +to Norway, as the country was a free elective kingdom; 2. To redeem the +Orkneys and the Shetland Isles, which his father had illegally pawned; +3. That the coronation was hereafter to take place in Throndhjem. The +king did not care so much about keeping these promises as about filling +the most important offices with Danish noblemen, who conducted public +affairs to suit themselves. Among those who were specially favored +were: Mogens Gyldenstierne, who became commandant at Akershus; Eske +Bilde, who was placed in command at Bergenhus, relinquished by Vincentz +Lunge in consideration of having the nunnery at Bergen (afterward +called Lungegaarden) deeded to him; Vincentz's brother-in-law, Nils +Lykke, and Henrik Krummedike, notorious from the slaying of Knut Alfson. + +King Frederick was an adherent of the doctrines of Luther, which had +now been commonly accepted in Northern Germany, and from thence were +introduced into Denmark. He compelled the Danish bishops to acknowledge +him as the head of the Church instead of the Pope, and took possession +of a number of cloisters, which he either kept for himself or gave +to the nobles. In Norway, too, he gave away some of the cloisters, +which, of course, caused great dissatisfaction among the clergy. The +discontent in Norway took a very definite form, when, contrary to the +Recess, the king sent his son Christian to Norway to be proclaimed heir +to the throne. Archbishop Olaf Engelbrektson and a majority of the +Council of State then declared that this could not be done, inasmuch +as Norway was an elective kingdom; and here the king was obliged to +let the matter rest. Meanwhile, the exiled King Christian, encouraged +by messages from Norway and Sweden, thought he saw a chance to regain +his lost throne. With the aid of Charles V., and some private parties, +he gathered an army and a fleet in Holland, and sailed for Norway in +October, 1531, with twenty-five ships and 7,000 men. On the way he +suffered by great storms and lost ten of his ships, but landed in +Norway with the remnants of his fleet. He gained a large number of +adherents, and, proceeding to Oslo, laid siege to the fortress of +Akershus. Mogens Gyldenstierne, however, defended it well, and when, +in the spring (1532), reinforcements arrived, in the form of a strong +army of Danes and Lubeckers, Christian made an agreement with Mogens, +by which he was to proceed, under a safe conduct, to Copenhagen, in +order to personally conduct peace negotiations with his uncle. Upon +his arrival in Denmark, however, the agreement was shamefully broken, +and the unfortunate king was thrown into prison at Sonderborg. He was +placed in a cell having a small barred window high up; the entrance was +closed with masonry, and the food was sent in through a hole in the +wall. Here he remained for eighteen years. In 1550 he was transferred, +by Frederick's successor, to a milder prison in Kallundborg +Castle, where he remained until he died, in the beginning of 1559, +seventy-eight years old. + +The Norwegians were severely punished for their alliance with +Christian. The chieftains of the Danish party, Bishop Olaf in Bergen +and the Danish noblemen, Eske Bilde, Vincentz Lunge and Nils Lykke, +held a meeting in Bergen shortly after Christian's defeat and levied a +heavy tax on the whole country. The archbishop was fined 15,000 Danish +marks. The Norwegians were compelled to relinquish any right, through +the Council of State, to elect any other king than the one elected for +Denmark. + +Shortly after Frederick had been again recognized by the Norwegians +as their king, he died, without being missed, at the age of sixty-two +years, April 10, 1533. During his reign the Lutheran faith was preached +throughout Denmark, but only in a few towns in Norway; for instance, in +Bergen. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +_Interregnum (1533-1537)_ + + +At the death of Frederick I. an interregnum occurred, as the Danish +estates were unable to agree upon the election of a new king. The +nobles favored the late king's oldest son, Duke Christian, but he being +devoted to Protestantism, the clergy wanted his younger brother, Hans, +who was only a child, and whom they hoped to win for the Catholic +faith. The bourgeoisie and the peasants desired to have the imprisoned +Christian II. reinstated. Under the pretext that a new king could not +be elected without the presence of the Norwegian Council of State, the +clergy succeeded in having the election postponed to a joint meeting +of the councils of both countries, to be held the following year. In +the meantime, the so-called "Count's Feud" broke out. The Lubeckers, +who were dissatisfied on account of the trading privileges granted to +the Dutch, sent an army to Denmark, under command of Christopher of +Oldenborg, who desired to recover the Danish throne for his cousin, +the captive king, Christian II. The count discovered the lower estates +to be such bitter enemies of the nobility, and ardent adherents of the +captive king, that he found no great difficulty in taking possession +of the Danish Isles and Scania. The Council of State, or a part of it, +now hastened to elect Frederick's son, Duke Christian, king (July 4, +1534). An alliance was formed with the Swedish king, Gustavus Wasa, +against the Lubeckers, and the fortunes of war soon turned in favor of +the new king. His brave general, Johan Rantzau, defeated the enemy at +Aalborg, crossed over to Fyn, and won a complete victory over the count +at Oexneberg, while Gustavus Wasa helped the king's party to retake +Scania. After the capture of Copenhagen, July 29, 1536, King Christian +III. was recognized by the whole of Denmark. + +While the Count's Feud was going on in Denmark, there was also strife +and disorder in Norway. Both parties had tried to win the support of +the powerful archbishop in Throndhjem, Olaf Engelbrektson, and through +him the control of Norway; but, while for several reasons he could not +recognize Christian III., he was for a time uncertain whom to support. +It was decided to hold a meeting in Throndhjem at Christmas, 1535, +for the purpose of electing a king; but the followers of Vincentz +Lunge and Eske Bilde in the southern and western parts of the country +held a meeting at Oslo, shortly before Whitsuntide, 1535, where they +proclaimed Christian III. king of Norway. A special embassy from the +queen-regent of Holland visited Archbishop Olaf, and, in the name of +Emperor Charles V., promised him powerful support if he would persevere +in his old loyalty to the captive king, Christian II.; and when the +agents of Christian III. arrived in Throndhjem, about Christmas +time, there was an uprising of the people, said to be instigated by +the archbishop, and many of the Danish magnates were imprisoned and +otherwise maltreated. Two of them, the counsellors Vincentz Lunge and +Nils Lykke--who were not only public opponents, but personal enemies, +of the archbishop--were murdered. + +The archbishop now adopted a vigorous policy, and tried to get +possession of the fortresses of Bergenhus and Akershus, but his +armies were defeated. When the adversity of Christian II.'s party in +Denmark further convinced the archbishop that the cause was hopeless, +he released the imprisoned agents and requested them to mediate with +the king, offering allegiance to Christian III. on condition that he +be allowed to retain his rank and property. The king, however, did +not accept the offer, but, in the spring of 1537, sent a fleet of +fourteen ships and 1,500 men, under the command of Truit Ulfstand and +Christopher Hvitfeld, to Throndhjem. Foreseeing the destruction of his +party, Archbishop Olaf Engelbrektson gathered the treasures of the +cathedral and fled to Holland, where this last champion of Norwegian +independence died the following year. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +_Christian III. (1537-1559)--The Reformation Introduced_ + + +At the great Diet, held in Copenhagen, in 1536, it was decided that +the Catholic faith should be abolished, the property of the bishops +and the cloisters was confiscated to the crown, and the Lutheran faith +was introduced into Denmark. A new ecclesiastical law was adopted, +called the Ordinance. The king also promised the rapacious nobility of +Denmark that henceforth Norway was to be, and remain, under the crown +of Denmark as any other part of the country, and not to be called a +separate kingdom, but a province of the Danish crown. The Norwegian +Council of State was abolished, the Catholic bishops were removed, and +Danish noblemen were installed at the fortresses to rule the country +in the king's name. From this time the Danish Council of State exerted +great influence in the government of Norway; but, in spite of all this, +Norway remained a separate state; it retained its old laws, and the +chancellor was still to be the supreme judge. + +After the flight of the archbishop, and the submission of Norway, the +Danish Church Ordinance was also made to apply to Norway; but the new +faith was little known there, and the Norwegians long clung to the old +faith. When the bishops had been removed, Danish magnates were sent +around in the country to take possession of "the silver, treasures +and goods of the old idolatry." In performing this function the Danish +magnates showed especial reformatory zeal. Thus, in Bergen, the church +robber, Eske Bilde, spared neither churches nor the graves of the +departed kings, while in Throndhjem Otto Stigson burned the library +and archives of the cathedral chapter, and Thord Roed committed havoc +in the same manner in Stavanger. Saint Olaf's costly shrine--which +stood on the high altar in the cathedral of Throndhjem, and was +ornamented with precious stones--as well as many other treasures of the +church, were sent to Copenhagen. Lutheran superintendents or bishops +were installed in place of the Catholic bishops; but the government +could not at once remove all the Catholic priests, because there +were not Lutheran ministers enough to put in their places, and, when +Lutheran ministers were appointed, they were generally treated with +ill-will, and sometimes even driven away or killed. The majority of +the Lutheran ministers were Danes, and Danish became the language of +the Church. The ablest of the new Lutheran bishops was Geble Pederson +in Bergen, who showed great zeal in educating Lutheran ministers. +Theological seminaries were established at each of the episcopal sees +of Throndhjem, Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo. The bishopric of Hamar was +consolidated with that of Oslo. + +The Hansa towns, in making peace with Christian III. after the Count's +Feud, had succeeded in retaining their trading privileges in Norway, +and, during the greater part of this reign, acted in their old insolent +and oppressive manner. In Bergen they made themselves especially +obnoxious, so that the people complained bitterly to the king. He +finally appointed, as commander in Bergen, the able Danish nobleman, +Christopher Walkendorf, who commenced to put limits to the arbitrary +and violent conduct of the Germans, and subdued them in such a way that +they never regained their old power. After this the Norwegian citizens +of Bergen gradually asserted themselves, and soon had the control of +the whole fishery trade with the northern districts. + +Christian III. died on the 1st of January, 1559, at the age of +fifty-five years. Although he reigned for twenty-three years, he never +visited Norway as king. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +_Frederick II. (1559-1588)_ + + +Christian III. was succeeded by his oldest son, Frederick II., who was +then twenty-five years old. This vain and worthless monarch commenced +his reign with a successful war on the liberty-loving Ditmarshers. +Later he waged war on the Swedish king, Erik XIV. The causes of this +disastrous war, the so-called Northern Seven Years' War (1563-1570), +were apparently trivial. Both kings wanted to carry the three crowns +in their coats-of-arms, and some Swedish messengers, who were on their +way to Germany, had been arrested in Denmark; but the real reasons were +the jealousy between the two kings and the desire of the Danes to again +unite the three countries under a Danish king. At sea the Danes were +unsuccessful, although they had very able admirals in Herluf Trolle and +Otto Rud. On land they fared no better in the beginning; but, in 1565, +the hero, Daniel Rantzau, won a great victory over a much larger army +than his own in the battle of Svarteraa in Halland. + +Norway, whose defences had been sadly neglected, suffered greatly, +during this war, from Swedish incursions. A Swedish army of 4,000 men, +under the command of the Frenchman, Claude Collart, conquered Jemteland +and Herjedalen and crossed the mountains to Throndhjem. The fortress +Stenviksholm was forced to surrender, and the people of Throndhjem +and the surrounding districts submitted without resistance and paid +homage to the Swedish king. Later, however, Claude Collart was defeated +by a fleet sent against him by the governor at Bergenhus, the rich +and highly-esteemed Erik Rosenkrands. Claude Collart took refuge in +the fortress Stenviksholm; but here he was besieged, and was finally +obliged to surrender. He was sent in irons to Copenhagen. Especially +hard for the Norwegians was the year 1567, when the Swedes harried +Hedemarken, Romerike and Soloer, and captured Hamar. The cathedral +of Hamar was burned, and the Swedes marched against Akershus, which +was bravely defended by the commander, Kristen Munk. The citizens of +Oslo burned their town in order to prevent the Swedes from obtaining +a foothold there. On this occasion the Swedes lay encamped on the +mountain side above the town, on a plain afterward called the "Swedish +plain." The Norwegians were hard pressed; but Erik Rosenkrands again +sent assistance from Bergen, and the Swedes were obliged to leave the +country with considerable loss. The incursions of the Swedes were, +however, repeated from time to time, and, during one of them, the town +of Sarpsborg was burned, January, 1570. Finally, in December, 1570, +peace was concluded at Stettin, and the terms were, on the whole, +favorable to Denmark. In return for relinquishing her claims to Sweden, +which could never have been established, she secured an acknowledgment +of her rights to Norway, Scania, Halland and Blekinge, while Sweden +returned the Norwegian provinces of Herjedalen and Jemteland, and paid +150,000 Rigsdalers for war expenses. Both countries retained the right +to carry the "three crowns" in their coats-of-arms. + +The Seven Years' War was not the only cause of suffering in Norway +during the reign of Frederick II. From 1572 Norway was given its own +_Statholder_ or viceroy, always a Danish nobleman, who was to reside +at Akershus, the fortress near Oslo. But the viceroy did not not have +the power, if indeed he desired it, to prevent the prefects and other +officers from subjecting the people to cruelties and extortions. They +arbitrarily levied taxes, conducted illegal trading, and treated the +peasants in a shameful manner. For ten years Erik Munk continued his +violent rule in Nedenes. At last, on complaint of the people, he was +sentenced to return illegal taxes and indemnify a peasant, whose +property he had taken. Later he was deprived of his office and placed +in a prison, where he committed suicide. Ludvig Munk, prefect in +Throndhjem, even became viceroy, although his conduct as prefect had +been such as to cause a conspiracy, which cost the instigators their +lives. + +The city of Fredericksstad, which was built to replace the ancient +Sarpsborg, was named after King Frederick. + +During his reign of twenty-nine years, Frederick II. was only once +in Norway on a short visit, and knew little of the distress of the +country. He amused himself at the palace of Copenhagen, where he led a +dissolute life, shortened by drink. He died, April 4, 1588, at the age +of fifty-four years. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +_Christian IV. (1588-1648)_ + + +Frederick II. was succeeded by his son, Christian IV., a king who +became very popular with the Norwegians. Christian was only eleven +years of age at his father's death. According to the desire of the late +king, his widow, Sophia of Mecklenburg, was to act as regent during +Christian's minority, but the powerful Council of State refused to +confirm such regency, and appointed four members of their own body, +Chancellor Niels Kaas, Admiral Peder Munk, and the Counsellors Jorgen +Rosenkrands and Christopher Walkendorf, as regents and guardians of +the prince. Christian was given an excellent education by competent +teachers. He early showed great love for the sea, and Admiral Munk +caused a little frigate to be built expressly for him, and had it +launched in a lake in Jutland, where he was taught by expert sailors +how to navigate his ship. + +When he was nineteen years old, Christian assumed the government in his +own name, and was crowned, with great ceremony, in Copenhagen, 1596. +None of the other Danish kings have been so zealous for the welfare +of Norway. He frequently visited the country, and once even (1599) +sailed along the northernmost coast into the White Sea, as he wished +to acquaint himself with the circumstances of the northern boundary +conflict with Sweden. On his return voyage he came to Bergen, where he +witnessed a trial in court, visited the German wharf and watched the +games of the Germans. He attended a jolly party at the apothecary's, +where the guests smashed the windows; the king's crowned monogram was +painted on the new panes. He also visited the peasants and drank toasts +with them, according to their custom. King Christian listened to the +complaints from Norway of the extortions of the Danish prefects, who, +one after another, were deposed from office or compelled to pay heavy +fines. He made the Norwegian-born nobleman, Hans Pederson Basse (or +Little), Chancellor of Norway. + +The old Norwegian laws, which were written in the old Norse language, +and therefore now hard to understand, were abolished, and, in their +stead, the king directed the learned chancellor, Hans Pederson Basse, +with the assistance of other experienced men, to elaborate a new code +of laws. Hans Pederson died (November, 1602) before this work was +completed, but his assistant and successor as Chancellor of Norway, +Anders Green, continued it, and the new laws were published in 1604. A +Norwegian ecclesiastical law (Ordinance) was also given, because the +Danish one was not suited for Norway. + +Christian IV. had three wars during his long reign, two with Sweden and +one with the Catholics in Germany. + +The first Swedish war (1611-1613) was fought principally for Norway's +sake. The Swedish king, Charles IX., called himself, at his coronation, +King of the Lapps, and laid claim to the Norwegian province of Finmark. +There was also a renewal of a conflict about "the three crowns" in +the coats-of-arms. Christian made a successful attack, destroyed the +newly-founded town of Gothenburg, and captured Elfsborg and the town +and fortress of Kalmar; hence this war is called the Kalmar War. +During the war, the old king, Charles IX., died, and was succeeded by +his son, the great Gustavus Adolphus. The war was largely conducted +with foreign mercenaries, as it was not yet usual to have standing +armies. Gustavus Adolphus had secured two such hired armies, which +were to try to proceed across Norway in order to reach Sweden, as +the Kattegat was closed with Danish ships. Colonel Munchaven landed +with eight hundred men from Holland in Söndmöre, where he plundered +the country, then tried in vain to attack Throndhjem, and afterward +proceeded through Stjördalen, where the people had become so +frightened, on account of his depredations, that they did not dare to +offer any resistance. Ravaging and plundering he made his way across +the mountain ridge Kjölen into the province of Jemteland, which he +conquered before joining the army in Sweden. The second foreign army +was given a different reception. It consisted of nine hundred men, who +came from Scotland under the command of Colonel George Sinclair. They +landed at Veblungsnes in Romsdal and proceeded up to Gudbrandsdal. +Under the leadership of Bailiff Lauritz Gram, the brave peasants of +the Gudbrandsdal armed themselves as best they could. The peasants +from the parishes of Lesje, Vaage, Fron, and Ringebu, gathered at the +narrow mountain pass, Kringen, near the river Laugen, to await the +arrival of the enemy. The advance guard was allowed to pass; but on the +arrival of the main body, with Colonel Sinclair himself, the Norwegians +suddenly attacked the Scotchmen, who were all shot down or driven into +the river. The advance guard was then overtaken and killed. Of the +whole force of nine hundred men, not one man, it is said, escaped. At +Kvam's Church a grave is still pointed out as being that of Colonel +Sinclair, and at Kringen there is a plain stone monument bearing this +inscription: "Here Colonel George Sinclair was shot, August 26, 1612." +After the Scotchmen the Norwegians call this war the "Scotch War." + +Peace was finally concluded at Knaeröd, January 26, 1613. Gustavus +Adolphus abandoned his claim to the Norwegian Finmark, and Christian +relinquished the captured fortresses upon being paid a million +Rigsdalers. Both countries were again allowed to use the three crowns +in their coats-of-arms. + +In his second war Christian IV. was not successful. This was his +participation in the Thirty Years' War as the ally of the German +Protestants against Emperor Ferdinand II. and the Catholics +(1625-1629). After his defeat in the battle of Lutter am Barenberge, +the imperial armies, under Tilly and Wallenstein, overran Holstein, +Schleswig, and Jutland, and, at the Peace of Lubeck, Christian was +obliged to pledge himself not to take any further part in the war. + +King Christian's third war was with Sweden. The Swedish king, Gustavus +Adolphus, had been fighting for the cause of the Protestants in +Germany, and, after his fall in 1632, the Swedes continued the war +under his able generals with much success. King Christian viewed with +alarm the growing power of the Swedes, and secretly allied himself with +the enemies of Sweden. The Swedes, however, anticipated his designs, +and, in December, 1643, the Swedish general, Torstensson, left the +scene of war in Bohemia and suddenly invaded Holstein, while another +Swedish army attacked the province of Scania; a Swedish and a Dutch +fleet were to convey these armies over to the Danish isles. The duchies +and Jutland were in a very short time conquered by the Swedes, and it +was only by Christian's wise and prompt proceedings that Funen and the +other islands were saved from falling into the hands of the enemy. +Although King Christian was then an old man of sixty-seven years, +he took command of his fleet, won a battle at Listerdyk, and fought +valiantly in the terrible naval battle of Kolbergheide, Femern, July +1, 1644, where he himself was badly wounded. On account of a lack of +vigilance on the part of the old Danish admiral Galt, the Swedish fleet +succeeded in escaping and uniting with the Dutch, and this combined +fleet, of sixty-four ships, thereupon attacked the Danish one of +seventeen ships, between Lolland and Falster. Unfortunately, a number +of the sailors were ashore, and some of the commanders took to hasty +flight. The remainder gathered around their admiral, the Norwegian, +Pros Nilson Mund, who would neither flee nor surrender, but fought to +the last man against the overwhelming force of the enemy. This defeat +placed Denmark in such a dangerous position that an immediate peace +became an absolute necessity. The peace was concluded at Bromsebro, +August 13, 1645, and King Christian was compelled to cede the Norwegian +provinces of Herjedalen and Jemteland, and the island of Gottland to +Sweden. + +In Norway, where the king had lately established a standing army, this +war had been conducted with some success. It was named the Hannibal's +Feud, after the viceroy, Hannibal Sehested, who, with the assistance of +the brave warrior, the clergyman in Ullensaker, Kield Stub, not only +kept the enemy out of Norway, but also collected heavy tributes from +the nearest Swedish provinces. After peace had been concluded, Kield +Stub returned to his pastorate, which he managed to his death, in 1663. + +Christian IV. did a great deal to promote the industries and commerce +of Norway. The Hanseatic office in Bergen was held in check, and +Norwegian trading enterprises were encouraged. The mining industry, +which had heretofore been neglected, became quite active. When silver +had been discovered in Sandsvaer, in 1623, he founded the mining-town +of Kongsberg. He also established the copper-works at Röros, where +copper was accidentally discovered by the peasant, Hans Aasen, in +1640. Oslo having been destroyed by fire, King Christian requested +the inhabitants to move across the bay, closer to the fortress of +Akershus, where he laid out the new town, the present capital of +Christiania (1624). At the mouth of the Otter River he founded the town +of Christianssand (1643), which afterward became the seat of the bishop +instead of Stavanger. + +King Christian was very often in Norway. The last time was during the +year following the Peace of Bromsebro. After a pleasant sojourn of +seven weeks he returned to Denmark, where, shortly afterward, he died +(February 28, 1648), in the seventy-first year of his life. + +Christian IV. was first married to Anna Katherina of Brandenburg, +who died in 1612. In 1615 he entered into a morganatic marriage with +Kristine Munk, a lady of noble family, to whom he gave the title of +Countess of Schleswig-Holstein, and with whom he lived happily many +years. They had several children, among whom was the highly gifted +Eleonora Kristine, who was married to the Danish nobleman, Corfitz +Ulfeld, and who, with her ambitious husband, exerted a great influence +over the king during the latter years of his life. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +_Frederick III. (1648-1670)--Absolutism Introduced (1660)_ + + +After the death of Christian IV. some months elapsed before the Council +of State would agree to elect his son, Frederick III., to the throne. +He was finally elected toward the end of the year 1648, after having +given the nobility still greater power, by signing a more humiliating +charter than any king had yet granted; but it also became the last one. +The conditions were such that he could not exercise any of the powers +of a king without the consent of the council. + +During the first nine years of Frederick's reign the country had peace; +but the war which then broke out was most fatal in its result. The +Swedish king, Charles X. Gustavus, was at war with Poland, and rumor +had it that he had suffered serious defeats. Although the country +highly needed peace, the army and navy, as well as the finances, +being in a miserable condition, King Frederick believed there was an +opportunity to recover the lost provinces, and war against Sweden +was declared, 1657. But King Charles hastily left Poland and invaded +Denmark, and, before the year was closed, he had conquered Holstein, +Schleswig and Jutland. The winter being unusually severe, he could +march across the ice to the islands of Langeland, Lolland, and +Falster, and, in February, he stood with his whole army in Zealand +(Sjælland) and threatened Copenhagen. King Frederick was obliged to +sign the peace at Roskilde (February 26, 1658), by which he ceded to +Sweden the Norwegian provinces of Bahus-Len and Throndhjem Stift and +the Danish provinces of Scania, Halland, Blekinge, and the island of +Bornholm. Thus Norway was again deprived of some territory, although +the Norwegians, under Iver Krabbe (after whom the war was called the +Krabbe War), had repulsed the attacks of the Swedes, while General +Jorgen Bjelke had conquered Jemteland, which, however, had to be +evacuated when peace was concluded. + +Having discovered the great weakness of Denmark, King Charles thought +he saw a chance to place the three crowns on his head, and five months +later he broke the peace, under some pretext, and again landed with +a well-equipped army, with which he besieged Copenhagen. He captured +the castle of Kronborg and other points of defence, and arrogantly +declared, to the Danish messengers sent to him, that "it could matter +little whether the king of the Danes was called Charles or Frederick, +and that he would explain the causes of the war after Denmark had been +taken." At Copenhagen, however, King Charles met a stronger resistance +than he had expected. A Dutch fleet, under Admiral Opdam, succeeded +in forcing its way past Kronborg and the Swedish fleet, and brought +provisions and help to the starving citizens. When Charles, during the +night of February 10, 1659, tried to take the city by assault, he was +repulsed after a desperate conflict, leaving 2,000 dead and wounded +in the hands of the Danes. Later in the year King Frederick succeeded +in securing the assistance of France, England and Holland. After a +conference held at the Hague, a Dutch fleet, under Admiral de Ruyter, +was sent to aid the Danes, and in November, 1659, the Swedish army was +defeated at Nyborg. + +King Charles, after this defeat, turned his principal attention to +Norway, where his forces needed reinforcements. The able Major-General +Reichwein had proceeded to Throndhjem, shortly after the renewal +of the war, with a force of soldiers from the southern part of +Norway, and, with the aid of the inhabitants, had driven the Swedes +out of Throndhjem Stift. In the south, the citizens of Halden (now +Frederickshald) had especially distinguished themselves under the +brave Colonel Tonne Hvitfeld, the commandant at the fortress, and +the merchant, Peter Olafson Normand. Halden was twice visited by the +Swedes, and both attacks were heroically repelled by the citizens. In +the beginning of 1660 King Charles sent an army of 5,000 men, under +Field-Marshal Kagg, against Halden, and a vigorous siege was commenced. +For six weeks one assault after another was repulsed. About half of the +able-bodied citizens had fallen, the town was partly destroyed, and +the fortifications were badly damaged. But the Swedish army had also +suffered great losses, and on February 23d the siege was discontinued +and the army returned home, upon learning of the death of Charles +X. at Gothenburg (February 13). The Swedes now desired peace, and +King Frederick had no reason to wish to continue the war. He readily +concluded a peace with the queen-regent of Sweden, which was signed +at Copenhagen, May 27, 1660. The Swedes relinquished Throndhjem Stift +and the island of Gottland; but otherwise the terms of the Peace of +Roskilde were confirmed. + +Denmark was in a miserable condition at the end of the war, without +fleet, without money, and hopelessly in debt. In his great need the +king summoned the nobles, the clergy, and the burgher class to a diet +at Copenhagen. The nobles, as usual, asserted their special privilege +of exemption from taxation; but the other estates joined in an appeal +to the king for the curtailment of the privileges of the nobles, and +proposed a disposal of the crown fiefs to the highest bidders without +regard to rank. While these propositions were made, the gates of the +city were closed by order of the burgomaster, Hans Nansen, and a +strong guard was placed at the doors of the hall where the meeting was +held. The nobles, being taken by surprise, were obliged to agree to +the payment of the taxes demanded of them. Later, by similar means, +the nobles were compelled to assent to an important change in the +government. The charter signed by the king at the time of his election +was declared void, the Council of State was abolished, and Denmark was +declared henceforth to be a hereditary kingdom. Thus, by a bloodless +and sudden revolution, King Frederick had become perfect master of +the situation. He was authorized to draft a new constitution, which +might be for the benefit of all classes; but this constitution never +appeared. He prepared a charter setting forth the absolute power of +the king, and this document was signed by all classes throughout +Denmark. Later he published the so-called Royal Law, which confirmed +the absolute power of the king. The only unconditional demands upon him +were, that he must belong to the Lutheran Church, that he must reside +within the country, and that he must not divide his countries. + +The effect of the establishment of absolutism in Norway was at first +only that the country was placed under one master, the king, instead +of the many who had composed the Danish Council of State. Having, +since 1537, been ruled principally by Danish nobles, the country +gained by having absolutism introduced, as it was placed on an equal +footing with Denmark. The king now ruled with the same absolute power +in both countries, and the power of the Danish nobles was abolished or +greatly reduced. They were obliged to take their share of the burden of +taxation, and they suffered a great loss by the abolition of the fiefs. +The fiefs were changed into _Amts_, or counties, to be administered by +officers appointed and paid regular salaries by the king. The revenues +of the state were increased almost fivefold. In the new government +"colleges," which superseded the Council of State, citizens without +rank of nobility might become members. Thus able citizens, who were not +noblemen, obtained a chance to rise to power and dignity. Among those +who thus rose to high positions were Peter Schumacher and Kort Adeler. + +Kort Syvertson Adeler was born in Brevig, Norway, December 26, 1622, +learned seamanship in Holland under the famous Admiral Tromp, and +distinguished himself as a brave fighter, first in Dutch, and afterward +in Venetian service, against the Turks, where he performed great +heroic deeds. Once he forced his way, with a single ship, through a +line of seventy-seven Turkish galleys, and another time he boarded the +Turkish admiral's ship, fought single-handed with Admiral Ibrahim, and +beheaded the admiral with his own sword. Several powers desired to get +the experienced naval hero in their service; but Frederick III. called +him home and made him admiral in the Danish navy. For twelve years he +labored with great zeal in establishing an efficient navy for Denmark +and Norway, but died in 1675 without having had a chance to make use of +it. + +Frederick III., who had not inherited his great father's affection for +Norway, visited this country only once in great haste. He died February +9, 1670, about sixty years old. During his last years he busied himself +a great deal with alchemy, and an itinerant Italian, who claimed to +know the mystic art, helped him to squander a couple of millions of +Danish dollars on this foolishness. + +The fortress of Frederickssteen and the city of Frederickshald +(formerly Halden) were named after Frederick III. + +Frederick III. was married to the proud and ambitious Sophie Amalie of +Hesse-Cassel, who, on account of her jealousy and hatred, caused the +king's half-sister, Eleonore Kristine Ulfeld, to be tried on some false +and absurd charges, and imprisoned in Blaataarn (the Blue Tower) in +Copenhagen, where she remained for twenty-two years. She was liberated +on the death of her enemy in 1685. King Frederick's and Sophie Amalie's +children were, besides Crown Prince Christian, George, who was married +to Queen Anna of England; Anne Sophie, who was married to John +George III. of Saxony, and became the mother of Augustus II.; Ulrike +Eleonore, who was married to the Swedish king Charles XI., and became +the mother of the famous Charles XII.; Frederikke Amalie, married to +Duke Christian Albrecht of Gottorp, and Wilhelmina, married to Prince +Charles of the Palatinate. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +_Christian V. (1670-1699)_ + + +Christian V., who succeeded his father, Frederick III., in 1670, was +the first Danish-Norwegian king who mounted the throne by hereditary +right, and was not obliged to sign a charter, dictated by the nobles, +in order to be elected. He was a brave and vigorous young man; but +he early disappointed those who had placed great hopes in him, as he +wasted his time and strength on hunting and other amusements, and left +the government to the care of his favorites, who were often incapable +and selfish men. He loved pomp and splendor, and sought to imitate +the extravagant Louis XIV. of France, spending much more money than +the treasury could afford. He especially fancied everything that was +German, and surrounded himself with indigent German noblemen, whom +he helped to make their fortunes in Denmark. At court the language +spoken was the German, the ministers preached in German, actors played +in German, and the highest officers were Germans. As many of the old +noble families had withdrawn from the capital, where they no longer +exercised their old influence, and had retired to their estates, where +they were still powerful on account of their wealth, King Christian, +determined to secure other support for the throne, created a new and +higher nobility, and established the titles and ranks recognized +in Germany. Thus he filled his court with counts and barons, and +adopted the strict etiquette and ceremonies of the French court. He +also established two orders of knighthood, the order of Dannebrog +and the order of the Elephant. In Norway, the earldom (county) of +Laurvik was established (1671) for the benefit of the king's friend +and half-brother, Ulrik Frederick Gyldenlöve, whose descendants, the +Counts of Danneskiold-Laurvik, and later Ahlefeldt-Laurvik, for a long +time owned this beautiful county. The old royal estate Sem, together +with the deanery of Tunsberg, was made into another earldom (1673) +for the then very powerful Minister of State Griffenfeld, who called +himself Count of Griffenfeld and Tunsberg; after he had fallen from +grace, this county was transferred to his rival, Gyldenlöve, who, +with the permission of the king, sold a part of it--afterward called +Jarlsberg--to the German-born field-marshal of Norway, Gustav Wilhelm +Wedel, the progenitor of the family of Wedel-Jarlsberg. Rosendal, the +only barony in Norway, was founded, in 1678, by Ludvig-Rosenkrands, a +Danish nobleman, who, by marriage, had come into possession of large +estates in Bergen Stift. + +King Christian's adviser was, for some years, the eminent Danish +statesman, Peter Griffenfeld. His original name was Peter Schumacher, +and he was the son of a wine-seller in Copenhagen. His father died in +poverty, after which Bishop Brochmann took him into his home. Here King +Frederick saw him and had him sent abroad for six years at his expense. +After his return he became librarian to the king, and occasionally +assisted the king in state affairs. On his death-bed the king asked +his son to take care of Peter Schumacher, saying: "Make a great man +of him, but not too rapidly." Christian did not exactly follow this +advice: in the following year he made him Count of Tunsberg, with the +name of Griffenfeld, and appointed him great chancellor of the realm. +Griffenfeld became greatly renowned. The emperor made him an imperial +count, and Louis XIV. called him one of the greatest statesmen in the +world. But, on account of this, he soon had many jealous rivals at +the court, who aroused the king's suspicions as to his loyalty; he +was deposed and accused of several great crimes, although some of the +acts construed as crimes were acts of statesmanship for which he had +deserved the greatest praise. He was condemned to death and brought +to the scaffold; but, at the last moment, a message arrived from the +king, that the sentence had been commuted to imprisonment for life. +"This mercy is more cruel than death," exclaimed Griffenfeld. He was +first imprisoned in the castle of Copenhagen, and remained there for +four years; but as the king missed his able services, and his enemies +feared that he might again be put in power, they caused him to be +removed to the fortress of Munkholmen at Throndhjem, where he remained +for eighteen years. At first he whiled away the time by reading and +writing; but later they cruelly took away pen and ink. He wrote +numerous apothegms in the margins of his books with little bits of +lead, which he tore from the window-panes, or with coals on the wall. +He was given his liberty in 1698, but died the following year (March +11, 1699), in Throndhjem, at the age of sixty-four years. + +As the ally of the Elector of Brandenburg, but principally in the +hope of recovering the lost provinces, King Christian, against the +advice of Griffenfeld, commenced war against the Swedish king, Charles +XI. This war, which lasted from 1675 to 1679, was called the Scania +War, because that province was the principal scene of action. The +Danes captured Wismar and some places in Scania, but lost the battles +of Halmstad, Lund, and Landskrona. At sea, however, the Danes were +generally successful. Admiral Kort Adeler had put the navy in good +condition and had a worthy successor in the naval hero, Niels Juel, +who won victories at Oeland and Kolbergerheide, and especially in the +great naval battle of Kjögebugt (October 4, 1677). As Griffenfeld +had foreseen, however, the Danes could accomplish little against the +allies of France, and Christian was obliged to accede to peace proposed +by Louis XIV. The peace was concluded at Lund (1679), and all that +Christian V. obtained, for his efforts during an expensive four years' +war, was permission to take with him ten cannons from each of the +conquered fortresses. + +During this war, which the Norwegians called the Gyldenlöve Feud, after +their leader, the brave Ulrik Frederick Gyldenlöve, the Norwegians +several times defeated the Swedes. In February, 1676, Gyldenlöve +marched into Bahus Len with 11,000 men, conquering Udevalla and +Wenersborg. The following year he took the fortified town of Marstrand +by storm and compelled the fortress of Carlsten to surrender. In +order to prevent the Norwegians from making further progress, the +Swedish chancellor, Magnus de la Gardie, hastened into Bahus Len with +8,000 men, but was defeated by a much smaller Norwegian army, under +Major-General Hans Lövenhjelm, at Udevalla, August 28, 1677. About +1,500 Swedes were slain and two hundred were captured, together with +fourteen pieces of artillery and all the supplies. The following year +the ever-active Gyldenlöve attacked Bahus Castle, which, however, +he was unable to capture, as it was defended with great heroism and +perseverance. The war ended, on the part of Norway, with an incursion +by Gyldenlöve into Sweden in 1679, in order to avenge a similar +expedition which the Swedish General Sparre had made into the region +of Throndhjem the previous year, on which occasion the copper works at +Röros had been burned. + +The Norwegian code of laws, which is yet partly in force, was +elaborated by direction of Christian V., dated April 15, 1687, and +published April 14, 1688. He abolished Latin singing in the churches, +introduced a new church ritual and a Danish hymn-book. + +Christian V. visited Norway only once (1685). On Dovre Mountain he +laid the foundation for a monument, with an inscription in the German +language. He died August 25, 1699, leaving a debt of 1,110,000 Danish +dollars, although he had tried to replenish his treasury by hiring out +Norwegian and Danish soldiers as mercenaries to other countries. He was +married to the gentle Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Cassel. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX + +_Frederick IV. (1699-1730)_ + + +At the death of Christian V., his oldest son ascended the throne under +the title of Frederick IV. His education had been sadly neglected; but, +by untiring industry and energy after his accession to the throne, +he gained considerable practical knowledge of the affairs of the +government. He gave especial attention to the finances of the country, +and, by a careful reduction of all unnecessary expenses, he succeeded +in almost obliterating the great public debt. To his discredit, +however, it must be admitted that this result was obtained partly with +the blood of his subjects, as he secured large sums for the treasury +by hiring out to the emperor 8,000, and to England and Holland 12,000, +of the soldiers of Denmark and Norway, for service in the Spanish war +about the order of succession. These soldiers distinguished themselves +and fought with honor in many battles. + +From his father, King Frederick had inherited certain disputes with +Duke Frederick of Holstein, which led to a war; but the duke received +aid from his brother-in-law, the Swedish king, Charles XII., who +invaded Zealand (Sjælland) and marched against Copenhagen, and King +Frederick was obliged to accept a hasty peace at Traventhal, Holstein, +August 18, 1700, on unfavorable terms. + +After the peace at Traventhal Charles XII. turned his forces against +Russia and Poland, where he won victory after victory, until finally, +on the 27th of June, 1709, he lost the battle of Pultowa. On account of +the dangerous position in which this defeat placed the Swedish king, +King Frederick thought the opportunity had come to recover the lost +provinces. He renewed his old allegiance with Russia and Poland, and +began the Great Northern War (1709-1720). With 16,000 men he invaded +Scania and captured several towns; but the Swedish field-marshal, +Magnus Stenbock, hastily gathered an army of undisciplined peasants +and defeated the Danes at the battle of Helsingborg (1710). In this +war also the Danish-Norwegian fleet rendered great service, fighting +the Swedish fleet with success in the Baltic and especially in the +North Sea. On October 4, 1710, it was attacked by the Swedish fleet +in Kjögebugt. The Norwegian, Ivar Hvitfeld (a son of Tonne Hvitfeld, +who had distinguished himself at Frederickshald), commanded the ship +"Dannebrog," which took fire early in the fight. He might have saved +himself by beaching the ship, but there was danger of thus spreading +the fire to the rest of the Danish fleet and to the town. He therefore +stayed where he was, drew closer to the enemy and fired volley after +volley from the forward guns, until the fire reached the powder +magazine. The ship was blown up, and he and his five hundred men +perished. + +In the latter part of 1715, Charles XII. returned to Sweden, after an +absence of fifteen years, and succeeded in giving new courage to the +Swedes, who were exhausted from the hardships of the long war. The +winter was very severe, so that the Sound was frozen over, and, in +January, 1716, Charles intended to lead his army of 20,000 men across +the ice and invade the Danish islands; but, just as he was ready for +this exploit, a thaw suddenly set in, so that he could not effect the +crossing, and, not having sufficient transports, Charles decided to +direct his attacks against Norway. + +The defences of Norway were in a miserable condition. The trained +regiments had been sent south to Denmark, so that the army consisted +almost wholly of the National Guards, which were without training, +poorly clothed, and without the necessary supplies. The fortresses +were short of provisions, arms, and ammunition, and there was no money +in the treasury. The commanding general, the old and feeble Barthold +von Lützow, had to confine his operations to garrisoning the silver +works at Kongsberg and the principal passes. The natural advantages +of the country and the patriotism and perseverance of the inhabitants +constituted the principal defence. + +By three different routes the Swedes invaded Norway. Charles himself +entered Höland in March, 1716. At the Riser farm the Swedish advance +guard was attacked by two hundred Norwegian dragoons under the brave +Colonel Ulrich Christian Kruse, and, during the fight, the colonel +himself killed fifteen men and wounded Charles's brother-in-law, the +prince of Hesse. After a desperate fight, and the fall of the brave +Captain Michelet, Colonel Kruse, who was so severely wounded that he +could not hold his sword, surrendered to King Charles with twenty men; +sixty lay dead or wounded, and the remainder had escaped. The Swedes +had one hundred and seventy killed and wounded. Charles highly praised +his brave opponent, had his own surgeon attend to his wounds, gave him +a sword, and asked him if his brother, King Frederick, had many such +officers. Kruse answered: "Of them he has many, and I am far from +being among the ablest." + +Charles thereupon occupied Christiania and commenced to besiege the +fortress of Akershus, but could not accomplish much for lack of heavy +artillery. While he lay in camp there he sent out expeditions in +different directions. The Swedish colonel, Axel Löwen, was sent out +with six hundred dragoons to destroy Kongsberg silver works. He was to +proceed by way of Ringerike, because the road from Drammen was blocked +by the Norwegians; and, on the evening of March 28, 1716, he arrived +with his force at the Norderhov parsonage, Ringerike. The parson, the +learned Jonas Ramus, was confined to his bed by sickness, but his wife, +the intrepid Anna Kolbjörnsdatter, received the soldiers well in order +to avoid plundering. Having learned, by paying close attention to her +guests, that it was their intention early the next morning to surprise +a number of Norwegian dragoons, who lay encamped at the Steen farm and +knew nothing of the arrival of the Swedes, she asked and obtained the +permission of the colonel to send her servant-girl out to a neighboring +farm for something that was needed for the table. Thus she was enabled +to send warning to the Norwegians about the plans of the enemy. Under +the leadership of Captain Sehested and Sergeant Thor Hovland the +Norwegians set out at midnight, and, guided by the fires which Anna had +started under pretext of warming the chilly soldiers, they surprised +and overpowered the Swedish force. Colonel Löwen was captured, together +with one hundred and sixty men; thirty were killed, and the remainder +escaped. + +In April a Swedish force, under Colonel Falkenberg, was attacked and +defeated at Moss by the Norwegians, under the command of Major-General +Vincents Budde and Colonel Hvitfeld, who took four hundred prisoners +and captured a large quantity of supplies. At the parsonage of Skieberg +the Swedish general, Ascheberg, lay with 2,000 men and could hear the +shooting at Moss; but the parson, Peter Rumohr, who had intercepted the +correspondence between the Swedes at the parsonage and those at Moss, +gave such exaggerated accounts of the defeat of the Swedes and of large +reinforcements to the Norwegians, that General Ascheberg hastily broke +camp and returned to Sweden. When King Charles, some time afterward, +heard of this, he became so enraged at the minister that he caused him +to be captured and brought to Sweden, where he died in prison. + +As the roads were becoming very bad, and Charles feared that the +Norwegians contemplated cutting off his retreat, he suddenly +withdrew from Christiania and shortly afterward attacked the city +of Frederickshald. Here the citizens had armed themselves under the +brave brothers Peter and Hans Kolbjörnson, nephews of Kield Stub, +and half-brothers of Anna Kolbjörnsdatter, and the Swedes had to buy +every step with blood. Charles captured the city on the night between +the 3d and 4th of July, 1716, and the Norwegians had to retire to +the fortress, Frederickssteen. That the enemy might not find shelter +behind the houses against the shots from the fortress, the citizens +put fire to the town. Peter Kolbjörnson commenced with his own house, +and soon the whole city was in flames. Charles had to withdraw from +Frederickssteen, with a loss of 1,500 men and three generals, to his +headquarters at Torpum, intending to renew the siege as soon as he +could get his heavy artillery from his transport ships at Dynekilen, +near Svinesund. But in this hope he was disappointed, as the Norwegian +naval hero, Peter Tordenskiold, by a daring attack shortly afterward, +succeeded in capturing or destroying the whole transport fleet at +Dynekilen. + +Peter Wessel, afterward ennobled under the name of Tordenskiold, was +born November 7, 1691, in Throndhjem, where his father, Jan Wessel, was +a merchant. As he showed no disposition for college studies, he was +placed with a tailor as apprentice; but he ran away from his master, +came to Copenhagen, where he hired out as a sailor, and made journeys +to the West Indies and to India. Afterward he became a naval cadet, +made another trip to India, and on his return came to Bergen just +as the Great Northern War had broken out. He immediately proceeded +overland to Christiania, where the commanding general, Waldemar +Lövendahl, took a fancy to him and gave him the command of a ship of +four guns, "Ormen" (the Serpent), with which he made cruises along the +Swedish coast. He soon became renowned for his courage, and was given a +better ship called "Lövendahl's galley," a frigate of twenty guns. By +his heroic deeds and brilliant bravery he rose, in the comparatively +short time of ten years, from cadet to vice-admiral, and was ennobled +by King Frederick IV. "For your rare courage and loyalty," the king +said to him, "we have raised you to our nobility. Your name shall +hereafter be Tordenskiold (Thunder-shield)." "Well, then," answered the +young man, "I will so thunder in the ears of the Swedes that they will +say you have not given me the name without reason." + +The entrance to the harbor of Dynekilen is at most places only four +hundred to four hundred and fifty feet wide. On a little peninsula in +the inlet the Swedes had erected a battery of six twelve-pounders, and +on each side of the narrow inlet 4,000 infantry were stationed. On the +evening of July 7th, when Tordenskiold lay with two frigates, three +galleys and two other vessels outside of Stromstad, he learned from +some Swedish fishermen, who were brought aboard as prisoners, where +the Swedish fleet lay, and also that a number of the officers had been +invited to a wedding, while the admiral was to have a banquet on board +for the others. He concluded that the officers, therefore, would be in +poor condition for fighting, and at daybreak he weighed anchor, and +cried over to the brave Lieutenant Peter Grib, who was commanding the +other frigate: "I am informed that the Swedish admiral is going to have +a carousal on his fleet to-day. Would it not be advisable if we went in +with our ships and became his unbidden guests? The pilot says we have +favorable wind." Peter Grib was ready, and Tordenskiold at once steered +into the harbor. Without firing a shot he ran his ship in through a +heavy fire from all sides. It was not till he came so near that his +six-pounders could be of effect, and when he had reached the widest +part of the inlet where he could arrange his ships with the broadsides +toward the enemy, that he commenced to fire. After three hours of +uninterrupted cannonading the Swedish fire began to slacken, and at +one o'clock (July 8, 1716) the Swedish flag was lowered. The Swedes +had then beached as many of their ships as possible, and soldiers +and sailors were trying to save themselves by flight. Tordenskiold's +victory was complete; forty-four ships, carrying sixty guns, were +either burned or sunk. Not a single ship was saved, and the next day +King Charles was on his retreat to Sweden. + +In September, 1718, King Charles again attacked Norway. He sent +General Armfeldt with 14,000 men into Throndhjem Stift, where the +commanding general, W. Budde, had to confine himself to the defence +of the city of Throndhjem. King Charles himself moved against +Frederickssteen with 20,000 men and began a vigorous siege. The outer +redoubt was stormed and taken after a brave resistance, and the Swedish +trenches were only two hundred and fifty paces from the fortress +when King Charles was killed in one of the trenches by a bullet from +the fortress, December 11, 1718. A few days later the Swedish army +withdrew and returned to Sweden. General Armfeldt, on receiving this +intelligence, retreated from Throndhjem and started to return to the +frontier across the Tydal Mountains. On the mountain his army was +overtaken by a fearful snowstorm; many hundreds froze to death, and +many of those who escaped became cripples for life. + +Frederick IV. now proceeded to Norway himself, and invaded Sweden +with 15,000 men and occupied Stromstad, while Tordenskiold, by daring +strategy, took possession of Marstrand and captured the fortress +Carlsten. The war, which had lasted eleven years, was ended by a peace, +which Charles's sister, Ulrika Eleonora, concluded at Fredericksborg +Castle, 1720. By this peace Sweden was compelled to agree never to help +the Duke of Holstein to recover Schleswig, to pay 600,000 Rigsdalers, +and to relinquish its right to exemption from tolls in the Oere Sound, +a right which Sweden had had since 1645. + +Peter Tordenskiold lived only a few months after peace had been +concluded. He was allowed to make a journey abroad, and at Hanover he +thrashed a gambler, Colonel Stahl, who had cheated one of his friends. +For this he was challenged to a duel with the colonel, and in their +encounter he was killed, November 12, 1720, being then a little over +twenty-nine years of age. + +The interests of Norway were often neglected during the reign of +Frederick IV. In order to raise money the government sold all the +Norwegian churches, and the lands belonging to them, to private +parties, because the people, who from time immemorial had owned the +churches, could not produce deeds or other documents showing title. The +northern districts of Norway were especially neglected. The trade with +Finmarken had, to the great detriment of that part of the country, for +a long time been leased to the citizens of Bergen; in 1720 it was sold +to three citizens of Copenhagen, and the result was greatly increased +distress among the people. + +During the reign of Frederick IV., two Norwegians distinguished +themselves by missionary work. One of them was Thomas von Westen from +Throndhjem, who worked with great zeal for the cause of Christianity +in Finmarken. The other was Hans Egede, a clergyman from Vaagen +in Nordland, who proceeded to Greenland, where, for years, he +indefatigably devoted himself to the work of promoting the spiritual +and material welfare of the inhabitants. + +Frederick IV. died in 1730, fifty-nine years old. + + + + +CHAPTER L + +_Christian VI. (1730-1746)_ + + +Christian VI., who succeeded his father, Frederick IV., in 1730, +commenced his reign by discharging the most of his father's experienced +advisers and friends. The very able Bartholomew Deichmann, bishop at +Akershus, who was most highly esteemed during the former reign, was +deposed and indicted, but died shortly after his degradation, April, +1731. The king allowed himself to be controlled by his German queen, +the proud and extravagant Sophie Magdalena. The language and customs of +the country were banished from the court, and a proud and haughty tone +introduced. The king rarely spoke with any of his subjects unless they +belonged to the higher nobility or were Germans. The queen had a mania +for building, and large sums were expended on costly palaces in and +about Copenhagen. + +The Danish-Norwegian Church had also been affected by the pietistic +revivalism brought about in the German Protestant Church by Spener +and Francke. Christian himself was a pious man, but his religion was +mournful and morbid. He was, to a great extent, controlled by his +pietistic court-chaplain, Bluhme. A Sabbath ordinance was enacted +(1735), by which several preposterous rules about church-going were +introduced and some antiquated laws were again put in force. Neglect +of attendance at church was punished in the cities by money fines, and +in the country by being placed in the stocks, which, for that purpose, +were erected outside of every church door. Public amusements hitherto +considered harmless--dancing, games and festivities--were forbidden; +weddings and social parties were not to be held on a holiday or the +evening before. A general Church Inspection College was established in +1737, a kind of Court of Inquisition, whose duty it was to watch over +the proper performance of church services. The result of this unwise +zeal for religion was a general state of hypocrisy and intolerance. +Unscrupulous people, who feigned holiness and imitated the pietists at +court, were given offices, while those who were sincere and independent +were left out. + +One of the beneficial results of the pietism which ruled during the +reign of Christian VI. was the introduction of the Confirmation in the +Lutheran faith. This was introduced upon the advice of court chaplain +Bluhme, by the ordinance of January 13, 1736; the same year in which +the second centennial of the introduction of the Reformation was +celebrated. The Confirmation led to an improved Christian education +of the people, and indirectly compelled all classes of the people to +read. Great zeal was also shown in the printing of Bibles and other +religious books, and some improvement was made in the Norwegian Church +organization by an ordinance of August 13, 1734. The Latin schools were +reorganized in 1739, the teachers being given better salaries, while +more suitable text-books were introduced. + +Some efforts were also made to improve the trade, manufactures and +navigation of Norway, but these efforts were not always well directed. +The trade with Finmarken, Iceland and Greenland was leased to +companies, whose aim seemed to be the greatest possible extortion. Very +unwise and harmful to the country was the king's decree forbidding the +people of southern Norway to buy grain from any other country than +Denmark. The navy was greatly improved under the supervision of Count +Frederick Danneskiold-Samsoe, Admiral Suhm and Constructor Benstrup; +but their work took large sums of money. + +Toward the close of this reign Norway suffered a great deal from hard +times and famine, in common with the greater part of Northern Europe. +During the years 1720 and 1741 there died in Norway 31,346 more persons +than were born. Many died of starvation, and, in many districts, the +people had to make meal from bark, bones and straw. A collection +amounting to about 14,000 Rigsdalers (Danish dollars) was made in +Denmark in order to help some of the most needy. + +During the reign of Christian VI. lived "the father of the +Danish-Norwegian literature," the witty and very productive author, +Ludvig Holberg (born in Bergen, 1684, died 1754); also the active +and eloquent Peter Hersleb (born in Throndhjem, 1689), who from 1730 +to 1737 was bishop at Akershus, and from 1737, until his death in +1757, bishop of Zealand, and who may be considered the father of the +public school system. Two Danish bishops of this time who are held +in respectful memory by the Norwegians are Erik Pontoppidan, who +was bishop in Bergen from 1747 to 1755,--author of "Explanation of +Luther's Catechism," which is still extensively used in the Norwegian +schools--and Hans Brorson (bishop in Ribe, 1694-1764), the author of +many church hymns. + +Christian VI., during his reign of sixteen years, only visited +Norway once, in the summer of 1733. He died August 6, 1746, in his +forty-seventh year. In spite of the long peace, a flourishing trade, +and large subsidies from foreign powers for mercenaries, which he had +furnished from Norway and Denmark, he left a debt of over two million +Rigsdalers. + + + + +CHAPTER LI + +_Frederick V. (1746-1766)_ + + +When Christian VI. died, his eldest son, Frederick V., ascended +the throne. He was a man of limited intelligence, but of a kindly +disposition. By his affability and his taste for the language of the +country he stood in sharp contrast with his late father, and he and his +lovely young queen, Louisa, daughter of George II. of England, soon +won the hearts of the people. He abolished all the harsh ordinances +against amusements, the national theatre was opened again, and Ludvig +Holberg had the pleasure, in his old age, to again see his comedies +played and received with great applause. The change was at first +beneficial, especially as long as Queen Louisa lived; but, after her +death, in 1751, when her place had been taken by Juliana Marie of +Brunswick, the liberal tone at court often degenerated into giddiness +and license, and, in an attempt to imitate the French manners, a luxury +was introduced which was too expensive for the ordinary resources of +the crown. + +The reign of Frederick V. was, like that of his father, peaceful, +although a war with Russia seemed very imminent, when one of the +Holstein-Gottorp princes, Charles Peter Ulrik, had ascended the throne +of Russia, under the title of Peter III., and laid claim to a part +of the duchy of Schleswig. A Russian army was sent into Mecklenburg +with orders to advance on Holstein, where an army of 70,000 Danish and +Norwegian soldiers had been drawn together. The armies lay within a few +miles of each other, when the conflict was suddenly averted by the news +that Peter III. had been deposed, and, shortly afterward, murdered by +his wife (July, 1762). The empress, Catherine II., who succeeded her +husband, had always been averse to the war, and a treaty of peace was +concluded with her, principally as the result of the able diplomacy of +the king's adviser, Count Johan Hartvig Bernstorf. + +The great preparations for this threatened conflict had, however, +necessitated an increase of taxation. The so-called "extra-tax" was +felt as a great burden; every person above twelve years of age had to +pay a tax of one Rigsdaler (about fifty-five cents) per year. This +was especially felt as a burden by the common people in the districts +around Bergen, where the fisheries had been a failure, and a revolt +was the result. About 4,000 peasants armed themselves and made an +assault upon the city, maltreated the magistrates, and plundered about +8,000 Rigsdalers of the public means. Quiet was soon restored, and the +participants in the revolt were punished. A few years afterward the +"extra-tax" was abolished. + +A great deal was done during this reign for the promotion of science +and art, trade, manufactures and agriculture. At Kongsberg a mineral +school was established and two hundred German experts employed as +teachers. The bishop at Throndhjem, Johan Gunnerus, Rector Gerhard +Schöning, and the Danish scholar, Peter Suhm (who had married the +daughter of a merchant at Throndhjem), established the Royal Academy +of Sciences in Throndhjem. A free school of mathematics, afterward +reorganized as the Norwegian Military Academy, was founded in +Christiania. + +Frederick V., who shortened his life by all kinds of excesses, died in +his forty-third year, January 14, 1766. He left a public debt of about +twenty millions. By his first wife he had one son, Christian, and three +daughters; his second wife became the mother of Prince Frederick. + + + + +CHAPTER LII + +_Christian VII. (1766-1808)_ + + +At the death of Frederick V., his son Christian, who was hardly +seventeen years of age, ascended the throne; and, shortly afterward, +married the fifteen year old Caroline Mathilde, a sister of the English +king, George III. Christian led a most dissipated life, eventually +resulting in insanity. In 1768 the king made a journey abroad, during +which his body physician, the German free-thinker, Johan Frederick +Struensee, became his dearest favorite, and got him completely under +his influence. Upon their return the king's old counsellors, including +the experienced and deserving Bernstorf, were discharged and replaced +by a privy council, in which the strong and ambitious Struensee soon +became the real master. By the influence which he had gained over the +debilitated, and at times insane, king, and the queen, he succeeded in +reaching the highest positions. He was made a count and prime minister +and became an almost absolute ruler, the cabinet orders being given +the force of royal commands simply by being signed by Struensee. His +power lasted only sixteen months; but during this time he introduced +many reforms, which were in themselves commendable, but, in many +cases, came too abruptly and without preparation. On account of the +violent changes, and his contempt for the Danish language and customs, +he soon had many enemies, chief among whom was the queen-dowager, +Juliana Maria, who wished to get her son, the king's half-brother, +Prince Frederick, into power. With the aid of the prince's teacher, the +learned Ove Hoeg Guldberg, she formed a conspiracy against Struensee +and obtained the signature of the insane king to an order for his +arrest, together with that of others. On the night of January 17, +1772, after a ball at the palace, Queen Caroline Mathilde, Struensee, +Count Brandt, and others, were arrested. The queen was imprisoned +at Kronborg, and afterward at Celle, Hanover, where she died in her +twenty-fourth year (1775). The others were accused of high treason and +condemned to death. Struensee was cruelly executed, April 28, 1772. + +During the following twelve years (1772-1784) Prince Frederick's +teacher, Ove Guldberg, virtually conducted the government, and this +period has therefore been called the Guldberg period. A great many of +Struensee's reforms were revoked, and former rules were re-established. +The liberty of the press, which Struensee had granted, was curtailed +and a censorship again introduced. The plan of establishing a +university in Norway, which had been promised, was given up. Everything +was now to be "Danish," even Norway. Guldberg even wished to abolish +the very name of Norwegian, and wrote: "No Norwegian exists; all are +citizens of the Danish state." + +Many of the strong men, whom Struensee had made use of, were removed, +and mediocrity was again raised to dignity. In spite of the large +revenues which flowed into the treasury during the flourishing +commercial period, the public debt, which had been reduced to sixteen +millions, rose to twenty-nine millions. Still, there are some things to +the credit of the Guldberg ministry. Thus the foreign minister, Andreas +Bernstorf, by his negotiations, succeeded in removing any cause for +conflict with the powerful Russia, when the Russian grand-duke, Paul, +relinquished his part of Holstein to the king of Denmark, in return for +Oldenborg and Delmenhorst. On February 15, 1776, the so-called _native +right_ was published, an ordinance providing that hereafter only native +citizens could be appointed to office under the government. Finally, it +was ordained that the Danish language should be used both in the army +and as a business language. + +During the long period of peace (since 1720) Norway had made great +progress in commerce, shipping and population. The population, which, +in 1660, was only 450,000, had reached about 723,000 in 1767, and the +merchant marine had grown from fifty to 1,150 ships, many of them large +and engaged in trade with distant countries. The peasant class had +advanced considerably, as a consequence of the sale of the estates of +the crown in order to raise revenue; the number of freeholders was now +nearly double that of the tenant farmers. The officials sent their sons +to be educated at the University of Copenhagen, so that the country +was gradually furnished with a native class of officials, who could +replace the Danish and advocate the cause of their countrymen. + +In 1784 Crown Prince Frederick was confirmed, and immediately took +charge of the government as regent for his insane father. He had the +sense to surround himself with able counsellors, and the foremost among +them was Andreas Bernstorf, a nephew of the elder Bernstorf. While he +was at the head of the government (1784-1797), the united countries had +happy and prosperous days. He succeeded in maintaining an honorable +neutrality, while the French Revolution, which commenced in 1789, +shook Europe and involved nearly all the countries of Europe in war. +Much was done for Norway during this period. The trade of Finmarken +was made free, and the cities of Tromsoe, Hammerfest and Vardoe +were founded. In order to expedite judicial matters four superior +courts were established, and, in order to avoid litigation as much as +possible, courts of conciliation were introduced in all parts of the +country. + +During Bernstorf's administration, Norway was involved in a short war +with Sweden, the Swedish king, Gustavus III., having attacked Russia, +whereupon the Russian empress, Catherine II., demanded, according to +agreement, an attack upon Sweden by Denmark. A Norwegian army of 10,000 +men, under Prince Charles of Hesse, invaded Sweden in the fall of 1788, +and, after some successful encounters, marched against Gothenburg; +but an armistice was concluded, which was changed into a convention, +November 5th, the Norwegians agreeing to retire from Sweden. + +England continued the war with France with great vigor, and, in order +to weaken the enemy as much as possible, raised the point with neutral +powers that meat, flour and grain must be considered as contraband +of war, and should not, therefore, be shipped to France or any other +enemy of England. In order to protect their commerce, Denmark-Norway +then, in 1800, together with Russia and Sweden, renewed the so-called +"Armed Neutrality," which, through the untiring efforts of Andreas +Bernstorf, had been agreed upon in 1780, based upon the principle that +"free ship carries free cargo." After an unsuccessful attempt, through +negotiations, to persuade Denmark to withdraw from this alliance, +England declared war against her, and sent a fleet, under the command +of Admirals Parker and Nelson, to Oere Sound. On April 2, 1801, a +battle was fought in the roadstead of Copenhagen. Although the Danish +and Norwegian sailors defended themselves with great bravery, they +finally had to yield to superior force. An armistice was concluded, +which, at the death of the Russian emperor, Paul, ended with a peace, +by which Denmark consented to withdraw from the Armed Neutrality. + +The country now enjoyed peace until 1807, when a new war with England +broke out. At the peace of Tilsit, July 7, 1807, Emperor Napoleon and +Alexander I. of Russia made certain arrangements of European affairs +with a view to helping Napoleon in his conflict with England. Russia +was to be allowed to conquer Finland from Sweden, and Napoleon was +to take possession of the Danish fleet, by means of which he might +dispute the dominion of England at sea. Although this agreement was to +be kept strictly secret, the English government, in some way, heard +of it, and decided to anticipate the action of Napoleon. A strong +fleet was sent to Copenhagen, where the British commanders demanded +that Denmark should surrender its fleet to England, where it was to +remain until peace was concluded between England and France. The demand +was answered by the Danish minister, who protested that there was no +cause for it, since Denmark had no idea of letting Napoleon have the +fleet. The British, however, would not listen to any assurances of +Denmark's peaceful attitude. An army of about 38,000 men was landed +and defeated the Danish force outside of Copenhagen, which, all told, +hardly amounted to 10,000 men. Thereafter preparations were made for +bombarding the city. The bombardment commenced on September 2d and +lasted for three days. During this bombardment the cathedral and three +hundred and five other buildings were burned, and 1,200 buildings were, +more or less, damaged. Valuable libraries, and collections of art +and other valuable property, were destroyed by fire, 1,100 soldiers +and citizens were killed and eight hundred wounded. The Danes had +to surrender their whole fleet, which was then brought to England. +The English government now gave Denmark the choice between three +conditions: neutrality, an alliance, or war. In case of war Denmark +was threatened with destruction of the Danish and Norwegian merchant +marine, the occupation of Copenhagen by the Swedes, and, possibly, +the forcible transfer of Norway to England's ally, Sweden. Crown +Prince Frederick answered that, after what had taken place, peace was +impossible, and so the war was continued, Denmark entering into a close +alliance with France. + +When it became difficult to maintain communication between Norway +and Denmark, the Danish government, in August, 1807, established a +"Government Commission" for Norway, consisting of Prince Christian +August of Augustenborg as chairman, "Stiftamtmand" Gerhard Moltke, +Justice Enevold Falsen, and Chamberlain Marcus Rosenkrantz. Prince +Christian August was commander of the troops in the southern part of +Norway, having been appointed as such in 1805. He was greatly beloved +by the Norwegians. After having performed its arduous duties for three +months, the commission lost its ablest member, Enevold Falsen, whose +body was found in the bay, November 17, 1807. His health had been +greatly impaired, and he had probably been driven to suicide by his +sufferings. While performing his duties on the Government Commission, +he also edited the journal "Budstikken," in which he did much to +arouse and maintain the courage and perseverance of the people. He was +succeeded, in January, 1808, by Count Herman Wedel Jarlsberg, who had +gained the high respect of his countrymen by the zeal and vigor which +he had shown in his efforts to provide the famine-threatened country +with the necessary grain by importation from Denmark, which numerous +British cruisers tried to prevent. + + + + +CHAPTER LIII + +_Frederick VI. (1808-1814)_ + + +When, on the death of his insane father, Frederick VI. changed his +title of regent to that of king of Denmark, his domains were in a +sad condition. They were at war with England, but had no fleet. +The finances were in great disorder, which became still worse when +the Danish government tried to improve the situation by issuing a +large amount of paper currency. The English men-of-war blocked the +navigation, and hundreds of Danish and Norwegian trading-ships, +together with their cargoes, were seized by the enemy. In Norway, all +industries were paralyzed, there had been failures of crops, and there +was a great deal of want and suffering. When the Danish government, +as the ally of France and Russia, also declared war on Sweden, the +situation was most desperate. The Government Commission was daily +begged, by petition, to open the public grain magazines to relieve the +distress of the people, and it taxed their judgment and firmness to the +utmost to control the situation and distribute aid where the need was +most pressing. In this condition Norway was attacked, in April, 1808, +by a large Swedish army under the command of General Armfeldt, and +threatened by a British army and fleet, which lay at Gothenburg. In the +hour of distress and danger, however, the Norwegians had awakened to a +consciousness of the fact that they had only themselves to rely upon, +and, during their struggles, they showed a patriotism which shunned +no sacrifice. Men like Marcus Rosenkrantz, Peter Anker, Herman Wedel, +Jacob Aall, Severin Lövenskiold, Thygesen, John Collett, Ludvig Maribo, +and many other patriots, offered their time, energy, and fortunes to +the service of the country, and the popular commander, Prince Christian +August, was strengthened and aided by a strong national spirit among +all classes, when he made his preparations to meet the enemy. + +General Armfeldt, on April 17, 1808, advanced toward the fortress of +Kongsvinger, and a battle was fought at Lier, near that place. The +Swedes were at first repulsed, but later received reinforcements and +compelled the Norwegians to retreat across the Glommen River. It is +said that some of the Norwegian troops had to cease firing, during the +battle, for want of ammunition. About the same time a Swedish force +captured the Blaker Redoubt, about twenty-five miles to the southwest +of Kongsvinger, but this position they soon afterward abandoned, upon +hearing of the approach of a Norwegian force which had been hurriedly +despatched against them by Christian August. The Norwegians proceeded +beyond Blaker, and at Toverud (in Urskog Parish, Romerike) surrounded, +and, after a sharp fight, captured a Swedish force under Count Axel +Mörner. On April 24th a Swedish force, under Colonel Gahn, crossed +the frontier and marched along the left bank of the Flisen River, a +tributary of the Glommen. Near Trangen, in Aasnes Parish, Soloer, +they were attacked by the Norwegians, and, after a fight of three +hours and a half, the Swedes surrendered, having suffered a loss of +two hundred killed and wounded. About three hundred and thirty men, +including Colonel Gahn, were taken prisoners. The Norwegians were also +successful in a battle fought on June 10th at Prestebakke in Enningdal, +in the southern part of Smaalenene, near Svinesund. The attack was +made early in the morning, and, after a desperate fight, the Swedes +were forced to surrender; four hundred and forty-five men, including +twenty-seven officers, being taken prisoners. A large amount of arms +and ammunition was also taken. A few days later the Swedish force which +was commanded by General Armfeldt's aide-de-camp, George Adlersparre, +received large reinforcements and recaptured the lost positions in +Enningdal; but, shortly afterward, the Swedish troops again retreated, +the Swedish government desiring to give more attention to the war in +Finland. Negotiations were now opened for an armistice. King Frederick +VI. several times requested Christian August to invade Sweden with +his army; but the prince, as well as his tried advisers, considered +an invasion very unwise, the army being destitute of all necessary +supplies. An armistice was finally entered into on December 7, 1808. A +definite peace was not concluded till a year later. + +Great changes took place in Sweden during the following year. King +Gustavus IV. Adolphus had shown great incompetence in the management +of the affairs of Sweden, and after the reverses in Finland, resulting +in the loss of this province, the feeling against the king became very +strong. Early in 1809 rumors began to circulate of the renewal of an +old project, by which Napoleon and Alexander I. had agreed to divide +Sweden between Denmark and Russia, and great excitement was created +among the leading men in Sweden. A conspiracy was formed by a number +of influential men, including George Adlersparre, who marched with +his army toward Stockholm. On March 13, 1809, the king was arrested +and brought to the castle of Drotningholm, and a few days later to +Gripsholm Castle, where finally he was induced to write and sign an +unconditional abdication. He was later transported to Pomerania, and +from there proceeded to Switzerland. When King Gustavus had abdicated, +his aged uncle, Charles, duke of Södermanland, was prevailed upon to +take charge of the government as regent. The Swedish Diet, which met +in May, 1809, confirmed the deposition of King Gustavus and elected +Charles king under the title of Charles XIII. The newly-elected king +being old and childless, a successor to the throne also had to be +chosen, and the choice fell upon the general-in-chief of the Norwegian +army, Prince Christian August, whom the Swedes also had learned to +respect during the war, and whose election, it was supposed by many, +would eventually result in uniting Norway with Sweden. After peace had +been concluded between Denmark and Sweden, at Jönköping, December 10, +1809, Prince Christian August accepted the election as Crown Prince of +Sweden, his name being changed to Charles (or Carl) August. No royal or +princely person had ever, to such a degree, won the affection of the +Norwegians. He left Norway for Sweden January 4, 1810, accompanied by +the blessings and well-wishes of the whole people. Only a few months +later, May 28, 1810, he suddenly died during a military review. + +Shortly before the prince's departure from Norway, and at the +suggestion of Count Wedel and other patriotic men, a society was +founded in Christiania under the name of the Society for Norway's +Welfare, which did much to encourage the feeling of independence and +the national spirit in the country and to advocate the wishes of the +people. Thus the long-felt want of a national university was strongly +set forth by Count Wedel. The government having pointed to the lack of +money, such an amount was collected by voluntary subscriptions from +the whole country, especially the cities, that King Frederick at last +yielded, and, by royal decree, the Norwegian University was established +September 2, 1811, and given the name of the king. This event was +celebrated with great joy by the Norwegian people by a national +festival, December 11, 1811. + +The condition of the country, however, became very serious during +the next year. Failure of the crops caused a famine, and the use of +bark-bread became quite general throughout the country. The paper +currency became more and more depreciated, and the government was +finally obliged to partially default payment. The British continued to +prevent all importation, and the distress was increased by the breaking +out of a new war between Denmark and Sweden. + +During the distressing years of war, when a foreign fleet intercepted +the communication with Denmark, many Norwegians had become convinced +that the union with Denmark was a very unnatural one. Many able and +patriotic men believed that a union or a strong defensive alliance with +Sweden would be much more advantageous to the country, and no doubt +many considered such a union among the future probabilities, when the +beloved Prince Christian August was elected Crown Prince of Sweden. +The sorrow that was felt in Norway at the sudden death of Christian +August was universal. A rumor, probably unfounded, that he had been +poisoned by some of his opponents in Sweden, was, for a time at least, +generally believed in Norway, and extinguished, for the time being, +any desire that may have existed in Norway for a union of the two +countries. In Sweden, however, the plan grew in strength, especially +after the election of the new Crown Prince. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV + +_Marshal Bernadotte_ + + +The election of a new successor to the Swedish throne was no easy +problem. Under the conditions prevailing in Europe it was thought +necessary to make a choice that would be approved by Napoleon, and it +had even been suggested that it might be necessary to elect one of +Napoleon's marshals. Among the different candidates considered, the +most popular one was the Duke of Augustenborg, an elder brother of +Prince Christian August. His election was opposed by King Frederick VI. +of Denmark, who hoped to be chosen himself, and held out as inducement +a promise to give each of the three countries a constitution. King +Frederick at first had the support of quite a party in the Swedish +Diet; but his opponents strongly argued that to make the Danish king +successor to the Swedish throne would eventually result in Sweden +becoming a province of Denmark, and the Duke of Augustenborg, who was +supported by King Charles XIII., was the choice of a majority in the +Swedish Diet. A messenger, Baron Mörner, was sent to Paris to ascertain +whether such an election would have the approval of Napoleon; but upon +arriving in Paris he was told that, according to the latest reports, +the election of the Danish king was being seriously considered, and +believing that this would be a great misfortune, the baron took upon +himself to open negotiations with one of Napoleon's marshals, Jean +Baptiste Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo, and requested him to +become a candidate for the Swedish succession. After a conference +with Napoleon and a consultation with the Swedish minister in Paris, +Bernadotte declared himself willing to accept the election, if it were +offered to him. + +When Baron Mörner returned to Sweden and reported the result of his +unauthorized step, he caused great surprise, and the king ordered +his arrest; but, on second thought, the plan to elect Bernadotte was +generally favorably considered by leading men in Sweden. Count Platen +had a consultation with his Norwegian friend, Count Wedel, and the +latter, who had made the personal acquaintance of Bernadotte, advised +the Swedes to elect him in preference to the Duke of Augustenborg. +The result was that in August, 1810, the Swedish Diet, with practical +unanimity, elected Bernadotte Crown Prince of Sweden, and King Charles +XIII. adopted him as his son, under the name of Charles John (Carl +Johan). When, in September, 1810, Bernadotte was about to leave Paris +for Sweden, and Napoleon asked him to promise never to wage war on +France, he declined to bind himself by such a promise, but assured the +emperor of his sincere friendship. "Go, then," said Napoleon, "and let +us fulfil our several destinies." + +Crown Prince Charles John, on his arrival in Sweden, immediately +assumed the chief control of the government, and set about the very +difficult task of raising the country from the wretched and defenceless +condition into which it had fallen. Sweden was at the time practically +at the mercy of the great Powers. Napoleon forced Sweden to declare +war on England, and when, a year later, he found that this war was +not carried on with satisfactory vigor, he sent an army into Swedish +Pomerania, which he occupied, while two Swedish regiments were sent as +prisoners to France (January, 1812). This caused Charles John to look +around for other alliances, which would be of greater benefit to his +adopted country. He once more offered Napoleon the faithful services of +Sweden, on condition that Sweden was to receive Norway in compensation; +but Napoleon would not listen to any proposition to take anything from +his faithful ally, Denmark. + +Charles John immediately opened negotiations with Russia, and the +result was a secret treaty, concluded at St. Petersburg, April 18, +1812, by which Russia promised to help Sweden, by negotiations or force +of arms, to acquire Norway, and Russia was guaranteed the possession of +Finland, while Charles John was to take an active part in the military +operations in Germany against Napoleon. This agreement was confirmed +at a personal meeting between the Russian emperor Alexander and Crown +Prince Charles John at Åbo, Finland, August 27, 1812. The stipulation +that Norway was to be united with Sweden was afterward also agreed to +by the other Powers at war with France. Charles John took an active +part in the great campaign against Napoleon in Germany. After the +complete defeat of Napoleon's army at Leipsic, October 16-19, 1813, +Charles John marched with an army of 40,000 men into Holstein in order +to compel Denmark to cede Norway. The Danish-Norwegian army in Holstein +and Schleswig made a brave defence; but the resistance against the +overwhelming force of the enemy could not last long, and Frederick VI. +was compelled to conclude peace at Kiel, January 14, 1814, where Norway +was ceded to Sweden. The Norwegian dependencies, Iceland, the Faroe +Islands, and Greenland, were not included in the cession. Four days +later King Frederick VI., for himself and his successors, relinquished +all his rights to the kingdom of Norway to the Swedish king, Charles +XIII., and his successors. In his proclamation to the Norwegians, King +Frederick released them from their oath of allegiance, and requested +them to peaceably and quietly transfer their allegiance to the Swedish +king. + +Thus ended the union between Denmark and Norway, which had lasted for +more than four hundred years. + + + + +CHAPTER LV + +_Norway Declares Her Independence_ + + +Prince Christian Frederick, a cousin of King Frederick VI. and heir +presumptive to the Danish-Norwegian throne, had, in May, 1813, been +sent up to Norway as viceroy (_Statholder_), and had become very +popular with the Norwegians. When, on January 24, 1814, he received +the message from the king, informing him of the treaty of Kiel and +commanding him to transfer the forts and the public offices to the +Swedes and return to Denmark, Christian Frederick became highly +indignant and resolved not to obey the commands. In his diary the +prince wrote: + +"That the king could believe that the Norwegian people will voluntarily +surrender, and that he could believe me base enough to desert them +now--indeed, I do not understand it. People would be justified in +throwing stones after me, if ever I were able to deceive a nation which +loves me and places its trust in me. I should leave it now without so +much as trying to defend it--never in the world, while I live!" + +On a journey, which the prince made north to Throndhjem, he found +that the people all wished to defend the independence of Norway, and +on the 16th and 17th of February he held a conference with notables +at Eidsvold in order to discuss the needs of the hour. It was at +first the idea of the prince that, since the king had relinquished +the throne, he, as the legal heir, might ascend the throne of Norway +as absolute monarch; but the members of the meeting at Eidsvold, +especially Professor George Sverdrup, convinced him that, as King +Frederick, contrary to law, had relinquished Norway, the sovereignty +had now reverted to the Norwegian people, who thus recovered their +natural right to adopt their own constitution and choose their +executive. According to his diary the prince said at the meeting: +"I have heard with great pleasure a speech made to me at a private +audience by Professor Sverdrup, in which he conjured me not to place +the crown on my head in a manner which was contrary to the views of the +most enlightened men of the nation. The rights which Frederick VI. has +relinquished revert to the people, and it is from their hands that you +must receive a crown which will be far more glorious when you owe it to +the love of the people." The result was that Christian Frederick took +temporary charge of the government as regent, and issued a call for a +constitutional convention or diet, consisting of representatives of the +people from all parts of the country. + +In all his efforts, by the aid of the great Powers and by force of arms +against Denmark, to secure Norway for the king of Sweden, Charles John +had never taken the will or desire of the Norwegians themselves into +consideration. While Count Wedel, who considered a union with Sweden +desirable or necessary, had emphatically declared that Norway would +never consent to a union attempted by force, Crown Prince Charles John +said that a people which for centuries had tolerated the supremacy of +a foreign power without a murmur would not seriously resist a change +of masters. The Swedish king issued a proclamation to the Norwegians, +in which he promised to give them a constitution, and he appointed a +viceroy for Norway; but his offers were rejected. The Swedish army +being occupied in Germany, with the war against Napoleon, there was +no force available with which to enforce the Swedish demands, and +this gave the Norwegians time to arrange their own affairs; but there +was considerable suffering in the country, because the British, upon +learning that the Norwegians would not accept the treaty of Kiel, sent +their fleet to prevent the importation of grain to Norway. + +The diet, which met at Eidsvold, April 10, 1814, consisted of one +hundred and twelve representatives. There were thirty-three army +officers, fourteen clergymen, twenty-six other officials, twenty-three +farmers, twelve merchants, and four mine-owners and landed proprietors. +There were two parties in the convention. The most numerous one was the +so-called "party of independence," whose principal leaders were Judge +Christian Magnus Falsen, Professor George Sverdrup, Judge Christie, +and Captain Motzfeldt. The other party, which numbered about thirty +members, favored a union with Sweden, and was called the Swedish party, +although hardly any of them advocated their policy from any love for +the Swedes, but rather from what they considered a necessity, believing +that Norway would not, under the circumstances, be able single-handed +to maintain her independence. The prominent men of this party were +Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, Chamberlain Peter Anker, Mine-owner Jacob Aall, +_Amtmand_ (prefect) Lövenskiold, and the Reverend Nicolai Wergeland. +But all members agreed in the demand that Norway must henceforth +have a liberal constitution. The following were agreed upon as the +fundamental principles of the constitution: + +1. Norway shall be a limited, hereditary monarchy; it shall be a free, +independent and indivisible kingdom, and the ruler shall have the title +of king. + +2. The people shall exercise the legislative power through their +representatives. + +3. The people shall alone have the right to levy taxes through their +representatives. + +4. The right to declare war and to make peace rests with the king. + +5. The king shall have the right of pardon. + +6. The judicial power shall be separate from the legislative and +executive power. + +7. There shall be liberty of the press. + +8. The evangelical Lutheran religion shall remain the religion of the +state and of the king. + +9. Personal or mixed hereditary privileges shall not be granted to +anybody in the future. + +10. All citizens, irrespective of station, birth, or property, shall be +required to render military service for a certain length of time. + +Upon the basis of these principles the constitution was drawn and +finally adopted on the 17th day of May, 1814. On the same day Christian +Frederick was elected king of Norway. He accepted the election and +solemnly made oath to the constitution, May 19, whereupon the members +of the diet swore allegiance to the constitution and to the new king. +They held their last meeting on May 20, in order to sign the record of +the proceedings. That done, they formed a circular chain, each person +giving his right hand to his neighbor on the left, and his left hand to +his neighbor on the right, and standing thus, hand in hand, they all +exclaimed in chorus: "United and true, until Dovre (mountain) falls!" + + + + +CHAPTER LVI + +_War With Sweden--Union of November 4, 1814_ + + +After the final defeat of Napoleon, the allied powers, Russia, Prussia, +Austria, and England, granted the request of Charles John and promised +to urge Norway to accept the supremacy of Sweden. The special envoys +of the powers arrived in Christiania, June 30, 1814, bringing with +them, besides their instructions from their respective governments, a +letter from the Danish king to Christian Frederick, in which the latter +was again commanded, under pain of being disinherited and otherwise +punished, to abdicate and return to Denmark. The day after their +arrival the commissioners had an audience with King Christian Frederick +and acquainted him with the intention of the powers to demand the +acceptance of the provisions in the treaty of Kiel. The king declared +himself willing to convene the Storthing (Parliament) in extra session, +in order to open negotiations for a peaceable union, if, in the +meantime, the powers would guarantee an armistice and allow the free +importation of breadstuffs; but when the commissioners demanded that +the Norwegians should surrender to the mercy of the Swedish king, and +allow the forts to be occupied by Swedish soldiers, the king declined +to accept their propositions, and war commenced. The Norwegian army, +which stood along the frontier, was poorly equipped and ill-provided +with clothing and provisions. The king himself was no great soldier, +and the information that all the foreign powers were against Norway +had considerably lessened his courage. The Swedish fleet, under the +personal command of Charles XIII., took up a position outside of +Fredericksstad, which was insufficiently defended and was compelled +to surrender, August 4. About the same time, the main Swedish army, +under Charles John, crossed the frontier south of Frederickshald. One +division of it laid siege to the fortress of Frederickssteen, which +was bravely defended by General Ohme. The Norwegian army was eager +for a general action; but the king, who thought this would be unwise, +ordered a retreat across the Glommen River. North in Soloer, where +Lieutenant-Colonel Krebs had the command, the Norwegian forces were +much more successful. A Swedish force, under General Gahn, crossed the +frontier and marched in the direction of Kongsvinger, but was defeated +by the Norwegians at Lier, August 2. The Norwegians, under Col. Krebs, +afterward attacked the Swedes at Matrand and drove them back across the +frontier, August 5. The battle at Matrand was the most bloody encounter +during this war. General Gahn's loss, in killed, wounded, or captured, +was sixteen officers, seven non-commissioned officers and three hundred +and twelve men. The Norwegian loss, in killed, wounded or captured, +was five officers, four non-commissioned officers and one hundred and +thirty men. The number of dead was about equal on both sides, about +fifty men; of the wounded there was sixty-four on the Norwegian, and +one hundred and twenty-six on the Swedish side. + +On August 5, Charles John took steps to communicate with the +Norwegians with a view to the arrangement of an armistice, offering +to recognize the Norwegian Constitution of May 17, if Norway would +agree to a union with Sweden. The result at these negotiations was the +Convention signed at Moss, August 14, by which Christian Frederick +promised to call an extra session at the Storthing to negotiate with +the Swedish king through commissioners appointed by him; he also +solemnly agreed to surrender the executive power intrusted to him into +the hands of the nation; in the meantime the country east of the river +Glommen and the fortress of Frederickssteen were to be occupied by +Swedish troops. According to a secret agreement Christian Frederick +was, under some pretext, to immediately transfer the executive power +to the ministers, who were to conduct the necessary functions of the +government until the Storthing had definitely decided upon the future +form of government. This ended the war, which had not been a very +bloody one. The loss, in killed, wounded, and captured, was about equal +on both sides; namely, about four hundred dead and wounded and three +hundred prisoners. + +On the 16th day of August Christian Frederick issued a proclamation +ordering elections to an extraordinary Storthing to be opened at +Christiania, October 7, and on August 19 he ordered the cabinet to +take charge of the executive power, signing all executive acts "by +high command." The Storthing met at the time designated, the number of +representatives being eighty, of whom about twenty had been members of +the diet at Eidsvold. The Storthing was solemnly opened by the oldest +minister in the name of King Christian Frederick. Two days later a +committee of the Storthing, at the request of the king, had an audience +with him at his residence on Bygdö, when he surrendered the Norwegian +crown into the hands of the people, and for himself and his descendants +relinquished all rights to the country. On the same day he went on +board a ship and sailed from Norway.[14] The Storthing now, under the +presidency of Judge Christie, began negotiations with the commissioners +of the Swedish king, and on the 20th day of October it was decided, +by seventy-two votes in the affirmative to five in the negative, that +Norway as an independent state, upon certain conditions, was to be +united with Sweden under the same king. The changes in the Constitution +made necessary by reason of the union with Sweden were then made and +finally ratified, November 4, 1814, and, on the same day, Charles XIII. +was unanimously elected king of Norway. + +[14] During the next twenty-five years Christian Frederick led an +unnoticed life in Denmark and was soon forgotten by the Norwegian +people. In 1839 he ascended the Danish throne as Christian VIII. He +died in 1848. + +A committee of the Storthing, headed by Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, was sent +to Crown Prince Charles John at Frederickshald, to inform him of the +action of the Storthing; whereupon Charles John and his son, Prince +Oscar, proceeded to Christiania and delivered to the Storthing the +king's written oath to the Constitution. As soon as the report of the +action of the Norwegian Storthing had reached Stockholm, the Swedish +Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars von Engeström, despatched a circular +to each of the Swedish representatives at the foreign courts, informing +them of the union of Norway and Sweden. In this circular the minister +said: + +"The Norwegian Storthing having, of its own accord and by a free +election, chosen his Swedish majesty as king of Norway, it is plain +that it is not to the provisions of the treaty of Kiel, but to the +confidence of the Norwegian people, that we owe the Union of Norway +with Sweden." + + + + +CHAPTER LVII + +_The Union With Sweden_ + + +The first Storthing (Parliament), after the union had been +accomplished, remained in session a year, and together with the Swedish +Diet adopted the "Act of Union," or Rigsakt (1815), based upon the +Norwegian Constitution and defining the terms of the union. At the +same time the Supreme Court of Norway was established in Christiania. +The Bank of Norway was established at Throndhjem in 1816. At the death +of Charles XIII., in 1818, Charles John ascended the throne of both +countries as Charles XIV. John. + +On several occasions there was friction between the king and the +Norwegian Storthing. At the treaty of Kiel, Charles John had promised +that Norway would assume a part of the Norwegian-Danish public debt; +but as the Norwegians had never acknowledged this treaty, they held +that it was not their duty to pay any part of the debt, and declared +besides that Norway was not able to do so. But as the powers had agreed +to help Denmark to enforce her claims, a compromise was effected in +1821, by which the Storthing agreed to pay three million dollars, the +king relinquishing his civil list for a certain number of years. The +same Storthing adopted the law abolishing the nobility in Norway. This +step was also strongly opposed by Charles John, but as it had been +adopted by three successive Storthings, the act under the Constitution +became a law in spite of any veto. It was believed by many that the +manoeuvres of Norwegian and Swedish troops and the Swedish fleet, +which was collected at Christiania at the time that these matters were +under consideration, had been called together by the king in order to +intimidate the Storthing. + +For a number of years there existed a want of confidence between the +king and the Norwegian people. The king did not like the democratic +spirit of the Norwegians, and the reactionary tendencies of his +European allies had quite an influence upon his actions. In 1821 he +proposed ten amendments to the Constitution, looking to an increase +of the royal power, among which was one giving the king an absolute +instead of a suspensive veto; another giving him the right to appoint +the presidents of the Storthing, and a third authorizing him to +dissolve the Storthing at any time. But these amendments met the +most ardent opposition in the Storthing, especially from the former +cabinet-minister, Christian Krogh, and were unanimously rejected by the +Storthing in 1824. The king renewed these propositions before several +successive Storthings, but they were each time rejected. + +When the Norwegians commenced to celebrate the anniversary of the +adoption of the Constitution (May 17), the king thought he saw in this +a sign of a disloyal spirit, because they did not rather celebrate the +union with Sweden, and he forbade the public celebration of the day. +The result of this was that "Independence Day" was celebrated with so +much greater eagerness. The students at the university especially took +an active part under the leadership of that champion of liberty, the +poet Henrik Wergeland (born 1808, died 1845). The unwise prohibition +was the cause of the "market-place battle" in Christiania, May 17, +1829, when the troops were called out, and General Wedel dispersed +the crowds that had assembled in the market-place. There was also +dissatisfaction in Norway, because a Swedish viceroy (Statholder) was +placed at the head of the government, and because their ships had to +sail under the Swedish flag. + +The French July Revolution of 1830, which started the liberal movement +throughout Europe, also had its influence in Norway. Liberal newspapers +were established at the capital, and the democratic character of the +Storthing became more pronounced, especially after 1833, when the +farmers commenced to take an active part in the elections. Prominent +among them was Ole Gabriel Ueland. The king was so displeased with +the majority in the Storthing of 1836 that he suddenly dissolved it; +but the Storthing answered this action by impeaching the Minister of +State, Lövenskiold, for not having dissuaded the king from taking such +a step. Lövenskiold was sentenced to pay a fine. The king then yielded +and reconvened the Storthing. He also took a step toward conciliating +the Norwegians by appointing their countryman, Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, +as viceroy. This action was much appreciated in Norway. During the last +years of this reign there existed the best of understanding between +the king and the people. Charles John's great benevolence tended to +increase the affection of the people, and he was sincerely mourned at +his death, March 8, 1844, Charles XIV. John being then eighty years old. + +Charles John was succeeded by his son, Oscar I., who very soon won +the love of the Norwegians. One of his first acts was to give Norway +her own commercial flag and other outward signs of her equality +with Sweden. His father had always signed himself "King of Sweden +and Norway"; but King Oscar adopted the rule to sign all documents +pertaining to the government of Norway as "King of Norway and Sweden." +During the war between Germany and Denmark, King Oscar gathered a +Swedish-Norwegian army in Scania, and he succeeded in arranging the +armistice of Malmoe in 1848. The war broke out anew, however, the +following year, and he then occupied northern Schleswig with Norwegian +and Swedish troops, pending the negotiations for peace between Germany +and Denmark. During the Crimean War, King Oscar made a treaty with +England and France (1855), by which the latter powers promised to +help Sweden and Norway in case of any attack from Russia. General +contentment prevailed during the happy reign of King Oscar, and the +prosperity, commerce and population of the country increased steadily. +These satisfactory conditions did not, however, result in any weakening +of the national feeling, and the Storthing, in 1857, declined to +promote a plan, prepared by a joint Swedish and Norwegian commission, +looking to a strengthening of the union. After a sickness of two years, +during which his eldest son, Crown Prince Charles, had charge of the +government as prince-regent, King Oscar I. died in July, 1859, at +the age of sixty years. He was married to Josephine of Leuchtenberg, +daughter of Napoleon's stepson, Engene Beauharnais. + +Charles XV. was thirty-three years old when he ascended the throne. The +progress in the material welfare of the country was continued during +his reign, and, like his father, he was very popular. Numerous roads +and railways were started, all parts of the country were connected by +telegraph, and the merchant marine grew to be one of the largest in the +world. In 1869 a law was passed providing for annual sessions of the +Storthing instead of triennial as heretofore. + +The first Storthing under Charles XV., with only two negative votes, +resolved to abolish the right of the king to appoint a viceroy +(Statholder) for Norway. This action of the Storthing enraged the +ruling party in the Swedish Diet, who claimed a right to be consulted +in this matter, in which they considered that Sweden had an interest, +and they demanded a revision of the terms of the union. A serious +conflict was avoided for the time being, the king vetoing the +resolution of the Storthing. Not till 1865 were negotiations opened for +a revision. A joint committee was appointed to prepare a plan; but the +question was not solved, for the Storthing, in 1870, rejected the plan +proposed by the committee. + +Charles XV. died September 18, 1872, and, having no sons, was succeeded +by his younger brother, Oscar II. The king and the Storthing at first +showed themselves mutually accommodating. The Storthing appropriated +the necessary funds for the expense of the coronation at Throndhjem +(July 18, 1873), while the king sanctioned the bill abolishing the +office of Statholder. But in 1880 the difference between the Storthing +and the ministry had brought on a sharp conflict. The liberal majority +of the Storthing, in order to introduce parliamentarism, had three +times adopted an amendment to the Constitution admitting the cabinet +ministers to participation in the debates of the Storthing, and each +time the measure had been vetoed by the king. The king, supported by +the conservative party and by the opinion of the faculty of law of +the university, claimed that the Constitution was a contract between +the people and the royal house, and could not, therefore, be changed +without the sanction of the king, who thus had an absolute veto in the +matter of amendments to the Constitution. The liberal party claimed +that in constitutional amendments, as well as in the matter of ordinary +laws, the king had only a suspensive veto; and on the 9th of June, +1880, the Storthing adopted a resolution declaring that the amendment +providing for the attendance of the cabinet ministers at the meetings +of the Storthing was law in spite of the veto. The conflict steadily +grew sharper, and in 1883 the members of the ministry (headed by +Minister of State Selmer) were impeached for failure to promulgate +the resolution of June 9, 1880. The ministers were found guilty and +removed from office in the spring of 1884. The king once more tried a +ministry which was not in accord with the majority of the Storthing, +the so-called April Ministry, headed by Schweigaard; but the latter +soon resigned, and in June, 1884, the king finally called upon Johan +Sverdrup, the acknowledged leader of the liberal majority (the Left), +to form a ministry. + +The king now signed the constitutional amendment, and Sverdrup and +his colleagues took their seats in the Storthing. For a time the +legislative and the executive power worked in harmony, and several +liberal reforms were introduced. A reorganization of the army in +accordance with the views of the majority was brought about, the +suffrage was extended, and trial by jury was introduced. In 1887, +however, when the government introduced a bill for a new church-law, a +division in the party of the left had taken place, and Sverdrup found +himself without a majority in the Storthing. He retained office +until after the elections of 1888, which resulted in three legislative +parties, the "Left," the "Moderate," and the Conservative, or "Right." +Neither of them had a majority in the Storthing. Sverdrup resigned +(July, 1889), and the Conservative leader, Emil Stang, formed a new +ministry. At the elections in 1891, the "pure left," having made a +separate consular service independent of Sweden the main issue of the +campaign, again obtained a majority, and their leader, Rector Steen, +became the chief of the new ministry. The principal occasion of this +movement was the rapid increase in Norwegian commercial interests, +which, as was claimed, were imperfectly protected by a joint consular +service. + +The Steen Ministry resigned in May, 1893, and a ministry from the +minority was formed by Stang. On June 7, 1895, the Storthing adopted a +resolution declaring that, with a ministry possessing the confidence +of the Storthing, it would be willing to negotiate with Sweden for a +peaceable settlement of the matters in dispute. A coalition ministry, +consisting of members from each of the three political groups and +headed by Hagerup, was appointed in October, 1895, and a joint Swedish +and Norwegian Union Committee was chosen to adjust disputed points. +This committee, having failed to reach any agreement, was discharged in +1897. + +At the elections of 1897 the left obtained an increased majority in +the Storthing, and, in February, 1898, the Hagerup Ministry resigned, +and Steen was again placed at the head of a ministry. The Storthing of +1898-99 adopted a constitutional amendment extending the suffrage to +all male citizens who have attained the age of twenty-five years. A +bill was also passed, for the third time, removing from the Norwegian +merchant flag the "union jack," the symbol of the union with Sweden. +This bill was twice vetoed by the king; but, after its third passage, +was promulgated, having been passed, according to the Constitution, +over the royal veto. + +The secession movement was largely in abeyance during the years +1900-1902, owing to the popular fear of a Russian invasion. However, +in 1903, the anti-union sentiment again came strongly to the front, +reaching an acute stage in March, 1905, when a new cabinet, headed +by Peter Christian Michelson, was formed. A bill demanding separate +consular service was again passed by the Storthing, only to be vetoed +by the Swedish crown. Compromise measures were proposed and rejected. +In June the cabinet offered its resignation, which was refused by the +King on the ground that a new ministry could not be formed in the +existing state of feeling in Norway. The cabinet, thereupon, delegated +its powers to the Storthing, which immediately passed a resolution +declaring the dissolution of union between Sweden and Norway on the +ground of the King's inability to conduct the government and his +constructive relinquishment of authority. At the same time a letter +was addressed to the King of Sweden expressing Norway's desire for +the continuation of peaceful relations, and asking that a prince of +the royal house of Sweden be designated as King of Norway. The latter +request was refused, but other matters were adjusted by a joint +commission. + +The crown was finally offered to Charles, Crown Prince of Denmark, and +son-in-law of King Edward of England, who was elected by a popular +majority of 259,563 against 69,264, and assumed the throne November +20th under the name Haakon VII. + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII + +_Norwegian Literature_ + + +The people who emigrated from Norway and settled in Iceland, after +Harald the Fairhaired had subdued the many independent chiefs and +established the monarchy (872), for the most part belonged to the +flower of the nation, and Iceland naturally became the home of the old +Norse literature. Among the oldest poetical works of this literature +is the so-called "Elder Edda," also called Sæmund's Edda, because for +a long time it was believed to be the work of the Icelander Sæmund. +"The Younger Edda," also called Snorre's Edda, because it is supposed +to have been written by Snorre Sturlason (born 1178, died 1241), +contains a synopsis of the old Norse religion and a treatise on the art +of poetry. Fully as important as the numerous poetical works of that +period was the old Norse Saga-literature.[15] The most prominent work in +this field is Snorre Sturlason's "Heimskringla," which gives the sagas +of the kings of Norway from the beginning down to 1177. A continuation +of the "Heimskringla," to which several authors have contributed, among +them Snorre Sturlason's relative, Sturla Thordson, contains the history +of the later kings down to Magnus Law-Mender. + +[15] The word saga means a historical tale. + +The literary development above referred to ceased almost entirely +toward the end of the fourteenth century, and later, during the union +with Denmark, the Danish language gradually took the place of the old +Norse as a book-language, and the literature became essentially Danish. +Copenhagen, with its court and its university, was the literary and +educational centre, where the young men of Norway went to study, and +authors born in Norway became, to all intents and purposes, Danish +writers. But Norway furnished some valuable contributors to this common +literature. One of the very first names on the records of the Danish +literature, Peder Claussön (1545-1614), is that of a Norwegian, and +the list further includes such illustrious names as Holberg, Tullin, +Wessel, Steffens, etc. + +One of the most original writers whom Norway produced and kept at +home during the period of the union with Denmark was the preacher and +poet, Peder Dass (1647-1708). The best known among his secular songs +is "Nordlands Trompet," a beautiful and patriotic description of the +northern part of Norway. + +Ludvig Holberg was born in Bergen, Norway, December 3, 1684. His +father, Colonel Holberg, had risen from the ranks and distinguished +himself, in 1660, at Halden. Shortly after his death the property of +the family was destroyed by fire, and at the age of ten years Ludvig +lost his mother. It was now decided to have him educated for the +military service; but he showed a great dislike for military life, and, +at his earnest request, was sent to the Bergen Latin School. In 1702 +he entered the University of Copenhagen. Being destitute of means, +he took a position as private tutor. As soon as he had saved a small +sum he went abroad. He was first in Holland, and afterward studied +for a couple of years at Oxford, where he supported himself by giving +instruction in languages and music. Upon his return to Copenhagen he +again took a position as private tutor and had an opportunity to travel +as teacher for a young nobleman. In 1714 he received a stipend from the +king, which enabled him to go abroad for several years, which he spent +principally in France and Italy. In 1718 he became a regular professor +at the Copenhagen University. Among Holberg's many works the following +are the most prominent: "Peder Paars," a great comical heroic poem, +containing sharp attacks on many of the follies of his time; about +thirty comedies in Molière's style, and a large number of historical +works. Holberg, who was ennobled in 1747, died in January 29, 1754, and +was buried in Sorö Church. His influence on the literature and on the +whole intellectual life of Denmark was very great. He is often called +the creator of the Danish literature. + +Christian Baumann Tullin (1728-1765), a genuine poetical genius, +who has been called the Father of Danish lyrical verse, was born in +Christiania, and his poetry, which was mainly written in his native +city, breathes a national spirit. From his day, for about thirty +years, Denmark obtained the majority of her poets from Norway. The +manager of the Danish national theatre, in 1771, was a Norwegian, Niels +Krog-Bredal (1733-1778), who was the first to write lyrical dramas in +Danish. A Norwegian, Johan Nordal Brun (1745-1816), a gifted poet, +wrote tragedy in the conventional French taste of the day. It was a +Norwegian, Johan Herman Wessel (1742-1785), who, by his great parody, +"Kjærlighed uden Strömper" (Love without Stockings), laughed this +taste out of fashion. Among the writers of this period are also Claus +Frimann (1746-1829), Peter Harboe Frimann (1752-1839), Claus Fasting +(1746-1791), Johan Wibe (1748-1782), Edward Storm (1749-1794), C. H. +Pram (1756-1821), Jonas Rein (1760-1821), and Jens Zetlitz (1761-1821), +all of them Norwegians by birth. + +Two notable events led to the foundation of an independent Norwegian +literature: the one was the establishment of a Norwegian university at +Christiania in 1811, and the other was the separation of Norway from +Denmark in 1814. At first the independent Norwegian literature appeared +as immature as the conditions surrounding it. The majority of the +writers had received their education in Copenhagen, and were inclined +to follow in the beaten track of the old literature, although trying to +introduce a more national spirit. All were greatly influenced by the +political feeling of the hour. There was a period when all poetry had +for its subject the beauties and strength of Norway and its people, and +"The Rocks of Norway," "The Lion of Norway," etc., sounded everywhere. +Three poets, called the Trefoil, were the prominent writers of this +period. Of these, Conrad Nicolai Schwach (1793-1860) was the least +remarkable. Henrik A. Bjerregaard (1792-1842) was the author of "The +Crowned National Song," and of a lyric drama, "Fjeldeventyret" (The +Adventure in the Mountains). The third member of the Trefoil, Mauritz +Chr. Hansen (1794-1842), wrote a large number of novels and national +stories, which were quite popular in their time. His poems were among +the earliest publications of independent Norway. + +The time about the year 1830 is reckoned as the beginning of the new +Norwegian literature, and Henrik Wergeland is called its creator. +Henrik Arnold Wergeland was born in 1808. His father, Nicolai +Wergeland, a clergyman, was a member of the Constitutional Convention +at Eidsvold. Henrik studied theology, but did not care to become +a clergyman. In 1827, and the following years, he wrote a number +of satirical farces under the signature "Siful Sifadda." In 1830 +appeared his lyric dramatic poem, "Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias" +(The Creation, Man and Messiah), a voluminous piece of work, in which +he attempted to explain the historical life of the human race. As +a political writer he was editorial assistant on the "Folkebladet" +(1831-1833), and edited the opposition paper "Statsborgeren" +(1835-1837). He worked with great zeal for the education of the +laboring class, and from 1839 until his death edited a paper in the +interest of the laborer. The prominent features of his earliest +efforts in literature are an unbounded enthusiasm and a complete +disregard of the laws of poetry. At an early age he had become a power +in literature, and a political power as well. From 1831 to 1835 he +was subjected to severe satirical attacks by the author Welhaven and +others, and later his style became improved in every respect. His +popularity however decreased as his poetry improved, and in 1840 he had +become a great poet but had no political influence. Among his works may +be named "Hasselnödder," "Jöden" (The Jew), "Jödinden" (The Jewess), +"Jan van Huysums Blomsterstykke" (Jan van Huysum's Flower-piece), +"Den engelske Lods" (The English Pilot), and a great number of lyric +poems. The poems of his last five years are as popular to-day as ever. +Wergeland died in 1845. + +The enthusiastic nationalism of Henrik Wergeland and his young +following brought on a conflict with the conservative element, which +was not ready to accept everything as good simply because it was +Norwegian. This conservative element maintained that art and culture +must be developed on the basis of the old association with Denmark, +which had connected Norway with the great movement of civilization +throughout Europe. As the poetical leader of this "Intelligence" party, +as it was called, appeared J. S. Welhaven. + +Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was born in Bergen in 1807, +entered the university in 1825, became a "Lector" in 1840, and +afterward Professor of Philosophy. "His refined æsthetic nature," says +Fr. Winkel Horn, "had been early developed, and when the war broke out +between him and Wergeland he had reached a high point of intellectual +culture, and thus was in every way a match for his opponent. The +fight was inaugurated by a preliminary literary skirmish, which was, +at the outset, limited to the university students; but it gradually +assumed an increasingly bitter character, both parties growing more +and more exasperated. Welhaven published a pamphlet, 'Om Henrik +Wergelands Digtekunst og Poesie,' in which he mercilessly exposed the +weak sides of his adversary's poetry. Thereby the minds became still +more excited. The 'Intelligence' party withdrew from the students' +union, founded a paper of their own, and thus the movement began to +assume wider dimensions. In 1834 appeared Welhaven's celebrated poem +'Norges Dæmring,' a series of sonnets, distinguished for their beauty +of style. In them the poet scourges, without mercy, the one-sided, +narrow-minded patriotism of his time, and exposes, in striking and +unmistakable words, the hollowness and shortcomings of the Wergeland +party. Welhaven points out, with emphasis, that he is not only going +to espouse the cause of good taste, which his adversary has outraged, +but that he is also about to discuss problems of general interest. He +urges that a Norwegian culture and literature cannot be created out of +nothing; that to promote their development it is absolutely necessary +to continue the associations which have hitherto been common to both +Norway and Denmark, and thus to keep in _rapport_ with the general +literature of Europe. When a solid foundation has in this manner been +laid, the necessary materials for a literature would surely not be +wanting, for they are found in abundance, both in the antiquities and +in the popular life of Norway." Welhaven continued his effective work +as a poet and a critic. Through a series of lyrical and romantic poems, +rich in contents and highly finished in style, he developed a poetical +life, which had an important influence in the young Norwegian literary +circles. He died in 1873. + +Andreas Munch (1811-1884), an able and industrious poetical writer, +took no part in the controversy between Wergeland and Welhaven, but +followed his Danish models independently of either. His "Poems, Old and +New," published in 1848, were quite popular. His best work is probably +"Kongedatterens Brudefart" (The Bridal Tour of the King's Daughter), +1861. + +In the period of about a dozen years following the death of Wergeland, +the life, manners and characteristics of the Norwegian people were +given the especial attention of the literary writers. Prominent in this +period was Peter Christian Asbjörnsen (1812-1885), who, partly alone +and partly in conjunction with Bishop Jörgen Moe (1813-1882), published +some valuable collections of Norwegian folk tales and fairy tales. +Moe also published three little volumes of graceful and attractive +poems. Among other writers of this period may be named Hans H. Schultze +("Fra Lofoten og Solör"), N. Östgaard ("En Fjeldbygd"), Harald Meltser +("Smaabilleder af Folkelivet"), M. B. Landstad (hymns), and the +linguist Sophus Bugge. + +The efforts to bring out the national life and characteristics of the +people in the literature also led to an attempt to nationalize the +language in which the literature was written. The movement was the +so-called "Maalstræv," and had in view the introduction of a "pure +Norwegian" book-language, based upon the peasant dialects. The most +prominent supporter of this movement was Ivar Aasen (1813-1898), +the author of an excellent dictionary of the Norwegian language. A +prominent poetical representative of this school was Aasmund Olafson +Vinje (1818-1870), while Kristofer Janson (born 1841) has also written +a number of stories and poems in the _Landsmaal_ (country tongue). + +A new and grand period in the Norwegian literature commenced about +1857, and the two most conspicuous names in this period--and in the +whole Norwegian literature--are those of Henrik Ibsen and Björnstjerne +Björnson. + +Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien in 1828. He has written many beautiful +poems; but his special field is the drama, where he is a master. His +first works were nearly all historical romantic dramas. His first +work, "Catilina," printed in 1850, was scarcely noticed until years +afterward, when he had become famous. In 1856 appeared the romantic +drama, "Gildet paa Solhaug" (The Feast at Solhaug), followed by +"Fru Inger til Oestraat," 1857, and "Hærmændene paa Helgeland" (The +Warriors on Helgeland), 1858. In 1863 he wrote the historical tragedy +"Kongsemnerne" (The Pretenders), in which the author showed his great +literary power. Before this play was published, he had been drawn into +a new channel. In 1862 he began a series of satirical and philosophical +dramas with "Kjærlighedens Komedie" (Love's Comedy), which was +succeeded by two masterpieces of a similar kind, "Brand," in 1866, and +"Peer Gynt," in 1867. These works were written in verse; but in "De +Unges Forbund" (The Young Men's League), 1869, a political satire, he +abandoned verse, and all his subsequent dramas have been written in +prose. In 1873 came "Keiser og Galilæer" (Emperor and Galilean). Since +then he has published a number of social dramas which have attracted +world-wide attention. We mention: "Samfundets Stötter" (The Pillars +of Society), "Et Dukkehjem" (A Doll's House), "Gengangere" (Ghosts), +"En Folkefiende" (An Enemy of the People), "Rosmerholm," "Fruen fra +Havet" (The Lady from the Sea), "Little Eyolf," "Bymester Solnes" +(Masterbuilder Solnes), "John Gabriel Borkman." + +Björnstjerne Björnson (born in Österdalen in 1832) is the more popular +of the two giants in the Norwegian literature of to-day. His works are +more national in tone. It has been said that to mention his name is to +raise the Norwegian flag. His first successes were made in the field of +the novel, and the first two, "Synnöve Solbakken" (1857), and "Arne" +(1858), made his name famous. These, and his other peasant stories, +will always retain their popularity. He soon, however, entered the +dramatic field, and has since published a great number of dramas and +novels. "Halte Hulda," 1858; "Mellem Slagene," 1859; "Kong Sverre," +1861; "Sigurd Slembe," 1862; "Maria Stuart," 1863; "De Nygifte" (The +Newly-married Couple), 1865; "Kongen," 1877; "Leonarda," 1879; "Det ny +System," 1879; "Over Ærne," 1883; "En Fallit," "Det flager," etc., and +many others. + +In the field of belles-lettres there is, at the present time, a number +of other talented authors. Jonas Lie (born 1833) has produced a number +of excellent novels. Then there are Alexander Kielland (born 1849), +Magdalene Thoresen (born 1819), Arne Garborg, Gunnar Heiberg, and a +number of young authors. + +In the field of science, also, modern Norway has a rich literature +with many prominent names, such as the historians Peter Andreas Munch +(1810-1863), Rudolph Keyser (1803-1864), Johan Ernst Sars (born 1835), +and O. A. Överland. + + + + +CHAPTER LIX + +_The Constitution of Norway_ + + +The following is the Constitution adopted at the Convention at Eidsvold +on the 17th day of May, 1814, and amended and ratified by the Storthing +on the 4th day of November, 1814, with all the subsequent amendments +incorporated: + + +A. RELIGION AND FORM OF GOVERNMENT: + +Article 1. The Kingdom of Norway is a free, independent, indivisible +and inalienable state, united with Sweden under one king. Its form of +government is a limited, hereditary monarchy. + +Article 2. The Evangelical Lutheran religion shall continue the +established religion of the state. Such inhabitants as profess the same +shall educate their children therein. Jesuits shall be excluded. + + +B. THE EXECUTIVE POWER, THE KING, AND THE ROYAL FAMILY: + +Article 3. The executive power shall be vested in the King. + +Article 4. The King shall constantly profess, maintain and defend the +Evangelical Lutheran religion. + +Article 5. The King's person is sacred; he shall neither be censured +nor impeached. His Ministry shall, however, be accountable. + +Article 6. The succession shall be lineal and agnatic as prescribed +in the ordinance of succession of September 26, 1810, adopted by the +Legislative Assembly of Sweden and accepted by the King, a translation +of which is attached to this Constitution. A posthumous child shall +be deemed in the line of succession, and shall take his appropriate +place therein as soon as born. When a prince, who is heir to the United +Crowns of Norway and Sweden, is born, his name and time of birth shall +be reported to the next Storthing in session and entered in its journal. + +Article 7. If no Prince, heir to the Crowns, be living, the King may +propose a successor to the Storthing of Norway, at the same time as to +the Legislative Assembly of Sweden; and, as soon as the King has made +his nomination, the legislative bodies of both nations shall appoint +a committee from their midst, with power to choose a successor, in +case the nominee of the King is not confirmed by a majority in each +legislative body. The number of members of this Committee, which must +be equal from each kingdom, and the manner in which the choice shall be +made, shall be determined by a law, simultaneously proposed by the King +to the next Storthing and to the Legislative Assembly of Sweden. One +member shall withdraw, by lot, from the assembled committee. + +Article 8. The age of majority of the King shall be prescribed by a +law, to be enacted pursuant to an agreement between the Storthing of +Norway and the Legislative Assembly of Sweden, or, in case they cannot +agree concerning the same, by a committee appointed by the legislative +bodies of both kingdoms, conformable to the provisions of the +preceding Article 7. The King shall publicly proclaim himself of age as +soon as he has attained his majority. + +Article 9. As soon as the King, on coming of age, assumes the +government, he shall take the following oath before the Storthing: "I +promise and depose that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway conformable +to its Constitution and laws, so help me God and His Holy Writ." If no +Storthing is then in session, the oath shall be deposited in writing +with the Ministry, and shall solemnly be renewed by the King at the +next Storthing, either orally or in writing through his representative. + +Article 10. The King shall be crowned and anointed, when he is of age, +in Throndhjem's Cathedral, at such time and with such ceremonies as he +himself may prescribe. + +Article 11. The King shall reside in Norway a part of each year, if not +prevented by serious obstacles. + +Article 12. The King shall appoint a Ministry of Norwegian citizens, +who shall not be less than thirty years of age. The Ministry shall +consist of two Ministers of State, and not less than seven Secretaries +of State. The King shall apportion the public business among the +members of the Ministry in such manner as he deems best. The King, +or, in his absence, the Minister of State, in conjunction with the +Secretaries of State, may, on extraordinary occasions, in addition to +the regular members of the Ministry, summon other Norwegian citizens, +not members of the Storthing, to a seat in the Ministry. Father and +son, or two brothers, shall not have a seat in the Ministry at the same +time. + +Article 13. The King shall commit, during his absence, the +administration of the domestic affairs of the realm, in such cases as +he may prescribe, to one of the Ministers of State, and not less than +five of the Secretaries of State, who shall carry on the government +in the name, and on behalf, of the King. They shall sacredly conform +as well to the provisions of this Constitution as to the several +instructions in harmony therewith, prescribed to them by the King. +They shall present to the King a respectful application concerning the +affairs they resolve upon. Their transactions shall be determined by +vote, and in case of an equal division the Minister of State, or, in +his absence, the senior Secretary of State, shall have two votes. + +Article 14. (Repealed.) + +Article 15. One of the Ministers of State, and two of the Secretaries +of State, the latter to be changed yearly, shall constantly remain +with the King while he resides in Sweden. They shall be subject to the +same obligations and to the same constitutional accountability as the +governing Ministry, named in Article 13, existing in Norway, and only +in their presence shall Norwegian affairs be disposed of by the King. +All applications from Norwegian citizens to the King shall first be +presented to the governing Ministry in Norway, and supplemented with +their opinion, before passed upon. As a rule, except where serious +obstacles prevent, no Norwegian affairs shall be disposed of without +obtaining the advice of the governing Ministry in Norway. The Minister +of State shall move the consideration of public business, and shall be +responsible for the due expedition of all resolutions taken. + +Article 16. The King shall prescribe rules for all public religious +and church service, and for all meetings and conventions relating to +religious affairs, and he shall take care that the public instructors +of religion adhere to the standards prescribed them. + +Article 17. The King may enact and repeal ordinances relating to +commerce, customs, industrial pursuits and public order, not, however, +in conflict with the Constitution or the laws of the Storthing, +passed pursuant to the provisions of Article 77, 78 and 79 of this +Constitution. Such acts of the King shall remain provisionally in force +until the next Storthing. + +Article 18. The King shall, ordinarily, cause the taxes and imposts, +levied by the Storthing, to be collected. The Norwegian Treasury shall +remain in Norway, and its revenue shall be devoted to the requirements +of Norway alone. + +Article 19. The King shall take care that the estates and regalia +of the State be used and managed in the manner prescribed by the +Storthing, and for the greatest advantage of the public. + +Article 20. The King shall have power, in council, to pardon offenders +after conviction. The offender shall, however, have the option to +accept the pardon of the King or to suffer the punishment adjudged. +No pardon or reprieve, except the remission of the death penalty, +shall be granted in cases prosecuted by the Odelsthing in the Court of +Impeachment. + +Article 21. The King, after hearing his Ministry in Norway, shall +appoint and induct all civil, ecclesiastical and military officials, +who shall take an oath of obedience and fealty to the Constitution and +the King, or who, if relieved by law from such an oath, shall solemnly +declare their fealty to the same. Royal Princes shall hold no civil +office. + +Article 22. The King may, after taking the advice of the Ministry, +without the warrant of judicial decree, remove from office the +Ministers and Secretaries of State, together with officials in the +bureaus of the Ministry, Ambassadors and Consuls, the chief civil and +ecclesiastical officials, and the chiefs of fortifications and ships of +war. Whether pensions shall be granted to officials thus removed shall +be determined by the next Storthing, but, in the meantime, they shall +continue to receive two-thirds of their former salary. Other officials +are only liable to suspension by the King, and, when suspended, shall +at once be proceeded against in the courts, and shall not, without +judgment, be removed, nor transferred without their consent. + +Article 23. The King, at his pleasure, may confer orders of merit, in +recognition of distinguished services, to be publicly announced, but +no other rank or title than that conferred by an office occupied. Such +orders shall relieve no one from the duties and burdens common to all +citizens, nor shall they confer any preference in securing admission +to the public service. Officials, honorably discharged, shall retain +the title and rank of the office they occupied. No personal or mixed +hereditary prerogatives shall hereafter be conferred on any one. + +Article 24. The King may, at pleasure, select and dismiss the employees +and officers of his royal household. + +Article 25. The King shall be Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval +forces of the realm. These forces shall neither be increased nor +diminished without the consent of the Storthing. They shall not be +placed in the service of foreign powers, nor shall the military forces +of any foreign powers, except auxiliary troops to repel hostile attack, +be brought within the realm without the consent of the Storthing. +In times of peace, none but Norwegian troops shall be stationed in +Norway, and no Norwegian troops shall be stationed in Sweden. The King, +however, may retain in Sweden a Norwegian guard of volunteers, and he +may, for a short time not exceeding six weeks in any year, assemble +for manoeuvres, within the limits of either country, the nearest +troops of the armies of both realms; but in no case, in times of peace, +shall more than three thousand soldiers, of all arms combined, of the +military force of one country, be brought within the limits of the +other country. Norway's troops and coast flotilla shall not be employed +in offensive war without the consent of the Storthing. The Norwegian +fleet shall have its dock yards, and in times of peace its stations or +havens in Norway. The ships of war of one country shall not be manned +with sailors of the other country, except by voluntary enlistment. The +home guard and the other Norwegian troops, not classed as troops of the +line, shall never be employed outside of the boundaries of Norway. + +Article 26. The King shall have power to call out the troops, to +commence war and make peace, to enter into treaties, and to abrogate +the same, and to send and receive diplomatic representatives. When the +King intends to commence war, he shall communicate his purpose to the +governing Ministry in Norway, and obtain their judgment concerning the +same, together with a full report upon the condition of the country +in respect to its finances, means of defence, and other matters. When +these steps have been taken, the King shall convene the Norwegian +Minister of State and the Norwegian Secretaries of State stationed +in Sweden, together with the members of the Swedish Ministry, in +an extraordinary cabinet council, and shall present to them the +grounds and circumstances which should in such cases be taken into +consideration, and shall also place before them the report of the +Norwegian Ministry concerning the condition of that country, and a like +report concerning the condition of Sweden. The King shall thereupon +demand their judgment in the premises, which each of them for himself +shall give and have entered in the journal of the proceedings, to be +accountable for as provided in the Constitution. When this has been +done, the King shall have the power to take and execute such resolution +as he deems for the best interest of the country. + +Article 27. All members of the Ministry, without valid excuse, shall +attend the cabinet councils, and no action shall be taken when not +more than half of the members are present. No action shall be taken in +those Norwegian affairs, disposed of in Sweden, pursuant to Article +15, unless the Norwegian Minister of State and one of the Norwegian +Secretaries of State, or both of the Secretaries, be present. + +Article 28. Communications concerning appointments to office and other +matters of importance, except diplomatic affairs and military commands, +shall be presented for consideration to the Ministry by the member +thereof in whose department the business belongs, and he shall dispose +of the same conformable to the resolve of the Ministry. + +Article 29. In case a member of the Ministry is unable, for valid +cause, to attend and present for consideration the matters pertaining +to his department, the same shall be presented by another member of the +Ministry, appointed for that purpose by the King, if present, or, in +his absence, by the presiding member of the Ministry, in conjunction +with the other members of the Ministry. If, for valid cause, so many +are absent that not more than half of the regular members are in +attendance, then other officials shall be appointed, in the mode +aforesaid, to sit in the Ministry, in which case a report thereof shall +at once be made to the King, who shall determine whether the officials +thus appointed shall continue to serve. + +Article 30. The Ministry shall keep a record of all business +transacted. It shall be the duty of every person who has a seat in +the Ministry to express his opinion fearlessly, to which the King +shall listen, but he may resolve according to his own judgment. In +case any member of the Ministry finds that the resolve of the King +is in conflict with the form of government or the laws of the realm, +or is manifestly detrimental to the country, then it is his duty to +vigorously protest against the same, and to enter his objections in the +record. He who does not thus protest, shall be deemed to have concurred +with the King, and shall be accountable therefor, as subsequently +determined, and may be impeached by the Odelsthing in the Court of +Impeachment. + +Article 31. All decrees issued by the King himself, except military +commands, shall be countersigned by one of the Ministers of State. + +Article 32. Resolutions taken by the Ministry in Norway, during the +absence of the King, shall be issued in his name, and attested by the +Ministry. + +Article 33. All communications relative to Norwegian affairs, as well +as the expedition of the same, shall be in the Norwegian language. + +Article 34. The heir apparent, if son of the reigning King, shall bear +the title of Crown Prince. The other royal heirs shall be known as +Princes, and the royal daughters as Princesses. + +Article 35. As soon as the heir apparent has filled his eighteenth +year, he shall be entitled to take his seat in the Ministry, but +without vote or accountability. + +Article 36. No Prince of the blood shall marry without the consent of +the King. If he violates this rule he shall forfeit his right to the +crown of Norway. + +Article 37. The royal Princes and Princesses shall personally only be +answerable to the King, or to such judge as he may ordain for them. + +Article 38. The Norwegian Minister of State, as well as the two +Norwegian Secretaries of State, remaining with the King, shall have +a seat and deliberative voice in the Swedish Ministry when matters +affecting both kingdoms are there considered. The views of the Ministry +in Norway shall also be obtained, in such cases, unless the urgency for +immediate action is so great that there is no time therefor. + +Article 39. If the King dies and his successor is still under age, +the Norwegian and Swedish Ministries shall immediately assemble, and +jointly issue a call convening the Storthing in Norway and the Rigsdag +in Sweden. + +Article 40. Until the legislative bodies of both realms are convened +and have provided for the government during the minority of the King, +the administration of the kingdoms, conformable to their respective +Constitutions, shall be conducted by a Ministry composed of an equal +number of Norwegian and Swedish members. The Norwegian and Swedish +Ministers of State, having a seat in this Ministry, shall determine, by +lot, who shall preside. + +Article 41. The provisions of Articles 39 and 40, aforesaid, shall also +be complied with in all those cases in which, under the Constitution +of Sweden, the Swedish Ministry, as such, is entitled to conduct the +government. When, however, the King, by reason of travels abroad or +sickness, is unable to conduct the administration, the Prince, entitled +to the succession, if of age, shall conduct the administration as the +temporary representative of the King, with the same power as belongs to +an ad interim government. + +Article 42. The King shall submit to the next Storthing in Norway and +the next Rigsdag in Sweden a bill, based on the principles of perfect +equality between both kingdoms, to carry out the provisions of Articles +39, 40 and 41, aforesaid. + +Article 43. The election of a Regency, to conduct the administration +for the King during his minority, shall take place according to the +same rules and in the same manner prescribed in Article 7, aforesaid, +for the election of a successor to the Crown. + +Article 44. The Norwegian members of the joint Ministry, to conduct +the administration in the cases provided for in Articles 40 and 41, +aforesaid, shall take the following oath before the Storthing: + +"I promise and depose that I will conduct the administration of the +government conformable to the Constitution and the laws, so help me +God and His Holy Writ," and the Swedish members shall take an oath +before the Legislative Assembly of Sweden. If the Storthing or Rigsdag +is not at that time in session, the oath shall be deposited, with the +Ministry, in writing, and shall be renewed before the next Storthing or +Rigsdag. + +Article 45. As soon as the administration of the joint Ministry shall +cease, they shall render an account of the same to the King and the +Storthing. + +Article 46. If those, on whom it is incumbent, pursuant to Articles +39 and 41, fail to immediately convene the Storthing, it shall be the +peremptory duty of the Supreme Court, after a lapse of four weeks, to +convene the same. + +Article 47. The management of the education of the King, under age, +shall, if his father has left no written directions concerning the +same, be provided for in the manner prescribed in Articles 7 and 43. +It shall be the invariable rule to give the King, during his minority, +ample instructions in the Norwegian language. + +Article 48. If the royal male line be extinct, and no successor has +been selected, a new line of kings shall be chosen in the manner +prescribed in Article 7; and in the meantime provision shall be made +for the executive power as prescribed in Article 43 (40). + + +C. CITIZENSHIP AND THE LAW-MAKING POWER: + +Article 49. The people shall exercise the legislative power through a +Storthing, composed of two bodies, a Lagthing and an Odelsthing. + +Article 50. All Norwegian citizens, dwelling within the realm, who have +attained the age of twenty-five years, and have been residents of the +country for five years, shall be qualified voters. + +Article 51. All qualified voters shall be registered, in every city +by the magistrate, and in every rural parish by the parson and +tax collector. Changes that in the course of time may occur shall +immediately be noted in the registry. Every voter shall, before he +is registered, publicly in court, take an oath of fealty to the +Constitution. + +Article 52. The right of suffrage shall be suspended by: + +(_a_) Indictment for an offence subject to the punishment described in +Article 53; by + +(_b_) Being placed under guardianship; by + +(_c_) Assignment or bankruptcy, not caused by loss of fire or other +evident misfortune, until the debtor, through full liquidation or +composition, shall again regain control over his estate; and by + +(_d_) Being supported, or having during the year immediately preceding +the election been supported, as a public pauper. + +Article 53. The right of suffrage shall be forfeited by: + +(_a_) Having been sentenced to hard labor, removal from office, or +imprisonment for an offence described in any of the chapters of the +Criminal Code, relating to perjury, larceny, robbery or fraud; by + +(_b_) Entering the service of a foreign power, without the consent of +the government; by + +(_c_) Acquiring citizenship in a foreign country; and by + +(_d_) Being convicted of buying votes, or selling one's own vote, or of +voting in more than one election precinct. + +Article 54. Elections and electoral meetings shall be held every third +year. They shall be concluded before the end of the month of December. + +Article 55. Elections shall be held, at the chief church of the parish, +in the rural districts, and at a church, the town hall, or other +suitable place, in the towns. The parish priest and his vestrymen shall +be the judges of election in the rural districts, the magistrate and +selectmen in the towns. The vote shall be taken in the order the names +appear on the registry. Controversies about the right to vote shall be +determined by the judges of election, whose decision may be appealed +from to the Storthing. + +Article 56. The Constitution shall be audibly read, in the towns by the +chief magistrate, and in the rural districts by the priest, before the +polls are opened. + +Article 57. In the towns, one elector shall be chosen for every fifty +inhabitants qualified to vote. Within eight days after their election, +the electors shall assemble at the place designated therefor by the +magistracy, and shall elect, either from their own number or from +the other qualified voters in their electoral district, thirty-eight +representatives, to meet and sit in the Storthing. Of this number, +unless otherwise constitutionally provided, one shall be elected from +Aalesund and Molde combined, one from Arendal and Grimstad combined, +four from Bergen, one from Brevig, four from Christiania, Hónefas and +Kongsvinger combined, two from Christianssand, one from Christianssund, +two from Drammen, one from Flekkefjord, one from Frederickshald, one +from Fredericksstad, one from Hammerfest, Vardó and Vadsó combined, +one from Holmestrand, one from Kongsberg, one from Krageró, one from +Laurvig and Sandefjord combined, one from Lillehammer, Hamer and Gjóvik +combined, one from Moss and Dróbak combined, one from Porsgrund, one +from Sarpsborg, one from Skien, two from Stavanger and Haugesund +combined, one from Tromsö, four from Throndhjem and Levanger combined, +one from Tunsberg, and one from Osterrisór. When a town, not herein +named, shall have fifty or more inhabitants, who are qualified voters, +it shall be attached to the nearest town-electoral district. The +same rule shall apply to towns that may hereafter be founded. A town +attached to a town-electoral district shall choose one elector, even +though the number of inhabitants qualified to vote shall become less +than fifty. In no case shall less than three electors be chosen in a +town which, by itself alone, constitutes one representative district. + +Article 58. In every parish in the rural districts, the inhabitants +qualified to vote shall choose, in proportion to their numbers, +electors as follows: One hundred or less shall choose one; from one +hundred to two hundred, two; from two hundred to three hundred, three, +and so on in the same proportion. The electors shall, within a month +after their election, assemble at a place designated therefor by the +high sheriff of the county, and shall then elect, either from their own +number or from the other qualified voters in their county, seventy-six +Representatives, to meet and sit in the Storthing, of whom five shall +be chosen from the county of Agershus, five from the county of Nordre +Bergenhus, five from the county of Sóndre Bergenhus, five from the +county of Christians, two from the county of Finmarken, five from the +county of Hedemarken, five from the county of Nordland, five from the +county of Romsdalen, five from the county of Stavanger, two from the +county of Tromsö, and four from each of the other eight counties of +the kingdom. Ex-Ministers or ex-Secretaries of State shall be eligible +for Representatives in any electoral district, if, barring residence, +they are qualified voters and have not already been elected in some +other district. But no district shall elect more than one non-resident +Representative. + +Article 59. (Repealed.) + +Article 60. Qualified voters, being within the country, who, by reason +of sickness, military service, or other valid excuse, are unable to +attend the polls, may, in writing, transmit their votes to the judges +of election before the polls are closed. + +Article 61. No one shall be elected Representative unless he is thirty +years of age and has resided ten years within the realm. + +Article 62. Members of the Ministry, the officials employed in its +bureaus, and the officials and pensionaries of the Court, are all +ineligible for Representatives. + +Article 63. Whoever is elected Representative, except ex-members of the +Ministry elected under the last clause in Article 58, shall be required +to accept the office, unless prevented by an excuse deemed valid by the +electors, whose decision may be reviewed by the Storthing. Whoever has +served as a Representative in three regular sessions of the Storthing +succeeding the same election, shall not be bound to accept election to +the next Storthing. If a Representative is prevented by valid excuse +from attending the Storthing, the person receiving the next highest +vote shall take his place, unless an alternate was elected at the +district electoral meeting, in which case he shall take the place of +the Representative. + +Article 64. Immediately after their election, the Representatives shall +be furnished with certificates of election, subscribed in the rural +districts by the magistracy, in the towns by the chief magistrate, and +in both cases by several electors, as evidence that they have been +elected in the manner prescribed in the Constitution. The validity of +these credentials shall be passed upon by the Storthing. + +Article 65. Each Representative shall be entitled to compensation, from +the State Treasury, for expenses of travel to and from the Storthing, +and for subsistence during attendance. + +Article 66. Representatives shall, except when apprehended in public +offences, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the +Storthing, and in going to and returning from the same; and they shall +not be answerable, outside of the sessions of the Storthing, for the +expression of their views therein; but every Representative shall +conform to the established rules of procedure. + +Article 67. The Representatives, elected in the manner aforesaid, shall +constitute the Storthing of the Kingdom of Norway. + +Article 68. The Storthing shall, as a rule, convene on the first +week-day in the month of February in each year, at the capital of +the Kingdom, except when the King, on account of extraordinary +circumstances, such as hostile invasion or contagious disease, shall +designate another town in the realm therefor. Timely notice of such +designation shall, in such case, be published. + +Article 89. The King may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the +Storthing at other than the usual time. In such case the King shall +issue a proclamation, which shall be read in all the churches of the +Episcopal towns at least fourteen days before the members of the +Storthing shall assemble at the place prescribed. + +Article 70. Such special Storthing may be adjourned by the King at his +pleasure. + +Article 71. The members of the Storthing shall serve as such for three +successive years, as well at all special, as at all regular, sessions +that may in the meantime be held. + +Article 72. If a special Storthing be in session at the time a regular +Storthing convenes, the former shall adjourn before the latter +assembles. + +Article 73. The Storthing shall select from its members one-fourth who +shall constitute the Lagthing; the other three-fourths shall constitute +the Odelsthing. The selection shall be made at the first regular +Storthing which convenes after an election, and thereafter the Lagthing +shall remain unchanged in all Storthings assembled after the same +election, except in cases of vacancy, which shall be filled by special +election. Each Thing shall hold its sessions separately, and appoint +its own President and Secretary. Neither Thing shall be in session +unless two-thirds of its members are present. + +Article 74. As soon as the Storthing has organized, the King, or +whoever he may appoint therefor, shall open its proceedings with a +speech from the throne, wherein he shall give information touching +the condition of the kingdom and the matters to which he especially +desires to direct the Storthing's attention. No deliberation shall take +place in the presence of the King. After the session of the Storthing +has been opened, the Minister of State and the Secretaries of State +shall be entitled to sit in the Storthing and both branches thereof, +and to participate in its proceedings, without the right to vote, in +open session on a footing of equality with the members, and in secret +session only to the extent permitted by the Thing. + +Article 75. The Storthing shall have power: + +(_a_) To enact and repeal laws; to levy taxes, imposts, duties, and +other public assessments, but such levy shall not remain in force +beyond the first day of July in the year in which the next regular +Storthing convenes, unless expressly revived by the latter; + +(_b_) To borrow money on the credit of the Kingdom; + +(_c_) To regulate the currency of the Kingdom; + +(_d_) To appropriate the money necessary for the expenditures of the +government; + +(_e_) To determine the amount which shall yearly be paid the King for +the maintenance of his royal household, and to settle the appanage of +the royal family, which shall not, however, consist of landed estates; + +(_f_) To cause to be laid before them the Journal of the Ministry +in Norway and all official reports and documents, not pertaining to +exclusive military commands, then on file, together with verified +copies and extracts of the Journals, on file with the King, kept by the +Norwegian Minister of State and the two Norwegian Secretaries of State +remaining in Sweden, as well as the public documents on file with them; + +(_g_) To cause to be communicated to them the Alliances and Treaties, +which the King, on behalf of the state, has entered into with foreign +powers, except secret articles, which must not, however, conflict with +those that are public; + +(_h_) To require any person to appear before them, in state affairs, +except the King and royal family; but this exception shall not apply to +royal princes holding office; + +(_i_) To revise temporary salary and pension lists, and to make such +changes therein as they find necessary; + +(_k_) To appoint five auditors who shall yearly audit the accounts +of the state and publish printed extracts of the same; and for this +purpose the accounts shall be submitted to the auditors within six +months from the expiration of the year for which the appropriations of +the Storthing has been made; and + +(_l_) To naturalize foreigners. + +Article 76. Every bill shall first be introduced in the Odelsthing, +either by a member thereof or by the Ministry, through one of its +members. If the bill is there passed, it shall be sent to the Lagthing, +which may concur in or reject it; in the latter case it shall be +returned with objections appended, and the same shall be considered +by the Odelsthing, which may either indefinitely postpone the bill or +return it to the Lagthing with or without amendment. When a bill, from +the Odelsthing, has been twice presented to the Lagthing and has been +returned a second time rejected, the entire Storthing shall assemble +in one body, and, by a two-thirds vote, dispose of the bill. At least +three days must intervene between every such distinct consideration of +the bill. + +Article 77. When a measure, passed by the Odelsthing, has been +concurred in by the Lagthing or the united Storthing, it shall be sent +by a committee of both bodies of the Storthing to the King, if he is +present, or if not present, to the Norwegian Ministry, with the request +for the sanction of the King. + +Article 78. If the King approve the measure, he shall affix his +signature thereto, whereby it becomes a law. If he disapprove the same, +he shall return it to the Odelsthing with the statement that, for the +time being, he does not find it expedient to sanction the same. + +Article 79. If a measure has been passed without amendment, by three +regular Storthings, convened after three separate and successive +elections, and separated from each other by not less than two +intervening regular Storthings, and no measure in conflict therewith +having, in the meantime, from the first to the last passage, been +passed by any Storthing, and the measure is then presented to the King +with the request that his Majesty will not refuse his sanction to a +measure which the Storthing, after the most mature consideration, deem +beneficial, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the King fails to +sanction the same before the adjournment of the Storthing. + +Article 80. The Storthing may remain in session so long as it deems +necessary, not, however, over two months, without the permission of +the King. When, after having finished its proceedings, or after having +been in session the time limited, it is adjourned by the King, he shall +communicate to it his action upon the measures passed, by approving or +rejecting the same. All measures not expressly approved by him shall be +deemed rejected. + +Article 81. All laws shall be promulgated in the Norwegian language, +and, except those passed pursuant to Article 79, in the name of the +King, and under the seal of the Kingdom of Norway, in the following +words: + +"We--N. N.--make known that there has been presented to us an Act of +the Storthing of the following tenor: (here follows the Act), which we +have accepted and approved and hereby accept and approve, as law, under +our hand and the seal of the realm." + +Article 82. The sanction of the King shall not be required for those +resolutions of the Storthing whereby: + +(_a_) It declares itself convened as Storthing pursuant to the +Constitution; + +(_b_) It determines its own rules of procedure; + +(_c_) It approves or rejects the credentials of the members present; + +(_d_) It affirms or reverses decisions in election controversies; + +(_e_) It naturalizes foreigners; + +(_f_) And finally, not for the resolution whereby the Odelsthing shall +impeach members of the Ministry, or others. + +Article 83. The Storthing shall have the right to procure the opinion +of the Supreme Court upon judicial subjects. + +Article 84. The Storthing shall sit in open session and its proceedings +shall be printed and published, except in cases where otherwise +determined by a majority vote. + +Article 85. Whoever shall obey a command, the purpose of which is to +interfere with the freedom and safety of the Storthing, is guilty of +treason against the Fatherland. + + +D. THE JUDICIAL POWER: + +Article 86. The members of the Lagthing, together with the Supreme +Court, shall constitute the Court of Impeachment, which shall try, +without appeal, cases instituted by the Odelsthing, against members +of the Ministry and members of the Supreme Court for malfeasance in +office, and against members of the Storthing for offences committed by +them in their official capacity. The President of the Lagthing shall +preside in the Court of Impeachment. + +Article 87. The accused may, without cause, challenge as many as +one-third of the members of the Court of Impeachment, but not so many, +however, as to leave the Court with less than fifteen members. + +Article 88. The Supreme Court shall be the tribunal of last resort. +It shall consist of not less than one Chief-Justice and six associate +judges. This article shall not prohibit the final disposal of criminal +cases, pursuant to law, without appeal to the Supreme Court. + +Article 89. In times of peace, the Supreme Court, together with two +high military officers to be appointed by the King, shall constitute +a court of appeal and of final resort in all court-martial cases, +involving life, honor, or loss of liberty for a longer period than +three months. + +Article 90. The decisions of the Supreme Court shall in no case be +appealed or reviewed. + +Article 91. No one shall be appointed a member of the Supreme Court +before he is thirty years of age. + + +E. GENERAL PROVISIONS: + +Article 92. Public offices shall be filled only by Norwegian citizens +who speak the language of the country and: + +(_a_) Who are born within the realm of parents who are citizens of the +country; or + +(_b_) Who are born in foreign countries of Norwegian parents, not +citizens of another nation; or + +(_c_) Who shall hereafter reside ten years within the realm; or + +(_d_) Who shall be naturalized by the Storthing. But persons without +these qualifications may be appointed physicians, instructors in the +university and grammar schools, and consuls in foreign places. No one +shall be appointed a high magistrate before he is thirty years of +age, nor an inferior judge, magistrate, or tax collector before he is +twenty-five years of age. No one shall be a member of the Ministry +unless he professes the established religion of the state; and the same +rule shall apply to the other offices of the state, until otherwise +provided by law. + +Article 93. Norway shall not be liable for any other than its own +national debt. + +Article 94. Measures shall be taken to enact, at the next regular +Storthing, or, if this is not possible, at the following one, a new +general civil and criminal code. In the meantime the existing laws of +the state shall remain in force so far as they are not in conflict +with this Constitution or temporary ordinances meanwhile issued. +Permanent taxes now existing shall continue as laid until the next +Storthing. + +Article 95. No dispensations, writs of protection, or letters of +respite or reparation, shall be granted after the new general code +takes effect. + +Article 96. No one shall be tried except pursuant to law, nor punished +except pursuant to judgment. Examination, by means of torture, is +prohibited. + +Article 97. No law shall be given retroactive effect. + +Article 98. Fees paid to officials of Courts of Justice shall not be +subject to any state tax. + +Article 99. No one shall be arrested except in the case and manner +prescribed by law. Whoever causes an unauthorized arrest, or unlawful +detention, shall be answerable therefor to the person confined. The +government shall have no right to employ military force against the +citizens otherwise than pursuant to law, except in the case of an +assembly disturbing the public peace and not immediately dispersing +after the civil magistrate has thrice audibly read to them the articles +in the public code relating to riot. + +Article 100. The liberty of the press shall remain inviolate. No one +shall be punished for any writing, printed or published, irrespective +of its context, unless he has intentionally and clearly manifested, +or urged others to manifest, disobedience to the laws, contempt for +religion, morality, and the constitutional authorities, or resistance +to the commands of the same, or has made false and defamatory charges +against any person. Every person shall be permitted to express freely +his opinion upon the administration of public affairs, or on any other +subject whatsoever. + +Article 101. New and permanent special privileges in industrial +pursuits shall not be granted to any one hereafter. + +Article 102. Domiciliary visits shall not be permitted except in +criminal cases. + +Article 103. No sanctuary shall be allowed to persons who hereafter +become insolvent. + +Article 104. Estates of inheritance, or distributive shares, shall in +no case be subject to confiscation. + +Article 105. If public necessity requires any person to relinquish +his real or personal property for public use, he shall receive full +compensation therefor from the State Treasury. + +Article 106. The proceeds, as well as the income, of church estates, +shall be devoted exclusively to the benefit of the church and the +promotion of education. The property of charitable institutions shall +be devoted exclusively to their use. + +Article 107. Allodial tenure and statutory entailment shall not be +abolished; but the conditions under which--for the good of the state +and the advantages of the people--the same shall continue, shall be +prescribed by the next or the following Storthing. + +Article 108. No earldoms, baronies, or entailed manorial estates, shall +hereafter be established. + +Article 109. Every citizen, without regard to birth or fortune, shall, +without exception, render military service to his country for a limited +time. The application of this rule, the limitations to be placed on it, +and whether it will be for the good of the country that liability to +such service shall terminate with the twenty-fifth year, shall be left +to the determination of the next regular Storthing, after a committee +has obtained full information on the subject; and in the meantime all +existing provisions in the premises shall remain in force. + +Article 110. Norway shall have its own bank and its own currency and +coinage, to be established by law. + +Article 111. Norway shall be entitled to have its own Merchant Flag. +Its naval ensign shall be a union flag. + +Article 112. If experience demonstrates that any part of this +Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway requires amendment, the +proposition therefor shall be presented at a regular Storthing +first succeeding an election, and notice thereof shall be given by +publication; but no action shall be taken thereon until at one of +the regular Storthings succeeding the next election. Such amendment +shall not contravene the principles of this Constitution, and shall +only relate to such modifications in single provisions as will not +change the spirit of this Constitution, and shall be concurred in by +two-thirds of the Storthing. + + +THE END + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Minor changes have been made to correct printer's errors and to +regularize hyphenatation. + +Names of some places and persons, where obvious, have been changed +to conform to a single, rather than multiple spellings. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The World's Best Histories--Norway, by +Sigvart Sörensen + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59531 *** |
