Haakon

“ A movement of Vagn’s ship caused Erik to look closer after the battle, and as he turned away, Earl Haakon, taking Erling’s hand, sprang with the boy into a small boat and rowed swiftly for the shore. As they passed beyond the rain of spears and arrows, the little lad turned and laid his head upon his father’s breast. “I am weary and I would sleep.”
Earl Haakon pushed the golden curls away. “And so thou shalt, my son, a good long sleep. The day is done, Erling, but the darkness comes not. Yon sun sits high through all the hours that the moon should claim. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Orm, her husband, refused to let her go and sent news of the outrage to all the peasants in the valley. From farm to farm flew the tidings, and the peasants, furious at the shameful deeds of the earl, seized their arms and gathered in a great band, which marched upon him at Medalhus.
Earl Haakon was taken by surprise. He had not dreamed of a revolt and only a few men were with him. These he dismissed and fled for safety, only one man, his old servant Kark, going with him. ”

“ Thore Klakka was terrified at the evident intention of the thrall to betray his master, and the steward thought quickly as he waited. Father Meilge looked in horror at the wretched thrall. A presentiment of the repulsive revelation of that ungainly bundle entered the priest’s keen mind. Thore’s thoughts came fast, for the suddenness and enthusiasm with which the Norsemen had accepted the great viking as their king had upset all his plans. Now he eagerly desired to find Earl Haakon, for he and the overlord were so united in their interests that he would urge Earl Haakon to submit to King Olaf. ”

“ Therefore, as an expression of their affection for him, they named him Haakon the Good.
In the twenty-sixth year of his reign (961) Haakon was summering with his men-at-arms on his estate Fitje in Hördaland. A large number of guests were with him, among whom the scald Eyvind Skaldespilder (Scald-Spoiler) , [A] who was on his mother's side [99] a great-grandson of Harold the Fairhaired. ”

“ Victory rested on the king's banners and his foes fled to their ships, Gamle, their leader, being drowned in the flight.
For six years after this the land lay at peace. King Haakon continued a Christian and many of his friends joined him in the new faith. But he was too wise and gentle to attempt again to force his belief upon his people and the worship of the heathen gods went on. All the people, nobles and peasants alike, loved their king dearly and he would have ended his reign in a peaceful old age but for his foes without the kingdom. ”

“ But Haakon said, gruffly: "No, Niels may not go; he must stay at home to guard the tent."
"Never mind, Hansa," whispered Niels; "I shall not be lonely, and you will have so many things to tell me and to show me when you come home, for father will surely buy us something at the fair; and perhaps," he added, bravely, seeing that Hansa still lingered at his side, "perhaps father will love you if you go gladly with him." ”

“ Erik, an unruly son of Earl Haakon, had fled from his father's court in disgrace and was now in Viken, and here the rumor of the vikings' oath reached his ears. At once, forgetting his quarrel with his father, he hastened north with all the men he could gather to Earl Haakon's aid, preceding the Jomsvikings, who were sailing slowly up the shores of Norway, plundering as they went in their usual fashion. They had a fleet of sixty ships and a force of over seven thousand well-trained warriors. ”

“ Often have I fought, King Haakon, with King Harold, your father. Whether the foe was stronger or weaker the victory was always his. Never did he ask his friends if he should run; nor need you, for we are ready to fight and think that we have a brave chieftain for our leader. ”

“ After the battle the dead were ransacked by Haakon’s men, and the booty brought [Pg 49] 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. ”

“ Kark, sullen and weary, would not yield to sleep. Earl Haakon, in terror of Kark’s eyes that seemed to be devouring him, was afraid to fall into slumber. His eyelids were swollen from the ceaseless watching, and his eyeballs burned painfully from the strain of staring so steadily at the thrall. Kark’s mood grew more savage. Weary in every joint, his eyes seemed distended with wolfish, unblinking gloating, on the earl’s pale face. The stillness lay like lead upon their hearts. ”

“ On board were about ten thousand men. Such were the forces that met in what the sagas call the greatest battle that had ever been fought in Norway.
Soon the embattled ships met and the conflict grew fast and furious, hurtling weapons filling the air and men falling on all sides. Great was the carnage and blood flowed in streams on the fighting ships. Earl Haakon stood in the prow of his ship in the heat of the fight, arrows and spears whirling around him in such numbers that his shirt of mail became so torn and rent that he threw it off as useless. ”

“ Earl Haakon, the overlord of Norway, at the close of the tenth century, was a man of great strength of character and yet of great weaknesses. His dread of Olaf’s return to Norway made him anxious to devise some means for his destruction; for Olaf was the legitimate king; and Earl Haakon knew that the Norsemen only waited a chance to proclaim the son of Trygge Olafsson. Earl Haakon had stubbornly refused to accept the Christian religion and clung to the old Asa faith. ”

“ 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 ”

“ From this time on King Haakon ruled as a wise, noble and powerful monarch, making his strength felt by his great fleet and setting Norway high among the nations of the north. He died at length in 1263, loved by his people and respected by all outside his realm. ”

“ He did not, however, venture to disregard Earl Erik's pardon, but loudly expressed his discontent, and parted from his son in anger. Vagn followed his rescuer southward, and became his familiar friend and companion.
Earl Haakon's power was now so well confirmed that no one ventured to dispute his supremacy. Crops and fisheries were good. The people enjoyed many years of peace and contentment. The earls of the Orkneys paid Haakon tribute, as if he had been a king, and a king he was in every thing except the name. His family had always been associated with the ancient temple and earldom of Hlade ”

“ Here by right of his overlordship of Norway, and as chief of the earldom of Hlade, Haakon officiated as high-priest at the sacrifice. The earl valued his pagan priesthood, for the power it gave him among the Norsemen who still clung to the worship of Odin and Thor, and because he would not be governed by the laws of Christian morality. To kill his enemy at sight, and to change his wife as the whim seized him, were privileges too dear to his pagan heart. ”

“ Earl Skule at once began to plan and plot to seize the throne, and in this he was supported by the archbishop, but in spite of them the Birchlegs proclaimed Haakon king and Skule had to yield to the strong sentiment in his favor. As for the noble then called king by the Baglers, he too died just at this time and left no children, so that the way was clear for the boy king, and Haakon soon sailed to the south with a large fleet and took possession of Viken and the Uplands, the chief dominions of the Baglers. ”

“ Few men have had a more adventurous career than he, his whole life being one of romance, activity and peril. He became a leading hero of the saga writers, who have left us many striking stories of his young life and adventures.
Aastrid and her son remained with Haakon the Old until Earl Haakon came into power in Norway. As he was not of royal blood, she feared that he might seek to destroy all the descendants of old King Harold, and, in doubt if her present protector was strong enough to defend her, she decided to seek refuge in Russia, where her brother Sigurd had risen to a place of power. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the earlier part of his reign much of the royal power was in the hands of Earl Skule, who intrigued against the king until 1239, when he proceeded to open hostility and was put to death. From this time onward Haakon’s reign was marked by more peace and prosperity than Norway had known for many years, until in 1263 a dispute with the Scottish king concerning the Hebrides, a Norwegian possession, induced Haakon to undertake an expedition to the west of Scotland. ”

“ In his dying message to his son Sverre advised him to make peace with the Church. He foresaw that the interdict which was weighing heavily upon the land would be an increasingly powerful weapon in the hands of the Baglers, and would continue to alienate the hearts of the people from the king. Haakon, who had not personally been engaged in the controversy, could, without loss of dignity, make overtures for a reconciliation, and might, if necessary, make concessions. ”

“ An agreement was reached in 1371 with King Albrecht, by which Haakon was to pay 12,000 marks and surrender the Swedish fortresses [Pg 222] 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. ”

“ Haakon made other wise laws, in which he took the advice of the ablest men of the kingdom. But now we have to speak of the most striking event in the new king's career. Norway at that time was a haunt of idolatry. Men worshipped Odin and a host of other gods, and there was not a Christian in the whole land except the king himself, who had been brought up in the new faith by his foster-father, King Athelstan of England. ”

“ But, as the poet's interest in the psychological is so much greater than his sense of the historic element, this contrast is thrust into the background by the contrast between the individual characters and their relation to ideas. Haakon represents "the king's thought," which he himself first conceived, and is wholly submerged in this relation. Skule represents no ancient historic idea, but simply lack of self-confidence. He steals Haakon's "king's thought" in order to procure for himself through it a right to the throne. He does not succeed. ”

“ Many of the rebels emigrated, a movement which led to the settlement of Iceland front 874 on. Haakon the Good (935- 961) was the youngest son of Harald Fairhair, born in the latter's old age. He was reared in England with King Ethelstane, who had him taught Christianity and baptized. When he was well settled on the throne in Norway, he tried to introduce Christianity, but without success. He improved the laws and organized the war forces of the land. Eyvind Finnsson, uncle of Haakon, was a great skald, who sang his deeds and Norway's sorrow over his death. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Haakon the Lover had been a giant of a man, with long fair hair, a proper brother of Svend the Bloody so far as strength was concerned. Yet his great frame protected the heart of a woman. He had been kind alike to men at arms and thralls. He had been known to weep at the death of a close friend in battle. And a great love had softened him.
Edvard Haakonsson, these people of Svend's supposed, would be another such giant. Yet in his blood flowed the influence of the soft land to the south. Perchance his great frame, too, would hide the heart of a woman. ”