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CHAPTER XIII.

NORWAY FROM 1217 TO 1400.

Hakon IV.; his character; his wars-Skule Baardsson; his defeat and death -Hakon's reputation among foreign princes-Iceland; its condition; the causes of its downfall-Snorre Sturlasson murdered-Iceland subdued-Greenland-Invasion of Scotland; defeat at Largs-Hakon dies -Magnus, the Law-betterer; his reign-Erik Priest-hater-TroublesMaid of Norway-Hakon V.; his successor-Magnus Smek of Sweden -Black Death-The Partridge-Olaf succeeds Hakon VI.-Margaret's Regency-Olaf's death-Erik of Pomerania-Margaret's popularityOlaf's funeral; his heart carried to Denmark-Albert's pretensionsThings of Denmark choose Margaret as their " Master" and sole Ruler -Norway makes choice of her for its Queen; her adoption of Erik; her love for him-Opinion of foreigners-Lübeck Chronicle-Troubles in Sweden-Albert's hatred of her; she accepts the Crown of Sweden; defeats Albert; his imprisonment and humiliation; put on the rack— Stockholm resists the Queen-The Vitalien-Margaret's success-Albert ransomed-Women of Mecklenburg- Queen and young Erik enter Stockholm-Erik crowned-Act of Union of Calmar-Erik's incapacity; his character-Execution of Brodersen-Troubled times; wars with -Regent-Countess-Margaret's meeting with Holstein; causes of war

the Countess-Margaret's death.

PART I.

NORWAY'S BEST TIME.

Hakon IV., 1217-1262.-Hakon IV. is the only king of Norway who made himself much known or respected in his own times beyond the limits of the Scandinavian lands. But he was no ordinary man, and from the moment when in 1217, at the age of thirteen, he was chosen by the party of the

"Birch Legs" to be king, till his death in 1262, while engaged in hostilities with the Scottish King Alexander III., he never relaxed his efforts to extend and secure the power of the crown. In his youth he defeated one hostile faction after the other, and when at length he found that Skule Baardsson, who was his father-in-law and the brother of his predecessor, Inge Baardsson, aimed at nothing short of equal power with himself in the state, he turned his arms with success against him also. In the early part of his reign, Hakon had derived great help from Skule, and after marrying his daughter Margrete, he gave proof of his gratitude and affection for his old friend by raising him to the rank of Jarl and Duke of Norway, and entrusting onethird of the kingdom to him to govern in his name. Not content with these honours, Skule in 1240 caused himself to be proclaimed king, and advanced on Trondhjem at the head of his partizans, among whom were many chieftains of great power; but before he could reach the Norwegian capital he was met by Hakon at Oslö, where the rebel army was completely routed, and he himself forced to take refuge within the walls of a monastery.

Skule's death by violence soon after his defeat at Oslö secured to Norway a greater degree of peace than it had known for a hundred years. At the same time Hakon showed great ability in restoring order to his kingdom, while his fame for valour and piety spread to distant lands, and so strongly excited the admiration of foreign princes, that Louis IX. of France (known as the Saint) sent a special embassy to Norway to entreat his help in a crusade, and the pope proposed that he should extend his reputation by taking arms against the emperor, Frederick II. But Hakon was wise enough to escape entering into distant conflicts which did not concern him, and had also the tact to avoid giving offence by his refusal. The king had, in fact, objects in view much nearer home, for he had long been anxious to reduce Iceland to the condition of a mere province of Norway, and to put an end to the independence of that colony, which seemed always ready to give a welcome to everyone wishing to escape from the laws of the mother-country.

Iceland ceases to be free.-The Icelanders had enjoyed their

freedom since the days of Harald Haarfaager, when the island was first settled, and they had continued to live under equal and just laws, which made provision for the sick, aged, and suffering, and appeared in every way suited to secure personal freedom, and maintain the rights of every individual in the state. But unfortunately the jealousies and rivalries of the great families of the island, after gradually weakening their own power and embroiling all classes in strife, ended in destroying the independence of the republic, and reducing Iceland to the rank of a mere province of Norway. This event was mainly due to the ambition of the powerful family of the Sturlas, the chief of whom, Snorre Sturlasson, who was at the head of public affairs in Iceland, had raised such a host of enemies around him by his arrogant conduct, that Hakon found no difficulty in stirring up a revolt against him. After long wars, Snorre was murdered in his own house in 1241 by his son-in-law, Gissur, and the Icelanders were a few years later brought completely under the power of the Norwegian crown.

His success in this matter, and in his attempts to unite the colony of Greenland with the mother-county, encouraged Hakon in the hope that he might recover the lands which the Norwegians at one time held in Scotland; and towards the close of his reign he invaded the Scottish kingdom with a powerful fleet. The accounts given of this event by the Scotch and Norwegian chroniclers vary so much that it is not very easy to make them agree. It seems, however, to be beyond dispute that King Alexander III. of Scotland surprised the Norwegians while they were landing on the coast of Ayr; and in a battle fought at Largs, about 1261, so thoroughly defeated them that the small remnant left were glad to take to their There Hakon was ships, and sail in all haste to the Orkneys. seized with illness, and after spending the winter in much suffering, he died in the spring of the year 1262 at Kirkwall. His son Magnus, according to the Norwegian account, sold the Hebrides to Alexander of Scotland for a large sum of money; but according to the Scotch report of these events, Magnus of Norway was forced to renounce all claims to the islands without receiving any money in return.

Whatever the state of the case might have been, we know at all events that Magnus and Alexander continued to be good friends as long as they lived, and that the latter gave his daughter in marriage to Erik, the eldest son and successor of Magnus of Norway. Magnus, who reigned over Norway from 1262 to 1280, was a good and able ruler, who gained for himself the honourable name of Laga-bater, or "Law-betterer," in return for the care which he took to collect and settle the best laws of the land, and to do away with those older laws which had become useless in the course of time.

PART II.

THE LAST OF THE HAKONS.

Erik Priest-hater, 1280-1299.

Erik, known as Præstehader, or the "priest-hater," ruled from 1280 to 1299. ALthough neither a bad man nor a harsh king, he did not succeed in gaining the love of his people, and was moreover always at war either with the Danes, on account of his mother Queen Ingeborg's dowry which had never been paid, or with the Scotch on account of the heritage of his daughter, Margrete. Then he also had disputes with the Hansers, whose trading rights he tried to curtail, and with his clergy, whose freedom from paying taxes he would not admit. Between all these

causes of difference Erik had a troubled reign, but the worst of all his misfortunes was the death of his daughter Margrete, called by the Scotch the "Maid of Norway." The little princess who was heiress to the crowns of Scotland and Norway died at sea, while on her way in a well-guarded ship to claim the Scottish throne on the death of her maternal grandfather, Alexander III. This last trouble weighed heavily upon Erik, who never again attempted in any way to secure influence for himself or his family in Scotland.

Hakon V., 1299-1319.-On Erik's death in 1299, without leaving any sons, his only brother Hakon, who had governed Southern Norway with the title of duke during his brother's reign, became king. Hakon V. was a good ruler, and his

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subjects, who had much love for him, were glad to agree to his wish of letting the crown be settled on the children of his daughters, as he had no sons. Thus it came to pass that at his death in 1319 the people of Norway willingly received as their king the little Magnus of Sweden, son of King Hakon's daughter, Ingeborg, by her marriage with Erik, Duke of Sodermanland, who, as we have seen in Chapter XII., was left to die of hunger by his brother, King Birger of Sweden. Long after the Swedes had grown tired of Magnus on account of his weak love for his queen Blanka of Namur and his many favourites, the Norwegians continued to prove their respect and regard for this king, who was always known in Norway as the "Good Magnus." When at last, in 1350, King Magnus gave up the Norwegian throne to his second son, Hakon, known as Hakon VI., who had married Margaret of Denmark, the people did not forget him; and after he had fallen into trouble and lost the throne of Sweden, they begged their young king to secure his freedom, with permission for him to live in Norway for the rest of his days. Thus Magnus "Smek," or the "Favourite Lover," as the Swedes called him, was not quite without friends amongst his subjects.

Norway and Sweden, like the other countries of Europe, were fearfully plagued between 1350 and 1360 by the pest, known as the Black Death. Some Norwegian parishes were nearly rendered desolate by this scourge, and in one place among the hills it was said that all the inhabitants had been cut off by the plague except one little girl, who ran into the woods, and lived so long alone, feeding only on roots and berries, that when she was found she had almost forgotten how to talk, and had grown so wild that she could not bear to be looked at or spoken to. No one could learn her name, and she was thenceforth always known as the "Rybe," Partridge, and when she married and had a family, her children joined the name "Rybe" to their father's name of "Jorgerssen."

Olaf in Norway. We have seen in a former chapter that when King Hakon died in 1380, his son Olaf, who five years before had been chosen King of Denmark under the regency of his mother, Margaret, succeeded to the throne of Norway.

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