Haakon IV
| Haakon IV | |
|---|---|
Inge II | |
| Successor | Magnus VI |
| Junior kings |
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| Born | c. March/April 1204 Folkenborg, Norway |
| Died | 16 December 1263 (aged 59) Kirkwall, Orkney, Norway |
| Burial |
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| Spouse | |
| Issue among others... |
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| House | Sverre |
| Father | Haakon III of Norway |
| Mother | Inga of Varteig |
Haakon IV Haakonsson (c. March/April 1204 – 16 December 1263;
Under Haakon's rule, medieval Norway is considered to have reached its zenith or golden age. His reputation and formidable naval fleet allowed him to maintain friendships with both the pope and the
Historical sources
The main source of information concerning Haakon is the
Background and childhood
Haakon was born in
In the saga, Haakon is described as bright and witty, and as being small for his age.[6][7] When he was three years old, Haakon was captured by the Baglers but refused to call the Bagler king Philip Simonsson his lord (he nonetheless came from the capture unharmed). When he learned at the age of eight that the Birkebeiner King Inge Bårdsson and his brother Earl Haakon the Crazy had made an agreement for the succession to the throne that excluded himself, he pointed out that the agreement was invalid due to his attorney not having been present. He subsequently identified his attorney as "God and Saint Olaf."[7] Haakon was notably the first Norwegian king to receive formal education at a school. From the late civil war era, the government administration relied increasingly on written communication, which in turn demanded literate leaders. When Haakon was in Bergen under the care of Haakon the Crazy, he began his education at the age of seven, likely at the Bergen Cathedral School. He continued his education under King Inge at the Trondheim Cathedral School after the Earl's death in 1214.[6][8] Haakon was brought up alongside Inge's son Guttorm, and they were treated as the same.[9] When he was eleven, some of Haakon's friends provoked the king by asking him to give Haakon a region to govern. When Haakon was approached by the men and was urged to take up arms against Inge, he rejected it in part because of his young age and its bad prospects, as well as because he believed it would be morally wrong to fight Inge and thus split the Birkebeiner. He instead said that he prayed that God would give him his share of his father's inheritance when the time was right.[10]
Reign
Succession struggle
After King Inge's death in 1217, a succession dispute erupted. Haakon was supported by the majority of Birkebeiners, including the veterans who had served under his father and grandfather. Other candidates included Inge's illegitimate son Guttorm (who dropped out very soon); Inge's half-brother Earl
In connection with the dispute over the royal election, Haakon's mother Inga had to prove his parentage through a trial by ordeal in Bergen in 1218.[6] The result of the trial strengthened the legal basis for his kingship, and improved his relationship with the Church.[14] The saga's claim that Haakon already had been generally accepted as king in 1217/18 has however been contested by modern historians such as Sverre Bagge.[15] Skule and Haakon increasingly drifted apart in their administration, and Skule focused mainly on governing Eastern Norway after 1220, which he had gained the right to rule in 1218 as his third of the Norwegian kingdom.[6] From 1221 to 1223, Haakon and Skule separately issued letters as rulers of Norway, and maintained official contacts abroad.[16] In 1223 a great meeting of bishops, clergy, secular nobles, and other high-ranking figures from all across the country was held in Bergen to decide finally on Haakon's right to the throne. Other candidates to the throne were present either personally or through attorneys, but Haakon was in the end unanimously confirmed as King of Norway by the court.[14]
The last Bagler king Philip Simonsson died in 1217. Speedy political and military manoeuvering by Skule led to a reconciliation between the Birkebeiners and Baglers, and thus the reunification of the kingdom.
Haakon's councillors had sought to reconcile Haakon and Skule by proposing marriage between Haakon and Skule's daughter Margaret in 1219. Haakon accepted the proposal (although he did not think it would change much politically), but the marriage between Haakon and Margrete did not take place before 1225, partly due to the conflict with Sigurd.[19] The relationship between Haakon and Skule nevertheless deteriorated further during the 1230s, and attempted settlements at meetings in 1233 and 1236 only distanced them more from each other.[21] Periodically, the two nonetheless reconciled and spent a great amount of time together, only to have their friendship destroyed - according to the saga, by intrigues derived from rumours and slander by men who played the two against each other.[22] Skule was the first person ever in Norway to be titled duke (hertug) in 1237, but instead of control over a region, gained the rights to the incomes from a third of the syssels scattered across the whole of Norway. This was part of an attempt by Haakon to limit Skule's power. In 1239 the conflict between the two erupted into open warfare when Skule had himself proclaimed king. Although he had some support in Trøndelag, Opplandene, and eastern Viken, he could not stand up to Haakon's forces.[21] The rebellion ended when Skule was killed in 1240, leaving Haakon the undisputed king of Norway.[6] This revolt is generally taken to mark the final end of Norway's civil war era.[18]
Recognition by the Pope
While the Church in Norway initially had refused to recognise Haakon as King of Norway, it had largely turned to support his claim to the throne by the 1223 meeting, although later disagreements occurred.[24] Despite being the undisputed ruler of Norway after 1240, Haakon was still not approved as king by the pope due to his illegitimate birth. He nonetheless had a strong personal desire to be approved fully as a European king.[6] Several papal commissions were appointed to investigate the matter, and Haakon declared his legitimate son Haakon the Young his successor instead of an older living illegitimate son.[21] Although Haakon had children with his mistress Kanga the Young prior to his marriage with Margrete, it was his children with Margrete who were designated as his successors in accordance with a papal recognition. The Catholic principle of legitimacy was thus established in the Norwegian order of succession, although Haakon's new law still maintained that illegitimate children could be designated as successor in the absence of any legitimate children or grandchildren—contrary to Catholic principles. While his strong position allowed him to set boundaries to the Church's political influence, he was on the other hand prepared to give the Church much autonomy in internal affairs and relations with the rural society.[6][25]
Haakon also attempted to strengthen his ties with the papacy by taking a vow to go on
Cultural influence and legal reforms
After consolidating his position in 1240, Haakon focused on displaying the supremacy of the kingship, influenced by the increasingly closer contact with European culture. He built several monumental royal buildings, primarily in the royal estate in Bergen, where he built a European-style stone palace. He used a grand fleet with stately royal ships when meeting with other Scandinavian rulers, and actively sent letters and gifts to other European rulers; his most far-reaching contact was achieved when he sent gyrfalcons with an embassy to the sultan of Tunis.[6]
The royal court in Bergen also started importing and translating the first true European literature that became available to a wider Norwegian audience. The literature which was popular then was heroic-romantic literature derived from the French and, in turn, English courts, notably
Haakon also had the popular religious text Visio Tnugdali translated into Old Norse as Duggals leiðsla. The literature also appealed to women, and both Haakon's wife Margrete and his daughter Kristina owned richly illustrated psalters.[29]
Haakon also initiated legal reforms which were crucial for the development of justice in Norway. Haakon's "New Law", written around 1260, was a breakthrough for both the idea and practice of public justice, as opposed to the traditional Norwegian customs of feuds and revenge. The influence of the reforms is also apparent in Haakon's Konungs skuggsjá ("King's Mirror"), an educational text intended for his son Magnus, which was probably written in cooperation with the royal court in the mid-1250s.[30]
Involvements abroad
Relations were hostile with both Sweden and Denmark from the start of his reign. During Haakon's rivalry with Earl Skule, Skule sought the support of Valdemar II of Denmark, but any aid was made impossible after Valdemar's capture by one of his vassals. Since the Danes wanted overlordship of Norway and supported the Guelphs (those supporting the Pope over the Holy Roman Emperor), Haakon in turn sought closer ties with the Ghibelline Emperor Frederick II, who sent ambassadors to Norway. As Haakon had gained a powerful reputation due to the strength of his fleet, other European rulers wanted to benefit from his friendship. Despite the struggle between the Pope and the Emperor, Haakon was able to maintain friendships with both. According to an English chronicler, the Pope wanted Haakon to become Holy Roman Emperor.[31] It has been suggested that Haakon hesitated to leave Norway due to the Mongol threat.[32]
Haakon pursued a foreign policy that was active in all directions (although foremost to the west and south-east).
In Scandinavia, Haakon regularly met with neighbouring rulers in the border-area around Elven from the late 1240s through the 1250s. He sent grand fleets as embassies; some reportedly numbered over 300 ships.[33] Haakon also reconciled with the Swedes when he his son Haakon the Young married Rikissa, a daughter of Swedish leader Earl Birger.[35] Haakon sought to expand his kingdom southwards of Elven into the Danish province of Halland. He thus looked for alliance with the Swedes, as well as ties with opponents of the ruling line of monarchs of Denmark. In 1249, Haakon allied with Earl Birger for a joint Swedish-Norwegian invasion into Halland and Scania, but the agreement was eventually abandoned by the Swedes (see Treaty of Lödöse). Haakon claimed Halland in 1253, and finally invaded the province on his own in 1256, demanding it as compensation for the looting of Norwegian ships in Danish seas. But he was forced to renounce this claim in a 1257 peace agreement with Christopher I of Denmark. Haakon thereafter negotiated a marriage between his only remaining son, Magnus, and Christopher's niece Ingeborg.[36] Haakon's Nordic policies initiated the build-up to the later personal unions (called the Kalmar Union), that in the end had dire consequences for Norway as it did not have the economic and military resources to persevere and maintain Haakon's aggressive policies.[6]
More distantly, Haakon sought an alliance with Alfonso X of Castile (a potential next Holy Roman emperor) chiefly as it would guarantee new supplies of grain to Castile in light of rising prices in England, and possibly giving access to Baltic grain through Norwegian control of Lübeck. Alfonso in turn sought to expand his influence in Northern Europe, as well as to gain Norwegian naval assistance for the campaign or crusade he had proposed in Morocco[37][38] (seeing that the Iberian Moors received backing overseas from North Africa).[26] Haakon could thus potentially also fulfill his papal vow of crusade, although he likely did not intend to.[37] He sent an embassy to Castile in 1255. A Castilian ambassador to Norway returned with the embassy, and proposed to establish the "strongest ties of friendship" with Haakon.[39] At the request of Alfonso, Haakon sent his daughter Christina to Castile to marry one of Alfonso's brothers. However, Christina died four years later without children, which marked the effective end of the short-lived alliance,[37][39] and the proposed crusade fell into the blue.[27]
The Scottish expedition and death
Haakon employed an active and aggressive foreign policy to strengthen Norwegian ties in the west.
Norwegian control over the Faroe Islands and Shetland was strong due to the importance of Bergen as a trading centre, while Orkney, the Hebrides, and Man had more natural ties with the Scottish mainland. Although traditionally having had ties with the
In 1263, the dispute with the Scottish king over the Hebrides induced Haakon to undertake an expedition to the islands. Haakon learned in 1262 that Scottish nobles had raided the Hebrides and that Alexander III planned to conquer the islands. In 1263 Haakon mounted an expedition with his formidable leidang fleet of at least 120 ships.[46] He had become accustomed to negotiating while backed by an intimidating fleet.[33] The fleet left Bergen in July, and reached Shetland and Orkney in August, where they were joined by chieftains from the Hebrides and Man. Alexander started negotiations after Norwegian landings on the Scottish mainland, but the Scots purposely prolonged the talks.[46] The Scots waited until September and October for weather that would be trouble for Haakon's fleet. A Scottish force met a smaller Norwegian force at the Battle of Largs (2 October). Although the battle was inconclusive, Haakon withdrew to Orkney for the winter.[46][48] A delegation of Irish kings invited Haakon to become the High King of Ireland and expel the Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland, but this was apparently rejected against Haakon's wish.[49][50][51]
Haakon over-wintered at the Bishop's Palace in Kirkwall, Orkney, with plans to resume his campaign the next year.[52] During his stay in Kirkwall he however fell ill, and died in the early hours of 16 December 1263.[53][54] Haakon was buried in the St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall for the winter; in spring, his body was exhumed and taken back to Norway,[52] where he was buried in the Old Cathedral in his capital Bergen.[6] Centuries later, in 1531, the cathedral was demolished by the commander of Bergenhus, Eske Bille, for military purposes[55][56] in connection with the Protestant Reformation, and the graves of Haakon and other Norwegian kings buried there might have been destroyed in the process or moved to another location.[6][57]
Evaluation
Norwegian historians have held differing views on Haakon's reign. In the 19th century,
Knut Helle interprets the saga to leave an impression of Skule as a skilled warrior and politician, while noting that the author of the saga purposely created a diffuse image of his role in the conflict with Haakon. On the other hand, Helle notes that Skule was outmaneuvered with relative ease by Haakon's supporters in the years immediately after 1217, and that this may suggest some limited abilities. While neither giving a clear picture of Haakon, Helle maintains that Haakon "obviously" learned to master the political game in his early years. He interprets Haakon as an independent and strong-willed ruler to whom he assigns a "significant personal responsibility" for the policies pursued during his reign: notably regarding the internal consolidation of the kingship, the orientation towards European culture and the aggressive foreign policy.[58] In his article in Norsk biografisk leksikon, Knut Helle acknowledges that Haakon was empowered by the strong institutional position of the kingship at the end of his reign (which he had developed himself), and that his policies were not always successful. Helle nonetheless recognises the substantial political abilities and powerful determination Haakon must have had in order to progress from the difficult position in which he started his reign.[6]
Children and marriage
Haakon had three illegitimate children with his mistress Kanga the Younger av Folkindberg (who is only known by name) (1198–1225), before 1225.[6] They were:[60]
- Sigurd (died 1252).[60]
- Cecilia (died 1248). Married Harald Olafsson, King of Mann and the Isles in 1248. They both drowned the same year on the return voyage to Great Britain.[35]
- Kone (c. 1225 -), married Toralde Gunnarsson Hvite, until Gulsvik (Buskerud, c. 1220 – Gulsvik, Flå, Buskerud, d. 1260), mentioned on a 1258 document, and had issue.
Haakon married
- Olav (born 1226). Died in infancy.[60]
- Haakon the Young (1232–1257). Married Rikissa Birgersdotter, daughter of the Swedish statesman Earl Birger in 1251. Appointed king and co-ruler by his father in 1240, but predeceased his father.[61]
- Infante Philip of Castile, brother of Alfonso X of Castile in 1258. Died childless.[62]
- Magnus VI of Norway(1238–1280). Married Ingeborg, daughter of Eric IV of Denmark in 1261. Appointed king and co-ruler after the death of Haakon the Young. Succeeded his father as King of Norway.
Popular culture
In
References
- ^ Helle, 1995, p. 183.
- ^ a b c d Guhnfeldt, Cato (19 October 2011). "Da birkebeinerne skapte historie". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ Helle, 1995, p. 74.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, p. 91.
- ^ a b c d Helle, 1995, p. 75.
- ^ Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Bagge, 1996, p. 95.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 95–96.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, p. 96.
- ^ Keyser, 1870, p. 184.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 96–97.
- ^ "Issuing Authorities: Håkon Håkonsson's coinage". University of Oslo's Coin Cabinet exhibition. University of Oslo. 1995. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- ^ a b Helle, 1995, p. 76.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 98–102.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, p. 99.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 75–76.
- ^ a b c d Helle, 1995, p. 77.
- ^ a b Bagge, 1996, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 129–130.
- ^ a b c Helle, 1995, p. 180.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Lewis, 1987, pp. 456, 467.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 181–183.
- ^ a b c d Helle, 1995, p. 198.
- ^ a b Helle, 1995, p. 199.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 180–181.
- ^ a b Helle, 1995, pp. 171–172.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 149–150.
- Store Norske Leksikon, retrieved 18 March 2013
- ^ Orfield & Boyer, 2002, pp. 137–138.
- ^ a b c d e Helle, 1995, p. 197.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 121–122.
- ^ a b Orfield & Boyer, 2002, p. 138.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 197–198.
- ^ a b c O'Callaghan, 2011, p. 17.
- ^ O'Callaghan, 1993, p. 202.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan, 1993, p. 203.
- ^ Helle, 1995, p. 194.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Orfield & Boyer, 2002, p. 137.
- ^ "Diplomatarium Norvegicum XIX". Dokumentasjonsprosjektet (in Norwegian). University of Oslo. p. 117. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ Helle, 1995, pp. 195–196.
- ^ Derry, 2000, p. 48.
- ^ a b c d Helle, 1995, p. 196.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, p. 126.
- ^ Derry, 2000, p. 49.
- ^ Barrow, 1981 p. 118.
- ^ Lydon, 1998, p. 78.
- ^ Fry & Fry, 1991, p. 85.
- ^ a b Forte, Oram, & Pedersen, 2005, p. 262.
- ^ Helle, 1995, p. 173.
- ^ Barrow, 1981 p. 119.
- Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ Guhnfeldt, Cato (19 October 2011). "En norsk kongegrav". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Helle, 1995, p. 181.
- ^ Bagge, 1996, pp. 111–112.
- ^ a b c d Keyser, 1870, p. 230.
- ^ Line, 2007, p. 589.
- Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ Les mascottes des Jeux Olympiques d’hiver d’Innsbruck 1976 à Sotchi 2014 Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Olympic.org (in French)
Bibliography
- ISSN 0108-8408.
- Barrow, G. W. S. (1981). Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306. Edinburgh University. ISBN 9780748601042.
- Derry, T. K. (2000). A history of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. University of Minnesota. ISBN 9780816637997.
- Forte, Angelo; Oram, Richard D.; Pedersen, Frederik (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge University. ISBN 9780521829922.
- Fry, Plantagenet Somerset; Fry, Fiona Somerset (1991). A History of Ireland. Routledge. ISBN 9780415048880.
- ISBN 8203220312.
- Keyser, Rudolf (1870). Norges historie. Vol. 2. Christiania (Oslo): P. T. Malling.
- Lewis, Suzanne (1987). The art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica majora. University of California. ISBN 9780520049819.
- Lydon, James F. (1998). The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to the Present. Routledge. ISBN 9780415013482.
- Line, Philip (2007). Kingship and state formation in Sweden, 1130-1290. BRILL. ISBN 9789004155787.
- O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (1993). "The Norwegian Alliance". The Learned King: The Reign of Alfonso X of Castile. University of Pennsylvania. pp. 202–204.
- O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (2011). The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait. University of Pennsylvania. ISBN 9780812243024.
- Orfield, Lester B.; Boyer, Benjamin F. (2002) [First published 1953]. The Growth of Scandinavian Law. The Lawbook Exchange. ISBN 9781584771807.
External links
- The Norwegian account of Haco's expedition against Scotland, A.D. MCCLXIII at Project Gutenberg
- . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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