The Story of Norway Part 21

It was not in accordance with the earl's plans to let the king sit quietly in Viken, increasing his popularity and power. He was therefore scarcely grieved, when he heard of Sigurd Ribbung's flight; nay, it is even probable, that he gave the rebel chief the opportunity to escape, if he did not actually persuade him to renew the rebellion. The Ribbungs, who were not loath to resume their former activity, gathered again in large numbers about their leader, and began plundering and killing the king's adherents as of old. Whenever they were pursued, they made their escape across the frontier into the Swedish province, Vermeland, only to return as soon as their pursuers had turned their backs on them. King Haakon wrote repeatedly to the Swedish king, or rather to his guardians, as he was himself a child, complaining of the protection which Sweden afforded his enemies. Prominent among the counsellors of King Erik was then Eskil Lawman, who had married Christina, the widow of Haakon Galen. This unscrupulous woman, who had hated Haakon from his childhood, now exerted her influence against him at the Swedish court; the consequence was that the counsellors disregarded his remonstrance, and continued to give the Ribbungs an asylum. Their audacity naturally grew, in proportion as they became conscious of this protection; and Haakon was at last compelled to invade Vermeland with an army of 2,400 men, in the middle of winter (1225). He burned many farms, and ravaged several parishes, but had no chance to fight any decisive battle, either with the Ribbungs or the Swedes. The latter had fled to the woods, and the former had availed themselves of the king's visit to Sweden to make a foray into Vestfold, and attack Tunsberg. The former Bagler chief, Arnbjorn Jonsson, who was close on their heels with his troops, was detained in Os...o...b.. Bishop Nicholas, who by his double dealing succeeded in insuring the escape of the rebels.

In April, 1225, the king, in the midst of his protracted campaign against the Ribbungs, celebrated his wedding in Bergen with his betrothed, Earl Skule's daughter. The bride was then about seventeen years old, the groom twenty. If it was Skule's intention, when he gave his consent to the marriage, to secure himself an ally at court, he was disappointed. For Margaret, from the moment she became queen, made common cause with her husband, and in no wise favored her father's schemes. She was a gentle and affectionate wife and a good mother.

The Ribbungs in the meanwhile continued their guerilla warfare, having taken possession of the Helgeo, an island in Lake Mjosen, whence they made forays into the fertile parishes that border on the lake, and practically controlled the Oplands. Earl Skule, who was again sent out to quell the rebellion, dawdled as usual, nursing his secret treason and being at heart more anxious to injure the king than his enemies. In order to destroy the Ribbungs, it was necessary to reach the island, and ostensibly for this purpose he began to build s.h.i.+ps on the sh.o.r.es of the lake. He built them, however, deliberately in such a fas.h.i.+on that they leaked, and could scarcely be kept afloat. The Ribbungs, instead of being frightened by his preparations, grew daily bolder, and sent messengers to the king in Oslo, proposing to give him battle. Haakon accepted the offer, and advanced with his army to the appointed place of meeting (Eidsvold), while the earl, instead of hastening to meet him, took the road across the mountains to Nidaros, after having burned his worthless s.h.i.+ps. Here was the most incontrovertible proof of treason; and there are also indications that in a correspondence between Bishop Nicholas and the Ribbungs which had fallen into the king's hands, the earl was seriously compromised. Nevertheless, Haakon chose to feign blindness rather than call the traitor to account. Possibly he did not feel himself strong enough to fight Skule and the Ribbungs at the same time, preferring to get rid of one enemy before engaging the other.

After having waited in vain for the Ribbungs at Eidsvold, Haakon returned with his army to Oslo, where he learned that Bishop Nicholas was lying upon his death-bed. The old prelate, with whom falsity and double-dealing had become a second nature, seemed yet to feel some anxiety as to his fate in the hereafter. He therefore summoned the king to his bedside, made him a full confession (not, however, until the king had shown him the evidence of his treason), and implored his forgiveness, which was readily granted. The bishop died in November, 1225, seventy-five years old, having spent his long life in fomenting rebellion, and in ravaging and destroying his native land. His great talents proved a curse both to himself and his people. Not long after his demise, Sigurd Ribbung died (1226), and Haakon Galen's son, Squire Knut, was induced by his guileful mother to take his place. He brought with him a large band of Swedes, thereby giving his warfare the appearance of a foreign invasion, and arousing the hostility of the peasantry of the Oplands, who had formerly been friendly to the Ribbungs. In a fight at Aker he was defeated by a united army of Birchlegs and peasants, and during the following months he suffered repeated disasters, and was deserted by many of his best men. After a dastardly attempt to capture the king by inviting him to a conference, under promise of safety,--an attempt which failed by the merest chance,--Squire Knut dismissed his band (1227), submitted to Haakon, who not only forgave him, but for his father's sake gave him fiefs, and treated him with distinction. The young man, as soon as he was removed from his mother's influence, gave up all thought of rebellion, married, some years later, a younger daughter of Earl Skule, and became one of the king's most devoted friends.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON THE SOGNE FJORD.]

As the Ribbungs were now out of the way and could no longer be made to serve his purposes, the earl hatched a new plot which, on account of its ingenuity, ran less risk of premature detection. He professed a desire to take the cross, and began warlike preparations on a grand scale. He obtained from the Pope permission to exact one twentieth of all the ecclesiastical revenues of the province of Nidaros in aid of his enterprise, and satisfied his conscience by endowing the Church, in return, with his great family estate, Rein, which was converted into a nunnery. Extreme caution was characteristic of Skule; and he meant, this time, to leave nothing to chance. He began at once to build s.h.i.+ps, and to gather warriors about him from all parts of the country. As the Danish king, Valdemar the Victorious, had now regained his liberty, he could also count upon his aid, and a formal agreement was made between them in accordance with which Skule should a.s.sist the king in recovering his lost provinces. In return for this service Valdemar promised to put Skule on the throne of Norway. That some such agreement must have existed is obvious from the fact that the earl actually set sail for Denmark (1227), without asking Haakon's permission, but was met on his way by the latter and informed of the disastrous defeat of his ally at Bornhoved. He then concluded to await developments; as he would run too great a risk in visiting Denmark, while Valdemar's enemies had the upper hand. Putting on a bold face, he joined his fleet to that of his son-in-law and returned to Bergen. The king, although he did not deceive himself as to Skule's purposes, kept his counsel and feigned ignorance.

Nay, he even carried his generosity so far as to lend the traitor s.h.i.+ps and provisions when, the following year, (1228) he set out once more to visit the king of Denmark. Since his defeat at Bornhoved, Valdemar was indeed much less formidable than before his captivity, and the warlike spirit had wellnigh left him. Haakon may therefore have suspected that, surrounded as he was with enemies, both on the south and the west, he would scarcely care to add another on the north. Moreover, Haakon had by this time secured the friends.h.i.+p of the German emperor, Frederick II., who was a bitter enemy of Denmark, and he might, therefore, have a chance to keep Valdemar in check, in case he should lend a favorable ear to the earl's persuasions. Under these circ.u.mstances he hardly exposed himself to any risk, nay hoped, perhaps, by facilitating his father-in-law's approach to the Danish king, to convince him of the futility of all his plottings. If that was his intention, he must have been disappointed in the result. For when Skule returned he had added to his power for mischief, by obtaining the northern half of the Danish province of Halland in fief, thereby becoming the va.s.sal of a foreign prince, who, moreover, was the enemy of his own king.

One would have supposed that he was now ready for a decisive blow. But he hesitated again, and seemed half inclined to retrace his steps. There was always something lacking in the completeness of his preparations, and another delay was always necessary. He is, indeed, an interesting figure, this wily and ambitious intriguer, who has the courage to plot treason, nay takes pleasure in perfecting all the details of his plot, but always pauses before taking the irretrievable step. Like Schiller's Wallenstein, he fondles the thought, plays with it, utters it cautiously and hypothetically, but leaves himself always, as he supposes, a path of retreat, until his own acts spin a web about him and bar him the road back to safety. Year by year he compromises himself more irretrievably; his treasonable letters fall into the hands of the king, and when, after twenty-two years of covert treason, he drifts into open rebellion, it is because there is apparently no other alternative left to him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A STORM ON THE FJORD.]

In the meanwhile, the king left no means untried to keep the earl to his allegiance. In 1233 he summoned him to an a.s.sembly of notables in Bergen (_Rigsmode_), at which the archbishop, the bishops, and a great number of secular dignitaries were present. The king here called his father-in-law formally to account for his actions, and the liegemen rose, one after the other, and cited proofs of the earl's disloyalty.

When the turn came to Skule to defend himself, he began in this wise:

"I know a ditty: 'The eagle sat on a stone,' and I also know another which runs like this: 'The eagle sat on a stone,' and a lot more which all run the same way. Thus it is here to-day. Every one talks in his own way, but they all finish up with the same ditty, viz.: to bring accusations against me."

He made a long and eloquent speech, and, as it is said, defended himself with great adroitness. It is doubtful, however, if anybody believed him, and it was only the king's reluctance to resort to the sword, which saved him, on this as on many previous occasions. A new agreement was drawn up which was no more effective in restraining the earl's treasonable scheming than the previous ones had been. On the contrary, he was no sooner left to his own devices than he resumed his activity for the overthrow of the king. His purpose this time was to involve Haakon in a quarrel with the Church, in order afterward to crush him with the formidable weapons which the Church had at its command. He shrewdly provided himself with a cat's paw in the person of Bishop Paul of Hamar, who was his devoted adherent. The archbishop, at this time, Sigurd Tavse, was a partisan of the king, but zealous for the welfare of the Church, and therefore, as Skule reasoned, capable of being alienated by a controversy in which the interests of the Church and those of the king were in conflict. Bishop Paul accordingly produced a doc.u.ment, alleged to have been issued by the Bagler king, Inge, in 1226, in which the Helgeo in Mjosen, which was the property of the crown, was presented to the episcopal see of Hamar. The king naturally contested the validity of this doc.u.ment, as Inge, a rebel chief, had no right to give away the property of the crown which had never been his. An appeal was now made to the Pope, Gregory IX., and a campaign of intrigue and mendacity was begun. The excellent and honorable Haakon was systematically reviled and slandered, until the Pope came to believe that he was a villain of the deepest dye. Bishop Paul, virtually as the amba.s.sador of the earl, though nominally in the interest of the Church, betook himself to Rome, where he succeeded in prejudicing Gregory IX. against all the king's adherents, and even against his own superior, the archbishop. Skule, on the other hand, was represented in the most flattering light, as the munificent friend of the Church, and its defender against the encroachments of the unscrupulous king. The object was to procure a ban-bull against Haakon.

The plot was spoiled, however, by being prematurely revealed. An Icelander, named Sturla Sighvatsson, a nephew and an active enemy of the historian Snorre Sturla.s.son, met Bishop Paul in Rome and started homeward in his company. Whether he gained the confidence of his travelling companion, or otherwise obtained an insight into his intrigues at the Roman Curia, is not known. At all events, he immediately sought the king, on his arrival in Norway, and acquainted him with the doings of his enemies. The king summoned the earl once more to meet him in Bergen; but this time Skule's courage failed him. Instead of going to Bergen, he went with his army to Nidaros, and thence across the mountains to the Oplands, which was the king's territory. This was about equivalent to a declaration of war, but as usual, he took only half measures, hesitated, talked threateningly, but refrained from actual hostilities. At the intercession of Archbishop Sigurd, he was induced to promise to keep the peace during the winter (1235-6) on condition of receiving one third of the royal prefectures (_Sysler_) in the Oplands and Viken. It seems to indicate weakness on Haakon's part that he was willing to make such concessions; and his readiness to yield had naturally the effect of encouraging the earl's adherents and making them screw their demands still higher. During the following year (1237) a new agreement was made, in accordance with which Skule was confirmed in the possession of his territory in the south, and was raised to the rank of duke--a rank which had never before been conferred upon any man in Norway. There was but one t.i.tle, however, which could satisfy Skule's ambition, and as long as Haakon refused to grant that, he felt himself justified in continuing his agitation. With increasing recklessness he defied the king's will, gathered great numbers of warriors about him, built s.h.i.+ps, and conducted himself in every way as an independent ruler.

It became the fas.h.i.+on at his court to ridicule the king as a cowardly busybody who only talked, but lacked the heart to strike. The Varbelgs [A]--thus the partisans of the duke were called--invented for him the nickname, Haakon Sleepy. His reluctance to a.s.sume the responsibility for civil war, they mistook for fear, and his conscientiousness for pusillanimity.

[Footnote A: The same name had been borne by another band of rebels which, under the boy Vikar, had fought against King Sverre.]

When the spirit of rebellion which the duke had bred in his surroundings had thrown away all restraint, it began to react upon himself, spurring him on to deed, and counteracting his natural indecision of character.

He was now nearly fifty years old, and if he ever were to gain the crown, there was no time to be lost. Accordingly he mustered courage in 1239 to summon the Tronders to Oere-_thing_, and to proclaim himself king of all Norway. When the canons of the cathedral refused to permit the shrine of St. Olaf to be used for the ceremony, Skule's son, Peter,[B] jumped up on the altar, pulled the coffin up, and had it removed, by force, to the _thing_. In order that Haakon should gain no intelligence of what had taken place, all the roads which led out of the city were guarded, but for all that, one man, named Grim Keikan, managed to make his escape and to warn the king of the threatening danger. It was in the middle of the night that the king received this message, and he went instantly to the queen's rooms and demanded admittance. The queen, aroused from her sleep, asked anxiously what news he brought.

[Footnote B: Peter was an illegitimate child. His mother was the wife of Andres Skjaldarband.]

"Only this trifle," he said, "that there are now two kings in Norway."

"Only one is the right king," she answered gravely, "and that one are you."

It had been Skule's first plan to surprise Haakon in Bergen, and capture him. But he soon learned that the king had heard of his exploits, and was prepared to receive him. He then sent out bands of warriors to different parts of the country to kill the royal prefects and all prominent friends of the king. A great many excellent men, who were utterly unprepared for hostilities, were thus foully murdered; churches were violated, and many atrocities committed. The duke, in the meanwhile, remained quietly in Nidaros where he occupied himself in writing letters to foreign princes and potentates, informing them of the step he had taken, and endeavoring to stir up difficulties for Haakon by unscrupulous misrepresentations. When, however, he learned that the king was coming with a large force to attack him, he started (Feb., 1240) with six hundred men across the mountains to the Oplands. Here he was met by his son-in-law, Squire Knut, who had been appointed earl in his place, and defeated him and the able commander, Arnbjorn Jonsson, at Laaka. It was now high time for the king to appear upon the scene, if he were to prevent the rebellion from a.s.suming such proportion, as to be beyond his power to quell it. The danger suddenly developed in him a decision and promptness of action, which went far to raise the sinking courage of his men. He declined the archbishop's offer to open negotiations once more; arrived, after a voyage of unprecedented rapidity, in Viken, and rowed, under cover of a fog, up the Folden Fjord to Oslo. In view of the possibility of his death, he had made all preparations for the succession, but he was resolved to sell his life dearly. The Varbelgs, who had not the faintest suspicion that he was near, were sleeping soundly after a night's carouse, when suddenly the war-horn resounded, and the storm-bell rang. The prows of the royal fleet were then seen emerging from the fog and making for the piers. The duke, as soon as the alarm was given, tumbled out of bed and flung on his clothes. The dawn was just reddening in the east, and the fog was lifting. The s.h.i.+ps were now at the piers, and the troops were disembarking. The Varbelgs supposed, at first, that it was Earl Knut, who had come to revenge his defeat at Laaka. But they were soon undeceived. When they caught sight of the royal banner they knew that King Haakon was not far away. Strangely enough, though they saw him storming forward, every moment exposing himself to danger, nay, even rus.h.i.+ng on ahead of his men, they were not eager to kill him. They feared that the duke's cause was lost, and though they fought bravely, they had no hope of victory. The duke fled and was pursued by the Birchlegs; but they did not succeed in overtaking him. Many men fell in that fight, but many more sought refuge in the churches and were pardoned.

It was, indeed, the duke himself, as we have seen, who was the originator as well as the leader of the rebellion. He was not the expression and embodiment of a disloyal feeling among the people, as many previous pretenders had been, but the rebellion was solely due to his own personal ambition. As long as he was alive, therefore, the brands of civil war might at any moment be rekindled. It was this reflection which prompted the king, in this instance, to smother all natural feeling for his father-in-law and not to shrink from punis.h.i.+ng him as he had deserved. Seven days after the battle of Oslo he sent fifteen well-manned s.h.i.+ps to Nidaros, whither the duke had fled, under the command of Aasulf of Austraat, a resolute man and one of Skule's bitterest enemies.

On his arrival in Nidaros, Skule fled to the woods, roaming about for two days and nights with a few friends who would not desert him. At last the friars of the monastery of Elgeseter took pity on him, provided him and his followers with cowls, and hid them in a tower. The tidings soon reached Aasulf that some strange-looking monks had been seen to enter the cloister, and he immediately set out with his men and demanded their surrender. When the friars refused, some of the Birchlegs set fire to the monastery. Others endeavored to put out the fire, but their efforts were futile. The smoke and the heat now compelled the duke and his companions to descend from the tower. As he stepped out of the gate he held his s.h.i.+eld above his head, saying: "Hew me not in the face; for it is not meet thus to treat chieftains." Instantly the Birchlegs fell upon him and slew him (1240).

The death of Skule ended the rebellion. There was now no man in Norway who was strong enough to contest the power of the king; probably no one who had the desire. It is a remarkable fact, considering the duration of the civil war, since the death of Sigurd the Crusader, that the country apparently recovered so soon from its effects. The period of stagnation and decline did not occur until nearly a century later, and may then have been in part attributable to other and more immediate causes. The seed, however, of destruction had been sown during this disastrous epoch, even though it required a century to sprout.

The return of peace left the king free to further an ambition which he had long had at heart. In a half unacknowledged way, he regarded his illegitimate birth as a blot upon his 'scutcheon which he was anxious to have removed. For this purpose he desired to be crowned. He had made an effort to gain the Pope's consent to such a ceremony during Skule's lifetime, but his ever-active enemy had frustrated his plan. Gregory IX.

was now dead, as was also his successor, Celestin IV., and St. Peter's chair was occupied by Innocent IV., who had no prejudice against Haakon.

The bishops, as usual, endeavored to exact fresh privileges, in return for their good offices in this matter, proposing that the king, on a.s.suming the crown, should swear the same oath as Magnus Erlingsson had sworn, acknowledging himself the va.s.sal of the Church, and taking the crown in fief from St. Olaf. But here they were met by a firm refusal.

"If I should swear such an oath as King Magnus swore," Haakon replied, "then methinks my honor in being crowned would be diminished, instead of increased. For King Magnus did not care what he did in order to attain that to which he had no right. But by G.o.d's help I shall not need to buy of you what G.o.d has rightly chosen me to be, after my father and my ancestors."

When the Pope's consent was obtained, Cardinal William of Sabina was sent to Norway to set the crown upon the king's head. But on arriving, he, too, incited by the native prelates, was disposed to exact conditions. Haakon, however, secure in his right, maintained his att.i.tude with firmness and dignity, and in the end the cardinal had to accept his terms. The coronation took place with great pomp on St.

Olaf's Day, July 29, 1247, in Christ's Church in Bergen. The guests at the banquet which followed the ceremony were so numerous that the royal mansion could not hold them, and it became necessary to fit out a huge boat-house as a temporary banqueting hall. The feast continued for three days, and outdid in magnificence any thing that had hitherto been seen in the North. Then followed a five days' _fete_ in honor of the cardinal and the other dignitaries. When the festivities were at an end, a meeting was called at which affairs of state were discussed, and the king voluntarily made several concessions to the clergy. The right of the Church to choose its own servants was confirmed, as also its right of separate jurisdiction. Ordeals were solemnly abolished, because, as the cardinal expressed it, it was not seemly for Christian men to challenge G.o.d to give his verdict in human affairs.

At his departure from Norway, the cardinal received a present of 15,000 marks sterling, or about half a million francs, for his master the Pope, besides a munificent compensation for his own services.

The remainder of Haakon's reign was externally uneventful, and for that very reason beneficial to the country. The king was wise enough to see that the noisy deeds of war bring no enduring blessing, while the industries of peace produce sound prosperity and progress. He therefore devoted himself with unflagging energy to the furtherance of agriculture and trade. His chief interest was, however, architecture. Cloisters, churches, and fortifications were built in different parts of the country. His love of splendor he indulged in the erection of a magnificent royal mansion in Bergen, and his benevolence in the erection of a hospital for lepers. In Tromso he put up a church, which long enjoyed the distinction of being the northernmost church in the world.

The laws of succession were so amended as to exclude illegitimate sons; the civil and criminal codes were improved, and the number of lawmen increased to eleven. A well-equipped fleet of 300 s.h.i.+ps was maintained, which, in the hands of a peace-loving king, was a guaranty of peace rather than a menace of war. By emba.s.sies, by exchanges of gifts with foreign princes, and by the power and splendor which he displayed at home and abroad, Haakon gained a place among the rulers of Europe, which had been accorded to no Norwegian king before him. The German emperor, the n.o.ble and gifted Frederick II., sought his friends.h.i.+p, and maintained communication with him until his death. The Russian grand duke, Alexander Newsky, applied for the hand of his daughter, Christina, for his son, and King Alfonso the Wise of Castile wooed her for his brother. The suit of the latter was accepted, and Christina married in 1257 the Spanish prince, Don Philip. The Pope, Alexander IV., endeavored to extort from Haakon a promise to partic.i.p.ate in a crusade, and the king of France, Louis IX., offered him, "in view of his power and experience on the seas," the command of an allied Norse-French fleet; and to crown his honors, it is said that the Pope in 1256 urged him as his candidate for emperor of Germany.

What gave King Haakon, in spite of the remoteness of his country, this extraordinary influence abroad was particularly his fleet. During a brief war with Denmark in 1256 and 1257, the awe which the sight of this strong naval force inspired was so great, that it induced the Danish king, Christopher, to make peace on Haakon's terms without venturing a battle. The Icelanders, enfeebled and brutalized by perpetual internecine feuds, acknowledged his supremacy and promised to pay him tribute (1261). The few and scattered inhabitants of Greenland likewise recognized his overlords.h.i.+p. A dispute concerning the Orkneys and the Shetland Isles led to war with the Scottish king, Alexander III. Haakon, determined to maintain his power over these distant dependencies, which had already cost Norway so much blood and treasure, started with his fleet for Scotland (1263), but suffered severely from a storm which wrecked many of his s.h.i.+ps. He sailed around to th western side of Scotland, ravaged the coasts of Cantire and Bute, and fought a battle at Largs (near the entrance to the Firth of Clyde), in which, according to the account of the Scots, the Nors.e.m.e.n were defeated, while, according to the sagas, they were victorious. At best, however, the battle afforded them no advantage. For Haakon retired, immediately after, to the Orkneys, where he determined to spend the winter, hoping to renew the campaign again in the spring. Here he was suddenly taken ill and died in Kirkevaag, December 15, 1263. During his illness he had the sagas of his ancestors read aloud to him, from Halfdan the Swarthy down to the days of his grandfather, King Sverre. During the reading of Sverre's saga he pa.s.sed quietly away.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NORWEGIAN STABBUR, OR STORE-HOUSE.]

All records agree in the judgment that Haakon Haakonsson was a wise and n.o.ble king. He was not a man of genius, not endowed with the brilliant gifts of his grandfather. But he was what we call a safe man. He possessed strong common-sense; was generous and forgiving, yet resolute and firm where justice demanded severity. His n.o.ble heart and his clear-sighted intelligence led him invariably to choose the right. He was therefore a great king, without being necessarily a great man, unless a well-balanced combination of all average good qualities const.i.tutes in itself greatness. His enemy, Duke Skule, was in many respects a more brilliant personality, and yet what a misfortune it would have been to Norway, if Skule had displaced Haakon!

In appearance Haakon resembled his grandfather. He was, like him, of middle height, and had the same large and wondrously expressive eyes. He looked taller when he sat than when he stood, but his presence was always dignified and impressive. He was fifty-nine years old when he died, and had ruled over Norway forty-six years.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE STURLUNGS IN ICELAND.

During the reign of Haakon Haakonsson lived the renowned Icelandic historian, Snorre Sturla.s.son. It is due to him that the ancient history of Norway has been saved from oblivion. His great work, called _Heimskringla_ (the Circle of the Earth), after the words with which it begins, is a coherent and in the main reliable record of the events which took place in Norway from the time of Harold the Fairhaired down to the Battle of Ree in 1177. The more or less mythical history which precedes the reign of Harold is also included, though it can scarcely, in many features, lay claim to credibility. The style is clear and vigorous, and the characterizations are extremely vivid. Scaldic lays are introduced into the text as evidences of the veracity of the narrative, and anecdotes are preserved which throw a strong light upon the characters of the heroes. The Heimskringla is, accordingly, not a loose conglomeration of fact and fiction, such as monkish chroniclers in the Middle Ages were in the habit of composing, but a historic work of high rank, betraying a mature critical spirit and artistic taste, in style and arrangement. Several scaldic lays are also attributed to Snorre, besides portions of the Younger Edda--a collection of myths and legends, dealing with the traditions of the ancient Asa faith. It is as editor and collector, however, not as author, that he is here ent.i.tled to credit.

Snorre Sturla.s.son was born in Iceland in 1178, and was, at the age of three, adopted by the great chieftain, Jon Loftsson, a grandson of Saemund the Learned. His father was Sturla Thordsson, a high-born but turbulent man, and his mother, Gudny Bodvar's daughter. Jon Loftsson had inherited a very considerable collection of historical MSS. from his grandfather, Saemund, and his house was the home of the best culture which the island at that time possessed. Snorre, though any thing but a book-worm, became interested in the myths and tales of paganism, and by intercourse with his foster-father imbibed a taste for historical research. After the death of the latter in 1198, he found himself penniless, his mother having wasted his paternal inheritance. In order to maintain his dignity, he was therefore obliged to look about for a rich marriage, and by the aid of his brothers succeeded in gaining the hand of the wealthiest heiress in Iceland. He now devoted himself to the task of increasing his power. By shrewd bargaining, by intimidation, and by open violence he gained possession of six large estates and ama.s.sed an enormous fortune. Iceland, at that time, was torn with factional feuds, and Snorre understood to perfection the art of fis.h.i.+ng in troubled waters. He was a man of energetic and determined character--a man of large plans and few scruples. There is a vigorous worldliness visible in all his acts, and a prudent adaptation of means to ends. At his residence, Reykjaholt, which he fortified, improved, and beautified in a manner, the like of which had never been seen in Iceland, he lived like a prince, maintaining an armed force which seemed to threaten the republic. Ruins of his bath-house are yet to be seen, and yet bear his name (Snorrelaug). The bath was built of hewn stones, and the hot water was conducted by a stone aqueduct from the neighboring geysers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HoRGADAL IN THE NORTH OF ICELAND.]

Snorre had two brothers, Thord and Sighvat. The former was of a quiet disposition, and not over-ambitious, while the latter was Snorre's counterpart, and like him engaged in increasing his fortune by trickery and violence.

Two men, thus const.i.tuted, would scarcely be restrained by their fraternal relation, when their interests clashed; and before long, we find Sighvat and Snorre at swords' points.

By the weight of his influence, Snorre gradually absorbed the more important offices in the gift of his countrymen. Thus he was, in 1215, elected speaker of the law, and in this capacity came in conflict with his foster-brother, Saemund Jonsson, who took exception to one of his rulings. The Icelandic Althing was both a legislative a.s.sembly and a supreme court, and it was the duty of the speaker in legal cases to decide what was law. If any of the contending parties rejected the decision of the Althing, an appeal to the sword was always open to him.

The law was a consultative, not an absolute power, and depended upon its fairness for its authority. Snorre, whose duty it was to give weight to the law, had so small respect for his office, that he appeared with eight hundred and forty armed men, determined to overawe his opponents.

A compromise was with difficulty arranged, but the seed of mischief had been sown, and was not slow to sprout and bear fruit.

Snorre's fame had, in the meanwhile, reached Norway, and many honorable invitations were extended to him from the foremost chieftains of the land. Accordingly he set sail in 1218, with a large train of followers, visited King Haakon and Earl Skule, and gained the latter's friends.h.i.+p.

The king made him his liegeman, and it is said that Snorre promised Skule to bring Iceland under the dominion of the mother country. The plan was a tempting one. If by the surrender of the liberties of the island, he could attain the dignity of Earl of Iceland, he could, at one blow, by Skule's aid, crush all his enemies, and reign undisputed as the first man in the land. On his return home, however, he discovered that the obstacles in his way were greater than he had antic.i.p.ated. It appears, even, that he repented of his rash promise, and was anxious to postpone the day of its fulfilment. Whether, in his subsequent machinations, he meant to secure his own predominance, as a means to carrying out his bargain with the earl, is difficult to determine.

In 1222 Snorre's rival and bitterest enemy, Saemund Jonsson, died, and his children, who were at variance about an inheritance from their uncle, Orm Jonsson, called upon Snorre to arbitrate between them. They did this, not because they loved him and had confidence in his fairness, but because they feared him and were anxious to have the old feud terminated. Snorre understood this perfectly, and had no hesitation in taking advantage of his position. Having recently been separated from his wife, he saw a chance of further enriching himself by marrying the beautiful Solveig, the sister of the contending brothers. He accordingly divided the inheritance so as to give her the lion's share; but just as he seemed to have made sure of his game, his nephew, Sturla Sighvatsson, stepped up and s.n.a.t.c.hed the girl from his expectant arms. By his unfair arbitration, he thus benefited the man who was henceforth to become his most dangerous enemy. Nothing daunted, however, Snorre turned his attention to another and far wealthier heiress, whom he succeeded in marrying. By a series of bargains, in which he made an unscrupulous use of the fear which his name inspired, he continued to increase his wealth, until his power overshadowed that of all other chieftains in the island. Sturla, who in shrewdness and daring was more than a match for his uncle, pursued a similar course, and with the perpetual clas.h.i.+ng of interests their hostility grew more p.r.o.nounced. Snorre had, in the meanwhile, by his friends.h.i.+p for Earl Skule, incurred the enmity of King Haakon. Sturla on his return from a pilgrimage to Rome, succeeded in gaining the king's confidence, and in deepening his distrust of Snorre.

He made now the same bargain with the king that his uncle had previously made with Skule, promising, in return for the dignity of Earl of Iceland, to bring the country under the Norwegian crown. On his return home, he did not, however, at once venture to attack his rival, but contented himself with picking quarrels with his son, Urokja, and his son-in-law, Gissur Thorvaldsson. The former he captured and maimed, but in his conflict with the latter he succ.u.mbed. In a regular battle, which was fought in 1238, both Sturla and his father, Sighvat, were killed.

Snorre was at that time in Norway, where he had the imprudence to commit himself as a partisan of Skule, and thereby still further incensed the king. Contrary to the command of the latter, he returned to Iceland, where his predominance seemed now secured. But King Haakon, who henceforth regarded him as an open enemy, became the means of his destruction. Snorre had already, by his rapacity and greed, incurred the hostility of his son-in law, Gissur Thorvaldsson, and with him the king opened negotiations, demanding of him that he should either kill his father-in-law or send him as a prisoner to Norway. Gissur accordingly attacked Snorre at Reykjaholt with seventy armed men, and slew him (1241).

[Ill.u.s.tration: ALMANNAGJAA WITH THE HILL OF LAWS.]