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CHAPTER I The Northmen
CHAPTER I The Northmen
N ORWAY (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 whi
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CHAPTER II The Religion of the Northmen
CHAPTER II The Religion of the Northmen
T HE 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 Ginungag
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CHAPTER III The Viking Age
CHAPTER III The Viking Age
I T 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 b
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CHAPTER IV The Yngling Family—Halfdan the Swarthy
CHAPTER IV The Yngling Family—Halfdan the Swarthy
T HE 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 Fioln
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CHAPTER V Harald the Fairhaired (860-930)—Norway United
CHAPTER V Harald the Fairhaired (860-930)—Norway United
H ARALD 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 hear
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CHAPTER VI Birth of Haakon the Good—Erik Blood-Axe (930-935)
CHAPTER VI Birth of Haakon the Good—Erik Blood-Axe (930-935)
W HEN 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 famil
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CHAPTER VII Haakon the Good (935-961)
CHAPTER VII Haakon the Good (935-961)
H AAKON 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
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CHAPTER VIII Harald Grayfell and his Brothers (961-970)
CHAPTER VIII Harald Grayfell and his Brothers (961-970)
T HE 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, r
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CHAPTER IX Earl Haakon (970-995)
CHAPTER IX Earl Haakon (970-995)
E ARL 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,
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CHAPTER X The Youth of Olaf Trygvason
CHAPTER X The Youth of Olaf Trygvason
W HEN 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 wea
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CHAPTER XI Olaf Trygvason (995-1000)
CHAPTER XI Olaf Trygvason (995-1000)
O LAF 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
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CHAPTER XII The Discovery of America
CHAPTER XII The Discovery of America
D URING 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 Gu
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CHAPTER XIII The Earls Erik and Svein, Sons of Haakon (1000-1015)
CHAPTER XIII The Earls Erik and Svein, Sons of Haakon (1000-1015)
A FTER 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
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CHAPTER XIV The Youth of Olaf Haraldson
CHAPTER XIV The Youth of Olaf Haraldson
O LAF 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, Aast
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CHAPTER XV Olaf the Saint (1015-1028)
CHAPTER XV Olaf the Saint (1015-1028)
L EAVING 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 favo
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CHAPTER XVI The Battle of Stiklestad (1030)
CHAPTER XVI The Battle of Stiklestad (1030)
I N 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 wit
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CHAPTER XVII King Svein Alfifuson (1030-1035)
CHAPTER XVII King Svein Alfifuson (1030-1035)
W HEN 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 fr
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CHAPTER XVIII Magnus the Good (1035-1047)
CHAPTER XVIII Magnus the Good (1035-1047)
M AGNUS 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
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CHAPTER XIX Harald Haardraade (1047-1066)
CHAPTER XIX Harald Haardraade (1047-1066)
H ARALD, 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 Va
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CHAPTER XX Olaf Kyrre, the Quiet (1066-1093)
CHAPTER XX Olaf Kyrre, the Quiet (1066-1093)
T HE 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
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CHAPTER XXI Magnus Barefoot (1093-1103)
CHAPTER XXI Magnus Barefoot (1093-1103)
I MMEDIATELY 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 t
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CHAPTER XXII Sigurd the Crusader (1103-1130), and his Brothers, Eystein and Olaf
CHAPTER XXII Sigurd the Crusader (1103-1130), and his Brothers, Eystein and Olaf
I N 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 Ma
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CHAPTER XXIII Magnus the Blind and Harald Gille (1130-1136)
CHAPTER XXIII Magnus the Blind and Harald Gille (1130-1136)
T HE 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 opportuni
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CHAPTER XXIV Sigurd Mund, Eystein, and Inge Krokryg, the Sons of Harald Gille (1136-1161)
CHAPTER XXIV Sigurd Mund, Eystein, and Inge Krokryg, the Sons of Harald Gille (1136-1161)
Q UEEN 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
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CHAPTER XXV The Church
CHAPTER XXV The Church
F ROM 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 cover
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CHAPTER XXVI Haakon Herdebred (1161-1162)—Erling Skakke
CHAPTER XXVI Haakon Herdebred (1161-1162)—Erling Skakke
A FTER 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 an
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CHAPTER XXVII Magnus Erlingson (1162-1184)—The Birchlegs
CHAPTER XXVII Magnus Erlingson (1162-1184)—The Birchlegs
A FTER 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 th
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CHAPTER XXVIII Sverre Sigurdson (1184-1202)
CHAPTER XXVIII Sverre Sigurdson (1184-1202)
A FTER 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 followin
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CHAPTER XXIX Haakon Sverreson (1202-1204), Guthorm Sigurdson (1204), and Inge Baardson (1204-1217)
CHAPTER XXIX Haakon Sverreson (1202-1204), Guthorm Sigurdson (1204), and Inge Baardson (1204-1217)
A FTER 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 eve
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CHAPTER XXX Haakon Haakonson the Old (1217-1263)
CHAPTER XXX Haakon Haakonson the Old (1217-1263)
A FTER 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 po
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CHAPTER XXXI Snorre Sturlason
CHAPTER XXXI Snorre Sturlason
D URING 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
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CHAPTER XXXII Magnus Law-Mender (1263-1280)
CHAPTER XXXII Magnus Law-Mender (1263-1280)
H AAKON’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 lit
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CHAPTER XXXIII Erik Priest-Hater (1280-1299)
CHAPTER XXXIII Erik Priest-Hater (1280-1299)
A T 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 c
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CHAPTER XXXIV Haakon V. Magnusson (1299-1319)
CHAPTER XXXIV Haakon V. Magnusson (1299-1319)
A T 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, w
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CHAPTER XXXV Magnus Erikson “Smek” (1319-1374)—Haakon VI. Magnusson (1355-1380)
CHAPTER XXXV Magnus Erikson “Smek” (1319-1374)—Haakon VI. Magnusson (1355-1380)
M AGNUS, 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 o
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CHAPTER XXXVI Olaf Haakonson the Young (1381-1387)
CHAPTER XXXVI Olaf Haakonson the Young (1381-1387)
O LAF, 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 an
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CHAPTER XXXVII Margaret (1387-1389)—Erik of Pomerania (1389-1442)—The Kalmar Union (1397)
CHAPTER XXXVII Margaret (1387-1389)—Erik of Pomerania (1389-1442)—The Kalmar Union (1397)
A S 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 righ
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CHAPTER XXXVIII Christopher of Bavaria (1442-1448)
CHAPTER XXXVIII Christopher of Bavaria (1442-1448)
A CCORDING 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
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CHAPTER XXXIX The Union with Denmark—Christian I. (1450-1481)
CHAPTER XXXIX The Union with Denmark—Christian I. (1450-1481)
A FTER 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, wa
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CHAPTER XL Hans (1483-1513)
CHAPTER XL Hans (1483-1513)
C HRISTIAN’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 t
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CHAPTER XLI Christian II. (1513-1523)
CHAPTER XLI Christian II. (1513-1523)
A FTER 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 citiz
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CHAPTER XLII Frederick I. (1524-1533)
CHAPTER XLII Frederick I. (1524-1533)
N ORWAY 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, c
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CHAPTER XLIII Interregnum (1533-1537)
CHAPTER XLIII Interregnum (1533-1537)
A T 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 with
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CHAPTER XLIV Christian III. (1537-1559)—The Reformation Introduced
CHAPTER XLIV Christian III. (1537-1559)—The Reformation Introduced
A T 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
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CHAPTER XLV Frederick II. (1559-1588)
CHAPTER XLV Frederick II. (1559-1588)
C HRISTIAN 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 German
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CHAPTER XLVI Christian IV. (1588-1648)
CHAPTER XLVI Christian IV. (1588-1648)
F REDERICK 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 Chris
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CHAPTER XLVII Frederick III. (1648-1670)—Absolutism Introduced (1660)
CHAPTER XLVII Frederick III. (1648-1670)—Absolutism Introduced (1660)
A FTER 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
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CHAPTER XLVIII Christian V. (1670-1699)
CHAPTER XLVIII Christian V. (1670-1699)
C HRISTIAN 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 me
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CHAPTER XLIX Frederick IV. (1699-1730)
CHAPTER XLIX Frederick IV. (1699-1730)
A T 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
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CHAPTER L Christian VI. (1730-1746)
CHAPTER L Christian VI. (1730-1746)
C HRISTIAN 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 wer
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CHAPTER LI Frederick V. (1746-1766)
CHAPTER LI Frederick V. (1746-1766)
W HEN 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 pleasu
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CHAPTER LII Christian VII. (1766-1808)
CHAPTER LII Christian VII. (1766-1808)
A T 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 t
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CHAPTER LIII Frederick VI. (1808-1814)
CHAPTER LIII Frederick VI. (1808-1814)
W HEN, 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 seiz
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CHAPTER LIV Marshal Bernadotte
CHAPTER LIV Marshal Bernadotte
T HE 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 t
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CHAPTER LV Norway Declares Her Independence
CHAPTER LV Norway Declares Her Independence
P RINCE 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 ob
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CHAPTER LVI War With Sweden—Union of November 4, 1814
CHAPTER LVI War With Sweden—Union of November 4, 1814
A FTER 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,
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CHAPTER LVII The Union With Sweden
CHAPTER LVII The Union With Sweden
T HE 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.
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CHAPTER LVIII Norwegian Literature
CHAPTER LVIII Norwegian Literature
T HE 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,” al
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CHAPTER LIX The Constitution of Norway
CHAPTER LIX The Constitution of Norway
T HE 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
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