MAGNUS BAREFOOT (1093-1103) AND HAAKON MAGNUSSON (1093-1095).
When the tidings of King Olaf's death had gone abroad, the inhabitants
of Viken acknowledged his son, Magnus, as king, while the Troenders made
haste to proclaim his nephew, Haakon Magnusson. The country was,
accordingly, once more divided; two thirds, including Troendelag, the
Oplands, and all the northern shires, belonging to Haakon, and about one
third to Magnus. The latter was scarcely prepared to find a rival to the
throne in his cousin, who during his father's long reign had given no
evidence that he cherished such an ambition. Only ignorance, on his
part, of Haakon's intentions can explain his departure on an adventurous
expedition to Scotland. The restless, warlike spirit of his grandfather
dwelt in him, and he had chafed under the restraint which his father's
peaceful policy imposed upon him. Now that he was free, he could afford
to lose no more time in dallying. He therefore started, as soon as he
had his hands free, on a wild-goose chase for glory; helped the Scottish
king, Donald Bane, in his warfare against Eadgar the Etheling and his
brother, Malcolm's children; asserted (apparently with success) his
claim to the Scottish isles, which, during Harold Hard-Ruler's reign,
had made themselves independent; aided the Irish King Muirkertach
against the earl, Gudroed Meranagh; and finally returned home in the
summer of 1094 to find two thirds of his kingdom in the hands of a
rival. He sailed directly to Nidaros with seven ships and took up his
abode in the new royal mansion, resolved to make the Troenders feel the
weight of his wrath. Haakon and his foster-father, Thore of Steig, also
hastened to the city and put up at the old royal mansion. The relation
between the two parties was strained, and every day people expected an
outbreak of hostilities. Finally Haakon opened negotiations with his
cousin, offering to divide the kingdom with him in equal parts; but
Magnus repelled his overtures, refusing to recognize his title to any
share in the government. Suddenly, in the middle of the night (February,
1095), Magnus had great fires made around the city, and Haakon's men,
expecting an attack, seized their arms and rushed into the streets. No
attack was, however, made, and both parties left the city without any
hostile collision. Haakon, in crossing the Dovre Mountain on snow-shoes,
was taken ill and died.
One would have supposed that the Troenders had now no longer any pretext
for persevering in their opposition to Magnus. But apparently they both
hated him, and feared that he would mete out severe punishments to them
for the support they had given his cousin. Therefore they gave heed to
the counsel of Thore of Steig, who demanded their allegiance to a
pretender named Sweyn, a Dane by birth, and not related to the royal
house of Norway. The rebels found many adherents in the Oplands, among
whom the liegeman Egil Aaslaksson. Under the leadership of Thore and
Sweyn they started out, ravaging and plundering in Nordmore and
Troendelag. They gave the peasants the choice either to join them or have
their houses burned over their heads; and there were many who preferred
the former alternative to the latter. Magnus' liegeman and devoted
friend, Sigurd Wool-String (Ullstreng), sent out war summons, but his
force, which was quite inadequate, was utterly defeated by the rebels.
He fled to Magnus, who instantly started in pursuit, captured Thore of
Steig and Egil, and hanged them. Many others who had participated in the
rebellion were killed or deprived of their property; and as a punishment
to the Troenders, the laws of Sweyn Alfifasson were re-enacted.
Magnus was now undisputed master of all Norway and devoted himself with
much energy to the maintenance of order by meting out relentless justice
to evil-doers. To sit at home in inglorious ease, punishing rebels and
marauders, was not, however, in accordance with his taste. He hated
peace as much as his father had loved it. Without any special
provocation he, therefore, determined to pay a second visit to Scotland
and Ireland for the purpose of securely founding his dominion in those
lands. It appears that he was also cherishing a plan for invading
England and avenging the death of his grandfather at Stamford Bridge.
Haakon Paulsson, a son of Earl Paul of the Orkneys, who came to Norway,
stimulated his ambition, hoping himself in some way to profit by it.
With a fleet of 160 ships and upward of 14,000 men the warlike king
sailed in the spring of 1098 for the Orkneys, and thence to the
Hebrides, where he harried with remorseless cruelty. He conquered also
the English islands of Man and Anglesey, and made great efforts to
colonize the latter island. In the summer of 1099 he returned to Norway,
but managed within a year to get himself into a promising quarrel with
King Inge of Sweden, one of whose provinces (Dalsland) he claimed on a
flimsy pretext. He won a great victory over the Swedes at Fuxerne, and
left a garrison of 360 men in a fortress which he built on an island in
Lake Wener. But King Inge forced this garrison to surrender, on
humiliating terms, during the winter; and Magnus, to avenge this
disgrace, invaded Sweden a second time, and was defeated not far from
Trollhaettan. He came then near losing his life, but was saved by Agmund
Skoftesson, who changed cloaks with him, and, starting conspicuously
away from the other fugitives, drew the pursuers after him. This kind of
warfare was, of course, sheer waste of life and treasure, and by the
mediation of the Danish king, Erik Eiegod, peace was concluded at
Konghelle, (1100). Magnus was to marry King Inge's daughter Margaret,
who was to receive the disputed province as her dowry. The marriage,
however, was without issue, and Dalsland became, at the death of Magnus,
again a part of Sweden. Queen Margaret, because she was the bringer of
peace, was called by the Norsemen, _Fridkulla, i.e._, the peace-maker.
It was not to be expected that Magnus should rest contented with the
fame he had now gained, and turn his mind to the pursuits of peace. His
sentiments in that regard are well expressed in his saying: "A king
should rather strive for glory than for a long life." In his anxiety to
find a pretext for war he finally, as it is told, sent a pair of his
shoes to King Muirkertach, in Ireland, with the request that he should
carry them on his shoulders, on Christmas Day, in the presence of the
Norse ambassadors, as a sign that he recognized Magnus at his overlord.
The Irish were greatly incensed at this demand; but Muirkertach, who
knew something of Magnus' style of warfare, declared that he would not
only carry the shoes, but that he would eat them too, rather than
receive another visit from the king of Norway. This humility did not,
however, save him from the dreaded visitation. Magnus had determined
upon the conquest of Ireland, and forthwith sailed (1102) westward with
a large fleet. After having touched at the Orkneys, he landed on Man,
where he had his son, Sigurd, proclaimed king and married to
Muirkertach's nine-year old daughter, Biadmuin. He fought for a while
with varying success in Ulster, nominally in alliance with Muirkertach,
though there is every reason to believe that the latter was only
watching for a chance to destroy him. Such a chance finally presented
itself, while Magnus was waiting on the coast of Ulster for a herd of
cattle that had been promised him. He had gone ashore with a small part
of his force in a swampy region, and was suddenly surrounded by the
Irish, who had hid in the underbrush, and who, on account of their
knowledge of the ground, had a great advantage. Here Magnus fell after a
heroic combat, and the remnant of his army made haste to return to
Norway.
Magnus was but thirty years old at the time of his death. He was a tall
and well-grown man, of fine features and a commanding appearance. His
surname Barefoot or Bareleg was given to him because, after his return
from his first Scotch campaign, he adopted the Highland costume, wearing
kilts instead of trousers.
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