HAAKON LONGLEGS (HAALEGG), 1299-1319.
Duke Haakon, the second son of Magnus Law-Mender, succeeded his brother
without opposition. He was then twenty-nine years old, tall and of
stately appearance. He had not been long upon the throne, before he
showed the haughty barons that he meant to have a reckoning with them.
He first summoned Sir Audun Hugleiksson to meet him in Bergen, tried him
for treason, and had him executed (1302). A woman from Luebeck had, two
years before, appeared in Norway and created much excitement by claiming
to be the Princess Margaret, "The Maid of Norway," who had died on the
Orkneys. Her trial proved her to be an impostor, and she was burned at
the stake. According to one conjecture, Sir Audun was in some way
compromised by her trial, and it is not unlikely that he may have
encouraged her pretensions. The legend, however, relates that Sir Audun
suffered death for having insulted the king's bride, Countess Euphemia
of Arnstein, whom, in 1295, he brought over from Germany.
It must have been an unpleasant surprise to the barons, who had had
their own way so long, to find a stern and determined master in the new
king, and it is the more to his credit that, in spite of their
hostility, he induced them to consent to a change in the law of
succession in favor of his daughter Ingeborg and her issue. As he was
the only male descendant in the direct line of the old royal house, it
was a source of uneasiness to him that he had no sons, and he foresaw
that the only means of averting civil war, after his death, was to
secure the succession to the prospective sons of his daughter, and in
case she had none, to herself. Princess Ingeborg was, while a mere
child, promised in marriage to the brilliant and ambitious Duke Erik,
the second son of King Magnus Birgersson of Sweden. By this betrothal,
King Haakon became involved in the quarrels of the dukes Erik and
Valdemar with their brother, Birger Magnusson, whom they were
endeavoring to dethrone. The dukes hated the king, and the king, who was
jealous of Erik's popularity and eminence in chivalrous accomplishments,
reciprocated their feelings. The long-smouldering hostility at last
blazed forth, in 1306, when the dukes treacherously assaulted their
brother and held him captive for about eighteen months. King Haakon was
induced to take their part in the struggle, perhaps chiefly because his
enemy, the king of Denmark, made common cause with King Birger. The good
understanding between them did not, however, last long, for when it
began to look as if Duke Erik aimed at the union of the three
Scandinavian kingdoms under his own sceptre, Haakon, as an interested
party, could scarcely remain inactive. He demanded the restoration of
the fiefs which he had granted the duke during his exile. When this was
refused, he opened negotiations with the king of Denmark, who was the
brother-in-law of King Birger, and concluded a preliminary treaty at
Copenhagen (1308) in accordance with which the Princess Ingeborg was to
marry Magnus, the son of King Birger. Duke Erik then invaded Norway with
an army, took Oslo and vainly besieged the fortress of Akershus. The
province of Jemteland was also attacked by the Swedes, and the duke had
in 1309 an indecisive fight with a portion of the Norwegian fleet in
Kalfsund. Finally, after another fight, in which Erik gained the upper
hand, negotiations were resumed, and by mutual concessions peace was
reestablished (1310). Duke Erik had a powerful ally at the Norwegian
court in Queen Euphemia, whose love for him was not of an entirely
maternal character. He had thus little difficulty in conciliating King
Haakon and getting again the promise of his daughter's hand. The wedding
was finally celebrated with much splendor in Oslo in 1312. Duke Valdemar
married the same day the king's niece, Ingeborg, the daughter of King
Erik Priest-Hater. About four years later, when the hope had almost been
abandoned, each of the duchesses bore a son. King Haakon's joy at this
happy event was great, for it relieved him of his anxiety for the
succession. But his joy was of short duration. There was one man in
Sweden who was not rejoiced at the birth of the young princes, and that
was King Birger. He feigned, however, delight, and invited his brothers
to a great feast of reconciliation at the castle of Nykoeping. When the
festivities were at an end, the dukes were thrown into prison and
deprived of their lives. As there was no sign of violence on their
bodies, the rumor went abroad that they had been starved to death. This
was probably true. The tidings of this calamity gave King Haakon such a
shock that he never recovered from it. He died, 1319, aged forty-nine
years. With him the male line of the race of Harold the Fairhaired
became extinct.
The war with Denmark which had lasted twenty-eight years, was continued
in a desultory fashion during Haakon's reign, but no important battles
were fought. He used his fleet mainly as a threat to enforce his claims.
All that he gained was the temporary possession of the province of
Northern Halland, as security for the final surrender of his maternal
inheritance.
In internal affairs King Haakon exhibited, according to the ideas of his
age, no mean degree of statesmanship. His administration was both
prudent and vigorous. He checked the usurpations of the Hanseatic
cities, which were driving native merchants out of the foreign trade,
and deprived them of some of their privileges. An honest intention to do
right, coupled with considerable ability, characterized both his public
and private life. For all that, his despotic temper tended to alienate
the people from public affairs; and thus prepared the way for the
following centuries of humiliation.
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