_Magnus Barefoot (1093-1103)_
Immediately 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 the king, and gave them many other privileges. Thereafter he
returned to the Uplands, where he gave the people the same privileges.
In the meanwhile King Magnus proceeded north to Nidaros, took
possession of the king's house built by Harald Haardraade, and remained
there the first part of the winter. When Haakon heard of this he also
came up to Nidaros, and negotiations were opened for a settlement
between the rival kings, Haakon offering to accept half the kingdom
and let Magnus retain the other half. Magnus refused to acknowledge
any rights of Haakon, and a conflict seemed imminent. However, one
day, after having made quite a demonstration with his force, Magnus
sailed southward, and Haakon also decided to go south, taking the
inland route. While he was crossing the Dovre Mountain, he pursued a
ptarmigan, which flew up beside him; and during this chase he was taken
violently ill, and died on the mountain. His body was brought back to
Nidaros, and all the people went to meet the body, as the saga says,
"sorrowing, and the most of them weeping; for all the people loved him
with sincere affection." Haakon, who was twenty-five years old at his
death, was laid at rest in Christ Church (February, 1094).
Magnus Olafson was now sole king of Norway. A rebellion was started by
some of the adherents of the late King Haakon, under the leadership of
Thorer of Steig and the late Haakon's near friend, Svein, who aspired
to become king. Svein was a Dane by birth, said to be of high family
and a brave warrior. His father was one Harald Flette, of whom nothing
is known. Several chiefs took part in this movement, among them the
rich and powerful man, Skialg Erlingson from Jadaren, and Egil Aslakson
of Aurland. The force proceeded from Gudbrandsdal down to Raumsdal,
and afterward north to Throndhjem. King Magnus's liegeman and devoted
friend, Sigurd Ulstreng, collected a force and met Thorer and Svein in
battle, but suffered a bad defeat. He fled to King Magnus, who then
collected an army, and proceeded north to Throndhjem. Magnus scattered
the rebels, and captured Thorer of Steig and Egil Aslakson, and hanged
them. Svein, Harald Flette's son, fled out to sea first, and then
sailed to Denmark and remained there. King Magnus punished severely all
who had been guilty of treason toward him, killing some and burning the
houses of others.
King Magnus now had undisputed control of Norway, and devoted himself
to the care of his country and his people. By his vigorous rule he
maintained peace and order, and rooted out all vikings and lawless
men. With his restless and ambitious disposition, however, he yearned
for greater deeds and for fame in war. Wishing to retake the western
countries, which had been dependencies of Norway under his ancestors,
he set out with a great fleet, and first came to the Orkney Islands.
There he took the two earls, Paul and Erlend, prisoners, and sent
them to Norway, and placed his eight year old son Sigurd as chief of
the islands, leaving some wise men with him as counsellors. Then King
Magnus proceeded to the Southern Hebrides, where he harried the coasts
and plundered wherever he came. Afterward he sailed to Wales and won a
battle at Anglesey Sound, and took the Anglesey Isle. After this battle
he returned north with his fleet, and came first to Scotland. He made
a peace with the Scotch king, by which all the islands lying west of
Scotland should belong to the king of Norway. King Magnus remained all
the winter in the southern isles, and the next summer he returned with
his fleet to Norway (1099).
During their long stay in the Western countries King Magnus and his
men had adopted some of the habits and fashions of clothing of those
countries. They wore short jackets and kilts without breeches. On
account of this the king was called Magnus Barefoot or Bareleg.
A short time after his return to Norway, King Magnus became involved in
war with the Swedish king, Inge Steinkelson. Magnus insisted that the
Gaut River and Lake Venern should be considered the boundary between
the countries, so that the Swedish district of Dalsland would belong to
Norway. This war lasted for two years, and was generally unsuccessful
for King Magnus. In the spring of 1100 there was a battle at Foxerne
(at the Gaut River, between Kongself and Wenersborg), in which the
Norwegians were overwhelmed by numbers, driven to flight, and many
of them killed by the pursuing Swedes. King Magnus was easily known,
for he was a stout man, had a red cloak over him, and bright yellow
hair that fell over his shoulders. Ogmund Skoptason, who was also a
tall and handsome man, rode at the side of the king. He saved the king
by putting on the king's cloak. He started off in a little different
direction, and the Swedes, supposing him to be the king, rode after
him, while the king proceeded to his ships. Ogmund escaped with great
difficulty, but succeeded at last in reaching the ships. King Magnus
then sailed down the river and proceeded north to Viken.
The next summer a meeting of the kings was agreed upon at Konghelle
on the Gaut River. The Danish king, Erik Eiegod, desired to have an
archbishopric established for the northern countries, and it was
important to have the other kings with him to execute this plan. By
his mediation the meeting of the three kings was arranged, and they
soon came to an understanding. Each should possess the dominions his
forefathers had held before him, and each should make good to his own
men the loss and manslaughter suffered by them. King Inge agreed to
give King Magnus his daughter Margaret in marriage. This agreement was
proclaimed to the people, and thus, within a short hour, the greatest
enemies were made the best of friends.
Shortly afterward Margaret, King Inge's daughter, came to Norway with
an honorable retinue, and her wedding with King Magnus was celebrated
with great festivities. The Norwegians liked their new queen, whom they
considered as a pledge of the peace with Sweden, and they therefore
called her _Fridkolla_, _i.e._, the peace-girl.
When Magnus had been nine years king of Norway, he again sailed
westward with a great force. He first conquered the Isle of Man, and
afterward proceeded to Ireland and conquered a great part of that
country. He lay at Ulster, and was about ready to return to Norway,
when he was suddenly attacked by an Irish army. King Magnus had a
helmet on his head, a red shield on which there was a golden lion, and
was girt with his costly sword, Legbit; in his hand he had a short
spear, and over his shirt a red silk cloak. King Magnus received a
wound, being pierced by a spear through both thighs above the knees.
The king took hold of the shaft between his legs, broke the spear in
two, and said: "This way we break spearshafts, boys; let us go briskly
on; nothing ails me." A little later King Magnus was hit in the neck
with an Irish axe, and this was his death-wound. Then those who were
behind fled. Vidkun Jonson, from Biarkey (a great-grandson of Thorer
Hund), instantly killed the man who had given the king his death-wound,
and fled, after having received three wounds; but he brought the king's
banner and the sword Legbit to the ships. Vidkun Jonson was the last
man who fled. The Northmen who escaped sailed away immediately.
King Magnus was thirty years old when he fell.