_Haakon Sverreson (1202-1204), Guthorm Sigurdson (1204), and Inge
Baardson (1204-1217)_
After 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 even taking time to obtain the consent of the pope. For this
haste in making peace with the king the archbishop was afterward
sharply reprimanded by the pope; but in the meanwhile the good
relations between king and clergy had strengthened Haakon's position,
and the people in general readily acknowledged him. The Bagler party
gradually lost most of its support, and after their so-called king,
Inge Magnusson, had been killed by one of his own men on an island
in Lake Miosen (1202), the party was, for the time being, broken up.
Some went to King Haakon and begged for mercy, the remainder fled
either to Sweden or Denmark, and there was again peace in the country.
The peace, however, did not last very long, this time probably on
account of strained relations between the king and his stepmother, the
queen-dowager Margreta. During the festivities in Bergen at Christmas,
1203, King Haakon was taken suddenly ill, and on January 1, 1204, he
died, with all the symptoms of having been poisoned. It was the general
opinion that Queen Margreta was the cause of his death. She was obliged
to leave the country, and returned to her old home in Sweden. The death
of King Haakon caused great sorrow, for he had been very popular;
besides, it was generally supposed that he left no issue.
Two days after Haakon's death, a council was held by Bishop Martin
and the chiefs of the Birchlegs, and it was decided to elect Haakon's
nearest heir, his nephew, Guthorm Sigurdson, a son of Sigurd Lavard,
as his successor, although he was only four years old. Haakon Galen,
a son of Sverre's sister Cecilia and Folkvid Lawman, was to conduct
the government under the title of earl. When this hasty election of a
king was reported throughout the country, the Bagler party reorganized
themselves under the leadership of Erling Steinvegg (Stonewall), who
claimed to be a son of King Magnus Erlingson. This new pretender soon
had a large following and also obtained substantial support from the
Danish king, Valdemar II. Bishop Nicholas at first opposed him, as he
wanted his own nephew, Philip, a grandson of Harald Gille's queen,
Ingerid, elected king; but they finally came to an agreement, Erling
promising to make Philip earl and to otherwise favor the bishop. With
the aid of the bishop, Erling then proved his right to the throne by
the ordeal of fire, the event taking place with great ceremony in
Tunsberg in the presence of the Danish king and a large assemblage
of people. King Valdemar made Erling a present of thirty-five fully
equipped ships. The following day a Thing was summoned, and Erling was
proclaimed king. He immediately appointed Philip as his earl. Both
solemnly acknowledged the Danish king as their overlord and gave him
hostages. The whole of Viken had soon acknowledged Erling as king, and
the few Birchlegs who were there fled to the northern or western part
of the country.
The child king, Guthorm Sigurdson, died suddenly in Nidaros, August
11, 1204, and there was a strong suspicion that he had been poisoned
by Christina, the mistress of Haakon Galen. The Thing was immediately
convened, and the people elected Inge Baardson of Rein as king. Inge
was a younger half-brother of Haakon Galen, being a son of King
Sverre's sister, Cecilia, and her husband, Baard of Rein. For some
time there was again continual warfare between the Baglers and the
Birchlegs. In the summer of 1205, King Inge and Earl Haakon made a
cruise to Viken and had some encounters with the Baglers, and in
the fall King Inge returned to Nidaros, while Earl Haakon went into
winter-quarters in Bergen.
Shortly after Christmas it was reported in Nidaros that a body of
warriors had come across the mountain from the south, and that they
had the son of a king with them. It was feared that a new band of
rebels was coming, and King Inge called all his men to arms. Two of
his court-men, who were sent out to ascertain the object of the coming
warriors, were met by some messengers, who had been sent ahead to
inform King Inge of their errand. It was quite true that they had the
son of a king with them, but he was as yet only a babe. It was learned
that the approaching warriors were a number of good Birchlegs, and that
the prince who was with them was the infant son of their late beloved
master, King Haakon Sverreson.
During his visit in Sarpsborg, in 1203, King Haakon Sverreson had
become enamored of a handsome girl of high birth, Inga of Varteig.
She reciprocated his affection, and the intimacy that grew up between
them was no secret to the king's friends. Soon after the king's death,
Inga, who was then at the parsonage Folkisberg (in the present Eidsberg
parish), gave birth to a son. The priest, Thrond, who well knew who the
father was, baptized the boy and named him Haakon, after his father.
Thrond kept the child at his home, but did all he could to keep the
matter secret. Later he took Erlend of Huseby, a distant relative of
King Haakon, into his confidence, and it was decided to get the child
away from Viken, on account of the constant danger from the Baglers.
Toward Christmas, 1205, when the boy was about a year and a half old,
his mother, Inga of Varteig, the priest Thrond, and Erlend of Huseby
started out on the dangerous journey. They arrived at Hamar Christmas
eve, but were afraid to stay there long, and therefore continued their
journey as soon as possible. They first came to Lillehammer, where a
number of Birchlegs joined them, and then proceeded across the mountain
to Oesterdalen, and thence north to Nidaros. During the journey across
the mountain they suffered untold hardships on account of snow and
cold, being often obliged to spend the night in the wilderness. Once
the storm had become so severe that they did not know where they were.
The royal child was then given to the two best ski-runners in the
party, Thorstein Skevla and Skervald Skrukka, who started ahead of the
others in order to find shelter if possible. They did not succeed in
reaching any settlement that night, but struck a mountain hay-shed,
where they made fire and prepared a couch for the child. The remainder
of the party reached the place later in the night. In the morning the
snow was so deep that it was only with the greatest difficulty that
they could proceed. When they reached the settlements, however, they
were well received, and many Birchlegs joined them on their journey
northward.
When King Inge and his men heard of the journey of the royal child and
of the hardships which the party had suffered, they all thanked God
for having saved the child. The king and his whole court set out to
meet the party at the blockhouse, and, on their arrival, he took the
little boy in his arms and kissed him. The boy and his mother were
given the best of care in Nidaros. The child became very popular with
the old Birchlegs who had served under his father and his grandfather.
They came often to see how he was getting along, and would sometimes
playfully take him between them and stretch his arms and legs in order,
as they said, to make him grow faster.
In the spring of 1206 Erling Steinvegg collected a fleet and proceeded
north to Throndhjem, in order to attack King Inge in his stronghold
in Nidaros. On Saturday, April 22, there were great festivities in
Nidaros, for King Inge was celebrating the wedding of his sister
Sigrid, daughter of Baard of Rein, to the liegeman, Thorgrim of
Ljaanes. All the prominent men in the surrounding country had come to
the wedding. There was much drinking during the night, and the king,
as well as his chiefs and warriors, went to bed intoxicated. Toward
morning the Baglers suddenly attacked the sleeping town and effected
a general massacre. Many of the prominent Birchlegs, who had been
with King Sverre in many of his battles, were killed by the Baglers
on this occasion. King Inge, who was not at the royal residence, but
was sleeping in the house of his mistress, was with some difficulty
awakened by the latter's servants. He escaped to a neighboring roof,
where he lay until the Baglers had passed the house; then he ran down
to the docks and threw himself in the icy river in order to swim
across. The strong current made this a very difficult task. Out in the
stream he caught hold of the anchor cable of a ship, to which he clung
for a while, but a man, who was keeping guard on board, pushed him off
with a pole, and he was obliged to swim further. He finally reached
the other shore, but was then so exhausted from cold and exertion that
he would probably have succumbed, if one of his faithful men, Reidulf
Baardsbrother, had not happened to come to his assistance. Reidulf took
off his cloak and wrapped the king in it, and carried him on his back
to Skyaas, where they obtained a horse and sled and escaped to Klæbu.
In the meanwhile the Baglers continued their dreadful work in Nidaros.
They searched all the churches and killed those who had taken refuge
there, and committed numerous acts of plunder and depredation. King
Inge's half-brother, the seventeen year old Skule Baardson, escaped as
by a miracle. He crept along the house walls and reached the river,
where the chief, Jon Usle, and forty Birchlegs were just going across
in some boats they had secured. They crossed in safety, and later
proceeded to Klæbu, where Skule found the king with a hundred Birchlegs
and peasants, who had gathered about him.
King Inge was greatly changed after the experiences of that awful
night. The light-hearted and social young man became gloomy and
melancholy. He never felt really at ease except on board his ship and
in the solitude of his room. He was averse to seeing new faces, and
only his nearest and dearest men were admitted to his presence.
King Inge soon returned to Nidaros with a force of Birchlegs, while
the Baglers withdrew to Bergen with their large booty. Here they were
soon afterward overtaken by Earl Haakon and the Birchlegs, who defeated
them and took back the greater part of the spoil. Thus the two parties,
from time to time, continued to surprise and attack each other with no
other result than that the country suffered. Early in the year 1207
the Bagler king, Erling Steinvegg, died, and Bishop Nicholas at last
succeeded in having his nephew, Philip, chosen as the third king of the
Baglers.
In the summer of 1208 negotiations for peace were commenced. The manner
in which the war had lately been conducted indicates that the strength
of both parties was practically exhausted. The whole warfare was only
a sort of hide-and-seek play, or a continual cruising back and forth
between Bergen and Viken, in which they do not even seem to have tried
to meet in decisive battle, but only to forestall each other, attack
singly some one of the hostile party, and otherwise do as much damage
as possible by plunder and depredation. Everybody began to realize
that the resources of the country were thus being wasted, and that,
whichever party finally won, there would only be an impoverished land
and people to rule over. Bishop Nicholas saw this as well as any one,
and consulted the archbishop in Nidaros. The result was a meeting
of the chiefs of both parties at Hvitings Island (Hvitingsö), near
Stavanger, where the king of the Baglers, Philip, swore allegiance to
King Inge, and was, in return, made earl of Viken and the Uplands, and
was given Christina, the daughter of Sverre, in marriage.
The war between the Baglers and the Birchlegs was thus ended, and
comparative peace was restored. One of the disturbing elements that
remained was the jealousy of Earl Haakon Galen and his ambitious wife.
As the nephew of King Sverre, he thought he had been as much entitled
to the throne as his half-brother, Inge. An open revolt was avoided;
but, probably by the intervention of Archbishop Thore, a compact was
made between the earl and the king (1212), by which it was decided that
illegitimate children were to be excluded from the succession to the
throne. This agreement was especially aimed against the young Haakon
Haakonson and Inge's own illegitimate child, Guthorm, and gave the
succession to Haakon Galen's own offspring. This agreement, however,
was not approved by the old warriors among the Birchlegs, who were
greatly attached to King Sverre's direct descendant, the young Haakon.
In the evening, after the agreement had been made, the boy came home
from school to the court of Earl Haakon, by whom he was being raised,
and he hurried to the old veteran, Helge Hvasse, who was especially
fond of the boy, and used to give a great deal of attention to him.
This time, however, he turned away and would not speak to the child.
"Why are you angry with me?" asked the boy.
"Begone!" said Helge. "I will have nothing to do with you. You were
disinherited to-day."
"How did that happen, and who did it?" asked little Haakon.
"It was done at Oere-Thing," said Helge, "and it was done by the two
brothers, King Inge and Earl Haakon."
"Be not angry with me, my own Helge," said the boy, "and do not care
anything about this; for this decision cannot possibly be valid. My
representatives were not present to answer in my behalf."
"And who are your representatives?" asked Helge.
"My representatives are God, the holy Virgin, and Saint Olaf," answered
Haakon; "in their hands have I left my case, and they will guard my
interests in the best possible way, as you will see, both as to the
division of the country and in my other welfare."
Deeply moved, the old Birchleg took the boy in his arms and kissed him,
and said:
"That was better said than unsaid, my prince, and I thank you for those
words."
What this boy of eight years had said was soon reported among the
Birchlegs, who all greatly admired him. The story also soon reached
Earl Haakon and his wife Christina. The earl did not say much; but
Christina got very angry, and from that day treated the boy more
harshly than she had done before.
Earl Haakon was taken sick and died in Bergen in January, 1214, and
his wife, Christina, who understood that she had made herself very
unpopular, hastened to leave the country with her young son, Knut, and
returned to Sweden. Young Haakon Haakonson was transferred to King
Inge's court. He and Guthorm, King Inge's son, were sent to school
together, and they were in every way treated alike.
In the winter of 1216-17 King Inge was taken sick, and when he could
no longer attend to the public affairs he appointed his half-brother,
Skule Baardson, as regent with the title of earl. King Inge died April
23, 1217, and Earl Skule had him buried with great ceremony in Christ
Church in Nidaros.