The Story of Norway

by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

A STORM ON THE FJORD.

In the meanwhile, the king left no means untried to keep the earl to his allegiance. In 1233 he summoned him to an assembly of notables in Bergen (Rigsmöde), at which the archbishop, the bishops, and a great number of secular dignitaries were present. The king here called his father-in-law formally to account for his actions, and the liegemen rose, one after the other, and cited proofs of the earl's disloyalty. When the turn came to Skule to defend himself, he began in this wise:

"I know a ditty: 'The eagle sat on a stone,' and I also know another which runs like this: 'The eagle sat on a stone,' and a lot more which all run the same way. Thus it is here to-day. Every one talks in his own way, but they all finish up with the same ditty, viz.: to bring accusations against me."

He made a long and eloquent speech, and, as it is said, defended himself with great adroitness. It is doubtful, however, if anybody believed him, and it was only the king's reluctance to resort to the sword, which saved him, on this as on many previous occasions. A new agreement was drawn up which was no more effective in restraining the earl's treasonable scheming than the previous ones had been. On the contrary, he was no sooner left to his own devices than he resumed his activity for the overthrow of the king. His purpose this time was to involve Haakon in a quarrel with the Church, in order afterward to crush him with the formidable weapons which the Church had at its command. He shrewdly provided himself with a cat's paw in the person of Bishop Paul of Hamar, who was his devoted adherent. The archbishop, at this time, Sigurd Tavse, was a partisan of the king, but zealous for the welfare of the Church, and therefore, as Skule reasoned, capable of being alienated by a controversy in which the interests of the Church and those of the king were in conflict. Bishop Paul accordingly produced a document, alleged to have been issued by the Bagler king, Inge, in 1226, in which the Helgeö in Mjösen, which was the property of the crown, was presented to the episcopal see of Hamar. The king naturally contested the validity of this document, as Inge, a rebel chief, had no right to give away the property of the crown which had never been his. An appeal was now made to the Pope, Gregory IX., and a campaign of intrigue and mendacity was begun. The excellent and honorable Haakon was systematically reviled and slandered, until the Pope came to believe that he was a villain of the deepest dye. Bishop Paul, virtually as the ambassador of the earl, though nominally in the interest of the Church, betook himself to Rome, where he succeeded in prejudicing Gregory IX. against all the king's adherents, and even against his own superior, the archbishop. Skule, on the other hand, was represented in the most flattering light, as the munificent friend of the Church, and its defender against the encroachments of the unscrupulous king. The object was to procure a ban-bull against Haakon.

The plot was spoiled, however, by being prematurely revealed. An Icelander, named Sturla Sighvatsson, a nephew and an active enemy of the historian Snorre Sturlasson, met Bishop Paul in Rome and started homeward in his company. Whether he gained the confidence of his travelling companion, or otherwise obtained an insight into his intrigues at the Roman Curia, is not known. At all events, he immediately sought the king, on his arrival in Norway, and acquainted him with the doings of his enemies. The king summoned the earl once more to meet him in Bergen; but this time Skule's courage failed him. Instead of going to Bergen, he went with his army to Nidaros, and thence across the mountains to the Oplands, which was the king's territory. This was about equivalent to a declaration of war, but as usual, he took only half measures, hesitated, talked threateningly, but refrained from actual hostilities. At the intercession of Archbishop Sigurd, he was induced to promise to keep the peace during the winter (1235-6) on condition of receiving one third of the royal prefectures (Sysler) in the Oplands and Viken. It seems to indicate weakness on Haakon's part that he was willing to make such concessions; and his readiness to yield had naturally the effect of encouraging the earl's adherents and making them screw their demands still higher. During the following year (1237) a new agreement was made, in accordance with which Skule was confirmed in the possession of his territory in the south, and was raised to the rank of duke—a rank which had never before been conferred upon any man in Norway. There was but one title, however, which could satisfy Skule's ambition, and as long as Haakon refused to grant that, he felt himself justified in continuing his agitation. With increasing recklessness he defied the king's will, gathered great numbers of warriors about him, built ships, and conducted himself in every way as an independent ruler. It became the fashion at his court to ridicule the king as a cowardly busybody who only talked, but lacked the heart to strike. The Varbelgs[A]—thus the partisans of the duke were called—invented for him the nickname, Haakon Sleepy. His reluctance to assume the responsibility for civil war, they mistook for fear, and his conscientiousness for pusillanimity.

[A] The same name had been borne by another band of rebels which, under the boy Vikar, had fought against King Sverre.

When the spirit of rebellion which the duke had bred in his surroundings had thrown away all restraint, it began to react upon himself, spurring him on to deed, and counteracting his natural indecision of character. He was now nearly fifty years old, and if he ever were to gain the crown, there was no time to be lost. Accordingly he mustered courage in 1239 to summon the Trönders to Oere-thing, and to proclaim himself king of all Norway. When the canons of the cathedral refused to permit the shrine of St. Olaf to be used for the ceremony, Skule's son, Peter,[B] jumped up on the altar, pulled the coffin up, and had it removed, by force, to the thing. In order that Haakon should gain no intelligence of what had taken place, all the roads which led out of the city were guarded, but for all that, one man, named Grim Keikan, managed to make his escape and to warn the king of the threatening danger. It was in the middle of the night that the king received this message, and he went instantly to the queen's rooms and demanded admittance. The queen, aroused from her sleep, asked anxiously what news he brought.

[B] Peter was an illegitimate child. His mother was the wife of Andres Skjaldarband.