The land was now divided between two tolerably evenly balanced parties, and only the sword could decide to which of the two the government should belong. After the great defeat at Oslo, however, Inge's party had lost much of its prestige, and Erling felt that foreign help was needed to secure its predominance. He, therefore, sailed with his son and a large following of high-born men to Denmark and obtained the promise of help from King Valdemar the Great on condition of ceding to him the greater part of Viken. Haakon availed himself of his absence to take possession of the fleet which had belonged to Inge and to have himself proclaimed king at Oere-thing. His friend Sigurd of Reyr he raised to the dignity of earl, and delegated to him the task of watching for Erling, whose return from Denmark was expected. Erling was, however, a shrewd man who did what was least expected of him. He did, indeed, return from Denmark, but by a singular route. He crossed from Skagen in Jutland to Agder, and thence steered northward to Bergen, where he killed or otherwise punished many who had given their allegiance to Haakon. Then, before Earl Sigurd had yet heard of his arrival, he attacked Haakon in Tunsberg and beat him. Having accomplished this and secured the recognition of his son in Viken, Agder, Rogaland, and Hördaland, he returned to Bergen where he spent the winter. Haakon, who found his strongest support in Tröndelag, went into winter quarters in Nidaros.
It was merely a question of time when the two rival kings, or the men who represented them, should meet for a final contest. Therefore, as soon as the ice broke up, preparations began on a grand scale. Erling's cunning again stood him in good stead, for by a stratagem he succeeded in surprising Haakon at Sekken, in Söndmöre, and utterly destroying him (1162). The poor boy, who was but fifteen years old, jumped from his ship on board the one which lay nearest, and found himself unexpectedly among enemies. He told the men who he was, and surrendered himself to their mercy. The battle was then virtually at an end; but when Erling found that the men to whom Haakon had surrendered were determined to guard his life, he began a fresh attack, and managed it so that, in the tumult, the boy-king was slain. His own former candidate for the throne, Nicholas Simonsson, whom he had forcibly abducted from Bergen, he also contrived to get rid of in the same battle, and there can be little doubt that he was responsible for his death. Haakon Sigurdsson was king of Norway for about a year and three months. He was large for his age, and on account of the slenderness of his waist and the breadth of his shoulders, was called Haakon the Broad-Shouldered (Herdebred).
CHAPTER XXIII.
MAGNUS ERLINGSSON (1162-1184).
Erling Skakke had effectually cleared the way to the throne for his son, by killing every descendant of the royal house whom he could lay hands on. There was, however, another undoubted son of Sigurd Mouth left, whom he had not got into his power, besides several whose claims had not yet been pronounced upon. The bitterness between the party of Erling and that of Haakon was indeed so great, that a reconciliation was not to be thought of, and the latter, therefore, seized the opportunity to rally about a king whose royal descent was unquestioned. This new claimant was a boy named Sigurd Marcusfostre (the foster-son of Marcus), probably ten or twelve years old, who had been brought up by Marcus of Skog, a friend and kinsman of Earl Sigurd of Reyr. Another magnate, the much-travelled Eindride the Young, transferred his allegiance to Sigurd, and a large number of proud and adventurous men, who could not tolerate Erling's supremacy, joined the new party. The peasants, however, who had hitherto suffered but little from the feuds of the kings, now began to find these roving bands troublesome, especially when they levied contributions and foraged wherever they went. Erling availed himself of this circumstance to excite their indignation against the "Sigurd party," as it was called, and he presently succeeded in forcing the hostile chieftains to give battle at Ree, near Tunsberg. Here Earl Sigurd fell, and Eindride the Young, Marcus of Skog, and the boy-king Sigurd were captured and executed.
Although no formidable pretender was now left, Erling, whose ambition was nothing less than the founding of a new dynasty, did not feel secure in his possession of power. The Trönders, who had been partisans of Sigurd Mouth, were yet at heart devoted to the party which represented him, and the Danish king Valdemar was incensed, because Erling had not kept his promise in regard to the cession of Viken. To fortify himself against the contingencies arising from this situation, Erling found it necessary to cast about him for new allies, and the choice which he made was exceedingly shrewd.