The people of Jutland, proud of having killed one king, would elect another, and in conformity with the will of Sweyn II., which set aside the children in favour of the brothers, they passed over the infant sons of St. Canute, and chose Olaf, duke of Sleswic, the third son of Sweyn. Olaf was at that time a kind of prisoner at the court of count Robert of Flanders, whither he had been sent by his despotic brother, on the suspicion of complicity in the mutiny of the fleet. But of that complaint there is no evidence. A heavy ransom is said to have been exacted by the count, before he was permitted to join his new subjects.[[150]]
OLAF II.
SURNAMED FAMELICUS, OR THE HUNGRY.
1087–1095.
During the reign of this prince, Denmark had one blessing,—that of peace. But it had also one curse,—that of famine, which the clergy declared to be a divine infliction for the murder of the sainted martyr, Canute. The people, we are told, died by thousands and tens of thousands, for lack of the mere necessaries of life; and to this cause, if Saxo be correct, is to be attributed the tranquillity of the country. Horses and even dogs were the ordinary nourishment of the people. In a country where agriculture was despised, a barren season could not fail to produce famine; our only surprise is that the visitation was not more frequent. Prince Olaf bore all the blame; it was his fault, not want of foresight in his subjects, that occasioned the evil. His personal character does not seem to have been amiable. He is represented as avaricious, despotic, unfeeling; as regardless of the laws and their administration; hence tyranny in the great, and licentiousness in the people. According to one account, he was found dead in his bed, after an entertainment which he had given or intended to have given to his nobles and clergy: according to another, he died of a natural disease, regretted by nobody. If the prayer which Saxo puts into his mouth were really his, he does not merit the severity with which he has been treated. Afflicted at the continuance of the famine, he said:—“O Lord, I can no longer endure the weight of thine hand! If thou art wroth with my people, spare them, and let me alone suffer!”
ERIC III.
SURNAMED THE GOOD.
1095–1103.
|1095, 1096.|
Eric was the fourth son of Sweyn II., and from the jarldom of Jutland was raised by the states to the throne of that kingdom. As the next harvest was one of abundance, the people were again contented, and he obtained credit for the abundance with the same injustice as his brother had been condemned for the famine. More active than his predecessor, he administered the laws with vigour; and he destroyed Jomsberg, the stronghold of the pirates, who had again reared their heads during the preceding reign. To keep them in continued subjection, he erected fortresses in their country, and garrisoned them well.