CHAPTER XXIX 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 [Pg 191]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.

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