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Haakon the Good

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"Haakon I" redirects here. For the King of Sweden, see Haakon I of Sweden.
Haakon I the Good
Håkon den Gode og bøndene ved blotet på Mære by Peter Nicolai Arbo (1860)
King of Norway
Reign934–961
PredecessorEric I
SuccessorHarald II
Bornc. 920
Håkonshella, Hordaland, Norway
Died961
Håkonshella, Hordaland (fatally wounded in the Battle of Fitjar)
Burial
Seim, Hordaland, Norway
IssueThora
HouseFairhair dynasty
FatherHarald Fairhair
MotherThora Mosterstong
ReligionNorse paganism, Roman Catholicism

Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: Hákon góði, Norwegian: Håkon den gode) and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, Norwegian: Håkon Adalsteinsfostre), was the king of Norway from 934 to 961. He was noted for his attempts to introduce Christianity into Norway.[1][2][3]

Early life

Haakon was the youngest son of King Harald Fairhair and Thora Mosterstang. He was born on the Håkonshella peninsula in Hordaland. King Harald determined to remove his youngest son out of harm's way and accordingly sent him to the court of King Athelstan of England. Haakon was fostered by King Athelstan, as part of an agreement made by his father, for which reason Haakon was nicknamed Adalsteinfostre.[4] The English court introduced him to the Christian religion. On the news of his father's death, King Athelstan provided Haakon with ships and men for an expedition against his half-brother Eric Bloodaxe, who had been proclaimed king of Norway.[5][6]

Reign

At his arrival back in Norway, Haakon gained the support of the landowners by promising to give up the rights of taxation claimed by his father over inherited real property. Eric Bloodaxe soon found himself deserted on all sides, and saved his own and his family's lives by fleeing from the country. Eric fled to the Orkney Islands and later to the Kingdom of Jorvik, eventually meeting a violent death at Stainmore, Westmorland, in 954 along with his son, Haeric.[7]

Haakon set at the knees of King Athelstan (from Stories of the Vikings (1908) by Mary MacGregor, illustrated by Monro S. Orr)

In 953, Haakon had to fight a fierce battle (Slaget på Blodeheia ved Avaldsnes) at Avaldsnes against the sons of Eric Bloodaxe (Eirikssønnene). Haakon won the battle at which Eric's son Guttorm died. One of Haakon's most famous victories was the Battle of Rastarkalv (Slaget på Rastarkalv) near Frei in 955 at which Eric's son, Gamle, died. By placing ten standards far apart along a low ridge, he gave the impression that his army was bigger than it actually was. He managed to fool Eric’s sons into believing that they were out-numbered. The Danes fled and were slaughtered by Haakon’s army. The sons of Eric returned in 957, with support from King Gorm the Old, King of Denmark, but were again defeated by Haakon's effective army system.[8][9]

Succession

Three of the surviving sons of Eric Bloodaxe landed undetected on the coast of Hordaland in 961 and surprised the king at his residence in Fitjar. Haakon was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fitjar (Slaget ved Fitjar) after a final victory over Eric’s sons. The King’s arm was pierced by an arrow and he died later from his wounds. He was buried in the burial mound (Håkonshaugen) in the village of Seim in Lindås municipality in the county of Hordaland. Upon his death his court poet, Eyvindr Skáldaspillir, composed a skaldic poem Hákonarmál about the fall of the King in battle and his reception into Valhalla.[10] [11]

After Haakon's death, Harald Greycloak, the eldest surviving son of Eric Bloodaxe, ascended the throne as King Harald II, although he had little authority outside Western Norway. Subsequently, the Norwegians were tormented by years of war. In 970, King Harald was tricked into coming to Denmark and killed in a plot planned by Haakon Sigurdsson, who had become an ally of King Harald Bluetooth.[12][13]

Haakon’s Park (Håkonarparken) opposite Fitjar Church (Fitjar kyrkje)

Modern references

Ancestors from the sagas

Ancestry of Haakon the Good given in the sagas - many connections are dubious
16. Halfdan the Mild
8. Gudrød the Hunter
17. Lif Dagsdottir
4. Halfdan the Black
18. Harald Granraude
9. Åsa Haraldsdottir of Agder
19. Gunnhild Ragnvaldsdottir
2. Harald I of Norway
20. Helgi the Sharp
10. Sigurd Hart
21. Aslaug Sigurdsdottir
5. Ragnhild Sigurdsdottir
22. Harald Klak
11. Ingeborg or Thorny Haraldsdottir
1. Haakon I of Norway
3. Thora Mosterstong

Note

This article contains information from "Haakon" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

References

  1. ^ Håkon 1 Adalsteinsfostre (Store norske leksikon)
  2. ^ Haakon the good (Avaldsnes History Centre)
  3. ^ Hákonar Saga Aðalsteinsfóstra (Netútgáfunnar)
  4. ^ "Hakon the Good". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  5. ^ Claus Krag: Håkon 1 Adalsteinsfostre, Konge (Norsk biografisk leksikon)
  6. ^ Håkon den Gode Adalsteinsfostre (lokalhistoriewiki.no)
  7. ^ Eric Bloodaxe (History of York)
  8. ^ Håkon den godes landskap på Frei og slaget på Rastarkalv (Siw Helen Myrvoll Grønland. University of Oslo. 2014)
  9. ^ Eirikssønnene (Store norske leksikon)
  10. ^ Hákonarmál (Heimskringla.no)
  11. ^ Håkonshaugen på Seim (scandion.no)
  12. ^ Claus Krag: Harald 2 Eiriksson Gråfell. Konge (Norsk biografisk leksikon)
  13. ^ Harald Gråfell (lokalhistoriewiki.no)
  14. ^ Håkonarparken (visitsunnhordland.no)
  15. ^ Kongen med gullhjelmen (Håkonarspelet)
  16. ^ Mother of Kings by Poul Anderson. (New York: Tor/Forge 2001) ISBN 0-765-34502-1
  17. ^ God's Hammer by Eric Schumacher. (Paul Mould Publishing. 2nd edition, 2005) ISBN 978-1586900175

Other Sources

  • Birkeli, Fridtjov (1979) Norge møter kristendommen fra vikingtiden til ca. 1050 (Oslo: Aschehoug & Co) ISBN 9788203087912
  • Enstad, Nils-Petter (2008) Sverd eller kors? Kristningen av Norge som politisk prosess fra Håkon den gode til Olav Kyrre (Kolofon forlag) ISBN 9788230003947
  • Krag, Claus (1995) Vikingtid og rikssamling 800-1130 (Oslo: Aschehoug's History of Norway, Bd. 2) ISBN 9788203220159
  • Sigurdsson, Jon Vidar and Synnøve Veinan Hellerud (2012) Håkon den gode (Oslo: Spartacus forlag AS) ISBN 9788243005778
Haakon the Good
 Died: 961
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Norway
934–961 		Succeeded by
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