I HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE jvyf^° THE MACMILLAN COMPANY HIW YORK ■ BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Linrreo LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOL-RNB THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA. Ltd. TORONTO HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE BY KNUT GJERSET, Ph.D. (HEIDELBERG) PROFESSOR OF NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND HISTORY IN LUTHER COLLEGE DECORAH, IOWA VOLUME II WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Neto g0rft THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1915 All rights reserved Coi-VRUillT, 1915, bt thk macmillax company. Set up and electrotyped. Published August, IJ15. J. 8. Cunhlnir t ■. — lUrwirk A Smllh Co. Nor«o..d. Mam., l'.:^ A. CONTENTS PAGE 1. Political Union an Era of Transition 1 2. King Magnus Smek. The Union of Norway and Sweden . 4 3. Other Causes Contributing to the Intellectual and Na- tional Decadence - 11 4. The Reign of Haakon Magnusson the Younger ... 15 5. The Hanseatic League Gains Ascendency in the North . 19 6. Other Features of Haakon Magnusson's Reign ... 27 7. The Union of Norway and Denmark. Queen INIaugaret . 30 8. The Kalmar Union ,36 9. King Eirik of Pomerania . . . . . . . .43 10. An Embryo Democracy .56 11. King Christopher .64 12. Christian I. of Denmark and Karl Knotsson of Sweden . 66 13. The Reign of King Hans (John) 77 14. Literature and Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 89 15. Local and General Administration 100 16. Christian IL The Dawn of a New Era 103 17. Christian II. the Tyrant. The Stockholm Massacre . . Ill 18. The Struggle for Norway. Christian II. .... 120 19. The Count's War. Christian III 127 20. The Reformation in Norway 134 21. The Reign of Christian HI 142 22. Frederick II. The Seven Years' War with Sweden . . 148 23. Norwegian Internal Administration in the Reign of Fred- erick II 155 24. Intellectual and Social Conditions in Norway in the Six- teenth Century 160 25. Christian IV. and His Age ■ . 183 V 43771 ± VI CONTENTS Social 2fi. FoRKKfN Kki.ations. Titk Kai.mak ^VAR 27. Nkw National (ii{os\ mi. IIa.nmiial Skiiekted. A New Wak Willi SWK.HKN .......... 28. Frkhkuk K III 29. IIkkeditaky KiNOsmr. Tin-. iNTuonrrTioN of AB.HOnrriftM .'10. FoKK.Ui.N Kklations 31. Norwe<;ia.n E.mi(;ration to Holland, Enoland, Kthsia, and America in the Sevkntee.ntm Century and Later . .V2. The Close ok the Rekjn ok Frederick III. Christian V. The Gvldenl0vk War 33. Internal and Foreign Affairs in the Reign ok Chrlstian V. 34. Economic and Social Conditions in Norway in the Seven- teenth Century 35. Norwegian Literature in the Seventeenth Century . 36. Education and the Church 37. Frederick IV. The Great Northern \Var .'J8. King Charles XII. in Norway .... 39. KiN(t Charles XII. 's Second Invasion of Norway 40. The Closing Years of thk Reign of Frederick IV AND Economic Conditions .... 41. Christian VI. The Age of Pietism 42. Mercantilism and Commercial Stagnation 43. Development of Modern Danish-Norwegian Literature. The Age of Ludvig IIolberg 44. Frederick V 4.'>. Christian VII. and Queen Carolina Matmiipa. Thf. Stru- enske Period 46. Prince Frederick and Ove Il0EG-GuLDnERG. A Period ok Reaction 47. Crown Prince Frederick and A. P. Bernstorkk. Increasing I'nrkst in Norway. Chr. J. Lofthus. War with Sweden, 1788 4m. Da.nisii-Norwecjian Literature in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century 4:*. Revolution and Dfjjpotism. Denmark-Norway's Foreign Policy, 1792-1814 50. The Gradual Dissolution of the Da.nish-Norwegian Partner- ship 197 207 216 228 238 239 247 262 272 28.") 294 300 .309 316 323 .328 335 3.37 343 .349 358 363 371 377 398 CONTENTS VU PAOK 51. Events Leading to the Separation of Norway and Denmark 406 52. Norway Gains Her National Independence in 1814 . . 417 .53. The Meeting OF the Constituent Assembly AT Eidsvold. The Framing of the Norwegian Constitution .... 423 54. The War of 1814. The Convention of Moss and Union with Sweden 4.32 ^) Sentiments and Conditions after 1814 . . . . . 446 56. The Reign of Charles John. The Relation to Sweden . 450 57. Young Norway. Henrik Wergeland and Johan Sebastian Welhaven. Literary and Intellectual Revival . . 464 58. Political Progress. New Men and Measures .... 476 59. Oscar I. Romanticism and Pan-Scandinavianism . . . 489 60. Political Reaction. The Labor Movement .... 504 nSl. King Charles XV. Beginning of a New Literary Develop- ment 517 62. New Political Struggles. Proposed Revision of the Act of Union 522 63. Important Reform Measures Passed in the Reign of Charles XV. The Rise of the Liberal or Venstre Party . . 531 64. Oscar II. The Office of Statholder Abolished. The Veto Question 534 d5."^urther Development of the Norwegian Literary and Cultural Renaissance 544 66. The Sverdrup Ministry. Norway under Parliamentary Government 555 67. The Demand for a Separate Norwegian Foreign Office and Consular Service 561 68. Political and Social Conditions, 1905-1914 .... 585 69. Norwegian Emigration to America. The Norwegians in the United States 598 LIST OF PLATES FACING PAOB I. Kringen 24 Bohus in the Seventeenth Century . . . . . . .24 II. Ruins of the Hamar Cathedral 118 Bergenhus 118 III. 0straat 130 Ruins of Steinvikshohn Castle 130 IV. Old Parsonage from Vaage in Gudbrandsdal 172 Bondestue, Older Type 172 Old Church at Borgund 172 V. Christian IV 204 Hannibal Sehested 204 Peder Griffenfeld 204 VI. Woodcarving on an Old Church Door in Sogn .... 294 Woodcarving on an Old Church Portal at Hurum .... 294 VII. Peder Clauss0n Friis 340 Ludvig Holberg 340 Petter Dass .340 VIII. The University of Christiania 402 IX. Eidsvold in 1814 424 The Eidsvold Constituent Assembly 424 X. Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg 426 W. F. K. Christie 426 Georg Sverdrup 426 Christian Magnus Falsen 426 XI. Christian Frederick 440 Charles John (Bernadotte) 440 XII. Henrik Wergeland 468 XIII. Camilla Collett 474 Henrik Wergeland's Monument in Christiania .... 474 J. S. Welhaven 474 XIV. John Neergaard 490 Ludvig Kristensen Daa 490 Oscar 1 490 Ole Gabriel Ueland 490 A. M. Schweigaard 490 ix LIST OF I'LATKS XV. .lor^jt'ii Mi)e . I*. Chr. AHbJ0rri8('n Ivar Aasoii . A. (). Vinjn . XVI. 1". A. Muiirh Ni.'ls ll.'nrik Al.rl Ole Bull Edvanl Grieg XVII. Frcdrik Staiig tlohaii Sverdruj) . XN'III. BjvJni.'itjeriie Hj0riisoii XIX. Chr. Aug. Selmer Emil Stang . Johannes Steen Oscar II. S0reu Jaabaek XX. Ilenrik Ibsen XXI. Alexander L. Kielland Jonas Lie Arne Garborg XXII. J. E. Sars . Fridtjof Nansen . XXIII. The Storthing Building Royal Palace, Christian ia XXIV. The MicheLsen Ministry XXV. J0rgen L0vland . Christian Michelsen Carl Berner . XXVI. King Haakon VII. XXVII. Queen Maud Cruwu Prince Olav PAOIlfO PAOB 49'J 49'J 492 492 494 494 494 494 512 512 520 538 538 538 538 538 546 548 548 548 552 552 576 576 578 582 582 582 584 580 586 LIST OF MAPS FACING PAGK I. The Scandinavian North Prior to 1645 152 II. Norway before 1645 200 III. Modern Norway 598 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT PAGE Queen Margaret 42 Visborg Castle . 53 King Christian III 144 Ulrik Frederick Gylden]0ve 236 Frederick IV 302 Charles XII 311 Peter Tordenskjold 321 Frederick VI 390 Prince Charles August 395 Hans Nielsen Hauge 404 Charles XIII 421 Charles XV 523 Queen Louise 524 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE THE MIDDLE PERIOD 1. Political Union an Era of Transition When the royal family of Norway became extinct in the male line upon the death of Haakon V. in 1319, the kingdom still appeared to possess its former strength. Internal disturbances no longer threatened, as the aristocracy had submitted unconditionally to the king, who had firmly established the principles of hereditary kingship and a strongly centralized government. In Sweden and Denmark, where royalty had become elective, rival pretenders, aided by powerful nobles, found opportunity to maintain civil strife in ceaseless struggles for the crown. But Norway enjoyed peace, a fair degree of prosperity existed, and its commerce, though somewhat impaired, was still fairly well maintained. This apparent strength and stability of the kingdom was, nevertheless, a mere illusion. In reality the nation was gradually sinking into a state of lethargy and weakness which soon affected every part of the national organism. The once so remarkable energy of the Norwegian people shriveled as if touched by a withering bhght, and without any dramatic struggle they lost their political and economic independence. There can be no doubt that the rise of the Hanseatic merchants, and the change in Norway's foreign policy contributed to this growing national decay, but the main cause is to be sought in the extinction of the old line of kings, who had been leaders of the people, and the center of na- tional Ufe and greatness. In their long struggle with the aristoc- racy, the kings had been victorious. Not only had they lodged all power in the crown, and created a body of administrative and judicial oflficers wholly subservient to it, but the aristocracy, weakened VOL. II — B 1 2 llISTnUY or TIIK N< »IiW i:( IIAN I'KOPLE II l>y \v;irs and dispirited l)y constant defeats, had gradually lost signif- ieance as leadt-rs of tin* people. Haakon \'. wiped out tlie remnant of the old hereditary aristocracy when he al»oli>hc(| the titles of j(irl anIson, Dct tiorske Rigsraad, p. 135. ' C. G. Styffe, Bidrag (ill Sfcandinavicns Hislnria ur iilldndnke arkinr, I.^ p. 2 ff., 6 f. C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdcmar Allcrdag og hans Kongi-' gjerning, p. 24. ^ Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historic, V., p. 534 f. 6 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II out with Russia as a result of border disputes in Finmarken. In 1323 the Russians and Karehans invaded and harried Haalogaland, but the regent was unable to act with energy for want of necessary funds. Three years later peace was concluded at Novgorod for a period of ten years.^ What had happened in the meantime is not known, but the hostilities seem to have practically ceased, since Sweden made a treaty with the Russians, 1323. The boundaries in these remote regions were at that time very vague, and the treaty, which was a mere temporary arrangement, did not bring the question much nearer to a final solution. A truce was also concluded between Norway and Russia at Novgorod in 1326, for the period of ten years, and envoys sent to England had been able to come to a friendly understanding with Edward II. in 1325. The law made by King Haakon V. that the king should not be of age until he was twenty years old seems to have been set aside, as Magnus Eiriksson seized the reins of government in 1332 at the age of sixteen. His reign began auspiciously by the acquisition of Skane and Blekinge, which had hitherto been Danish provinces. The worthless King Kristoffer II. of Denmark, who had succeeded Eirik Menved, had granted these provinces temporarily to Count John of Holstein as security for a loan of 34,000 marks of silver. As the people were grievously oppressed by the Holsteiners, they ap- pealed to King Magnus, and asked him to become their ruler. Mag- nus consented, and they hailed him as their lawful king. Count John could not begin war against the provinces while they were supported by the king of Sweden and Norway, and he gladly accepted the offer to relinquish his title for a sum equal to the amount due him by the king of Denmark. Sweden had at least temporarily secured title to these important districts, though it is doubtful if this can be attributed to the Idng's own energy and foresight. In 1335 Magnus married Blanca or Blanche of Namur, who bore him two sons; Eirik, 1339, and Haakon, 1340. Very little is known of King Magnus Eiriksson's character. By some contemporaries he was decried as dissolute and incompetent, but it is now generally admitted that he was earnest and conscientious, that he tried to 1 P. A. Munch, Samlede Afhandlinger, Vol. II., p. 626 ff., Om Grcendse- Traktaterne mellem Norge, Sverige og Rusland i del IJ^de Aarhundrede. ir KING MAGNUS SMEK. THE UNION OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN' 7 [iile well, l)iit tliiit he l":iil(vl, not for want of f^ood intentions, l)ut I'ccause he lacked the ablHty to guide the two kingdoms through a most difficult period. During the long regency, the Swedish nobles had carried on their prixate feuds without restraint, and Magnus soon met with detennined resistance when he attempted to limit their privileges, and to increase his income by levying new taxes. The large sums i)aid for the newly acquired j)rovinces, as well as Magnus' poor management, had brought him into serious financial difficulties, but his attempt to seek relief in this way only aggra- vated the situation. The hostile nobles accused him of vice and extravagance, and in contempt they nicknamed him Magnus Smek, a name by which he is generally known in history.^ Magiujs was born and reared in Sweden, and was in all respects a Swedish king. The acquisition of new territory, together with financial difficulties, involved him so deeply in Swedish politics that he seldom visited Norway, or paid any attention to the affairs of that kingdom. But though he remained a stranger to its real needs, he nevertheless continued to settle Norwegian aflPairs with a stroke of the pen and the use of the royal seal without even consulting the Norwegian Council of State. This caused great dissatisfaction, not only be- cause of the injury done by this careless and irresponsible manage- ment of public affairs, but also because this kind of rule did not con- form to the people's ideas of the character and dignity of Norwe- gian kingship. A strong opposition party was formed^ under the leadershij) of Rrling Vidkunsson, Ivar Agmundsson, Sigurd Hafthors- son, and other powerful barons. They demanded nothing less than a dissolution of the union, and asked that King Magnus' youngest son, Haakon, should be made king of Norway. The king was forced to yield. By a royal decree issued at Varberg, 1343,' it was decided that Haakon should succeed to the throne of Norway as soon as he reached his majority, that the older brother Eirik should be elected to succeed his father as king of Sweden and Skane, and that the kingdoms should renuiin separated from the time that Haakon became of age (1355). Until that time Magnus should act as regent ' SnH>k, pronounced Smako, from Swedish smekn, to fondle or caress. " Gustav Storm, fi^lnndske Annaler, p. 348. * Diploinalarium Norwegicum, II., no. 258. 8 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II in Norway. The following year Eirik was elected king of Sweden, and Haakon was proclaimed king of Norway. Thereby the royal decree annulling the act of union was ratified by the people of both kingdoms.^ The royal seal was returned to Norway and given to the new chancellor, Arne Aslaksson. This virtually terminated King Magnus Smek's rule in Norway. Nominally he remained regent, but the affairs of the government were henceforth directed by the chancellor and the Council. After the peaceful settlement of the troubles with Norway, Magnus devoted himself earnestly to social and legal reforms in Sweden. The last remnants of slavery were removed ; he prepared a uniform code of laws for the kingdom, " Medal-Lagen," and also a code of city laws. The work was very praiseworthy, and shows that he meant to rule well ; but new troubles were soon created both in Sweden and Norway by the growing power and arrogance of the Hanseatic merchants. The foreign affairs of Norway were still controlled by Magnus, while the domestic affairs of the kingdom were managed by the Council. They tried to enforce the tariff laws and other restrictions which aimed at preventing undue encroachments on Norwegian trade, but the Hanseatic League, which was rapidly developing into a great commercial monopoly, possessed great capital and superior business methods, and they did not hesitate to treat the weak government with contempt. The "Icelandic Annals" mention many bloody encounters between the German merchants and the citizens of Bergen; 1332 : "The Germans burned a large part of Bergen ; " 1333 : " A fight between the priests and the German shoemakers (sutara), and two priests killed." ^ Other lawless acts were committed, so that the city of Liibeck in 1341 finally found it necessary to send envoys to King Magnus to arrange 1 Haakon was not proclaimed king at the 0rething, nor at a thing as- sembled for the pm-pose, but representatives from the cities and from the country districts were summoned to Bohus, where they signed a written agreement to accept him as their king when he became of age. A copy of this document is still in existence. See Diplomatarium Norwegicum, I., no. 290. This copy bears the signatures of the representatives of the cities and a part of the country districts. Other copies must have contained the sig- natures of the other representatives. 2 Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre og Handel ffir Hansealerne. Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 220 and 349. II KING MAGNUS SMEK. THE UNION OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN 9 a settlement.' King Magnus describes the conduct of the Hanseutic merchants as follows : " When they come to the harbors of Xonvay, they ill-treat, wound, and kill people, and flepart without a thought of amends for their wrong-doings to God or the king, or even of resti- tution to those whom they have injured. Where they land, they pull down houses belonging to the king or other j)eople, and use them for fuel without asking pennission. They do not pennit other goods to be exported from their cities than spoiled ale, poor flour, and adulterated hops, but they import from Sweden, No^^vay, and Sk:\ne grain and other valuable articles. The Gennans look with (•(•iiteiiipt on the inhabitants of Norway, and in Sweden even on those w jio have fomierly belonged to their own class {i.e. those who have married in Sweden, and who have establishes! homes there), so that they never a(hnit them to their feasts, or to other social intercourse." ^ In 1842 Nor^vay and Sweden became involved in a war with King Valdeniar Atterdag, who did not seem willing to abide by his agreement regarding the Danish provinces which had been ceded to King Magnus. The Hanseatic cities aided Valdemar, and the "Icelandic Annals" mention a fight between the German merchants and the citizens of Bergen, in which many merchants were killed.' In the peace treaty of VAA'.], Valdemar ceded to Magnus, Skane, Ilalland, Lister, Blekinge, and Hven, for the amount of 49,000 marks. In his dealings with the Hanseatic merchants Magnus was less suc- cessful, lie was unable to pay the stipulated amount for the ac- quired pro\'inces, and had to seek the financial aid of the Gennans, in return for wliicli he granted to a number of German cities a charter (bU3) in whic-h he confinned all the privileges which had been given them by Eirik Magnusson and others of his predecessors. He abolished the high duties, which had been imposed by Haakon V., and henceforth they were not required to pay higher duties than in the days of Eirik Magnusson.'' The efforts which had hitherto ' P. A. Munch, Del norske Folks Hisloric, \o\. V., p. 209. ' R. Koyser, S'nrgcx llifttoric, vol. II., p. FyT'). ' Gustav Storm. Islnndskc Annaler, p. 222. * Tho dorumont by which tlic kinp Rxnnts tho Oorman morohants of Borjjen these privileges is found in Diplomatarium S'orwcgicum, vol. V., no. 197. 10 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II been made to control the traffic of the Hanseatic merchants were thereby adjusted in their favor, and they exercised henceforth almost unrestricted control over the country's trade. The general economic conditions seem, however, to have been quite good. The conspicu- ous lack of energetic activity had at least the advantage of producing a period of comparative peace, in which the people were able to direct their attention to their own domestic affairs. The distribution of land according to the law of odel, and the comparative weakness of the aristocracy insured the people against oppression, and main- tained a large class of freeholders (binder), who continued to be the mainstay of the nation, and the custodians of the national traditions and spirit of liberty. Even the renters who owned no land were protected in their rights by the laws, and were not left to the mercy of the larger landowners. Roads and bridges were maintained by the people, subject to the direction and supervision of the authori- ties of the fylke, and the laws were so well enforced that no one was in danger of being robbed or otherwise molested, even in journeying along the lonely mountain paths of remote inland districts. But, aside from this fair degree of prosperity and general social well- being, a weakening of the people's energies took place in nearly every phase of national activity. Literary productivity ceased, and no books seem to have been read, save legends and translations of chivalric romances. Through the influence of the king and the court and Norway's intimate relations with Sweden, the Swedish language came to be regarded in higher social circles as more refined than the Norse, in which so many great works had been written, and which had been most highly developed as a literary language. Norse was still exclusively used, but many Swedish words were introduced, especially in the diplomatic language and in public documents. The literary language shows very little change, how- ever, during the whole Old Norse period, which lasted till 1350. It retained throughout great purity of vocabulary and constancy of forms and idioms. The Old Norse language was divided into a few not very sharply differentiated dialects, especially during the latter part of the period. East Norse was spoken in Tr0ndelagen and 0stlandet ; West Norse in Vestlandet (Gulathingslag) and North Vestlandet {i.e. Romsdal, S0ndm0r, S0ndfjord, Nordfjord, and Ytre II THE INTELLECTUAL AND NATIONAL DtXADENCE 11 >^n) as well us in Iceland and the rest of the eolonies. About I'.HM I Ntlandct d('\cl<)|)rd its own dialect, distinct fri)nj that <)f Tr0nde- i.i;,'en witii whidi it had iiithertu hcen almost identical. The West \Orse had been divided into two dialects, a southern and a northern, at a much earlier date. The southern dialect of the West Norse was identical with that of Iceland until about 1100, and is the one ii-cd with but few exce|;tions in Old Norse literature. But when the iiiiifyin<,' influence of literary activity disappeared, the number of dialects rapidly increased, and the {greater unifonnity of fonns and idioms was lost. The lanirua^e of Norway entered upon a new development, like other lanj^uaj^es of Europe at that time, while the more conservative Icelandic became a distinct language.^ 3. OriiEu Causes Contributing to the Lntellectual and National Decadence It is quite evident that in the growing competition with the new sea-power, the Ilaiiscatic League, the Norwegians soon found them- selves outclassed, both as to their merchant marine and their mili- tary power at sea.^ Hitherto Norway had been a leading naval power. The fleet had been her main strength in war — as necessary to the maintenance of her [)olitical power and independence as her mer- chant marine and commerce were to the nation's economic well- being. Shorn of these locks of strength, the nation inevital)ly sank into a state of languor and debility. The more surprising it is to notice with what indecision and lack of energy the govenmient waged this decisive contest for naval and commercial supremacy. Norway's navy had become hopelessly antiquated. The old Icding system, which had i)roven very advantageous a century or two earlier, still remained unaltered, though wholly- impractical under the change been a Rood son, father, man, and kiiiR, except that in his youth h(> sufTcred himself to be persua(h'd by the Swedish Council lo imprison his fatlier, wliich dct'd lie recompensed later by filial obetlifiice and support. Smnliuycr til dvt tiorskr Folks Spnxj oy Hislorif, vol. III., p. ()i:?. Dii)l(nn the throne, Imt Magnus ceived the income from the provinces Vestergothmd, Dalsland, and Vermhmd durinp his lifetime. After he regainetl his hhcrty, he spent his remaining years in Xorsvay, where the people hked his kindness of heart, and called him Magnus the (jood. Me perished in a ship- wreck on the B0mnultjnrd, in western Norway, December 1, I'.WA.^ 5. The IIanseatic League Gains Ascendency in the Xonrri \Vi\en Valdemar Atterdag, in 13G0, seized Sk§,ne, and shortly after also Oland and Gothland, ]\Iagnus Smek and his son. King Haakon of Norway, formed an alliance with the IIanseatic cities against him. This alliance did not last long, as neither of the kings aided the cities in their war against Valdemar in 13G2, but the IIan- seatic merchants had been able to obtain a new charter (1301), in which they were granted unrestricted permission to trade in both kingdoms whenever and in whatsoever manner they pleased. They could even remain with their wares as long as they pleased, without being obliged to bear the burdens of ordinary citizens. This charter enabled them to gain final control over all trade in every part of the country. They not only seized all commerce, but they began also to do the retail trade with the people of the country districts, which had hitherto been reserved for the Norwegian merchants. In this way they destroyed all competition by forcing the Nor- wegian merchants even out of the local trade. It was, indeed, al- ways stated in the charters that the Norwegian merchants should enjoy the same privileges in the German cities as the IIanseatic merchants enjoyed in Norway, but these were only meaningless phrases, as Norwegian commerce was already destroyed. Bergen, the great depot of the trade with the North, became one of the most important cities of the League. The IIanseatic colony in Bergen seems to jiave l)een definitely organized about 1.350.^ Its three thou- time as at prespnt, a mark of silver would liave a rral valuo of about $S0 in our nionoy. Heiicp tho ransom would amount to about S'.K)(),()(X). ' Isltindslce Antuilcr, p. ',MV,\. * Priedrich Bruns, Die Luhecker Dcrgcufnhrcr unci ihre Chrnnistik (Berlin, inoO), Die Bcgrundung der hansisch-lubeckischcr Machtstellung in Bergen. Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 202 fT. 20 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II sand merchants, masters, and apprentices, all armed and robust men, were not allowed to marry, or mingle socially in any way with the townspeople. They fonned a distinct community — a state within the state — governed wholly by their own laws. If a member of the colony committed any misdeed, he could not be brought to jus- tice by the city authorities, and if the offense was a grave one, he could easily be smuggled out of the city on a German merchant vessel. At times these foreign merchants would carry on a veritable reign of terror in the city, as they well knew that the authorities did not dare to resist. In 1365 they broke into the royal residence, and forced the commander of the city to grant every request; where- upon they dragged one of his servants from a monastery, and beheaded him without a trial. They then forced the bishop to grant them absolution for their deeds, and compelled the city council to decide the case in their favor. In case resistance was offered, they threat- ened to burn the bishop's residence and the whole city. It is true that this species of tyranny and brigandage affected directly only the city of Bergen, that it was a local evil which did not imperil the peace and liberty of the people in general ; but it was, nevertheless, a national humiliation, and furnished positive proof of the nation's failing strength. It was a foretaste of the kind of blessing which Norway was to enjoy under the galling commercial yoke of the Han- seatic League.^ 1 J. E. Sars, Hanseaternes Handelsherred^mme, Udsigt over den norske Hislorie, vol. III. Schafer, Die Hansestddte und Konig Waldemar von Dane- mark. Ludvig Daae, Del tyske Hanseforbund, Historiske Skildringer, II. Alexander Bugge, Handel og Byliv nord for Alperne; VerdenskuUuren, edited by Aage Frlis, vol. IV., p. 109 i!f. W. Cunningham, Groivth of English Indits- try and Commerce. W. Vogel, Nordische Seefahrten im fruheren Mittelalter. P. A. Munch, Del norske Folks Historie, part II., vol. I., 804-805. Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellem England og Norge indtil Begyndelsen af del 15de Aarhundrede, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. IV. William Christen- sen, Unionskongerne og Hansestcederne, Copenhagen, 1905. O. A. 0verland, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 489 ff. Kr. Erslev, Danmarks Riges Historie, Den senere Middelalder, p. 345 ff. Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the Earliest Period. Islandske Annaler, edited by Gustav Storm. Yngvar Niel- sen, Bergen fra de celdsle tider indtil Nutiden. Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges Historie, Norge og Hansaforbundet, 95 ff. Sartorius, Geschichte des hanseat- ischen Bundes. Friedrich Bruns, Die Lubecker Bergenfahrer und ihre Chroni- stik {Hansische Geschichtsquellen, Neue Folge, Band II.), Berlin, 1900. 11 THK ilANSEATIC LFIACJLE (iAINS ASCENDENCY IN THE NOKTU 21 When Haakon Magniisson was deprived of the tlirone of Sweflen, he devoted more special attention to the affairs of liis own kingdom of Norway. He had seen the injurions effects produceninsuhi, became one of the leading trading places in the North. A French nobleman who .siiiled through the Sound in the fourteenth century on his way to Prussia states that 40,()(K) boats and :i(K),(KK) people took part in the lu'rring fisheries during the months «)f Septemb(>r and October. Alexander Bugge, llnmlti oy Hyliv nord for Alpiruf, Vcrdt nskullnrcti. »'dited l)y .\ag«> Friis, vol. IV., p. 170. ' Jacobus Langebek, Scriptorca licrum Danicarum, VI., p. 522. Ddmars Chronik, von Cirautoff, \^. 211. 22 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II warships should assemble at Easter, 1368, in the Sound. Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son, the king of Sweden, the counts of Holstein, and many nobles in Jutland, led by Claus Limbek, were also persuaded to join the coalition. The courage of the allies rose with their numbers. They agreed to partition Denmark so that the king of Sweden should receive Skane and the island of Gothland; Albrecht of Mecklenburg, Seeland and some of the smaller islands; and the counts of Holstein should receive Jutland, Fyen, Langeland, etc. King Valdemar must have been aware of the grave danger which threatened his kingdom, but there is no indication that he took any decisive steps to safeguard his realm. ^ Valdemar was a sagacious though unscrupulous statesman — a great ruler, but not really a warrior, and when so many, even of his own nobles, joined the coalition against him, he seems to have despaired of success in the War. He turned the government over to the Lord High Con- stable (drost), Henning Podbusk, and left the kingdom.^ He went to Germany, but what he had in mind is not clear. He may have sought to get aid, or he may have thought that the Council would be able to make peace on better terms if he were not present. Off the Island of Riigen the League collected in 1368 a fleet of seventeen large war vessels and many smaller ones, carrying 200 horses and 1540 warriors. This force was to operate against Den- mark, and the victory was swiftly and cheaply won, as no Danish fleet appeared to offer battle. Copenhagen was captured and sacked, a German garrison was placed in the castle, and the harbor was obstructed by sinking ship-hulls at the entrance. Elsinor (Helsing0r), Aalholm, Nykoping, Malmo, Skanor, and Falsterbo were captured. Seeland was harried with fire and sword. The king of Sweden took ' Tradition says that when he received the Hanseatic cities' declaration of war, he improvised as an answer this Low Dutch stanza : Seven unde seventig hensen Hefft seven unde seventig gensen ; Wo mi di gensen niehten biten, Nah den hensen frage iek niehten schiten. This is without doubt only invention, but the impression seems to have prevailed that Valdemar was overconfident and failed to make preparations. C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag og hans Kongegjerning, Copenhagen, 1880. '^ Jacobus Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, vol. VI., p. 631. II THE IIANSKATIC LEAGUE GAINS ASCENDENCY IN THK NOUTU 23 Sk&ne, and tlif counts of Ilolstcin seized the greater part of Jutland. "The (uTinaiis harries.se.ssioiii> of the Danish king," says the old anuali.st.' A seeond tleet of six war vessels and 1 100 men was organized in the Netherlands to operate against Norway, and this f(jrce met as little resistance as the first. The old leding system in Norway had fallen into such complete decay that the country no longer had a fleet worthy of the name. The districts east of Lindesnes were ruthlessly harried, and fifteen parishes are reported to have been laid waste. Marstrand, Konghelle, and Ljodhus were burned, and as King Haakon had no means of resisting the enemy, no alternative but the negotiation of peace remaine'.' A new armistice was concluded in 13G9, which should last till K^TO, ' Ixlandske Annaler, edited by Gustav Storm, p. 3G1 f. * The ordor rooalling the morchants from Bergen was issued at Liiheck, Feb. 2, l',H')S>. Diiilomdlnrium Norwcyicum, vol. \'I1I., no. 1.S2. In a letter to the LcatriR', of May, l.'ifjS, the niercliants of Bernon say tliat they have obeyed the onler, but that it has brought tliem irreparable loss. Diplo- mntariurn iWorwigicurn, vol. V'lII., no. 184. P. A. Muneh. D<7 nnrxkc Folks Historic, part II., vol. I., p. 804 f. Islaridske Aitnalir, edited by Storm, p. 270. 'The Kii^rlisli complained of this in 137"), when an embassy from the Han- seatic League arrived in England, and .souRlit to obtain a renewal of the trade privileges of Kdward I. 'a time. Ilnnsencisse, 1st series. III., no. 31S. § 1. Ale.xander Bugge, Ilnndclcn mcllcvi England og iWorgv, llistorisk Tidsskrifl, tredie rwkke. IV., p. ST). 24 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II when peace negotiations should begin at Bohus castle. These nego- tiations at first led only to the prolongation of the armistice, and permanent peace was not concluded till 1371. Peace with Denmark was concluded at Stralsund, 1370, the most humiliating which any Northern kingdom had ever been forced to conclude. The vic- torious Hanseatic merchants secured the renewal of all their trade privileges. They got full control of the important herring fisheries on the coast of Bohuslen, and the towns and castles of Skanor, Falsterbo, Malmohus, Helsingborg, and Varberg were ceded to them for fifteen years as a war indemnity. Their trade privileges were now so extensive and well protected that all competition could be excluded; their commercial supremacy in the North was absolute and uncontested.^ The only trade which still remained to the native merchants was the traffic with the colonies and with Nordland (the northern districts of Norway, except Finmarken). From Nordland fish and other products were brought to Bergen, and sold to the German merchants. But even this trade was soon brought under the control of the merchants at Bergen.^ The " Norderf ahrer " (Nordfarere), as the Germans called the native traders and fisher- 1 Friedrieh Bruns in his excellent work, Die Liibecker Bergensfahrer und ihre Chronislik, gives the statistics of the trade between Bergen and Liibeck. Summed up it shows the following results : Imported to Bergen Exported from Bergen 1369-1370 11,058^ marks value 10,586 1378 6,881 marks value 18,955^ 1379 7,564 marks value 17,629 1381 9,369 marks value 19,072 1383 5,783 J marks value 7,856 1384 7,920 i marks value 20,623 1 1385 9,211 marks value 12,269 It will be seen that after the Hanseatic merchants gained control of the trade, they exported from Bergen goods worth about twice the amount of the goods imported. As trade at this time was a mere barter, Norway re- ceived only half of what her exported goods were worth, and the German merchants were reaping an immense profit. 2 Norske So, an allegory by an unknown author, describing conditions in Norway ; quoted by Rasmus Nyerup in Historisk-statislisk Skildring af Til- slanden i Danmark og Norge i celdre og nyere tider, Copenhagen, 1803, vol. I., p. 327-340. Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 265 ff. I'l.A'I'K I Kkingen. liom s IN riiK Skvkmkkm II ("kmmkv II TIIK HAXSEATIC LEA(JUK GAIN'S ASCE.VDEN'CY IS THE NOKTIl 25 men who carried on the traffic with Xonlhiiid, were often in need. Their cajjital was small, and the inerehants at Ber^^en j^ladly furnislierreiit doal of jjoods on your Iradiiip (expeditions, tlu'u divide it into tlircc parts; put one part into a partnership with nuMi who always stay in the cities, and are trust wort liy and well versed in tradt»." — Thr King's Mirror, eh. 4. Ah'Xander lluirtre, llutuiilcu melUm England og Norge, Historisk Tidsskrifl, tredie ra'kke. W . 26 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II tion. We learn from 'The King's Mirror' (written by a courtier at the time of Haakon Haakonsson) that it was customary for members of the chieftain class to make trading expeditions to foreign countries. But foreign ideas of knight-errantry and nobility gained a firmer hold, and according to these it was considered inconsistent with the dignity of a nobleman to carry on trade. Ever more seldom did the Norwegian chieftains trade in foreign lands, even though we find such instances even in the century following (the fourteenth). . . . There was, then, a place vacant for a real urban merchant class in Norway. But did no such class exist in the country ? The answer will, I think, be both yes and no. . . . There can be no doubt that at the time of Haakon Haakonsson such a class was spring- ing into existence in Norway, or rather, perhaps, in the city of Ber- gen. Trade was so brisk and extensive, and the concourse of stran- gers so great, that the townspeople could no longer be made amenable to the same laws with the country people, as hitherto. Under Haakon Haakonsson, and especially under his son, Magnus Lagab0ter, the cities {i.e. Bergen, Nidaros, Oslo, and Tunsberg) were organized as distinct communities, separate from the country districts ; they received their own laws, and even a degree of self- government. And what we learn from unmistakable facts of his- tory points in the same direction — that in the cities, especially in Bergen, there was a class, a very numerous class, whose business it was to carry on trade with foreign countries, or rather with Eng- land ; a class of men who were not at the same time craftsmen and farmers, but merchants exclusively. The well-informed author of 'The King's Mirror' tells us that there were men who resided per- manently in the cities and carried on trade. In the privileges granted the Norsemen in England, and in the treaties concluded between the kings of Norway and England, the merchants (mercatores) , but not the subjects of the king of Norway, are mentioned. In the time of ]\Iagnus Eiriksson there was in Bergen a separate guild of ' Eng- landsfarere,' traders who were engaged in the regular traffic between England and Norway (no such guild of ' Tysklandsfarere or Hollandsfarere' is mentioned). Not only from Bergen, but also from other Norwegian cities, was trade carried on with foreign coun- tries. In 1225, for example, there came to Lynn a trader from Nidaros ir OTHER FEATURES OF HAAKON MAONTSSON's REIGN 27 who ciillt'd himself 'Skule Jarl's merchant,' who was permitted to buy 200 tiuartcria of j^niiii in the city. But these sprouts were not allowed to thrive and j^row. Had it only been a century earlier! Now it was too late. The strangers had gained too great a power, and had become infiis|)ensable to the country." 'IMiere is reason to believe that peaceful rivalry would have re- awakened the sj)irit of competition and stirred Norwegian commerce to new activity and growth. This rivalry would have been furnished by the uninterrupted intercourse with Enj^land, where native com- merce was dc\('lopiiig. Hut the forcibly maintained trade monopoly of the (ieniiaii merchants removed every opportunity, and left .\orwegian traders and shif) owners helpless in the tightening grip of the Ilanseatic League, which was not progres.sive in spirit, but which nuiintained its supremacy by coercion and force. G. Other Fe.\tures of Haakon Magnusson's Reign When King Magnus and his queen died, the provinces which they had held in Nor^vay were again placed under the administration of the NorvN'egian government, and various measures adopted show an earnest desire also to strengthen, as far as i)ossible, the ties between the colonies and the mother country. In Iceland and the Orkneys the people, as well as the sj/sscliiKnid, were required to take an oath of allegiance to the king, and Henry of St. Claire was made Jarl of the Orkney and Shetland Islands in preference to Alexander de le Anl, who failed to respond to a rccjuest to come to Norway-, where lie would be granted an oi)i)ortunity to j)rove his title to the jarldom. St. (Maire went to Norway, and did iionuige to the king, subscribing also to a document which imposed great obhgations upon him, and placed strict limitations upon his rights and powers in the colony. But such agreements were more easily made than ke|)t. There is no evidence that St. Claire did not intend to keep his word, but Scotch influence was growing, and as .Norway's naval strength was broken, the Norwegian kings found it ever more diiricult to exercise any real authority in the colonies. Even onmnercially the ties were weakening, as fewer ships now sailed between Iceland, Green- land, and Nor\vay than fonnerly. Of nine sliips scheduled for Ice- 28 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II land in liiTG, only six reached their destination, the others being driven hack by storm. Greenland was visited but once a year by the " Greenland-knarre, " and if this failed to cross the stormy North Atlantic, the colony remained isolated from the rest of the world till the following year, or till the ship succeeded in making the voyage. That snch periods of isolation grew ever more frequent and protracted was evident, and proves that Norway's hold upon her distant colony was weakening, but it is not strange that commerce with Greenland was maintained with difficulty. The fact that the Norwegians were still able to cross the Atlantic Ocean at more or less regular intervals proves that their old-time skill and daring in navigation was not yet lost. The union with Sweden and the closer relations with Denmark and Germany, established through the altered foreign policy, brought a change also in the character and title of the higher officials in the kingdom. Norway had few castles, it is true; the chief ones, and in a strict sense the only ones, were : Akershus, Bohus, Bergenhus, and Tunsberghus, but these became of greater importance than for- merly. One or more herreds, or districts, were placed under the castle, and the income from these was collected by the officer in com- mand, who received the German title of nogt, foget (foged), and the district belonging to the castle was called fogetie (Jogderi). Even the sysselmoBud in districts where there were no castles were often called fuget, and the gjaldkeri in the cities was sometimes called by- foget. In Norway this new system was of little real significance, however, when we compare it to that of Deimaark or Sweden, where the whole kingdom was parceled out among the numerous castles of the nobles. Over cities and larger districts, and also over the colony of Iceland, the king placed royal governors called hirdstjorar, whose duties are but imperfectly known. It has already been stated that Haakon married Margaret, the daughter of King Valdemar Atterdag, in 1363. She was reared in Norway by a Swedish lady, Marta Ulfsdotter, a daughter of St. Birgitta, and seems to have resided permanently at Akershus castle in Oslo, where her son Olav was born in 1370, when the young queen was ni her eighteenth year. After peace had been concluded with the Ilanseatic cities and Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg, in Stral- II OTHER FEATURES OF HAAKON MACJNUSSON's REION 29 iiid, liiTO, KiiiK \ aldriniir returned U) Deniiuirk and devoted liim- if to the reorganization of his shattered kingdom.' Among the many problems which engagen dojith is unknown. Tho bolicf that he had been killed or imprisoned by his own niotlier is wholly without foundation. An impostor elaiiniufj to be Kin>? Olav ajjpeared some j'ears later, but he was tried and e.veeuted. See II. ('. Behnnan, Deretning om den falske Kong Oluf Hagcns^ns D^, Copenhacen, 184G. Chr. Lango, LiUeralurlidtntle, Clu-istiania, 184G, p. 298 ff. A. Fabrieius, Minder Jra Nordcns Ifistoric, p. 72, Odenso, 1898. According to the law of succession, the heirs to the throne were divided into twelve classes. Albrecht, the son of Margaret's elder sister, lugebjdrg, had no right to the throne, as neither of his parents belonged to the Nor- 32 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II as for Queen Margaret personally. As Olav was her only living child, the royal family became so nearly extinct at his death that for the first time in centuries a successor had to be placed on the throne by election.^ King Albrecht of Sweden, a great-grandson of Magnus Smek, was the only heir to the throne of Norway according to the law of succession, but he was not even considered, owing to his great unpopularity and the enmity which had existed between him and the late kings of Norway, who regarded him as an usurper. Queen Mar- garet had no direct claim to the throne. She was not a member of the royal family of Norway, and hitherto no woman had ruled the wegian royal family. Professor Gustav Storm has made the following diagram of the situation : Valdemar King Magnus Eiriksson (Smek) I +1374 I Ingebj0rg Margaret King Haakon oldest son oldest daughter + 1380 (4) I Albrecht (not 12) oldest son (6) I oldest son (10) oldest son (11) King Olav + 1387 oldest son (3) _J oldest son (5) oldest daughter oldest son (9) oldest son illegitimate son oldest daughter (1) (7) I oldest son oldest son (2) (8) Albrecht, king of Sweden, was number nine in order of succession. Gustav Storm, Dronning Margretes Valg i Norge, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. I. 1 The election of Queen Margaret was in harmony with the Norwegian law of succession which provided that, when no heir to the throne was found, the one who had the best claim according to the general law of in- heritance should be chosen. Since King Albrecht of Sweden was not con- sidered, no heir existed, and Margaret had the best claim as the heir of her son. King Olav. In the Norwegian letter of homage, issued Feb. 2, 1388, it was expressly stated that she was chosen because she was Haakon's queen and the mother of King Olav. Suhm, Nye Samling, III,, 387. Norsk Tids- skrift for Videnskab og Litteratur, vol. I., p. 230, note 2. ir QUEEN MAUGAUET 33 kiiij^dom, hut Iut ability and i)()i)Mlarity couiite;var Nielsen, Dit nor.skc Riysraad, p. 250. T. H. AschehoUK. Slatsforfalnirtfjm i Xnrgr indlil !St.'t, P- l'">3. * Diplomatarium Noru'tyicuin, III., no. 4.S4. C. Paliidan-Miiller, Obser- vationen Criticae, 108. Yngvar Nielsen, Del norske Rigsraad, p. 201. * J. E. Sars, Udsigl over den norske Ilislorie, vol. III., p. (i4. Kr. Er.sle\ . Danmarks Historic under Dronning Margrele og hendes Eflerfitlgere, p. 42S f., 504. Dantnnrks Riges Ifistorie, vol. II., p. 3o8 (T. Christian C. A. Lanuf, Norsk Tidsskrifl for Vidensknb og Lillernlur, vol. I., p. 217 IT. Bidrag HI Norges Ifistorie under Uninnen, af (Mirislian I^Jinpe. Ariid HuitfeUlt, Kong Olae, Dronning Margrcte og Eirik af Pommern, p. 13o ff. VOL. II — D 34 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n\ and she secured from the nobles concessions which greatly strength- ened the royal power both in Sweden and Denmark. In Sweden no more castles should be built, and those that had been erected in Albrecht's time should be razed. More important still was the provision that all crown lands which had been alienated in Denmark in the reign of Valdemar Atterdag, and in Sweden in the reign of Albrecht, should revert to the sovereign, and the income from them should go to the royal treasury. In Denmark a new tax was levied to secure a better coinage, and in Sweden the queen received large personal possessions. It is quite evident that Margaret, the first great ruling queen in European history, possessed skill in adminis- tration as well as in diplomacy, but her system of statesmanship was, nevertheless, only a continuation of that of her predecessors, Magnus Smek and Valdemar Atterdag. It was her ambition to rule over a large realm, to gather the threads of administration and political power into her own hands. When the three kingdoms were finally united under her sway, she sought to perpetuate her dominion by strengthening the power and influence of the crown, and by in- creasing her revenues and private possessions. In these efforts she directed her attention to politics rather than to details of adminis- tration, and the local needs of each kingdom continued to be neg- lected. The efficiency of the local administrative authorities was even purposely weakened, to insure increased influence of the sovereign. Many of the highest offices both in Norway and Sweden were left vacant ; the queen was staying in Denmark, and the old administra- tive system in both kingdoms was falling into decay. In Norway many Danes were appointed to fill the highest positions in the church, until it awakened merited resentment. In Sweden the queen ap- pointed Danish fogeds, lawlessness increased, and for want of proper supervision by the royal authorities these foreign administrative officers became ever more arrogant and arbitrary, and wrung from the oppressed people loud and well-founded complaints. A contem- porary remarks: "The Germans were expelled (i.e. King Albrecht and his Mecklenburgers) ; the Danes then got the power in the land for many years, and then the Germans were lauded by the people." The Danish, fogeds were called "tyrants whose cruelty, never to l)e forgotten, brings them eternal perdition." The three kingdoms II QUEEN MAUOARET 35 were associated on equal temis iiiulcr the same sovereif^n, but through Margaret's iulltuMice a lorcigii overlonlsliip was even now l)eing es- tablished botli in Non\'ay and Sweden, a feature whicii was to make the j)oHtical partnership with Denmark so exjjensive and i)rofitless a business, especially for Norway. Even the defeat and imprison- ment of King Albrecht was not to pass without a most unforturuite secjuel, which caused much loss and suffering both in the North and elsewhere. The city of Liibeck had sided with Queen Margaret, but the two Ilanseatic cities Rostock and Wismar undertook to aid Albrecht. They issued a proclamation that any one who wished to undertiike raids into the Northern kingdoms, and would aid in carrying provisions to the city of Stockholm, which was besieged by the queen, would be given protection in their harbors. The invita- tion proved very tempting to hundreds of lawless adventurers who gathered from all parts of the Baltic seacoast, and a league of pro- fessional buccaneers, known as the "Victual Brothers," sprang into existence, which gravely endangered all commerce, not only in the Baltic, but also in the North Sea. The demon of lawlessness once let loose ran its own riotous course. Without discrimination the wild corsairs robbed and plundered remorselessly. They seized Gothland and captured Wisby, which they made their chief stronghold. In 1393 they captured Bergen, sacked and burned the city, and com- mitted the greatest outrages.^ Malmo and Nykoping were burned. Ilanseatic merchant ships were everywhere attiicked, and the danger to commerce finally became so great that the fisheries on the coast of Bohuslen and Sk5,ne had to be abandoned for three years. In liiUo Bergen was sacked and burned a second time, " and the robbers," says the chronicler, "gathered great stores, treasures of gold and silver, costly cloth, household goods, and fish, which they brought to llostock and Wismar. ami sold with great profit, as the i)ei>ple of those cities did not care whether the goods were gotten h(»nestly or dishonestly." Because of constant losses and increaser points shall forever he loyally kept, the docunient shall he written on j)archinent, two copies for each kin;,'- dom, and to these shall he allixcd the seals of the kinj;, the queen, the coinicilors of the kiii<;(loni, the lords, and the cities." As this was not done, the first draft of the j)oints on which an a^'reement had heen reached could not he lej,'ally hindinj;.' It is j)ossil)le that after ' Tin Proposal Kabnar Act of Union This document, which is written on paper, still exists. It contains the following: points : 1. TIh' three kinRdonis shall lu>n«'eforth have one king and shall never bo l)arted. 2. After the death of the kin^ a successor shall be elected jointly by the tlirec kingdoms. If the king dies witiiout issue, a successor shall be chosen according to the best judgment and conscience. 3. All the three kingdoms shall contiinie in love and unanimity, and ono shall not withdraw from the others ; that wluCh befalls one, as war or attack by foreign enemies, shall be regarded as befalling all three, and each king- dom shall help the other with full faith and energy. 4. Each kingdom retains its own laws, and the king shall rule according to them. lie shall not import from one kingdom to the other what has not formerly been law and justice there. ,'». One who has been outlawed in oni' kingdom shall be considered an outlaw in the others. (). If negotiations are carried on with foreign lords or states, the king has the power to decide the matter with the advice of the Council of the kingdom in whi<'h he happens to be, or with a few councilors from each kingdom. 7. -Vll these articles should bo kept as proscribed, and they should be so int«>rpreted that they will be to the honor of God and the peace and well- being of the king and the realm. If any one acts contrary ther»>to. then shall all the thre(> kingdoms aid the king and his oiTicials to remedy the wrong. 5. gut>eii Margaret shall have and hold with full royal right all that which her father anil her son granted her in Denmark, her dowry in Sweden and what the Swedes have given her, together with what her husband and her son have granted her in Norway. At her death the castles shall revert to the crown, but otherwise she may, through her testament, dispose of what she has. 9. These articles shall be embodied in a document vsTitten on parchment, two copies for I'ach kingdom, and to these shall be afllxed the seals of the king, the queon, the councilors of the kingdom, the lords, and the cities. This preliminary draft, written on paper, was to be signed by seven Swedes, si.x Danes, and four Norwegians; but oidy ten seals appear on the 38 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II the queen had failed to carry the chief points of the proposed plan she abandoned the whole of it, and preferred to rule without being bound by a document which gave the union no strength, and the sovereign no increased power ; but it is also possible that, since the four Norwegian seals are lacking in the original document, the Norwegian councilors refused to sign, owing to the clause which made the king elective. This would change Norway from an hered- itary to an elective kingdom, a serious step to which the Norwegian councilors would not willingly subscribe. A union had, neverthe- less, been effected through the election of a joint king for the three kingdoms. This was solemnly ratified at Kalmar by the coronation of Eirik as king of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and the new relation of the three realms was also betokened by the use of the common seal. But the principle of elective kingship was retained, and each kingdom kept its full sovereignty and autonomy, its system of laws and administration. With the exception of the king no cen- tral government for the united kingdoms existed, and nothing was specified as to any duties which they owed each other as members of the union, except what was found in the unfinished draft of the points on which an agreement had been reached. As to the out- ward evidences of the compact entered into, the three realms could not have been united by more slender ties. But what Margaret had failed to do directly might in time be done indirectly, since the council had failed to adopt a constitution defining the relation of the kingdoms to each other, or limiting the power of the sovereign. The kingdoms had become associated under the same ruler; the ever present force of circumstances might do everything else that an ambitious and autocratic ruler might wish, since no written consti- tution existed to remind the people of the limit of his power, or of the extent of their own rights. Even a poor constitution could have been amended, and would have taught the people the art of consti- tutional government, but the magnates assembled at Kalmar, who document. Three Danish and all of the Norwegian seals are lacking. Palu- dan-Miiller, Observationes Criticae de Foedere inter Daniam, Sueciam et Nor- wegiam Auspiciis Margaretae Reginae Icto. T. H. Aschehoug, Staisforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, P- 174 ff. R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historic under Katholicismen, II., 441 ff. II THE KALMAR UNION 39 Mciii to liave guarded so jealously ajjaiiist any enfToacliments on tlicir f)wn liberties, failed with almost childish fatuity to safeguard tlhise liberties for the future. \Vlien King Eirik was eighteen years old, he was deelared of age by a council assembled at Vadstena, Sweden, in 14()() ; but Margaret continued to reign until her death. In 1401 negotiations were begun with the queen and King Henry IV. of England regarding the marriage of King Eirik to Henry's daughter Philipj)a.' As Henry IV. was seated none too securely on the English throne, he sought to strengthen his position through foreign alliances and by the marriage of his children to members of the royal houses. He had watched with much interest the growing power of Queen Margaret, and the consummation of the union of the three Xtjrthern kingdoms seems to have made iiini desirous of gaining the friendship of this new power. After jjrolonged negotiations Phili|)pa finally came to Denmark in 1400, and the marriage was solemnized at Lund, in SkS,ne. The young king is described as a man of fine appearance. " He had yellow or golden hair, large eyes, blond complexion, and a brf)ad white neck," writes Enea Silvio Piccolomiiu', the later Pope Pius II.; and an account to the English Council of the conditions in the North, dated August 8, 1400, evidently written by English envoys, states that "the three kingdoms, which have now been united, enjoy a hitherto unknown peace, whereas before, while they remainetl separated, they suffered much from war and unbearable evils. The young king is highly loved by his subjects because of his charming and noble personality. " ^ The English envoys had evidently not discovered that the gallant young king very early showed signs of that rashness, ill-temper, and lack of good judgment which made his reign so inglorious a failure. A new era seemed now to have dawned for the Northern peoples, or, rather, a new era might have dawned, if the rulers who wl I'OMKKAMA 43 toiiil) is a decoration, not a |)ortrait; as it sccm.s to have been made to order by some foreign artist who |)robal)ly never saw the cjueen. But the nolile and majestic face makes us feel that thus she must have looked, this great (iiieen who once ruled the whole Scandinavian North. 0. KiNc; EllUK OF PoMERANIA Wiien Kiiif; Kirik assumed the duties of ruling sovereij^n, ciroum- stanees gave jiromise of a most successful reign. The newly estab- lished union was wiiming favor in all the three kingdoms, the revenues were large, and the people were well disposed towards the king, as they hoj)ed that he would prove to be a wi.se and kind ruler. But tlu'se fair ho|)es were .soon shattered by the worse than worthless Eirik. The only (jucstion which threatened to produce complica- tions at the beginning Of his reign was that of the relation of Schles- wig to the crown of Denmark, but this molehill of difficulty grew in King Eirik's hands into a mountain of trouble. Queen IMargaret had been obliged to cede this province to the counts of Holstein in li>S(), but at the time of her death she was on the i)()int of regaining control of the duchy. An anned conflict had been precipitated ; but the queen had concluded peace, though the question was still left unsettled. Eirik was opposed to the queen's cautious policy. He would drive out the Germans, who had migrated in large numbers into the duchy, and would unite it pennaneiitly with the kingdom of Denmark, He submitted the (picstion to a council {(lanclwf) assem- bled at Xyborg, 1413, and this assembly decided, that as the counts had l)een in anus again.st their sovereign, they had connuitted felony, and had forfeited their fief to the king. Schleswig was thus reunited with Denmark, but the counts would not abide by the deei.sion of the council, and a long and expensive war was the result. Hostilities eommencc(| in 141(i. Eirik gained .some success, and captured the city of .^clileswig ; but he was unable to take the fortifieay.s that after (^iiccti Marf^aret's time the kings were so occiipiecl that they had no time to think ahout old (Jreen- land.- The trach' with thf cdlonirs contirnied to l)e a royal monopoly, and all foreign meri-liants were forhidden to trade with them, hnt after Norway's sea-power was broken, and the Ilanseatic merchants gained contntl of the trade, the kings conld no longer successfnlly defend cn t>n this hist remnant of Norwegian commerce. In 14i:> King Kirik |)rotested to King Henry \ . of Knghmd against the oper- ations of foreign merchants in the Norwegian colonies. In 14:il he again complained to Henry VI., that for twenty years the English had carried on nnlawfnl trade with "Norway's lands and islands" (Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland, the Orkneys, Ilaalogaland. and Finmarken), that they had j)lundered and burned, that they had carried away many ships with fish and other goods, and that many j)e(»ple had been slain.' In Eirik's reign Englisli merchants were beginning to gain control of the trade with Iceland.^ This trade had always been of some importance, as the Icelanders imported grain and other staple articles, while they exported wool, sheepskins, sulphur, etc. At this time great cod-fisheries, which ' The Norwe^an nobleman Didrik Pining, who was hirdstjdri in Iceland, and commandant of Vard0lius about 1400, was a bold sailor and buccaneer. According to an old Icelandic source. Pining and his companion Pothorst, about whom notliing is known, "carried on trade with Greenland," but this statement seems to be a mere conjecture. Very little is known about Pining's operations in the Arctic waters. The humanist Olaus Magnus says that "Pining and Pothorst were excluded from all intercourse with humanity by the severe decrees of the kings of the North, and they were outlawed because of their violent robberies and many wicked deeds committed against all sailors, which they would seize both far and near." "They then sought refugf in the mountain Ilvitserk, which lies between Iceland and Green- land," he continues. Ludvig Diuie, Didrik Piniiuj, Ifislnrisk Tiils.' tliinks that after peace was concluded l)etween England and Denmark-Xorway in 1400 in King Hans' reign, all prcN-ing on English commerce by Danisli and Xorw«'gian sailors had to stop. liut Pining seems to have c()ntiiuie(l his buccaneering activity ; and, as a result, he was out- lawed. * Lud\'ig TTolberg. Dnriinnrk's Riyat IHsloriv, IT., r>3l. ' CrOnldtids historiskc Mindcsinirkvr, III., p. 1(50 IT. * Thv Lihvll of Knglishe Pnlici/r, p. OIJ f., a littl(> English work, WTitten in 1436, states that so many English ships had sailed to Iceland that the goods brought back did not pay the expenses. 46 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II gave this trade increased importance, were also developed near the coasts of Iceland. The commerce with Iceland was carried on especially by the Norwegian colonists of Bristol, who in earlier times had controlled this trade. They now ventured to disregard the restrictions which the kings had placed on the trade with the Nor- wegian colonies, hence their trading expeditions often turned into piratical raids ; but whether these were extended to Greenland, as indicated in Eirik's complaint, is doubtful. In 1432 King Eirik con- cluded a treaty with England, in which King Henry VI. agreed to pay the damages which English traders had done in the Norwegian colonies. The people who, during the last twenty years, had been carried away by force, wherever they were found in the kingdom of England, should receive pay for the services they had rendered, and should be allowed to return to their homes. The interdiction of trade in the Norwegian colonies was renewed, but after this prohi- bition had been repeated by Henry VI. in 1444, and by a treaty be- tween Henry VI. and King Christian I. in 1449, the trade with Ice- land was finally made free, on certain conditions, in 1490.^ King Eirik continued Margaret's administrative policy. Nor- way and Sweden were still ruled from Denmark, leading public offices were left vacant, the Council always met in Denmark whenever it was assembled, and as the councilors from the two other kingdoms had to make long and expensive journeys, few attended its meetings, and they could exercise but slight influence, as the Danish members were always in the majority. Norwegian and Swedish aflFairs were left in the hands of the king and his Danish councilors, who were neither familiar Avith local circumstances, nor much interested in the affairs which they were called upon to settle. The increased burdens of taxation resulting from the wars, the interruption of commerce,^ 1 Fridtjof Nansen, Nord i Taakeheimen {In Northern Mists), p. 377 ff. Alexander Bugge, Nidaros's Handel og Skibsfart i Middelalderen, Festskrift udgivcl i Anledning av Trondhjems 9000 Aars Jubilceum 1897. 2 During the war the trade with the Hanscatic cities had ceased ; but King Eirik had encouraged the English merchants, who sought to revive the trade with Bergen, and also the merchants of the city of Bremen, who had left the Hanseatic League. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. V., no. 580. Ludvig Ilolberg, Bergens Bcskrivelse, Copenhagen, 1750, p. 126 f. Norges gamle Love, anden raekke, vol. I., p. 91. ri KIXG EIRIK OF POMEIIA.VIA 47 anlo, and seized the fortified bishop's residence, but after an undecisive fight with the garrison of the city, led by S\arte-J0ns, the Danish connnander of Akershus castle, the rebels withdrew. King Eirik, who was notified of the uprising, seems to have been alanned, and full and comi)lete pardon was offere.ngin Amund Sigurdssons Historic. Ilintorisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. I., p. 488 fT. ' The letter reads in part : "Likewise the kingdom of Xorway has wTitten us and asks to ent(>r into allianee with private Ilan.seatie fiti<'s and with the kingdom of Sweden. We did not know that tlie kimrdom of Xorway wouM join us when our messengers visited the eities; and they (i.e. the Norwejjians) havt> now joined us to he allied with Sweden, living or dead. We ask you that you pive them your assistance, that they may enter into the same relations with the cities." As the Norwegian Council was still loyal to KinR Eirik, the term "kingdom of Xorway" can only mean Amund Sijjurdsson and his party. The letter, which is printed in IfansereccKsr, part II.. vol. I., p. .'i2o, is quoted by L. Dtuie, llistoriiik Tidsskrifl. tredie nvkke, vol. I., p. 400. ' Diplomatarium Norwcfficum, vol. III., p. ')2'>, no. 733. VOL. n — E 50 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11 Sigiirdsson and the council.' The stipulations of the agreement were carried out to the letter, it seems, as the Danish lords and fogeds were expelled from Norway in July, 1436. The uprising had been successful to some degree, but as it gained no general support, it became a local affair of no great national significance. Professor J. E. Sars says of it : "The Norwegian uprising corresponded in many ways to the Swedish. Like the latter, it was especially directed against foreign lords and fogeds, and, like it, it proceeded chiefly from the common people, while the nobles kept aloof, or assumed a hostile attitude, as they regarded the movement with fear and ill-will. . . . But as closely related as the two uprisings — the Norwegian and the Swedish — seem to be in regard to origin and early success, so different were they in regard to historic importance and political consequences. The Swedish developed into a truly national movement, and forms a new epoch in the nation's history; the Norwegian was a mere epi- sode without any permanent or important result. . . . The chief reason why the Norwegian movement died away without results while the Swedish continued to grow, and placed state and nation upon new paths of progress, was that Sweden had an ambitious aristocracy, while the aristocracy in Norway had long been on the decline both politically and otherwise." ^ In 1436 a council was assembled at Kalmar to bring about a new reconciliation between King Eirik and the Swedes, but the Norwegian councilors were not present, owing, no doubt, to the uprising at home. The Danish councilors supported the Swedes in their demands, and King Eirik had to promise to abide by a new settlement to be made at a meeting in Soderkoping, September 29th. At this council the three archbishops of the united kingdoms, and one councilor from each realm drew up a new act of union, the "Draft of 1436," wliich among other things provided for a government when the king did not reside in the kingdom ; but this draft never got beyond the embryo state. ^ Diplomatarhim Norwegicnm, vol. II., no. 727; vol. VI., no. 465. The peace agreement accompanied by a proclamation of the council is dated Feb. 18, 1437. * J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, vol. III., p. 128 f. II KIXO EIRIK OF POMEUAMA 51 Kin^' Eirik, who hiul sailwl to Gothland, did not return to Soder- kciping to receive a new oath of iillepianee innn his subjects. After spendinfj the winter in the island, he went to Prussia to raise a mih- tjiry force for the jjurpose of compelhnK the Danes to accept his cousin, Duke H()<,M.shiu.s of I'oinerania, as heir to the tiirone. In the fall of liM he returned to Denmark, but acted more arbitrarily than ever before. In lune, 143S, the Swedes assembled a new council at Kalmar, and urji;ed the kinj? to be present, so that a final settlement could be made, but this invitation he disrej^arded, and sailed again to Gothland, where he now established himself pennanently. When it became apparent that he would not return, the council of Kalmar made the agreement that he should still be regarded as king of the three reahns, and that perfect friendship should exist between the kingdoms ; but the Swedes summoned him to appear at Mora Stenar to declare that he would respect the laws and liberties of the kingdom, or he would be deposed, and in October, 14.'>S, Karl Knutsson Bonde was chosen regent. Disturbances again broke out both in Norway and Denmark. In Non\ay the men of Telemarken and Bamble, led by Halvarrl Graa- top, marched against Oslo, but they were defeated and scattered by Svarte-J0ns, the commander of Akershus castle.' In Denmark the peasants rose in rel)cllion against the nobility and clcru'y. The situation was so alanning that the Council invited King Eirik's nephew, Duke Gliristopher (jf Bavaria, and promised him the crowns of the three kingdoms, an assurance which was contrary both to the spirit and the letter of the act of union. In 1439 King Eirik was formally deposed both in Sweden and Denmark; Christopher of Ba- varia was hailed as king of Denmark at the Viborgthing in 1440, and the following year he was also elected king of Sweden, and crowned at Stockholm, but only after he had made such conces.sions to the Swedish nobles that he became the mere shadow of a king. The revolution in Sweden, which had i)een set on foot by the common people, led by Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson, had been carried to comj)lction by the aristocracy under the leadership of Karl Knutsson Bonde. The strong royal power established by (^ueen Margaret had ' Gustav Storm, Hislnrisk Tidsskrifl. trodio nokkc, II., p. 110 fT. Ludvig Uaat\ Ilistorisk Tidsskrifl, f0r8le nekkc, IV., p. SO. 52 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II been shattered, and the monarchic union estabhshed at Kalmar had been replaced by an aristocratic union. The nobles of Sweden and Denmark had agreed that the two realms should remain united under a shadow king, while the nobility in both kingdoms retained all real power. In this important revolutionary movement Norway took no part, aside from the two local disturbances mentioned, although King Eirik had virtually ceased to rule the kingdom. "The reins had slipped from his hands here as elsewhere, but there was no one to seize them." Though Sweden and Deimiark had deposed King Eirik, and had chosen Christopher of Bavaria as his successor, the Norwegian Council adhered to their old worthless sovereign with a loyalty which would have been pathetic, if it did not furnish evi- dence of lack of national self-consciousness and clear-sighted political leadership. Time and again the Council sent messages to Eirik in his voluntary retirement, assured him of the loyalty of the Norwegian people, and asked him to help them, but the eccentric old king did not even answer. The only evidence that he still regarded himself as king of Norway was a few appointments which he seems to have made to please the Norwegians. In 1438, before he established himself permanently in Gothland, he appointed two Norwegian nobles, Olav Buk and Olav Nilsson, commandants, respectively, of Akershus castle and Bergen ; and in 1439 he finally appointed a new drotsete, Sigurd Jonsson, and also a new chancellor, Gunnar Holk.^ When it finally became evident that Eirik had altogether ceased to rule, the Nor- wegian Council consented to elect King Christopher. In 1442 the Councils of the three kingdoms assembled at Lodose, where Christo- pher was chosen king of Norway, and he was shortly afterwards crowned in Oslo. In his retreat in Visborg castle in the island of Gothland, King Eirik was now left alone to muse over the strange \dcissitudes of human affairs ; but his spirit was not of the kind that is chastened by misfortune. He turned pirate and robbed without discrimi- nation Hanseatic merchants and his former subjects. In his castle he defended himself stoutly against attacks, but prudence finally led him to cede Gothland to King Christian I., Christopher's succes- 1 Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. IV., p. 545. II KING EIUIK UF I'UMEUANIA ij'.i sor, and to retire to PoiiuTuiiia, wlicrc lie died at the age of seventy- seven. The internal comlitioiis in Norway (hirini^ Mirik's reifjn reveal an increasing (lecach'nce, wliich was fnrtiier acceleraterinciple was I'lu. J. — Vioborg (Jaatlo maintaineh(i|) of Oslo, and he a!.>o niadc him chancellor, though that olHce helonjjed to the Provost of the St. Mary's church. This was a most important office, as the chancellor was the keeper of the seal, wiiich had to be afHxed to every royal document to make it valid. The practice thus originated by Margaret and Kirik of Pomerania was rontinued by their successors, who often used their power very arl)itrarily to secure the election of Danes. The clergy became more and more foreign in character, and the church lost its distinct national traits; it grew apart from the people, and cease1 IT. Gustav Storm, Wiirtianeriic pan Rost i l.'ffi2, Dit tiorskv (ttografiskc Selskabs Aarhog. VIII., p. 37 fT. Accounts of their stay in Norway wore al.so written hy two of (Quirini's companions, Christopher Fioravante and Nieholaus Michole. SchoniuR, Del norske Videnskabcrs-Selskabu Skrifter, vol. II., p. 9.'i ff. Rasmus Nyerup, Historisk-slntintisk Skildriug af Tihtandiri i Datimark ng Xorgc i aeldrc og nyere Tidcr, vol. I., p. 303 fT. O. A. Qverland Xorgcs Ilistoriv, vol. V.. p. ,S3 (T. 58 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II attend church regularly, and keep the fast-days ; they never use profanity or mention the name of the devil ; they are so honest that they take no care to hide their property behind locks and bars, but leave all doors and drawers unlocked ; neither do they fear that their sons and daughters shall transgress against virtue. All of them, young and old, lead such virtuous lives, and live in such perfect obedience to the moral law that they do not know what incontinence is. They marry only to fulfill the commandment of God, and not from carnal appetite, which can get no power over them because of the cold air and the cold country in which they live. When their father, mother, husband, wife, children, or other near relatives die, they go to church and praise God because he suffered the deceased to dwell so long among them ; and neither in word nor deed do they betray any sorrow or sadness any more than if the dead w^ere only sleeping. When a woman's husband dies, the w^idow makes a great feast for all the neighbors on the day of the funeral. They are then attired in their best clothes, and the widow encourages the guests to eat and drink heartil}^ and to be of good cheer in memory of her husband's departure into eternal rest and peace. In the month of INIay the people of R0st began to prepare for their yearly trip to Bergen, whither the strangers were to accompany them. A few days before their departure a noble lady, the wife of the governor of the district, who had heard that some strangers were staying on the island, dispatched her chaplain to Quirini and his companions with a present consisting of sixty dried codfish, three loaves of rye bread, and a cake. She also sent her greetings, saying that as she had learned that the people of R0st had not showed so great a hospitality as they should have done, they should report to her any wrong which they might have suffered, and full restitution would be made them. The inhabitants of R0st were also instructed to show the strangers the greatest courtesy and hospitality, and to bring them along to Bergen. Quirini and his men expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the lady for her kindness. They testified to the people's innocence of any wrongdoing, and praised them most highly for their great hospitality. Quirini sent the lady a pater- noster chain of amber as a present, and asked her to pray for their happy return to their own country. n AN i:.MliKV(J DEMUCHACY 59 On the 14th of May tliey set sail for Her^,M'^, and on the way they met Archbishop Aslak Bolt, who was niakinj; a tour of insj)ecti(jn in his diocese. When he heard the tiile of the strangers, he was filled with compassion and gave them a letter of recommendation to the people of Nidaros (Troiidhjem). where they were received with the greatest kiiidiiess. On Ascensit^n day they attended mass in the great cathedral, and they were afterwards invited by the syaselmand to a bamiuet, where they were well entertained. After a ten days' \'isit in the city, they began their journey overland to Stegeborg in Ostcrgotland, Sweden, where an Italian, Giovanni Franco (called in Swedish Joiin Wilcii), was commandant, (^uiriiii gave the .sijt', so that tiie twelve men with three horses did not spend more than the four liheiiish gulden, though they traveled for tifty-three days. On their way they found huge mountiiins and deep valleys, where they saw great numbers of animals which resembled roebucks, swarms of snow-white birds of the >i/.e of heath-cocks, and j)artridges and pheasants as large as geese. Other birds, as hawks and falcons, were all white, due to the very cold clinuite of the country. They had also seen in the St. Olai church a white-bejir skin about fifteen feet long. 60 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II In Stegeborg they were well received by their countryman Giovanni Franco. He sent them to Lodose, whence they went to England, and they finally returned to Italy in safety. Captain Quirini's account of the life and customs in these remote seacoast settlements is the more interesting since we still find in the country districts of Norway the same generous hospitality, the mutual helpfulness, the unsuspecting honesty, and with no great modifications, also the customs which he describes. The traits which attracted the captain's attention were not limited to a single locality or period of time, but are general characteristics of the Nor- wegian people in all ages. These traits bespeak a people leading a healthy rustic life, free from oppression or class struggles ; whose simple virtues have been reduced to time-honored customs, the origin of which is hidden in a remote antiquity. Norway's com- merce and sea-power had fallen into decay, her national greatness had sufi'ered a total eclipse, and even her political independence was being gradually sacrificed in the interest of an unprofitable union with Denmark; but the social and economic life of the people in its local enviroimient was left almost untouched by these changes, and retained its former health and vigor. The growing weakness and ineflBciency of the public regime, to which the rapid deterioration of the military and national power of Norway must be ascribed, reflects in no way any inner social decay. Nowhere did the people govern themselves in national matters in this period. The central government was either vested in a king and his advisers, as in Norway, or in an aristocracy, as in Sweden and Deimaark. If this government was unwarlike and inactive, the state was weak, though the people might be relatively prosperous and well content. If the government was aggressive, and maintained an efficient military organization, the state was strong, as people at that time counted strength. Great wars could be fought, castles and palaces could be built, the nobles could display a dazzling pomp, and the national greatness was commensurate with their number and power; but with the development of this intense mihtary activity followed in the Middle Ages the feudalization of society, by which the people were deprived, not only of their local autonomy, but of their personal freedom. They were gradually reduced to n AN KMintVO DKMOCRACV C>] serfdom, and forced to shoulder iiitolenihle burdens, which left them in hopeless j)()verty and intellectual apathy. In Denmark, where the aristocracy was stronj;, the nohles owned two-fifths of all the land besides their lar^e family estates. Serfdom and socaj^c? were intro- duced, and the hondrr were reduced to a most wretched condition.' The nobles who devoted them.selves to military exploits could place in the field well-drilled armies of mailed horsemen, capable of wa^'inj; successful campaigns even beyond the borders of the kingdom ; but the burdens fell upon the unfree tillers f)f the soil, who were wholly at the mercy of their feudal masters. This kind of national greatness, though it produced a rather showy intellectual activity among the upper classes, and a few heroic and interesting personalities, was unquestionably attended with social retrogression and growing internal de<'ay. The people's strength was gradually sapped, society was stratifierought to despair, so that they frequently revolted. But in Norway this aocurred much more seldom than in Denmark, because the lords were not K) numerous there, and their estates were smaller, hence they demanded less service." Snmlcdc Skriftcr. VIII.. p. 361. "Agriculture was dccliniii);. and likewise the |)<)pulntion. The continual Jtrife between the nobility and the common people was the cause of this." SamUde Skrifler, Vol. VIII., p. 359. 62 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II the feudal system. The union government, which was exercised at a distance, was paternal and inefficient rather than oppressive, and although greedy fogeds might commit individual acts of injustice, they lacked the power, if they did possess the will, to oppress the whole people. Cut off from international confficts, with the excep- tion of the wars forced upon them through their union with Den- mark, the Norwegians were left to themselves to lead an uneventful rustic life among their own fjords and mountains, where they pre- served their own laws, local institutions, love of freedom, and robust spirit of independence. With the disappearance of the court and the nobility a leveling of social conditions followed which gradually obliterated the old class distinctions, and consolidated the people into a hardy, plain-spoken yeomanry. In their homes around the fjords and in the mountain valleys, the Norwegians were as much their own lords in the period of union as they had been in the Viking Age ; and their irrepressible love of freedom was often whetted into violent resistance to oppression, and jealous hatred and distrust of the new upper class of Danish priests and officials which sprang into existence in the period of union with Denmark. Whatever the Nor- wegians might have lost through the disappearance of military power and national prestige, the unimpaired manhood and womanhood of the people, than which nothing is better worth preserving, remained to live and grow in a free and healthy domestic enviroimient. It is true that the spirit of the nation no longer found expression in great achievements, but whenever opportunity was offered, it manifested itself in a way which created respect and admiration. We see it in the great naval heroes Kort Adelaer and Peter Tordenskjold, and in the great respect which the Norwegian soldiers always enjoyed in Denmark. The Danish kings in the union period surrounded them- selves with a Norwegian bodyguard, and the Danish naval forces were largely recruited in Norway. Molesw^orth says : " The best seamen of the King of Denmark are the Norwegians." ^ The rather bombastic patriotic songs of a later period praising the bravery, fidelity, and intense love of liberty of the Norwegians need not be ^ Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692, London, 1694, p. 130. Molesworth was an Enj^lisb writer and diplomat. Anathon Aal, Henrik Ibsen als Dichter und Denker, Halle, 1908, p. 41 ff. II AN EMBRYO DEMOCRACY 63 taken literally, but we would wholly misunderstand them if we failed to recognize that they express in an almost stereotyped and conven- tional way a well-established general opinion. Anathon Aal says : "The {)eople were always free, the binder (yeomanry) much more so than elsewhere in Europe, but they lacked political leaders who could maintain tiie national principle." This was a loss, but it was also a gain. When the aristocracy and the national kingship dis- appeared, the defense of their rights and liberties, and the future destiny of the nation was j^laced for the first time in the people's own hands. Those who ruled and those who led were gone; the people had to rely upon themselves. However this may be inter- preted, it was a social revolution which necessarily marks the begin- ning of a new era in the people's social and political development. The yeoman class grew strong and numerous. They loved their old freedom, they cherished their rights, they were united by common customs and the equality of economic and social conditions. They lacked the means as well as the ability to seek the glor\' of military exploits or international politics, but they learned to act together in resisting encroachments, and in managing their own domestic affairs. They were not only freer than the people elsewhere, but they were also more independent economically. We have seen that natural conditions, especially the small and scattered areas of tillable soil, had hindered the growth of a feudal aristocracy in Norway. Few castles were built, and a fairly equitable distribution of land was maintained by the law of odd, which safeguarded the bonder in the possession of their land. The absence of feudal lords, and the division of the land among the bdmler, who owned and tilled tlieir own little fanns, made the large class of freeholders economically independent, and gave Norwegian society a distinctive democratic character.' Because they were left without such an aristocratic upper class, the>- also deveIoj)ed a love for inde|)endent action, and I spirited self-reliance which fomis the theme of the patriotic national 11,'s, and which won the admiration of the Danes in the union period. 1 "his was not national greatness, but it can safely be called social trogress. The only trouble was that this developTiicnt in Norway ame in an age which was not yet able to profit by democratic con- ' See Bj0rn8tjcrne Bj0rn6on's p>oem, "Norge, Norge." 64 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II ditions, and make them a new force in national development. But although centuries were yet to pass before this life, under unfavor- able political circumstances, ripened into a new self-conscious nation- alism, we find in the Norwegian people after the completion of this great social and political change the future Norwegian democracy in embryo. We see nursed in the quiet the social conditions and the traits of character which so quickly placed Norway in the front rank of poHtical and social democracies when the great awakening finally came. 11. King Christopher When Christopher of Bavaria finally succeeded King Eirik of Pomerania on the thrones of the Northern kingdoms, the three realms were again united under a common king, but the idea of unit- ing them into a single Danish kingdom under the personal rule of the king, which had been Queen Margaret's plan, was now abandoned. Separate administration for each kingdom was emphasized, and the only frail strand of the union idea yet remaining was that of a com- mon sovereign, who luider the new arrangement had but limited powder. In Sweden and Denmark the nobility forced Christopher to subscribe to charters which greatly reduced his power and strengthened the influence of the Council. Sweden secured full autonomy. The kingdom should be left in full enjojTnent of its laws, liberties, privileges, and ancient customs; the taxes collected should be used in the kingdom, the king should have only Swedish councilors and courtiers, the castles of the kingdom should be given to Swedes, and upon the king's death they should be turned over to a committee consisting of six of the leading men of the realm. In Norway no specific agreement was signed, but the king never visited the country after his coronation. The administration was left in the hands of the Council, w^hich now acted with greater authority than it had ever done since the union was first established in 1397. Fortunately, King Christopher seems to have coveted peace and comfort rather than power. He is described as short and stout merry, and good-natured, and he evidently sought to rule in ful harmony with the conditions to which he had subscribed. But foil all his good intentions, he was not popular in Sweden, where th II K1N(; CllIUSTOI'lIKU G.J powerful Karl Kiiutssoii Boiide covi'tccl the tlirotic. It had l)ec()ine Ji fixed belief aiiH)ii<; the eoiimioii i)e<)i)le that Karl Kiiut>s()ri would become king. An old clairvoyant woman had toM liini s(», and a little girl had seen a crown settle on his head while he was sitting in church. The taxes were unjust, it was claimed, aufl the hard times due to eroj) failure caused great dissatisfaction. The i)eoj)le said that the grain was fed to the king's horses, while they had to make bread of bark, and they nicknamed him Christopher Barkking. In \()rwa\- there was also great unre.st, especially in the southeastern districts. The people rose against their fogrds, and in fiudbransdal Bengt Ilarniktsson (lyldcnlovc. a member of the ('ouncil, was slain. The Ilanseatic League still controlled Norwegian connnerce, and the IlaiKseatic factory at Bergen enjoyed at this time its greatest prosperity and power. Its members treated the native population and even the city government with unbearable arrogance, and law- lessness and licentiousness passed all bounds, but the local authorities were unable to enforce the laws. The members of the Ilansa had even enterefl the town hall, sword in hand, and had forcibly ejected the city council.' In 1444 the Council of the kingdom met in Ber- gen to discuss the situation. The opinion prevailed that the German merchants should no longer ])e tolerated as a state within the state, that their privileges should be reduced to what they had been in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.'- Some of the councilors went ito Copenhagen, and placed this proposition before the king, who sanctioned it in a ro\al rescript of \[l\ relative to the trade of foreign merchants in Bergen. Nothing was gained, however. In li 1447 the king granted the most unrestricted privileges to the Rostock nu'rchants to trade in the city of Oslo and Tunsberg in southern Norway, while in Bergen the conuiiandaiit, Olav Nilsson. the leader of the opposition to the Ilanseatic merchants, struggled with determination, but under great difficulties, to enforce the new regu- lations. A most critical situation had been created when King Christopher suddenly died in I US.'' ' Yiijjvar Nielsen. HirS(); puhlished l)y N. Xi<'oInysen in Nomkr .\f(ui(isiii, I. Diplomntnriitm Xonrrfficum, vol. VII., no. 117. ' The Hanseiiti(^ merchants resented the attempt to restrict their privilepos. In 1447 they issued a document in which they a<'cused Ohiv N'ilsson of the VOL. n — F 66 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II In Trondhjem the Hanseatic merchants had gained no foothold, as the}^ were forbidden to trade north of Bergen. Trondhjem had always been the chief center of trade with the Norwegian colonies, especially with Iceland, but this trade declined with the decay of Norwegian commerce and sea-power, and in the later Middle Ages almost nothing is known of the city's commercial activity.^ The Hanseatic supremacy resulted, very naturally, in a stagnation of the Norwegian cities, as the native merchants were driven out of busi- ness, and the population could not grow while the trade was in the hands of unmarried foreigners, who were strictly confined within the precincts of the factory, cut off from all social intercourse with the townspeople. The attempt of Olav Nilsson and the Norwegian Council to assert Norway's sovereign authority over these foreigners was a move in the right direction, but their zeal was greater than their strength, and the effort ended in dismal failure. 12. Christian I. of Denmark and Karl Knutsson of Sweden As King Christopher left no children, the question arose who should be chosen his successor, if the union were to be maintained. Den- mark favored the union because it was considered to be the leading kingdom. In the late reigns the candidates for the throne had been selected by the Danish Council, and the kings, who resided for the most part in Denmark, had sought to give that kingdom great pre- ponderance in the union. This time the Danes selected Christian of Oldenburg, another German, as their candidate, but this created great ill-will among the Swedes, who claimed that the Danes had broken the union agreement by constantly selecting the royal candi- dates without conferring with the other kingdoms. A small party in Sweden were favorably disposed towards the union, but many Swedish nobles coveted the throne. In Norway some were in favor most arbitrary and unlawful procedure. The document is published by Professor Yngvar Nielsen in the Christiania Videnskabs-Sclskabs Forhand- linger, 1877 and 1878. See also Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges Historic, p. 110 ff. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. XVI., no. 160. * Alexander Bugge, Nidaros's Handel og Skibsfart i Middelalderen, Fest- skrifl udgivel i Anledning af Trondhjems 900 Aars Jubilceum, 1897, Trondhjem, 1897. Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre og Handel, p. 131 ff. Norges gamle Love, anden rsekke, vol. I., p. 116 £E. II CnniSTIAN I. AND KARL KN'L'TSSON 67 of j)luciiiK the iuiti\e-b(jrn Sigurd Jonsson on the throne, hut the nuijority were ready to abide by the choice made by the other king- doms. In the meanwhile Karl Knutsson had matured his plans. On May 2;i, 1448, he entered Stockholm with 800 anned men. A mild spring rain was falling, and this was interpreted by the common people as an auspicious omen ; the great nf)ble was the man of the hour. On June 20 he was elected king of Sweden, and he was soon after crowned at L'psala. The Danes were quite sur])rised to learn that the union had been dissolved, but they nevertheless chose their own candidate. Christian of Oldenburg, king of Denmark. In N(irwa\' great indecision prevaileishop of Lund, bishops, prelates, knights and squires, the councils and in- habitants of both kingdoms, lK)th those who now live, and those who will be born hereafter, both born and unborn, with such preface and conditions that both kingdoms, Denmark .iiid NUrw.iy, shall henci^ forward remain united in ])roth(Tl>- loxt- and friendship, and one shall not Ion! it over the otlier, but each kingdom is to be tuUmI by nati\'e- born magistrates, as shown by the privileges of l)i>tli kingdoms; in 'Ibid, vol. VI [I., n... ;MJ. 70 HISTORY OF THE NOKVVEGIAN PEOPLE II such wise that each kingdom enjoys, keeps, and uses freely its written laws, freedom and privileges, old and new, which they now have, or hereafter may receive, and that both kingdoms, Denmark and Nor- way, shall henceforth remain under one king and lord forevermore. And the Council of each kingdom, and its inhabitants, shall aid and assist the Council and inhabitants of the other. And one kingdom and its people shall give the other aid and consolation as the need may be. But neither kingdom shall make war without obtaining the consent of the Council of the other. But the kingdom which asks for assistance shall supply provisions and means of sustenance, and the king shall guarantee against loss. And when it shall please God to let so sad a thing happen that the king dies, then shall the kingdom in which the king dies at once invite the Council of the other kingdom, that the Councils of both may speedily assemble at Halmstad according to the stipulations in the earlier agreement regard- ing this place. If the king then has one legitimate son or more, then the Councils shall choose the one to be king whom they consider to be the best qualified, and the others shall be properly provided for in both kingdoms. But if such an unfortunate circumstance should occur, which God forbid, that the king has no legitimate son, then shall the Councils of both kingdoms nevertheless meet in said city, and choose the one for king whom, on behalf of both kingdoms, they consider to be best qualified. In these stipulated articles neither kingdom shall suffer any slight or neglect, and especially in the choice of the king the Council of each kingdom shall have full hberty, powder, and free will, without let, hindrance, or deceit, and they shall not part until they have agreed upon the choice of a lord and king over both realms, and only one; but in such a way that each kingdom retains its old laws and justice, liberty and privileges." By this agreement an important change was made in the Nor- wegian constitution. The old principle of an hereditary monarchy was abandoned, and an elective kingship was substituted. This change had, however, already been made in practice. After the Nor- wegian royal line became extinct, circumstances had made it neces- sary to repeatedly place kings on the vacant throne by election. In 1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 345. Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. IV., p. 344 ff. II CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTS80N 71 theory the principle of hereditnry kingship hiul, indeed, been adhered to, l)ut lis it could no lonj^er he carried out in practice, it was becoming a mere tradition. It must be observed, however, that this tradition continued to hve, and it was even strengthened by tlie union kings of the House of Ol(h'nl)urg, who caHecl themselves heirs to the throne of Norway, and spoke of Norway as an hereditary king- d(jm. If the impression could be created that, in spite of the Bergen agreement, the Oldenburg kings succeeded to the throne of Norway by right of inheritance, it would, naturally, tend to safeguard the union, and to iiind Norway more closely to the kingdom of Denmark.' In the articles of union the e(iuality of the two kingdoms was strongly emi)ha.si/ed. One should not lord it over the other, but each should keep its laws, freedom, and privileges. The autonomy and sovereignty of Norway seemed thereby fully safeguarded, so far as this could be done on {)aper, but circumstances could not fail to operate against the maintenance of such an ecpiality. The king resided in Denmark, where he was constantly surrounded 1).\ Danish councilors and officers of state, and in a not distant future he would naturally regard Denmark as the princi|)al kingdom, if he did not already do so. Bygone events had already illustrated this so clearly that no doubt could exist as to the final outcome. The true char- acter of the political situation soon re\ealed itself. Though King Christian had agreed to come to Norway once every three years, he did not visit the kingdom above four times after his coronation during a long reign of thirty-one years, but the administration of Norwegian affairs he, nevertheless, took into his own hands, and left the Council of the Kingdom almost wholly out of consideratir)n. He even attempted to force upon the people the unscrupulous ad- venturer Marcellus as Archbishop of Trondhjem, though the chapter had already chosen Olav Throndsson. Only the refusal of the Pope to consecrate that unworthy candidate saved the Church of Norway from this humiliation.'- His royal edicts were always prefaced with the autocratic phrases : " \Vc, Christian, by the grace of God, King of Denmark-Norway, of the Wends and Goths, Count of Oldenburg ' T. II. Aschohoug, Slalsforfatningrn i Nnrgc oij Danmark indtil 1814, p. 197 f. * R. Kovsor. Dcfi nnrKkc Kirlcm Hii^lorii' mulrr Knlholicismrrt, II.. p. .'>4.S fT. 72 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II and Delmenhorst," etc. The Council is seldom mentioned in these documents, as if its advice or consent was a matter of slight impor- tance. The seal of the kingdom was kept by the Danish chancellor, while the Norwegian chancellor became a mere judicial oflBcer, and the office of drotsete, the highest in the kingdom, was virtually abolished. The Council, too, was allowing the control of public affairs to slip from its weakening grip. This became especially true after a number of immigrated Danes had become members. They had settled permanently in Norway, where they had gained wealth and social standing by marrying Norwegian heiresses, but they were still Danes in sympathy, and as they were not deeply concerned with affairs of local administration, their presence in the Council rapidly destroyed its last vestige of efficiency and usefulness, and it gradually became a mere appendix to the Council of Denmark. The Norwegian clergy was still native-boril and national-spirited, but it had been weakened like the aristocracy, and could no longer assert its former independence. Coming events cast their shadows before. Christian, the king by divine right and the grace of God, had given the Norwegian people a first installment of Oldenburg absolutism. King Christian's policy was wholly dictated by dynastic and Danish interests. In Bergen Olav Nilsson had struggled earnestly, though not with proper moderation, to enforce the laws against the Han- seatic merchants. Sometimes he had even used violent and lawless means to subdue them. While Christopher lived, he supported Nilsson, but Christian changed this method. He needed the support of the Hansa towns in a war with Sweden, and he considered it more important to win their friendship than to compel obedience to the laws of Norway. In 1-453 he arrived in Bergen accompanied by his queen, and summoned Nilsson to answer to charges preferred against him by the merchants. Nilsson sought safety in flight, and only after the king had issued a safe-conduct did he return to Bergen to answer the accusations. King Christian confiscated all his fiefs, and appointed a Swede, Magnus Gren, commandant in Bergen. But the doughty baron would not submit. He seized the strong castle of Elfsborg at the mouth of the Gota river, and threatened to hand it over to the Swedes, if the king did not return to him his fiefs, and II CHRISTIAN I. AND KAKL KNUT880N 73 reinstate him as commaiidaiit. The kin^ now found it a(lvisal)le it) yield, and Ohiv Nilssoii returned to Her^'en. But wliile at Kif.^- Iinri,' he h:i ravages of the Victual Brothers, and in 1421-1434 it was chanRt'd to a monastery of the order of St. Birjritla with double convent, one for monks, and one for nuns. With the i)ermission of the Pope this was done liy KiuK Kirik of Pomerania and his queen, Piiilippa, who introduced tliis order in Norway and Denmark. Lannc, I)e tiomke Klostrcs Ilisturii. Lu7. liUdviij Daae. Christicrn den fprslcs noDfkc Ilisloric, p. K)'.) ; Ilistoriskc >'sala, luiiled a proclamation on the door of the cathedral, renouncing his alle|,nance to him. Stcjck- holm was quickly invested, and Karl Knutsson, who found the situation hopeless, fled to Danzij;, where he was harbored by King Casimir IV. of Pohmd. Christian I., who by fair promises had j^ained strong support among the nobility, was |)lacefJ on the throne of Sweden. In 1 KiO he was also elected Duke of Ilolstein and Count of Schleswig and Stonnarn. whereby these provinces were united with the crown of Denmark. Xo king in the North had ever ruled so large a realm as the one now united imder his scepter, but it was loosely knit together and badly governed. The outward greatness represented no corresponding internal strength. J. E. Sars says : "Never has Norway been governed so wretchedly as under the first king of a dynasty which, to such a remarkai^le degree, should l)ecome the object of the Norwegian people's loyalty and devotion. The thirty-one years during which this king ruled belong to the saddest in our histors', not only because of the many hannful measures due to his weakness and recklessness, his lack of will and ability to do his duty to Norway, but also of the perfect tranquillity- which continuef kinc mans (johs) 77 iiiarskcii, wliicli had hitherto hrrii an iiKh'pciuh'iit republic, and this n«'W (hich>' <>r IIol>tein he j^Tanted Kin;^ rhri>tian I. us a fief, evi- (h-ntly for the purpose of ^aininj; fiis ^ood will. Why Christian un(h'r- took this journey is not known, and httle j^ood came of it. His expenses were hirj^e, and wlien he came t«) Italy, lie had to borrow money from the Ilanseatic merchants, who were willinj^ enouf^h to ^rant him the neces>ar\' loan.->, knowin<^ that they would l»e able to obtain charters and trade pri\"ile^'cs in return. By a letter of Sej)- tember (», 1 171. the kin^ annidled all restrictions placed on the trade of the Ilanseatic meri-hants in Oslo and Tuii.sberj;, "for the good will and love which the Rostock merchants had shown him." and confinncd all tlu' ]tri\ile<;es which had been prante he had issued a letter which insured them against competition frotn the Hollanders, by restricting the trade of Holland merchants in Bergen to one or two cargoes a >ear. King Christian had diligently sought to please the Hanseatic merchants, and to maintain their hated commercial monopoly. In vain the people of Bergen complained of outrages committe- honiagt* an«»• this ' Diplomtihirium Xorwigintm. III., no. S42. Cliristian I. h.ml four sons: Knut and Olav, who died iu childhood, aud Ilaus and Frederick, who sur- vived him. 78 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H promise was renewed by the Norwegian Council in Halmstad, where Hans was made coregent with his father.^ Even in his father's Hfetime he had been in Norway, where he had exercised royal ad- ministrative authority, and had styled himself "The son of King Christian, elected King of Denmark, and rightful Heir to the throne of Norway," but when Christian died, the Norwegians showed no inclination to accept Hans as their king in spite of these promises. Misgoverimient had made them cautious, and they were now fully detennined to seek redress for past wrongs before another king was placed on the throne. On February 1, 1482, sixteen members of the Norwegian Council entered into an agreement with deputies from Sweden that the two kingdoms should aid one another in defending their rights and liberties, and that in the election of a king neither should take any step not sanctioned by the Council of the other. The Norwegian councilors at the same time issued a letter in which they recounted the injuries which the kingdom of Norway had suffered in King Christian's reign : the mortgaging of the Orkney and Shet- land islands, the outrages committed in Bergen by the Hanseatic merchants in 1455, when no attempt was made by the king to punish the guilty parties, the privileges granted by Christian I. to the Ger- man cities, the harmful journeys by which the Council had been compelled to leave the kingdom, the numerous wars which had been forced upon the people without the consent of the Council, that the revenues of the kingdom had been sent out of the country, that Bohus and other fiefs had been granted to foreigners against the advice of the Council, and that these foreigners had received greater powers and privileges in Christian's time than ever at any time before. " When we made complaints against the foreigners, we could receive no justice, but if one of our own citizens broke the laws, he was most severely punished." ^ This indictment of the late king breathes a bitter resentment which could not easily be appeased. In former elections the Danish Council had at times acted too hastily ; this time it proceeded with greater caution. The situation 1 J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 160. R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicif^men, II., p. 570, 580. * Hadorph, Tva gambla Rijmkronikor, Bihaiig, p. 302 ff., quoted by J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 161. II THE UVAGS OF KINO HANS (jOHN) 79 was (liffioiilt. Sweden Ii;ul already broken away frf)m the union, the diiehies of S( lile>\vi^-IIolstein were hut loosely connected with the crown, and in Norway great dissatisfaction prevailed. Under these circumstances Denmark could not proceed to elect a king alone without incurring the risk of destroying the union. In August, 14S2, the Danish and Swedish councilors met at Kalmar, where they agreed that peace should exist between the two kingdoms, and that they should he united under the same king, hut the Swedes would not elect a king, as the Norwegian councilors were not present. A new meeting was to be assembled at Ilahnstad, January 13, 1483, as it was hoped that Norway would then be represented. In the mean- time the Danes tried to i)ersuade the Norwegian councilors to join them in electing Hans, but this they would not do until they receiveorters were too strong to be successfully resisted. Elfsborg was taken, and a large Danish army advanced against Kalmar. Sture hastened to Stockholm to defend the capital, but the Danes seized Hrunkeberg, and after defeating a force of Dal- karlean peasants who were marching to his aid, they took Stock- holm ; Mlfsborg fell, and Sture was forced to give uj) the struggle. On November 2.3, 1497, Hans was proclahned king of Sweden, and the union of the three kingdoms was again established, although Swetlen, as represented by Sten Sture's j)arty, had entered into the new compact as a most unwilling partner. In order to ni^ke the union stid)le and permanent, the Swedish Council agreed that Prince Chris- tian, the son of King Hans, should succeed his father on the throne. and he was fonnally hailed as heir to the throne of Sweden at Stock- holm in IMH). The ct)mmercial affairs of the North were at this time in a chaotic state. Hostilities had broken out between Kngland and Denniark-Norwa.w because iMiglish merchants continued to trade with Iceland, although the trade with the Nt)rwegian c(»lonies was a crown monoj)oly. In Norway the ill-will against the Han- seatic merchants had been increaseve that this ohar- acterization agret's with actual conditions." J. E. Sars, I'dsigl over den norskr Hislorie, III., p. 171. See also U. Koyser, Den norske Kirket His- toric under Katholicismen, II., p. 590. 84 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II cause of this revolt was a local disturbance in Romerike, where the foged, Lasse Skjold, had so exasperated the people by his extortions that they rose against him, and put him to death. The uprising, although not dangerous, assumed such proportions that Knut Alvsson, who was commandant of Akershus, feared that he would be unable to cope with it, and he asked Henry Krumedike of Bohus for aid. Krumedike not only failed to respond, but it seems that he had succeeded in arousing the king's suspicion as to Alvsson's loyalty, and that he had been secretly encouraged by the king to watch his movements. Alvsson lost the king's favor ; he was relieved of his command of Akershus, and a Danish noble, Peder Griis, was appointed to succeed him. A bloody feud ensued, and Alvsson turned to Sweden for aid. He raised an armed force in that kingdom, and made a raid into Norway, but he was driven back by the king's adherents. Those who were dissatisfied flocked to his standards, and Erick Gyldenstjerne, the Danish commandant of Elfsborg, joined him ; likewise, also, Nils Ravaldsson of Olavsborg in Viken. Akershus, Tunsberg,^ Marstrand, and Sarpsborg were taken, and Krumedike was striving to hold his own at Bohus. King Hans could not come to Norway, but he sent his son Christian, now twenty-one years old, to take command.^ The prince showed a most resolute spirit, and soon got the situation under control. Bohus was relieved, and Gyldenstjerne surrendered Elfsborg after a few days' siege, though a Swedish army under x^lvsson had arrived in the neighborhood to support him. When he arrived in the Swedish camp, he was killed by the angry soldiers, who looked upon him as a traitor. After an expedition into Vermland, Prince Christian re- turned to Denmark, leaving Krumedike in command. Tunsberg was soon captured, and Knut Alvsson hastened to the support of Akershus, but as he feared the outcome of an armed conflict, he decided to try negotiations. Provided with a safe-conduct, he boarded Krumedike's ship. But a quarrel between the rivals ensued, and Alvsson was slain, 1502. For this misdeed Krumedike was ^ Ludvig Daae, Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. I., p. 500 ff. The castle of Tunsbcrghus was destroyed in this feud. * Iver Hesselberg, Christian den anden i Norge, Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, II., p. 3 ff. n THE REIGN OF KING HANS (jOIIx) 85 compelled to leave Norway, and the uprising was not i)ut down till 1504. In loOG Prince Christian returned to Norway with full royal ' power.- He was a man of great energy and ability, influenced by the new ideas of humanism and the Renaissance. Disposed hy nature to brook no restraint, he ]>ai(l little attention to conventionalities. In Bergen he became enamored with a fair damsel, Dyveke (the little dove), whose mother, Sigbrit Villums, was shopkeeper in the city. She was introduced to the prince at a ball, and being greatly impres.sed with her rare beauty, "he danced with her," says the old historian, "and this was the cause of his dancing away from these three kingdouis, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway." This is un- doubtedly an exaggeration, but Dyveke became his mistress, and the attachment of the prince for the girl and her mother plays an imj)ortant part in his reign. In ])ublic as in private life he was guided by his own impulses, which inclined him to favor the common people. He soon became their favorite, and many a goblet of ale was drunk to the health of the good Prince Christian. He sought to encourage Norwegian trade, and granted the merchants of Amster- dam pennission to trade in Bergen and everywhere in Norway.' In 1508 he annulled the special privileges of the Rostock merchants in Oslo and Tun.sberg, and granted them the same rights as native citizens, when they settled pernuinently in the city, and bore their share of the public burdens. The following year he placed iinj)ortant restrictions upon the Hanseatic nuTchants of Bergen and increased the privileges of the native traders. The castle of the city was also rebuilt, so that the commandant ultimately became able to force the Han.seatic factory into submission. The jjcople of the cities might have reason to be satisfied with Prince Christian's efforts to improve conditions, but in the country districts the Danish Jogah were still allowe' 17th, rain was falling in torrents, and the Danish army was crowded together on the narrow road, on either side of which were broad ditches filled with water. The Ditmarskers opened fire. The Danes could neither advance nor retreat, and a fearful i)anic ensued. All order and discipline vanished, and the army was converted into a struggling Tnass of horses and men trying in vain to extricate them- selves. The horses sank to their knees in the mud, or tumbled head- long with their riders into the ditches. The si)irited attack of the Ditmarskers sealed the doom of the entrapped ami.w The dikes were cut. and the Xorth Sea rollecl its billows o\er the marshy plains, while the peasants jumped around on their long poles, dealing death and destruction on (>\(Ty hand. The king escaped, but the army Was destroyed ; the Danebrog banner was lost, and enormous quan- tities of sujiplies fell into the hands of the Ditmarskers.- * The statiMiu'iit made hy old writers that tho army uumbercd 30,000 men has Ions sinct' been discardt-d as orroiicous. • CMir. Molhi'i'k, Ifistorie om Ditmarskerkrigen t ISOO, Copenhagen. ISH. 88 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II King Hans' defeat made a deep impression on the whole North. In Sweden, where the people had grown restive under his rule, because he had failed to keep his promise to rule according to the charters, his discomfiture caused great excitement, and soon a well-organized revolt was set on foot. Sten Sture was again chosen regent, and the castles through the country were seized in rapid succession until only Borgholm and Kalmar remained in the hands of the king's adherents. Stockholm was ably defended by Queen Christina. The city was treacherously surrendered to Sten Sture in the fall of 1501, but not till in the spring, when all stores were exhausted, did the brave queen surrender the castle. King Hans himself arrived the day after with a fleet of thirty vessels, too late to be of any service. When Sten Sture died in 1503, Svante Sture was chosen to succeed him. An armistice was concluded, and the Councils of the three kingdoms should meet at Kalmar to negotiate a settlement of the diflSculties, but Svante Sture did not appear, and in 1506 hostilities were revived. As Denmark was again becoming a naval power, the campaigns of the next three years were largely waged on the sea. King Hans had hired ship-builders in Holland, and many vessels were added to the fleet every year. In 1502 he came to Stockholm with thirty ships ; in 1505 he arrived in Kalmar with twice that number. Den- mark was beginning to develop the roj^al navy which in future years was to be her main strength. The islands of Oland and Goth- land, which were still in the hands of the Danes, afforded them a most favorable vantage ground, whence their able sea-captains, Jens Holgerss0n, Otto Rud, and S0ren Norby whom the king had made chief commander of the royal fleet, harried the Swedish coasts, and swept the Baltic Sea clean of merchant vessels going to and from Sweden. S0ren Norby captured Kastelholm in the Aland Islands, and Otto Rud ravaged the coasts of Finland and sacked Abo. The plan was to destroy all commerce with Sweden, and starve the king- dom into submission. In 1509 the leaders of the Swedish uprising had to yield. They promised to pay the king 12,000 marks, and his queen, Christina, 1000 marks a year until the Councils of the three realms could assemble in joint meeting to place either King Hans or his son Christian on the throne of Sweden ; but the peace did not last 11 liti:uati;ki: axij ixtkllixtual like 89 Intij;. Ill 1510 Liil)eck (loclarcd war a^'aiiist Kiiif,' Hans, and Swtfien v'\/.ed the ()j)p(»rtiinity to join tlie llanscatic citit'S on tlie lialtic ( nastin a coalition against Di-ninark. Jens Ilol^'crssjin, who was made ( Miuniandcr of the Danish fleet, fought a great naval hatllc with the l.iiheckers oil" IJornholin, Angust 9, 1511. The comhat was in- ilr(isi\e. hotli sides claiming,' thi' \ictory. A second battle took place nil the iltli of tlie same month near the coast of Mecklenburg with tlic same result. The next year Liiheck made peace on terms very r,i\()ral)le to Denmark; tlie Ilanseatic cities could no longer claim naval supremacy in the North. The creation of a na\.\- was the one great service which King Hans irii(U'reaiter into Danish. < hristian II. was a lover of medicine and alciiemy, and lie forbade any of his subjects to visit foreign universities until they had become iiu'calaurei in Copenhagen."^ In Norway no such progress was i:iade. A few books were, indeed, written, but they were either printed I'lroad — especially in Coj)enliagen, Paris, and Rostock — or they •re left unpublished.- The first Norwegian printing establishment \s as set up in Cliristiania by Tyge Nielsen in IG-tii, in which year he printed three small books, "Encke .suck," "En merkelig vise," and ' lOn ny almanach." ' Xhvv the Old N()r>c literary jMTiod came to a close about l.'ioO. the Norwegian language inidorwent a rapid change, which, in the Middle Norse period, 1. '>")()- 152.3, transfonned it in all essential re- spects into modern Norwegian. This change seems to have been (hie in part to the almost total interruption of the old literary activity, which had hitherto maintained a literary language more or less - arresting its development. In the Middle Period the upper classes ceased to cultivate literature. Thereby poesy emancipated itself from learning, and returned t(^ its own haunts to frolic about the fresh fountain-heads from which it was originally led forth. It can scarcely be regardecoi)Ie the dance also became a school, an introduction to the old life, and a strengthening of the love of home and kindred. The young people learned also through the singing of the songs the good traits which the song especially praised : courage and manhood, honesty and courtesy, chivalry, self-sacrifice in love, and friendship unto death ; but shame and dis- grace befell the coward and the one who was dishonest and faithless. Often the songs stimulated the people's minds by wit and sarcasm ; yes, the song-c may l>c addcnl the numerous bifgde- sagn, or local traditions of more or less historic character, found in all parts of the country.- Liidvig Daae says of these: "The stories ' Th»» word Anxijndnlsrri sci'iiis to bo ooniKH-tod with O. N. {hskriuiUf/r, meaninjj ft-urful, iiiid ni a procession on horseback, henco tho fearful pro- cession. But the nleani^^J of the first part of tho word is not dear, and it has been varit)nsly iiilerprett'd. The story of the Ansynanlsrei is told n a folk-sontj from Teh'inarken. See Sdynd om Atisgaiirfisrtieti by P. A. Muneh in AnitnUr for iionli.'>• the greedy fitgrds, who forcc- more than their just dues, and if anyone resisted forcibly, he was in danger of being treated as a rebel. But when the jjcojile assembled at the thing, they might refuse to pay a tax even if the king had levied it. When Stig Bagge at the Jylkes- thing, in Sogndal, in bj32, read a letter from the king announcing that a new tax had been imposed, the people took the matter under advisement, whereupon they declared with uj)lifted swords that, as they had paid heavy taxes the last year, they would pay nothing this year until midsummer, and this resolve they maintained in spite of the threats of the royal IcnsnwBndr A similar action had been taken at the fi/l/a'st hi ng at Ilalsaa in 148-1.^ As both personal and property rights were often infringed uj)on by the fogech, the ro\al lenftiiicmd, and even by the king himself,' the people demanded that these rights should be safeguarded by the royal charters. By a royal decree of June 25, 1455, the king's lensmaend and other officials were forbidden to oppress the people, to impose unlawful taxes, or to seize or imprison any one without due process of law. Similar provisions are found in the Swedish charter of King Christian I., and in the charters issued by King Hans and his .successors.^ * T. H. Asfhohoup, Statsfnrfdhiingcn i Norgc og Dantnark indlil IS14, p. 227; De norske CornmunerH Rclsforfatning ffir 18S7, p. 84. * T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Cornmuners lietuforfalning for 1SS7, p. Si. Diplomatnrium Norwcgicum, II.. no. IIOS. ' Diplotnalarium Morwigirutii, IV., no. 007. * At times tho kinfr did iinpo.so ta.xes without th«< a«hico or ronsont of the Council, but this docs not .seem to have luipj)cn(>d vitv oft«'ii. Soe T. II. AsehehouR, Slatsfor/ntningin i Norgc og Dnntnnrk iuJtH ISI ',. p. 2.')3. ' T. II. AsdichouK, Sta(sforfatinngcn i Xorgr og Danmark indtil 1814, p. 226 ff. ; Df norske Communcrs Rclsforfatniiig J^r 1SS7. 102 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II The thing-system still existed, but the power of lawmaking had been gradually assumed by the king, who in such matters was suf- fered to act in conformity with the advice of the Council. The people's consent expressed through the thing was generally, though not always, asked for, but it had ceased to be anything but a mere matter of form. Perhaps the chief reason why the things ceased to take an active part in legislation was that the laws were considered permanent, and the king's lawmaking power was very limited. He could issue ordinances in regard to special matters, but he had to take an oath to obey and uphold the "Code of Magnus Lagab0ter," which was considered to be the essential and permanent laws of the land. The Council of the realm shared the sovereign power with the king, and in some respects it was even placed above him. It acted, not only as an advisory body, but the king had to obtain its consent in all important matters. The charter granted by Christian I. states that "no important errand shall be undertaken or fulfilled unless a majority of the Council consents thereto." When the king died, the Council assumed full sovereign authority, and acted as a regency, or it chose a regent to act in the interim until a new king was placed on the throne. But although the king's sovereign author- ity was thus divided and limited, the Council was no ministry repre- senting the will of the people, as in modern constitutional monarchies, and when we except the chancellor, who was the king's private secretary, the councilors did not assist the king as cabinet members in the routine work of his administrative duties. The members of the Council did not stay in the same place, but lived scattered through the kingdom, and because of the expenses and difficulties connected with travel in those days, they could meet only on special occasions when they were summoned by the king. How often these meetings were held cannot be determined with certainty. Accord- ing to King Hans' charter, the Council should be assembled once every two years in Oslo and Bergen alternately. Because of the slow and difficult process of assembling the Council, it was stated in Karl Knutsson's charter that the king should obtain its advice except in cases of emergency, when he might act without consulting it. This was a dangerous concession, as it became possible for the n crraisTUN ii. the dawn of a new era 103 kin^ to wholly i^Tiore the Council on the plea of enicrKcncv, and we have already ohserNcd a ^rowin}; tendency on tiie jiart of the uniciu kings to wholly disregard the Norwegian Council. 10. Christian- TT. Tin: Daw\ of- a New Era Christian, the son of King Hans, was born July 1, 1481, and was at the tune of his father's death tiiirt\-two years of age. As a child he was so wild and untractahle that his father placed him in the family of a well-to-do merchant, Hans Meissenheim, but after a month had pa.ssed, the merchant's wife, a very good and conscientious woman, refused to ha\e the responsibility of keeping him. He was then placed in the home of his tutor, but after a short time he was brought back to the palace, where he received a new tutor, the hu- manist Konrad of Branden])urg. Under his guidance the young prince was made acquainted with the new ideas of the Uenaissance, which seem to have greatly interested the wide-awake pupil. Chris- tian was a gifted boy ; and when he grew to manhood he was espe- cially well devel()|)ed both intellectually and physically. He had lofty plans and a resolute will to accomplish great things. He was energetic and courageous, but suspicion and a tendency to faith- lessness and melancholy were serious defects in his character which early manifested themselves. At the age of twenty-one he was placed in command of the army sent to Norway to quell the u|)ris- ing led by Knut Alvs.son, and a few years later he again returned as tlie ruler of the kingdom, clothed with full sovereign power. That he would become his father's successor was no longer doubtful. In 1487, while he was only six years old, the Danish Estates had haileti him as liis father's successor on the throne of Denmark, two years later the Norwegian Council decided that he should succeed his father on the throne of Norway, and in Sweden he had been haile the Councils of the tiiree kingdoms were summoned to meet in Copenhagen, but only nine Swedish councilors met, and they had received such limiteii power that they could not settle the one great question, the attitude of Sweden to the union. The Danish and Norwegian councilors 104 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II then undertook to formulate their demands in charters which the king would be asked to sign. The Norwegian councilors prefaced their demands with a complaint that the king had called himself the rightful heir to the Norwegian kingdom, although Norway was now an elective monarchy, and, furthermore, that King Hans, con- trary to the oath which he had taken, had not redeemed the Orkney and Shetland Islands, or the annuities to be paid for the Hebrides and Man according to the treaty of Perth. Then follow^s a series of demands by which the councilors sought to safeguard the autonomy of Norway, and to maintain its equality with Denmark in the union. Towards the Danish Council the king was very condescending, but the demands of the Norwegian councilors he treated with haughty disfavor. Some he refused to grant, some he passed over in silence, and others he referred to the Danish Council. To the very reason- able request that the castles and lens of Norway should be granted to native lords he returned the answer through his chancellor that, since the nobility of Norway was almost extinct, he would grant the lens and castles of the kingdom to Danes and native-born lords. The ecclesiastical offices over which the crown exercised the right of patronage would be given to native-born Danes and Norwegians, and none but Danes and Norwegians should be appointed members of the Norwegian Council. This was tantamount to saying that Norway should be ruled by Danes, not by native-born officials. No special charter was granted Norway, but the Danish charter was to be considered as applying to both realms, a step which destroyed the equality of the two kingdoms in the union. This rather brutal disregard for the acknowledged rights of Norway he could show, because he knew that the kingdom lacked an efficient military organi- zation, and that the Norwegian Council had no means of enforcing its demands. " But it is a question," says Sars, "if it was politically correct for Christian H. to take the greatest possible advantage of this weakness in the way he did, or if it must not rather be said that by his conduct in this instance he showed the same violent greed for power, the political short-sightedness, and lack of true statesmanship which always characterized his conduct." ^ The charter was finally 1 J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 178. R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Kalholicismen, II., p. 616 f. Samlinger II CHRISTIAN II. THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 105 acre{)te(l, and the Couruils adjouriu'd to meet aKJiin in June, 1515, for the i)iirj)(>se of settling tlie (lilliciilt question rej^ardiiij; Swe<)neiits, or to use them for his own ends. He was flattering and ingratiating, and no one knew better than he how to act towards those whom he wanted to win, or to make it appear that he served those whom he wished to use as tools for his own purposes. As an enemy he was feared for liis falsity and artiflce." "To this must .still be added," says 0verland, "that he was about the most covetous and greedy man of his age, and that he was proud and boastful when fortune favored him." ^ In the month of August, 1524, the Council renouncetl their alle- giance to Christian H., and chose Frederick I. king of Norway. A charter, to which the king ^'ould be required to subscribe,' specified that the king should protect the Catholic Church, its teachings* rights, and privileges; tiiat he sliould maintain the laws of the kingdom, renounce the title of "Heir to the throne of Norway," acknotvleiige that he received the Norwegian letwi from the Council, and agree not to grant them to any but native-l)orn lords, or to lords niarried ' Ynpvar Niolson. liirgm fra de aldntv Tidcr indtil Xutiden, 270 flf. C. F. Alien. Dr tre Rigcrs Ilislone l/,97-i53n, vol. IV.. 2. 222. N. Nicolayson, Norskc Mafffisiri, I.. .>4S. Xarskf Sanilirigrr, vol. IT.. 4S1 fT. Diplomntarium Norwegirum, vol. V., no. lO;?'.!; vol. IX.. no. .")!.'). f)!?: vol. VI.. no. 091. * Diplomntdriitm Nnrwrgiciirn, vol. VIII., no. .'")2<') ; IX., no. 532, 534. O. A. Overland, S^yrgeK Ilixtorir, vol. V.. p. 2".1H. *Samlingcr til del norske folks Sprog og IlUlorie, vol. I., p. 1 (T. 120 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II to native-born ladies. The Orkney and Shetland Islands were to be redeemed, and the rights and privileges granted by former charters were reaffirmed. A letter was also addressed to the king complaining of Henrik Knimedike, and giving notice that he had been deposed from his len and banished from the kingdom.^ With these documents Vincence Lunge went to Denmark to King Frederick I. The king signed the charter, but Krumedike was declared innocent on the oath of twenty-four knights, and in 1529 he received again his posses- sions in Norway. 18. The Struggle for Norway. Christian II, Frederick I. had been placed on the throne of Norway, but the kingdom was controlled by the Council, in which Vincence Lunge exercised the greatest authority. Olav Galle, governor of southern Norway, and Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson, who was president of the Council, were also influential members. The relations with Sweden were not cordial. Gustav Vasa had not evacuated Viken, though he had been requested to do so, and Swedish refugees, the op- ponents of King Gustav, had been well received in Norway. The hostile feeling grew still more intense when Vincence Lunge and Lady Inger of f3straat harbored and supported a Swedish pretender who claimed to be the son of Sten Sture, and sought to stir up a rebellion against King Gustav. The pretender, generally known as the " Dale- junker," was a worthless criminal by the name of Jons Hansson, who after having operated for a time in Dalarne fled to Norway to escape capture. He came to 0straat, and succeeded in winning the confi- dence of Lady Inger and Vincence Lunge. The story was circulated that Gustav Vasa was dead ; the pretender became engaged to one of Inger's daughters, probably Eline,^ and the ambitious mother was dreaming lofty dreams of finally seeing her daughter as queen on the throne of Sweden. Lunge's reasons for supporting the pretender ^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. IX., no. 537, 538, 539. 2 R. Keyser thinks that the youngest daughter, Lucie, was betrothed to the "Dalejunker." Den norske Kirkes Historic, II., 679. A document later discovered states that it was Eline, but Ludvig Daae considers this to be an error, as Eline was at that time betrothed to the Danish knight, Nils Lykke, whom she married in 1528. Lud^ig Daae, Fru Inger OUesdatter og hendes D^tre, Historisk Tidsskrifl, vol. III., p. 224 £f. II THE STRUGGLE FOIi NORWAY. ( IIKISTIA.N II 121 even after the fniiul liad been exposefl must have been of the nutst st)r(li(l nature. Ludvi^ Daac tliiuks that lie wished the VDun^ hidy to marry abroad, in order that the estates which she would otlierwise inherit ini^lit come into tiie jjos.session of the remaining lieirs. In the fall of 1527 the pretender proceeded to Daiarne to rally the people to his cause. But they had been warne Diplnvwtarium Xonvnjicum, XIV., no. .W.'). TkS?, r^SS, TkSO, G02. Bidrag til Oplysnitii) om Prdr Kantder og Mcxter Ktiut stttnt den saakaldlc Dale- junker, Samlingcr til del norskc Folks Sprog og flislorii , T., p. 47S ff. 122 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II dependency. But this plan was frustrated by the Norwegian polit- ical policy of Vincence Lunge and Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson, who had revived to some extent the power of the Norwegian Council. Though their motives were often sordid, and their methods repre- hensible, tliey were fighting for Norwegian autonomy, and the out- come depended on their willingness to cooperate. But a disinterested plan of united effort could not long be pursued by the two leaders, as other circumstances would have made this impossible, even if they had been men of more lofty and unselfish purposes. Archbishop Olav was undoubtedly a patriot, who sought to defend his country's freedom and honor, but he was unable to give the struggle even a tinge of the patriot's tragic idealism, and history has unjustly veiled his name in obloquy. J. E. Sars says of him : " The name of Arch- bishop Olav Engelbrektsson grates unpleasantly on our ears. It is connected with the memory of Norway's deepest national humilia- tion in such a way that about the deepest shadow of this wholly dark picture falls upon him personally. Henrik Krumedike de- scribed him to King Frederick I. as a 'false man,' according to the statement of Vincence Lunge,^ and in later history he has received a similar testimonial. His political policy has been described as unwise and dishonest. It has been described as showing that he had slack moral principles, a weak character, and that he lacked the proper reverence for his calling, and the conviction of the truth and justice of his cause.^ It has even been said that such a motive as patriotism and a feeling for Norway's liberty and honor must have been wholly foreign to him, that he sought purely personal ends, or that, at best, he was only guided by a Catholic prelate's hierarchical zeal. This is evidently erroneous. Vincence Lunge would scarcely have appealed so strongly in his letters to the archbishop's patriotism if he knew that such an appeal would find no response; and the archbishop's own writings prove that his country's honor lay close to his heart, and that he deplored the state of dependency to which Norway had been brought. He did not possess the qualities of a hero or a martyr, but he was evidently not an insignificant personality. ^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VII., no. 600. * R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historic under Katholicismen, vol. II., p. 692. II TUE STRUGGLE FOR NORWAY. CHRISTIAN II 123 We see that he did not full to understand what was necessary in order to defend the Norwe^niin kinj,'d<)ni and the CathoHc ('hurch against the flanj^ors and enemies which threatened Ixith, and that, in a way, lie was always active, thouj^h he received little support from his own people. In contemplating his ambiguous, equivocal conduct we must not forget the difficult situation in which he was place Christian C A. L:vnKi\ Dr norske Kloglrcs Ilislorie i .\fiddelalderen, p. 337. Yngvar Xiolson, Inrgcn, p. 274. 124 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II he came to Norway to be hailed as successor to the throne, as the prince was even more outspoken in his adherence to the Lutheran Reformation than his father. In this matter the archbishop seems to have received the support of Lunge, who was also striving to maintain the political autonomy of Norway. The struggle became at once political and religious, but the quarrel between Vincence Lunge and the archbishop seems to have overshadowed all national issues. Lunge continued his seizure of church property, and w^as well assisted in this traffic by his greedy mother-in-law. Lady Inger. He failed in an attempt to take the monastery of Ulstein, but Lady Inger secured the cloister of Rein, and her son-in-law. Nils Lykke, gained possession of the monastery of Tautra. In Bergen the church was also suffering heavy losses. The new commandant, Eske Bilde, destroyed some of the finest edifices of the city : the Apostle church, the Christ church, the bishop's residence, and the chapter house, all built in the Gothic style of arcliitecture. This wanton destruc- tion was done for mihtary purposes, to give freer range to the artillery of the fortress, but the archbishop took no step, and probably could take none, to punish this grave offense. The Lutheran doctrine was spreading. The first Lutheran preacher, the monk Antonius, who came to Norway in 1526, seems to have received permission from King Frederick I. to preach in Bergen. Three years later two other Lutheran ministers arrived,^ and Vincence Lunge, Lady Inger, and their influential relatives gave the reformers active support. Bergen became the center of the Reformation in Norway, but the Lutheran preachers were active also in other dis- tricts. Bishop Hoskold of Stavanger wrote to Eske Bilde that he should not tolerate or protect the damnable Lutheran heresy which had led so many astray, but he should try with all might to stamp out the false doctrine. One of the archbishop's men complained that Lutheranism was spreading also in Finmarken. Even the Council of Liibeck became alarmed, and wrote to the archbishop and the Council of Norway to act with energy against the dangerous doctrines, destructive of all social order.^ The Reformation could make progress because the Catholic Church in Norway as elsewhere had lost its spiritual vigor. The monasteries had become hotbeds 1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VIII., no. 603. * Ibid., XI., no. 522, 523. II THE STRUGGLE FOR NOKWAV. ( nHI>TIAN II 125 of vice and corruption,' and tlic Latin chnrcii service, which consisted chiefly of empty ceremonies, could no longer ai)i)eal to those wiio liad caught the spirit of tiie new age. The fine schohir (lel)le Pe' reassuring, and Emperor Charles V. would do nothing to help him. As Christian could accomplish nothing l)y diplomacy, he boldly entered the Netherlands, collected sliii)s, war supplies, and a sum of 50,000 gulden, and hired an army of 7(10(1 iiuTcenaries for an expedition to Norway. The archbishoj) would not innnedi- ately declare himself for King Christian, though he had l)een secretly negotiating with him, but waited until he should land with his forces in the kingdom. In November, 1531, King Christian arrived on the southern coast of Norway after a stormy voyage, on which he had suffereti great losses. Mogens Gyldenstjerne was asked to surrender Akershus, which he agreed to do if King Frederick I. did not send him reenforcements before the month of March, and Christian, who failed to see that the commandant was trying to gain time, agreed to a fatal armistice.' On November 29th he was proclainunl king of Norway at Oslo, and on the same date Archbishop Olav declared his allegiance to him. King Christian marched from Oslo with a part of his forces to Bohus, while -Lirgen Ilansson le-. In the country districts they had already begun to take possession of estiites belonging to the church, as the religious enthusiasm grew ever more fervid. In 1530 the citizens of Copenhagen submitted their Lutheran confession to a diet assembled in the city ; the Lady's church was broken open, and its altiirs and paintings were destroyed. Even before King Frederick I. i)assed away in I'VS.l, the Catholic Church in Deiunark was crumbling into ruins before the victorious assault of this new intellectual and spiritual force. 19. Tin: Count's War. Chri.stian III. Frederick 1. had been placed on the throne by the nobles, whose support he had won by liberal concessions, but religimis strife and social discontent had piled high the easily ignited fuel of discord, 128 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II which at any moment might blaze forth into a general conflagra- tion. Under these circumstances the election of a new king was a matter causing great concern. The majority of the nobility supported Duke Christian, the oldest son of Frederick I., but as he was a Lutheran, he was opposed by a strong Catholic party led by the clergy, who favored King Frederick's younger son Hans, while the merchants and the peasants, who were sorely oppressed by the nobility, wished to place the imprisoned Christian II. on the throne. Ambrosius Bogbinder, Mayor of Copenhagen, and Jiirgen Kock, Mayor of Malmo, the leaders of this party, allied themselves with Liibeck, where the leader of the common people, Jiirgen Wullenwever, had been elected mayor. When the Council assembled in Copenhagen, 1533, to elect a king, little hope could be entertained of an agreement, and many important questions awaited settlement. Whether Lutheran- ism or Calvinism should be the future religion in Denmark, whether the union with Norway should be maintained, whether Denmark should take the side of Liibeck or of Holland in the struggle for supremacy in the Baltic, were among questions to be considered. As none of the candidates for the throne could be chosen, the election of king was postponed until the following year, but the disputes were violent, especially regarding the question of religion. Hans Tausen was summoned before the Council and sentenced to death, but the sentence could not be executed, because the angry populace threatened to mob the Catholic prelates, and the persecution of the Lutherans, which was set on foot, stranded on the people's determined resistance. As to the question of supporting Liibeck or Holland, the Council decided in favor of Holland. Wullenwever, who hoped to save Liibeck's commercial prestige by gaining power and influence in Denmark, was keeping his fleet ready, awaiting the decision, and he immediately sent an army of mercenaries into Holstein in command of Count Christopher of Oldenburg. Owing to this circumstance, this war for naval and commercial supremacy, of succession, and re- ligious party strife is generally known as the "Count's War." Count Christopher quickly seized Seeland, Sk§,ne, and the Danish islands. The people of Jutland rose against their lords, burned their residences, and proclaimed Christian II. king. Under these circumstances the II TlIK count's war. CIIIUSTIAN III 129 Council again us.senil)le(l and cliose Diikc ( "liristijin kiiij;, hut it might now be ii {jiiestiou if tlioy had a throne to oiler him. If he wished to ride, he had to win his lnhit(I.\- took uj) thefij^ht. As Duke of (lottorji he could rely on the support of tlie nohles of llolstein, who wished to heconie masters of Dennuirk. His general, Joim Uantzan, defeated the peasants in Jutland, and crushed the forces of the Lul)eekers in Fyen, while I*eder Skram, tlie Danish naval connnaiidcr, naval war written hy ^^arx von Selileytz. founii in [He crsten dtutsclun Zcititm/rn, p. IKi (Munchen lil)r!iry), has been pub- lished hy Profos.sor Ludvit,' D;uie in IIistori.sk Tiilsskrifl, forste ni>kke, vol. III., p. 447 ff. C. PahKhui-Miiller, anvcns Friilr, I., ISO fT. ; II.. 1S4 IT. O. Waitz, Liibcck untcr Jiirycn Wullcnwcvcr. Joh. Gruniitviir. .Vv« Iii nekke. vol. III., p. UV-i tT. » Ynjrvar XielstMi, Ihl iiorskr Ix'igsradd. p. :iSO fT. Diplotnntariutn \nr- wcgicum, IV.. 101. (\ Paludan-MuUcr. Gnnus Fridr. II.. p. 47 f. T. H. Aschehoug, Slatsforfatningcn i Norgc og Daumnrk iiidtil IS14, P- 319, 349. VOL. II — K 130 HI8T0RY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II bishop passively watched developments. He was in favor of Count Frederick of the Palatinate, who had married Dorothea, a daughter of Christian II., but he did not venture to espouse his cause openly. Vincence Lunge would recognize Duke Christian in the hope that a charter might be secured which would guarantee Norwegian autonomy. He assembled a few councilors from southern Norway in Oslo, and these formally elected Duke Christian king of Norway. To the document declaring his election they attached the condition that " his royal majesty shall preserve to us and to the kingdom all Christian blessings, liberties, privileges, laws, and lawful customs, according to the charter granted by Frederick I." This charter should remain in force until King Christian III. should come to Norway to negotiate with the Council and grant a new charter, whereupon he should be crowned king of Norway.^ This proceeding was irregular and un- lawful, but it was, no doubt, the wisest policy, as subsequent events proved. But the unfortunate quarrel between Lunge and the archbishop had flared up with new violence which made all coop- eration impossible. Nils Lykke, Vincence Lunge's brother-in-law, was married to Lady Inger's daughter Eline. She died in 1532, and her youngest sister, Lucie, undertook to manage the household for her brother-in-law. He became enamored of the young lady, and wanted to marry her, but the Catholic Church regarded such a mar- riage incestuous, and Vincence Lunge, Lady Inger, and other relatives opposed the match. Archbishop Olav was for a time disposed to view it favorably, but when Lucie in 1535 gave birth to a son, he could no longer shield the unfortunate lovers. He caused Nils Lykke to be imprisoned in the castle of Steinviksholm, where the ill-fated noble was smoked to death. Lucie was later married to the Swedish nobleman Jens Tillufson Bjelke, who became owner of 0straat, and the forbear of a large and distinguished family.^ At Christmas time, 1535, the election of king was again to be con- 1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XV., no. 506 ff. Archbishop Olav sanc- tioned the election in a letter to Bishop Hans Reff and Vincence Lunge. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XIT., no. 555. C. Paludan-Miiller, Aktsiykker til Grevens Feide, II., no. 30, 32, 37, 40-42, 40. Norske Rigsregistranter, I., p. 43 f. ^ Axel .Johannessen, 0steraat Herrescede. Fru Inger til Austraat og hendes Dfilre, ved Henrik Mathiesen. Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., I., p. 6 s. T. H. Aschehoug, Stalsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 349 f. I'LATK 111 OolUAAl. Ri INS OK Stkinviksmoi.m ('\-T1.K II THE COUNT 8 WAR. CHRISTIAN III l.'U sidered at a council in Trondlijem, where soiiie of the councilors from southern Nonvay were present. Cliristian III. liad also asked for a tax which was to he votecl, and tlie peoj^le of the nei;;hl)orinK (hstricts hud been as.senihled, for the purjjose, undoiihtedl.\', of givinj; their consent to whatever the Council miglit do. But they became anjjry and refiisi'' By this article in the charter, the signal was given from above for that system of oppression which lensmcend, fogeds, clergymen, and other subaltern despots continued to practice in this and the succeeding reign, and which became so well rooted that it helped little or nothing that the people continually complained of extortion and wTongs, and that the kings from time to time by charters, laws, and regulations sought to limit the numerous abuses and vexations." Hislorisk-statislisk Skildring af Tilslanden i Danmark og Norge i oeldre og nyere Tider, vol. I., p. 319. How the union with Denmark was regarded by some people in Norway in later years can be seen from a letter to P. F. Suhm, where the writer says : "About the Kalmar union no Norwegian cares to read anything. It is the source of all later misfortunes." P. F. Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, part XV.. p. 358. Arild Huitfeldt, Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, II., p. 1316 f. II THE count's \VAI{. CHRISTIAN III 133 of soldiers enter tlu- kiii;,'(|()iu to rol). munlcr, and nsc all stjrts of tyranny, and liow good it is to live in peace and (luict. That Chris- tian III. iiiej^aily nsnri)ed tiie j)<)\ver in Norway must ha\e heen mani- fest to all. He was not lawfully elected kinj;. for as Norway was an elective sovereij^n kin^^iom, neither \w. nor tlie Danes had a right to determine who should he placed on the Norwegian throne. Arch- bishcjp Olav watched developments closely, but as he could see no ray of hope, nothing remained for him hut to seek safety in flight. He gathered what money he could find, seized the treasures of the churches, and brought them on board his ships, and on Ai)ril 1, 1537, the little fleet, carrying the archljishop and his goods and archives, left Nidaros for the Netherlands, where Olav spent his remain- ing years.' The garrisons of Steinviksholm ca.stle and Xidarholm monastery surrendered without mucli resistance to Truid I'lfstand whom King Christian had tlispatched to Trondhjeni. After the archbishop's flight, Ulfstand marched to Ilamar, where he seized Bishop Mogens, and carried him as prisoner to Denmark, where he died in 1542.- Christian III. was never elected king of Norwa.\' in a regular way. No charter was issued defining the relation of the two kingdoms, and he never came to Norway to receive tiie homage of the Norwegian peoj)Ie. He regarded the two kingdoms as so intimately and per- manently unitetl that the election to the throne of Denmark maile him legitimate ruler of both realms. Norvv'ay had lost her autonomy, but the Norwegian peo|)le knew notliing of the paragraph inserte4.S tliese articles came into th(< possession of Count Fre(l(>rick of the Pahitinato. Tho arohives wort' transferred to Ileidelbere. and have at lonj^th been returned to the Norwj'jjian f^ovornment. Dipluiiuitarium A'orwigiruin, V.. no. 1()90 ff. Ludvig Daae, Norsk Manncdsskrift, I., p. 270. Hcnr. Mathio.sen, Strin- viksholm Slot og dels Byghcrre. * Hatnars licskrivdse af looSeller 165S. Soo articles ftbout this ehronicle by Ludvip: Daae and Oustav Storm, Ifislonxk Tidsskrift. tredie nokko. vol. I. ' T. IT. AschehouK. Slnlsforfatningin i Norgc og Danmork, p. 343. Arild Huitfeldt. DunmarkH liigcs Kr^nikc, p. ItOl. L. M. B. Aubert. \orges folkcrctsligc Slilling. 134 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11 Norwegian Council disappeared, though it was not formally aboHshed, and the Danish Council assumed the power of acting for both realms. But since Norway had submitted to Christian III. almost without resistance, he did not carry out the threat contained in the mentioned article inserted in the charter. Norway continued to be styled a kingdom equal with Denmark. It retained its old laws and its chancellor, and its administration, which was kept separate from that of Denmark, was carried on in the old way with as little direct interference from the Danish authorities as possible. Christian III. might easily have established the hereditary principle in Norway, and thereby have strengthened his throne, but he lacked the states- manlike foresight to do so.^ 20. The Reformation in Norway The overthrow of the Catholic Church in Denmark was, quite naturally, followed by a like change in Norway, where its power was, if possible, even more hopelessly shattered. Some of the bishoprics were vacant, and others had been vacated through the flight or im- prisonment of the bishops. The Lutheran Church was established in Norway as a state church, at the head of which stood the Lutheran king. The Danish church ordinance of 1537, which was written with the assistance of Luther's friend and fellow-reformer, John Bugen- hagen, became the temporary constitution of the Lutheran Church in Norway, though the king had promised to give the Norwegian church a separate ordinance, in which due consideration would be paid to local conditions. The priests should be allowed to remain in their charges, but the Catholic bishops were removed, and superin- tendents, or Lutheran bishops, were appointed to supervise the ref- ormation of the doctrines of the church. Geble Pederss0n, a native * R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, p. 830. The Danish flag "Danebrog," a white cross in a red field, became the official flag of both kingdoms. The Norwegian flag, a banner with a golden lion in a red field, seems to have been used on the castles and fortresses of Norway in the sixteenth century, possibly also on Norwegian ships, but the Danish flag was used on the fleet, and became the flag of Norway during the period of union with Denmark. Yng^var Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. v., p. 21. U THE REFORMATION IN NORWAY 135 of Helgeland (Haalogalandj in northern Norway, was app^)intcd superintendent of the diocese of Bergen, as already stated, and the Danish churcli ordinance was accepted at the Oslo lagthing for the dioceses of Oslo and llanuir in l.^i'J, ' hut some time passed before superintendents were appointed for all the Norwegian dioceses.' The estates which had hitherto belonged to the Catholic bishops were confiscated, one-half of the income from the tithes was paid to the crown, and the secularization of the monasteries, which had been begun by Christian II., was continued by Christian 111. In l')o^) it is mentioned as com[)lete40. Of the first four Lutheran sup(>rintendont8 three were Norwejjian.s ; i.e. Thorbjrtrn Olavsson Bratt, of Trondhjem, Oeble Peders.siJn, of Bergon, nnd Jon (Juttormsson. of Stavangor; while Hans Reff, of Oslo-IIaniar, wa.s a Dane. ' R. Keyser, Dci\ tinrskc Kirka Hinlorie umhr Kathnlicitmen, p. 834 ff. Chr. C. A. I.rfinge. Dc norskc Kloslres Historic i MitUidnl'ierrn, p. 174 fl. * Diplomatarium Norwegicum, IIL, no. 1147. * Ibid., L, no. 1057. 136 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II they tore down buildings, and needlessly burned valuable books and letters, and destroyed the ornaments and decorations of the churches, making God's houses cheerless and barren, which they might well have left undone, nor did they derive any benefit there- from." ^ As a further illustration of this kind of vandaHsm may be especially mentioned the spoliation of the great national sanctuary of St. Olav at Trondhjem.^ The remains of the saint were incased in a triple coffin, the inner of gilt silver, the others of wood richly studded with jewels, the outer being the ornamented cover over the real coffin. When Archbishop Olav left Trondhjem, he placed the remains of the saint in the middle coffin, and carried the other two with him to Steinviksholm castle, w^here he left them when he fled from the kingdom. The Danish general Ulf stand, who captured the castle, did not return them to Trondhjem, but sent them to Den- mark for the profit of the royal treasury. While the king and his assistants chiefly devoted their attention to the pecuniary benefit which they might derive from the overthrow of the Catholic Church in Norway, the reform movement itself was making slow progress. The few Lutheran bishops, who had been appointed to superintend the introduction of the new doctrine, could not reach the masses of the people, who were as yet scarcely aware that a change had been made. The Reformation, which in other lands came as a great spiritual awakening, was suddenly forced upon the Norwegian people by royal edict, hence it caused no new intellectual awakening, no spiritual regeneration. It was an affair of state to which the people finally yielded a more or less wilhng consent. A few Lutheran priests and a number of Danish Bibles were sent to Norway, but nothing was done to provide instruction for the people, or even to maintain the schools which already existed. Previous to the Ref- ormation each cathedral had its school where students were pre- pared to pursue their studies at foreign universities, and the chapters supported a number of students who studied abroad. But shortly after the introduction of the Reformation, one of these schools, the Hamar cathedral school, was discontinued, and the prebends of the 1 Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 350. * Ibid., p. 351 ff. Ludvig Daae, Et nordtysk Sagn om Olav den helliges Ligkisie, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste raekke, vol. I., p. 141 flf. II THE HEF(JUMATION IN NORWAY 137 cathetlral from which thty (kriveal estate, was reorganized. After liaving gained this notable success, the relentless Bishop Jon directed his attack against his [)ersonal opi)onents, many of whom were comi)elle(l to flee from Iceland. R. Keyser says of him : "Jon Aresson had been un.scrupu- lous in his Nounger days when he sought to win the episcopal office, unscrupulous he showed himself now in his old age when the question was to hold fast with trembling hands the power once gained. He heeded neither threats nor counsel, but proceeded arrogantly in the once chosen course until the abyss of destruction yawned at his feet, and all revenues of retreat were closed." ^ He had still one powerful o[)ponent, the chieftain Dade Gudmundsson, who was married to a sister of the imprisoned Lutheran bishop, Martin. The bishop collected an armed band of 120 men, and marched to attack Dade, but the wary chieftain met him at Saudafell with a force of trusty followers. After a determined fight, Bishoj) Jon and his two sons, Are and Bj0rn, were made prisoners in the church where they sought refuge. As the royal coniniandant had returned to Denmark, Dade turned his prisoners over to his assistant. Christian Skriver, but he feared the bishop's arlherents, and did not know where the prisoners could be sat'fly kept. One morning at thebreakfast table the minister, Jon Bjarnason, said to him that although he was not very wise, he knew a good way of keeping the prisoners. When asked what plan he had in mind, he answered that the ax and the grave would keeji them best. This suggestion was acted ui)on, and the oM bishop and his sons were led to execution and beheaded. The peoj)le of Bishop J6n's diocese. Ilolar, bitterly resented this \ile deed. They watched their opportunity, attacked Chri.stian Skriver. and killiMl him and his armed escort. Later fourteen more Danes were killeeal from the deci- sions of the lagihinfjs to the king, who, together with his council, acted as a court of higher jurisdiction. He also sent members of his Council to Norway to hold court together with the royal Icrufherrer and lagiiurnd in order to examine complaints against lensherrer, fugeds, and others. This tended to undermine the authority of the old courts, and exerted a deteriorating influence on No^^vegian jurisprudence.' The lawmaking activity was limited to the issuing of charters and the granting of trade privileges to the Ilanseatic merchants, and the legal practice degenerated into a dull and formal routine, as the Danish judges were ignorant of the principles of Norwegian law as well as the detail of court procedure. During the union period Norsvegian jurisprudence lost the high position which it had formerly held. Foreign rule prevented its further development, and the people themselves became indifferent, and ceased to cultivate the knowledge of the old laws. Chri.stian III., who was a judicious and practical king, avoided as far as possible all .steps which would irritate the Norwegian people.- The clause which he had inserted in the charter, possibly in order to humor the Danish nobles, he suffered to remain a dead letter. The charter remained deposited in the archives unknown to most people in Denmark and, probably, to all in Norway. Two kings were laid in the grave before it became known.' The king's chief aim was to maintain peace, to improve the economic conditions in his kingdoms, ' J. E. Sars, Udsigt over dm norske Hislorie. III.. 204 IT. Gustav Storm, HnniidskrifUr og Oi'erswtlel'H'r af ^fngnus Lagabdlcrs Imvc; Christiania Vidcnsknh.f-Sehknhs Forhnndlingcr, 1879, p. 22 flf. T. II. Aschehoug. Stats- for/atnirtgcn i Nnrgr og Dnnmark, p. li.S2 fl"., 402 (T. * Christian III. hiva l)t'»«n pictured hy XorweKiaii historians as a weak and wortliless king, hut Professor Oscar Alh. .Folmson has shown that thi.s view is erroneous, that ho was an able, doar-mindorl. humane, and conscien- tious rulor. Oscar Alb. Johnson, Nogle Uimcrkningtr om Kristian den tredie som rwrsk Kongc; Hisloriske Skrifler lilcgnede og ovcrlevcrcdo Professor Dr. Ludi'ig Dnac, Cliristiania, 19(>4. • Yng^ar Nielsen, Norgcs Historic, vol. IV., p. 40. 144 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II and to increase the revenues for the purpose of paying the big debts which had been contracted in the late war. As he felt the crown resting securely on his brow, he was in a position to carry out his ad- ministrative policy with firmness. The nobility exercised far less influence than they had expected to do, and the Norwegians remained peaceful and loyal sub- jects. In the Count's War King Christian had seen the importance of the fleet, and he aimed to make the dual kingdom of Denmark- Norway a naval power strong enough to control the Baltic. This would also tend to draw the two peoples closer together through a strengthened feeling of the necessity of cooperation in furthering common interests. Able sea-captains were not wanting. Men like Kristoffer von Truntheim (Christopher Trondss0n), Otto Stigss0n, Stig Bagge, and others had learned seamanship as bold corsairs and lawless rovers of the seas, but King Christian, who needed their services, was willing to condone past offenses, if they would enter the royal service in good faith, and this they were anxious enough to do. Stig Bagge of Kvinesdal in Norway was a very able captain, and the king granted him Lister len, but on an ex])edition, against the Netherlands, 1541, he was captured and put to death. He was succeeded by the no less valiant and able Christopher Trondss0n (Kristoffer von Truntheim). These two are the forerunners of a number of distinguished Nor- wegian naval heroes who later served in the fleet of the two kingdoms. The king devoted special attention to the development of mining in Norsvav. He seems to have thought, as did Absalon Pederss0n Fig. 3. — King Christian III. II THK HEIGN OF CHRISTIAN' III 145 Beyer, that i\\v inoiintaiiis nf Xonvay were full of silver, i^^M, and other precious tliinj^s. Ahlu'iny had stimulated the search for precious metals, and the j^rowiu^ need U)r money and iron, caused by the wars and the enlarj^ement of the navy, jjave a new impetus to this industry. Hitherto iron had l)een gathered in Ito^s, where small quantities of native ore could he found. King ( hristian II. had sought to introduce the more modern system of extracting metals from the rich mineral-bearing rock of Norway, but the attempt had led to no practical results. King Christian III. renewed this attempt, and imported miners from Cicrmany, where the mining industry at this time was most highly de\('lopcd. lie made special regula- tions for the industry, based on (lernian laws, and in 1537 several mines were opened in Telemarken.' The undertaking wa.s very im- portant as a first chapter in the development of a new industry, but no proper control was exercised over the rude foreign miners, whose lawless behavior so exasperated the people that a serious uj)- rising occurred in the mining districts. The general ill-will against the Danish /o^t'(/^' adiled fuel to the flame. Several of these officials were slain, and the uprising spread rapidly. Christian III., who never visited Norway after he became king, remained a stranger to all local conditions, and without inquiring further into the real cause of the disturbance, which he regarded as a rebellion, he ordered the commandants of .Vkershus and Hohus to suppress the uprising. They marched into Telemarken, where they met the armed hdnder, who were i)ersua(led to lay down their weapons. After they had thus been disarmed, the hdnder were surrounded and taken i)risoners, and a number were sentenced to death and execute(i3 till 1570. The Swedes then occupied the city of N'idaros about 15G4, and did j^eat damage in the cathedral; they took the shrine, stripped it of every thing valuable, 'even to the smallest silver nail,' and buried it at last with the body in a small country church, no longer used for divine service since the Reformation. When they were driven back the following year, the people asked for and got permission of the Danish gov- ernor to bring liack the body to the cathedral. This was accordingly done on the 8th of July, with great pomp; the shrine was carried to the church 152 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II the people had shown was ill rewarded by this rude soldier of fortune, and his undisciplined warriors. No course could have been more effective in turning friendship into hatred, and the people would, naturally, welcome with joy any aid which would rid them of such oppression. Aid soon came from Bergen, where the able and ener- getic Erik Rosenkrans had been made commandant. He dispatched troops under Erik Munk to Tr0ndelagen to assist the local forces. Collart was obliged to evacuate Trondhjem, and retreat to the for- tress of Steinviksholm. As the Swedes did not number above 400 men, he was soon forced to surrender, and the angry binder of Nordland, Tr0ndelagen, Nordm0r, Romsdal, and S0ndm0r were summoned to Trondhjem, where they renewed their oath of allegiance to King Frederick II. The campaign on the southern theater of action resulted in the capture of Elfsborg by the Danes, and in 1564 the Danish admiral, Herluf TroUe, defeated the Swedish fleet commanded by Jacob Bagge in a noted naval battle off Oland. Hitherto the advantage in the in a procession of the clergy, the noblemen, the military officers, and the citizens, and deposited in a bricklaid grave or vault. In the spring of 1568, however, a Danish nobleman, who was in Trondhjem on a special errand from the king, caused earth to be thrown into the grave over the body, probably in order to prevent people from worshiping it, which they still were inclined to do in spite of the newly introduced Protestantism. Even then the body was tolerably well preserved. Mag. Absalon Pederss0n, who saw it himself, says in his "iDescription of Norway ' that '' it was not altered except the cartilage of the nose, and some parts of the eyes, which were gone, else the rest of the members were as they had been for many hundred years.' A judge in the south of Norway, who in his youth had attended school in Trondhjem, told the Rev. Peder Clauss0n Friis, the first translator of Snorre Sturlason, that 'the body of St. Olav, which he had seen himself, was rather long, well preserved, with a red beard, but the nose was somewhat sunken ; the wounds inflicted upon the king in his last battle were still visible, for the rest it was dry and hard as wood.' This description, as will be seen, is at some variance with the more prolix one given above. The exact place where the aforesaid bricklaid grave is to be looked for is not known, but very probably it will be found when the repairs now contemplated are begun, that is to say, if there are any signs by which it may be identified. But whether the body be found or not, it is yet a satisfaction to know that it still rests in the same church which owes its origin to the saint, and from which, during five centuries, he spread luster over the whole kingdom." P. A. Munch og H. E. Schirmer, Trondhjems Domkirke, p. 38 f. r THE SCANDINAVIAN NORTH Prior to 1645 ^.c'^'Zif^^^- II FREDERICK 11. THE SEVEN' VEAUs' WAll WITH SWEDEN 153 struggle had im-iiritil to tin- side of tiic Ihiiies, hut the tide tunu-d in 15Go. In Uw ii;i\al battle of j-'ftiicni, ilcrluf Trolle rf great eflports were made to increase the strengtii of the Danisli army and navy. Soldiers were jjressefi into service, and the iuereaswl war contributions weighehed in a single night,' but as the Swedish fleet was also damaged in the same hurricane, the relative strength of the two powers was not materially change solicitude for the welfare of his people, was becoming mentally unbalanced. He still thought that the Norwegians would rise against the Danes, and he was encouraged in this belief by an adventurer, Eno Brandrok, a son of the Norwegian na\al hero Chris- topher Trt)ndss0n. Eno advisetl Erik to attack Akershus. The Norwegians, he said, would rise in revolt as soon as the Swtnles a{>- peared, and the march from Akershus to Bergenhus woidd be a tri- umphal procession. .Stories like these would, naturally, excite the diseased iuuigination of the ahnost insaiu' king. An army under John Siggesson was (lis])atched across the border intt) Osterdalen, and a wicked raid, accompanied by the plundering of the churches and the devastation of defenseless settlements, was begun. Ostenialen and Hedemarken were ravaged, Ilamar was taken, and Ilamarhus ' Otto Vaupell, Den nordiskc Syi-aarskrig, p. 1 13 ff. 154 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H castle was plundered. But when the enemy reached Oslo, the people burned their city rather than see it fall into the hands of the invaders. The districts of southeastern Norway submitted, and the people were forced to swear allegiance to King Erik XIV., but the ravages did not cease. Swedish detachments roamed over Ringerike, Romerike, Hedemarken, Gausdal, and the districts east and west of the Chris- tiania fjord; Sarpsborg was burned, because the people refused to pay war tribute; the same fate befell Konghelle. New forces ar- rived constantly, and it seemed as if the plundering and burning would never stop. Akershus was invested, and Erik Rosenkrans of Bergen sought to aid the besieged fortress, but he experienced the greatest difficulty in raising forces and supplies. The war had exhausted the resources both of Norway and Denmark, and loud complaints were heard on every hand. Erik Munk was, finally, sent to Akershus with reenforcements, and the Swedes had to retire. They marched north- ward from Oslo, " crossed seven large rivers which were in their way, and everywhere they broke down the bridges behind them, burned everji:hing which they found, and killed both men and women, sparing no one." On their retreat they also destroyed Hamarhus castle, and burned the Hamar cathedral. The great church was not destroyed, but suffered serious damages, which were never repaired, and the cathedral gradually fell to ruin.^ After the termination of the Norwegian campaign, the struggle was waged principally on Swedish soil, and Norway was not seriously molested. The war, which had exhausted all three kingdoms, was gradually drawing to a close. King Erik XIV., who had become permanently deranged, was finally deposed, and his brother, Duke John, was placed on the throne as King John III. in January, 1569. About the same time a treaty of peace had been negotiated with Denmark, but as the king and the Estates of Sweden would not ratify it, hostilities began anew. Frederick II., however, had soon spent the last strength of his two kingdoms, and peace negotiations were renewed at Stettin, July 15, 1570, and the final treaty of peace ^ The cathedral, which was a structure in Romanesque style, was built in the second half of the twelfth century. Einar Orting, Hamar Domkirke, Sijmra, vol. VII., p. 95 f . N. Nicolaysen, Slor-Hamars Ruiner. L. Dietrich- son, Vore Foedres Verk, Christiania, 1906. C. Ramseth, Hamar Bys Historic, Hamar, 1899. C. C. A. Lange, De norske Klostres Historie i Middelalderen. n NORWAY IN THE REIO.V OF FREDERICK II. 155 was signed December 18 of the same year. According to the terms of the treaty, Doiunark should surrender all claims to Sweden. The question of the tlin-e cnnvns in the Danish coat of arms should he settleU) till 1572 Norway had no central government which could represent the whole people, and serve as a connecting link be- tween the king and the royal officials, as the Council had ceased to exist, but the need of a central administrative authority' within the kingdom had been keenly felt in the war with Sweden. As each lenshcrre was the highest authority within his own district, an efficient use of the country's resources in time of danger was well-nigh im- possible. No army was maintained, and the Norwegians had been unable to defend themselves even against a small inxading force. In 1572 the king created the office of stdiholdrr (viceroy) of Norway, to which position he appointed i'aul lluitfeldt, connnandant of Akershus. The statholdcr should have supervision of the church antJ clergy, the courts, and the royal demesne lands. He should exercise authority over the len.ihrrrcr, so that they should not opj^ress the people, and by a regulation of July 5, 15SS, he was also placed in su- preme command of the Norwegian military forces.' The central- Om Ihxmmrr orh Ifamtncr Kiohstndt: B\igning, old mniuisoript publishod by Gustav Storm in Ilislnrixk-topngrufixki' Skriflrr nm Sorgc og rwrskc Land.ttlilc. ' T. TI. Aschehoug, Statsforfalningcn i Danmark og Norgc indtil iSt^ p. 389 fT. 156 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II ization of administrative authority was especially necessary in order to bring better order into the finances of the kingdom, which had been reduced to a wretched state during the war. The lands belonging to the bishops had been confiscated by the state at the introduction of the Reformation, and all church lands should also be administered by the government, as the Lutheran Church was a state church. But before the revenues could be made to flow in the proper channels, the administrative system had to be readjusted to the altered con- ditions. Three subordinate officers, stiftsskrivere, were appointed to supervise the buildings, property, rents, and incomes belonging to the churches, and rules were made regarding saw-mills and the lumber trade, the preservation of the forests, the keeping of all public property, and the building of war galleys. Paul Huitfeldt was per- sonally very active. He traveled about in the united dioceses of Oslo and Hamar, and compiled a census of the property of churches and clergymen. A copy of this document, usually called "Paul Huit- feldt's Stiftsbog," is still in existence.^ The lensherrer usually re- ceived the whole income of a small len, but only a relatively small share of the income from the principal len. The statholder, Paul Huitfeldt, received for his services the income of the len of Troms0, but only 10 per cent of the income of Akershus len. But besides this, he was granted, also, the necessaries for his large household, for which he might use three hundred chickens, ten barrels of tallow for candles, three barrels of salmon, and five hundred flounders. The cost of maintaining these great lords, besides the taxes which had to be paid to church and state, often made the public burdens alarmingly heavy. In 1571 every odelsbonde had to pay taxes to the amount of one-half of his whole income. This was, however, a war rate ; in 1576 it was reduced to half that amount, or 25 per cent of the income. The revenues of the crown were derived from the following sources : ^ The landskyld, or income from rented crown lands ; income from lands operated for the benefit of the crown, consisting chiefly of lumber > Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 181 f. ' The system of taxation at this time is found clearly illustrated in an old manuscript in the Norwegian royal archives, which contains an itemized account of incomes and expenditures of Akershus len for the years 1557-1558, and 1560-1561. Extracts from these accounts have been published by T. H. Aschehoug in Norske Satnlinger, vol. I., p. 161 ff. II NORWAY IN THE REIfiN' OF FREDERICK II. 1)7 sawed in the n»yal f()r('>t>, the rejjular taxes, consisting of the ledirig tax for the coast (Hstricts and the vijtpre tax for the inland districts ; foring, or tlie feeding; of liorses used hy the jjovernment. which seems to have l)een a new tax, as it is mentioned for the first time in a statute of l.")78; fines imposetl by the court in punishment of crime; tithen ; duties, consisting of duty on goods exi)orted, and a certain tax or toll on ships according to their si/x' ; sUc (excise), or import duty on ale and j)rydsing ; and aid paid the crown hy certain districts, prol)al)l>' a fri'c donation. The taxes were collectes when he refers to the coun- try's future. The followinj^ quotation will show the general tenor of the book: "Therefore bej;ins here Norway's old age, since she has become so old, cold, and unfruitful that she cannot give birth to royal children of her own, who roulil be her rulers. Her nobility, good heroes, and warriors died from her, i)art by the sword, and part by the pestilence during the Black Death . . . so that from that time forth the Norvs'egian nobility has constantly decreased in num- ber, year by year, and da.\' l)y day. since their fathers either gave their property to monasteries or churches, or forfeited it, or they wasted it themselves throu|;h marriaj^e, or a number of bastard sons inherited it. Furthermore, the Norwegian nobility receive no grants of land belonging to the crown or the dioceses, and their own suffice little or nothing to maintain the style and extravagance which are now so common, therefore they are becoming extinct." He compares Norway to an old widow who nnist lean upon a stall' in walking, but she is only a[)j)arently, not really, weak. "Still Norway might awaken from her sleep if she could get a ruler, for she is not so degenerate (T. * Gustav Storm, Ih'slorisk-lopogrdfi.skc Skrifirr, Om Norgis Rige, af Ma+j. Absalon Pedersstln Beyer, p. 21 fT. liiismus Nyonip, Historisk-slalisti.'ik Skildring af Tilslandcu i Daiunark og Norge i aldrc og nyerc Tidcr, vol. I., p. 320 ff. VOL. II M 162 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II conditions. Unfortunate circumstances had, indeed, led to Norway's union with Denmark, in which perfect equahty between the two sister kingdoms could not be maintained ; but the Norwegian people had never been conquered, their spirit had not been subdued or broken, sometime the irksome ties would be dissolved, Norway would wake from her slumbers, the spirit of the people would reassert itself, and a new era of national progress would begin. Modern Norwegian history proves the correctness of Mag. Absalon Pederss0n's views. We shall have the opportunity to observe how this new na- tional awakening began long before the union with Denmark was dissolved. Peder Clauss0n Friis, clergyman in Undal in Agder, was a patriot like his contemporary, Absalon Pederss0n Beyer. He wrote a work about Norway, "Norigis Beskriffuelse," a Norwegian natural history, and a description of the Norwegian island colonies.^ He also pub- lished a translation of the " Sagas of the Kings of Norway," a most important work, through which the people learned to know their past history, as they were no longer able to read their books in the Old Norse language. Through this work Norwegian national feeling received a powerful stimulus. Mattis St0rss0n,^ who died in 1569 as lagmand in Bergen, translated the " Sagas of the Kings of Norway " from the "Heimskringla" and the "Codex Frisianus," and for the lensherre in Bergen he wrote, about 1555, "En kort Beretning om Kj0bm8endene ved Bryggen" {i.e. a short account of the Hanseatic merchants in Bergen).^ He complained of their encroaclmients, and proposed plans for improving the country^'s economic condition. Gustav Storm says : " He thought that Greenland in olden times had been a gold-mine for Norway, similar to what India was for the Span- ish monarchy, and we probably do not err in believing that he has translated the old 'Gr0nlands Beskrivelse,' and has worked it into ^ Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, edited by Gustav Storm, Chris- tiaaia, 1881. ^ Mattis St0rss0n's work is the first translation of the sagas into modern Danish. It was published in Copenhagen, 1594, by Jens Mortensen, and was erroneously called ''Jens Mortensens Sagaoverssettelse." See Gustav Storm, Et gjenfundct Haandskrijt af Mattis St^rss^ns Sagaoversoettelse, His- torisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 271 ff. * Printed in Norske Magasin, I., p. 43-46. ri LITERATFKE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTUItY 163 Erik Valkendorf's accounts of Greenland, to he used on the expedi- tions of discovery which were sent out from IJergen sliortly after- ward." Laurents Ilanss0n Bonde, who lived in the nei^hl)orhood of Hermii, translated sagas and wrote commentaries to the C(j(ies of church laws.' Erik Hansson Sch0nneb0l wrote " LijfoteiLS og Vester- aalens Beskrivelse." ^ " Her^'cns Fundats," written by some un- known author,^ looO or 1. ')(')(). contains a history of Borden till the time of Christopher \'alkendorf and the subjugation of the Hanseatic merchants. "Bergens Rimkr0nike," by an unknown author, nar- rates the histor>' of the city till the time of the Victual Brothers, and is of importance as an historical source* "Gandske Xommedals Lens Beskrilluelse Aar 1597," "Om Ilammars KJ0bsUi{ls Bygning," 1553,^ and "Norsk So" ("Die nordtsche Sau"), a bitter complaint of moral conditions in Bergen, written about 1584, are also of unknown authors.' In Oslo Bishop Jens Nil3.s0n became the center of a large circle of > Gr^nlands hUloriske Mindcsmcrkcr, 111., p. 250-2G0, 490-494. Laurits Hanssfins SagaoversaUelse, edited by Gustav Storm, Christiania Videnskabs- Selknbs Skriflcr, 1899. * Published by Gustav Storm in IlUtorisk-lopografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele. Storm has shown that Sch0nuob0l is the author, though the work was orifjinally published anonymously. See Ifistorisk Tidsskrifl, trodio nckke, vol. IV., p. 173 ff. * Horluf Lawritss0n has been regarded as the author of Bcrgcnx Fundats by Ilolborg, Xyorup, N. Nicolaysen, Yngvar Nielsen, and others; but Gustav Storm has shown that Lauritss0n cannot be the author. (J. Storm, Om Skriftel " Bvrgcns Fundats" og dels forf alter, Hislorisk Tidsskrifl, tredie rakke, vol. IV., p. 418 ff. * N. Nicolaysen, and likewise Yngvar Nielsen ("Bergon," p. 328) have held that the author of Bcryins Fundats has usetl Bergcns I{imkri>niki' as a BOUrce, but Clustav Storm has shown that Bcrycns liirnkriinikv is ba.sod on Bergrns Fundats. Soo llistnrish Tiilsskrifl, trodic nekko. vol. IV., p. 418 ff. * Published by (lustav Storm in Ilistorisk-topugrajijikc Skrifttr om Sorgc og norske Landsdele. * Norske So, printed in N. Nicolaysen's Xorskc Magasin, vol. II. The title was suggested by a deformed pig born at Oslo, July 7, 1581. This caused great alarm, as the superstitious pectple, and the no le.ss superstitious humanistic; scholars, regarded it as an evil omen signifying thai the v««ngeance of God would fall upon the people, because of their wickc' of the smaller towns, such as \'aagen, ^'eey. Borgund, Kaui)anger, and Lillehammer, had either disappeared, or had become mere market places. From time to time foreign elements have been added to the native population in Norway, as in all otiuT countries. This influx of new blood may, indeed, have been lighter in so distant a land than in the countries more centrally located, but in the Middle Ages the immigration became of great imi)ortance to Norway in several ways. After the union was established, a great lumiber of Danes settled in the kingdom as officials, ministers, teachers, men'hants, and even as laborers and artisans. During the Hanseatic supremacy the Ger- man merchants became an inllucntial clcnifiii in many cities, es- pecially in Bergen, where their colony at one time is thought to have •J. E. Sars, FolkcjtKrngdcns Bcvdgclse i S'nrgc lS-t7iic Aarh., Historisk Tidsskrifl, anden rtokke, vol. III., p. 2S2 fT. Troels Lund. Dagligt Liv i Norden i dct Hide Aarhundnilf, vol. I., p. .■)2 fT. * Troels Lund. Dagligt Liv i Xorden i del IGde Aarhxindrrdf, vol. L. p. 52 ff. ' Ynpvar Xiolson, Hergen, p. 2S."). * J. E. Sars. i'dsigl over den norake Historic, IIL. p. 259 ff. 166 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II numbered about 3000 persons. In the sixteenth century many Hollanders and Englishmen settled in Norway as merchants, and many Scotchmen, who hud })een brought over as mercenaries, re- mained permanently in the country.^ The most remarkable foreign element which came to the North in that century was the Gypsies. The origin of this people is veiled in impenetrable mystery. In course of time they have spread over the greater part of Asia and Europe, and they are also found in Africa and America. In southern Europe they appeared for the first time in 1417, and claimed to be Egyptian pilgrims who made a vow to wander about homeless for seven years to atone for the sins of their ancestors, who had refused to give Jesus, when a child, a drink of water from the Nile. By the Greeks they were called Gyphtoi, which has been changed in English to Gyp- sies. The story w^hich they told of their origin created sympathy for them, and the Emperor and the Pope placed them under their special protection. But when it was learned that the Gypsies did not return to their ow n land, that they practiced witchcraft, and that they were not to be relied upon in word or deed, they soon became the object of hatred and persecution. In some countries they were called Tartars (N. Tater), as they were thought to be heathens from Asia. Led by their king or duke the Gypsies generally advanced in bands of three hundred persons or less. A few of the leaders were mounted, the rest of the band — men, women, and children — went on foot. They were seen for the first time in the North in 1505. A band led by Count Antonius Gagino, which had spent some months in Scotland, came to Denmark, bringing a letter of recommendation from James IV., stating that they had been peaceful. In 1511 another band led by "Junker J0rgen of Egypt" entered Schleswig.^ In the following year the Gypsies appeared in Sweden, and they must have entered Norway ^ The influx of foreigners into the Norwegian cities can be observed in the Bergens Borgerbog, 1550-1751, edited by N. Nicolaysen, Christiania, 1878. During two hundred years, from 1550 till 1750, 9279 persons had acquired the privileges of citizenship in the cities of Norway. The birth- place of 6526 is recorded. Of these 3352 were born in Norway or in the Norwegian colonies, and 2974 were foreigners : 1607 Germans, 758 Danes, 353 Enghshmen and Scots, 147 Swedes, 103 Hollanders, five Frenchmen, and one Spaniard. ^ Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden, p. 52 ff. II THE GYPSIES 167 about the same time. Thoy were at first treated with kindness, but as they were given to theft and swindle, they soon became gen- erally hated. In 15:^6 tliey were outhiwed and orderei(lden to shelter them or give them any aid ; and the h'ths-nuind who did not arrest all the Ciypsies within his district was made personally responsible for any damage which they might do.- "The poor Gyi)sies were now in dire straits, " says Troels Lund. " The foxes and wolves were better situated ; but they could not be exj)elled even by these measures. Adhering like burrs, homeless as migrating birds, shy and unsusceptible to kind as to harsh treatment, Imngry as wolves, noiseless and .keen-eyed Hke cats in the dark, they Hved only for the moment. They could rejoice hke children when they found a brief rest, but they could also endure hardsliii)s on their endless wanderings to a degree that no merceiuiry soldier had dreamt of. They did not depart; they retreated every- where, but remained in the country. And whither should they go? If they went to France, they would be sentenced to the galleys ; in Germany and the Netherlands they were outlawed. The only thing accomplished by this onler issued by King Christian III. was to split them up into smaller bands, which were chaser3 an outlaw. Book HI., chapter '22, article 3. 168 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II issued to the parish priests in 1560 that "a priest must have nothing to do with the Taters (Gypsies). He must neither bury their dead nor baptize their children." ^ A similar order was issued by the Bishop of Fyen in Denmark, 1578. " If Gypsies come to the land, as sometimes happens, then shall no priest marry them, or give them the sacrament, but he shall let them die as if they were Turks, and they shall be buried outside of the churchyard as heathens. If they wish to have their children baptized, they must baptize them themselves." ^ But the united efforts of the church and state could not crush them.^ Under the worst persecutions they seem to have made no attempt to leave ; they were not reduced in number, nor did they adopt a different mode of life. At last the more humane spirit of modern times freed even the despised Gypsies from perse- cution, and suffered them to walk their ow^n paths unmolested. But the modern humane spirit accomplished what medieval persecution did not achieve. The Gypsies no longer felt the necessity of wholly isolating themselves from the rest of mankind. They accepted into their flocks tramps and idlers of various kinds, and thereby they gradually lost their language and their identity as a people. In Denmark they have already ceased to exist as a distinct nationality, and in Sweden and Norway they are fast disappearing. The Night- men in Jutland and the Fanter in Norway are the last mixed remnants of the Gypsies, who through the process of amalgamation wall soon be totally absorbed by the native population.* As to their influence on the native population Troels Lund says : " The Gj^sies constituted a distinct ingredient in the life of the North in the sixteenth century, not only as viewed by themselves, but especially through their con- nection with the rest. Their sneaking, noiseless existence constitutes a mysterious ingredient in the motley mixture, and belongs to the shady side of its existence. They help us to understand the people's great aversion to being out after dark, the shudder which went through all when an unusual noise was heard at night, or a light was seen in ^ F. Dyrlund, Tatere og Natmandsfolk, p. 13. * Bloch, Den fyenske Geisiligheds Historic, p. 43, quoted by Troels Liind, Dagligt Liv i Norden, vol. I., p. 77. ' Eilert Sundt, Fante- eller Landstrygerfolket i Norge, Christiania, 1850- 1865. * Ibid. II INLAND TIlAVnL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 169 the forest. One mi^ht tliiiik that the fact that they seldom appeared would have restricted this fear, but they gave name and example to a host of Iij;ht-fcarinj; tramps, crooks, loafers, and niKJithawks, who even before iiad bcni a trui; scourge. Tlie same was tiie case with the sorcery and (itinonolatry of the Gypsies. As they were too few to attract much attention tliemsclves, they became the visible and tanpble cxj)ression for the superstition and fear of the devil whicii diaracterized the age." Inland tra\tl was still attended with great difficulty. The jour- neys through the mountain districts had to be made on horseback, as no wagon roads existed. The narrow mountain trails which wound across the iiiouiitaiiis and through the dense forests were often as hard to iind as they were difficult to travel. This was es- pecially the case in winter, when snow and ice made travel both diffi- cult and dangerous, Man's best friend on these lonesome and hazard- ous journeys was the strong Norwegian mountain pony, who might be trusted both to find the trail and to walk it with heavy burdens, and it is not strange that the Norseman from time immemorial has felt a most tender attachment for his favorite animal. The dangers and hardships of inland travel are referred to even in the Edda poems. The " Ilavamal" says : " Fire needs he wlio enters the house and is cold about the knees; food and clothes the man is in need of who has journeyed over tlic mountains." And Skirnir, who is sent to Jotunheim by the got] Frey to woo for him the fair Cicrd. says to his horse: " Dark it is outside, nu'thinks it is time to journey over the damp mountains to the J0tun hosts ; but both of us shull return, or both shall fall into the hands of the powerful .lotun." ("Skirnismdl") 170 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II A couple of logs did the service of bridge across the roaring mountain torrents. The work of keeping the roads in repair consisted in re- moving rocks and timber which obstructed the passage. The road overseer, appointed by the binder, rode on horseback along the middle of the road with a spear sixteen feet long with loops on each end. If he could pass with this spear so that the loops did not become at- tached to any obstruction, the road was considered to be in order.^ Two main routes led from eastern to western Norway over the moun- tains ; one from Oslo to Bergen through Valdres, across Filef jeld to Sognef jord, and the other to Trondhjem through Gudbrandsdal across the Dovre mountains. Until mountain stations were erected where wayfarers might find food and shelter, these routes could be traveled only with the greatest diflSculty. But the stream of pilgrims wliich yearly visited the shrine of St. Olav in Trondhjem prior to the Ref- ormation made the erection of such stations a necessity. In speaking of the route across the Dovre mountains the old writer Peder Clauss0n Friis says : " But in the winter people of high estate, as well as mem- bers of the court, travel mostly that way, because however deep the snow may fall, it blow^s together on the high mountains, and becomes so hard that men and horses can walk on it, and the binder run over it on ski and snow-shoes. And there are these three stations : Driv- stuen, Herdekinn, and Fogstuen, built on the same mountain, in order that travelers may find lodging there. And kings and arch- bishops have given cows and land to those who dwell below the mountains, in order that they shall keep the stations in proper order. And at Herdekinn dwells a man who has some cows which are given for his support, in order that he may keep the station properly, and show the travelers the way across the mountains in the winter ; and it is his duty always to keep a supply of fodder and dry wood ready, for there are kettles and pots in the house, and other such utensils. And at the other stations there are implements and dry wood for making fire, so that the travelers may build themselves fire, and not suffer from cold, when they have to remain over night, and cannot find the way across the mountains." ^ On the southern route were * Historisk Tidsskrift, IV., p. 224 ff. Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden, vol. I., p. 93 f. "^ Peder Claus80n PViis, Samlede Skrifter, published by Gustav Storm, p. 3G1 f. II INLAND TRAVLL IN' THE SIXTEENTH CENTlUY 171 found Maristiicn and Xystuen, and at these stations chapels were also erected for tlu- pilgrims and travelers.' Because of the great in- convctiieiice connected \vith inland travel, it is natural that tra\el l)y water was jjreferred wherever it was possihle. On account of the lack of proper means of communication the inliind nioinitain dis- tricts were thinly settled, and made slow progress. But in the six- teenth century, as in days of old, the most generous hospiUdity was ^hown every wayfarer. In the monasteries tlie traveler always found welcome and free lodging: for charity's sake, until these insti- tutions were closed on tlie advent of the Keformati(jn. But the un- written law of hospitality was as carefully observed by the people at large. Mag. Absalon PederssOn Beyer writes : "Truly a pious, godfearing, and virtuous j)erson can journey from Bohus to Vard0- hus, which journey is more than three liundred miles,- and lie shall not spend above ti riksdaler, yes, they are glad, and they consider it an honor when anyone wishes to eat and drink with them. The>- -ometimes even give people presents if they will make merry with them. A Norwegian sailed from here to Danzig, and stopped at an inn. And when he was going to leave, the hostess asked him to pay for food and ale. lie asked if he should pay for ale and food, and the hostess answered yes. He said that it was not custonuiry in his country to receive pay for ale and food, Init the woman said that it was custom in her country. Then said he: *0 Norway, thou holy land ! As soon as I touch thee again, I shall fall on my knees and kiss thee.' which he also did. And it is a strange thing that in other lands Norway is regarded as a barren kingdom, which it is in some respects, and still so much ale and food are given for nothing that many are astonished." ' After the monasteries were abolishtHj, the country' parsonages became the hostelries for weary travelers, where free food and lodging were cheerfully given by the hospitable parson, who was usually an excellent host. In the cities numerous inns offered lodging, food, and ale for a small price, but they were ' YngA-ar Xielsoii. lieischnandbog over Norgr, *>' S'ystuen." Ilisloruk Tuhskrifl. IV.. 231-j;i2. Xorsk Turislforcnings Anrbog. 1S74, p. 78. ' Throo hundred Xorwofjian miles = 2100 En^H^li niilos. ' .Vbsaloii PfiioiHsoti Hoyor. Orn Norgis Rigr, puhlislu-d by (lUatnv Storm in Ilislorisk-topografiske iSkri/lcr om Norge og riorskc LutuLidclf, p. 40 ff. 172 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H usually low dives, where thieves and drunkards had their haunts, and where no wayfarer could feel safe. These cheap inns were es- pecially numerous in Bergen, where they numbered four hundred in 1625. In Stavanger they multiplied so rapidly that in 1604 Chris- tian IV. made a regulation restricting their number, as "they aroused God's anger by drunkenness, murders, and otherwise." The chief means of inland transportation, especially of heavy goods, was the sleigh, and such transportation was carried on in the winter months when the fine sleighing facilitated traffic. The wagon was, indeed, used in the more level districts, and had been used from the very earliest times, which can be seen, among other things, from the Oseberg find from about 800 a.d., where a four-wheeled wagon has been preserved complete. But the use of the wagon as a vehicle of transportation must have been very restricted until the time when more modern roads were constructed. The houses of the common people were much the same in the six- teenth century as they had been ever since the Viking period. On each gaard (farm) there were a number of houses erected for different purposes, the main one being the stue (0. N. stofa), or dwelling house, which corresponded to the skaale. Instead of glass, which was very scarce and expensive, windows were usually made of translucent paper or membrane. The houses were built of logs, and the walls were low. The spacious roof, which was made of birch-bark, covered vnth. sod,^ bore a rich crop of grass and wild flowers, and might at times serve as pasture for some nimble and enterprising goat. From the outside these houses presented no imposing appearance, but upon entering one might find the stue large and cozy, though the conveniences known to modern times were wanting. The abundance of fine pine timber enabled the Norwegians to build large houses, and to erect separate buildings for all sorts of purposes, so that a large gaard would look almost like a small village. One notable change had taken place in the stue or skaale since earlier times. The open fireplace in the center of the room (arinn), and the opening in the roof above it (Ijori), had disappeared, and an oven with chimney, built in one corner of the room, had come to serve the purpose of both. The room was lighted by burning sticks of pitch pine, or a 1 Gustav Storm, Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 136 f. I'LATK IV , flH^^^^H Ol.l) l'AU>O.NAt.l, 1 UOM \.\Al.l, IN (I I I) IIUA M)>1) A 1., NuW Al Ll l.I.l. 11 A M Ml. K. Latku Tyi'k. ( >1.1) ( 111 HI II A I HoHi.tM). II DWELLING8 A\D CITIES 173 lamp filk' of Norway are, as a rule, of commercial origin. Walls and fortifica- tions were of later construction, and with the exception of the castle, the city was never felt to be a fortress. But the general features of the European cities in the sixteenth centur\' were, nevertheless, met with also in Norway, and a description of London or Copenhagen would, no doui)t, apply in a general way also to Bergen, Oslo, and Trondhjem. The limiteyefl the regar^l for the sacreriness of hu- and the rights of man, and fostered a judicial brutality whicL : ■ ^. - itself in all criminal jurisprudence of that [>erirxl. The crude crjn- ception of the rights of the individual and his value t/> srKnety is sa/^lly cf^nspicuous. In early days the freeman's p>ersrjn and honor were regardefJ as sacrwl. and this .^acredness of person (mannhelgi) was guarrJed by the old laws. The greatest crimes were punished, not by straightway taking the life of the criminal, but by imp^jsing a fine, or by declaring him an outlaw, thereby turning him over to the vengeance of those whom he harl wrrjnged, but aLvj to the merc>' of the cr>mmunity. In the sixteenth centun*' the idea of sacredness of the individual seems to hiave di->apf>earefl. Human life ha/1 \mt< ; • cheap, arul neither the Ixxly nor the honor of the individual cit • was any longer a sacred thing which the court was comf>elled to treat with respect. The trials were often accompanied by brutal t/jrture, and capital puni.-hment was inflicted with a frequenc>' which made the hangman one of the lea/Jing city officials, and the public execu- tions the amusement, not only of the jesting rabble, but of the sedate city fathers. On passing Norrjnes at Bergen one might have seen, almost at any time, several Ixxiies dangling frrjm the gallows, exprd^ left \>\ Mag. Ab>alon Perierss'. " Liber Capiluli Bergcn^is," gives us an iitsight into the way in which crimes were punished in Bergen in the sixteenth centur>'. A Iwy was behearJe/l for jumjjing over the city wall. A man who was i of having killeri hi> wife was trjrtured till one joint of his tl. .... . . A off. At times he a/imitteri, but again he denied his guilt, but he was, nevertheless, executed. A baker was hanged l>ecause he had stolen butter. A bonde (farmer) was hanged because h«- train-oil on the wharf. Two young men of old m- - tives of Christijpher Tnjndi>s<»n, were hanged l>ecause they ha^i picked locks and strjien. A young Ixjy who ser\ed at the castle was aU) hanged for theft Examples of this kind of legal justice need not be multipUe*], nf>r need we mention the numerous executions for what VOL. II — .S 178 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II we would consider more suflBcient reasons, for these alone, it seems, might have satisfied the desire of judges to inflict the favorite death penalty. Fights and drunken brawls were numerous even at wed- dings and other social gatherings ; murders and other crimes were of frequent occurrence. When we read the descriptions of social con- ditions in the sixteenth century left by old writers, we feel that there was guilt enough,^ but no shadow in the picture is deeper than that of justice forgetting to be just, and allying itself with superstition and bigoted cruelty. It is the one great evil which especially darkens the physiognomy of the sixteenth century. But the century has also its brighter side looking forward to a new era, the first dawn of which had already broken through the medieval darkness. New elements of progress had entered the intellectual and spiritual life of the people with the Renaissance and the Reformation, while new inventions, a revival of commerce, and the growth of a native merchant class in the cities gave promise of a new develop- ment in the economic life of the nation. The destruction of the Hanseatic trade monopoly, and the development of Norwegian lumber export were the important factors in this commercial and economic development. Boards and timber had been exported, es- pecially to Iceland and England, in very early times. King Henry III. wrote to his bailiffs in Southampton, Nov. 13, 1253, instructing them to buy two hundred Norwegian pine boards, and deliver them to the sheriff of that city, to be used for wainscoting the room of his dear son Edward in the Winchester castle.^ At the same time men- tion is made of a purchase of 1000 Norwegian boards for the panelling of some rooms in the Windsor castle. "Norway planks," says Turner, "were largely imported into this country from the early period of the century (thirteenth), and perhaps, although it is not quite clear, at a still earlier term." The lumber export to England ' Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 381. Absalon Pederss0n Beyer, Liber Capituli Bergensis. Norske So. ' Liberate Roll 37 Henry III., quoted in Some Account of Domestic Agri- culture in England from the Conquest to the End of the Thirteenth Century, by T. Hudson Turner, Oxford, 1851. See L. J. Vogt, Om Norges Udf^rsel af Tra;last i aldre Tider, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden raekke, vol. V., p. 86 ff. Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellcm England og Norgc indtil Begyndelsen af det 16de Aarhundrede, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, IV., p. 138 ff. II TRADE WITH KNGLAND A.VD HOLLAND 179 did not hecome of ^reut importance, however, till in the sixteenth century, when the l]iiuli>li forests no longer produced the needwl sui)i)ly. A more iniportaiit market for Norwegian lumher developed in HolhuKi and the lower districts of northwestern Germany. In a letter issued iiy King Kirik Magnusson to the citizens of Hamburg, July 31, 1290, in which he grants them various trade privileges, he states that they shall have the right to carry from Norway in their own shij)s lumber and all other kinds of goods, upon paying a fixe', furnished the conditions necessary for the development of the Norwegian cities along new lines. Trade in the North was also stimulated by the attempt of the English to find a northeast passage to India. This jjlan was ad- vanced by the Spaniard Sebastian Cabot, who had entered the Eng- lish service. He had read Ilcberstein's account of Russia, and had studied his niaj), as well as Olaus Magmis' map of the North and of the Mare Sri/tlu'runi. A company of Merchant Adventurers was formed unih-r the patronage of the go\eriuncnt, and three ships were disi)atciicd under Hugh Willtnighby to discover the new route. The expedition sailed from England May 22, 155;^. On the northwest coast of Norway the "Edward Bonaventura," under CapUiin Chan- cellor, was separated from the fleet in a severe storm. Willoughby with the remaining two shij)s was driven far to the northeast, but finally he found a harbor, and landed on a barren and uninhabited coast, whcri' he and his followers perished from hunger. Their dead bodies and Willoughby 's testament were found later. Chancellor was more fortunate. He roundeti the northern extremity of .Norway which he called North Cape, and succee service was a laudable forethought at this time when the storm-clouds of the apj)roaching European wars already obscured the political horizon. England's gnnNing naval power had already encouraged her bold sea-captains to rob Spanish treasure ships, and t^^ plunder isolated Spanish-American settlements. In 1587 Sir Francis Drake had even entered the harbors of Cadiz and Coruna, where he burned the ships and galleys which Philip II. had Htted out for an attack ujxju Englanil. The Invincil>lc .Vnnada was ready to sail in July, 1588, three months after the death of Frederick II. England, Spain's political, commercial, and religious 184 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II enemy, was to be conquered. Even Danish and Norwegian ships and crews had been hired to join the great fleet when it arrived in Enghsh waters, but owing to a remonstrance from the Enghsh am- bassador in Denmark these ships were not allowed to leave the harbors. If Philip should succeed in crushing England, Denmark-Norway as a Protestant power could no longer feel safe, but the stormy sea and the bravery of the English sailors destroyed the great Armada. Many ships were driven so far north that they were wrecked on the northwest coast of Norway ; five ships are said to have stranded in the neighborhood of Trondhjem ; England and the Protestant North was no longer endangered by Spanish aggression. Prince Christian, who was born April 12, 1577, was declared to be of age when he became nineteen years old in 1596. On August 29 of that year he was crowned in Copenhagen as King Christian IV., and the following year he entered upon his duties as ruling sovereign. The superstition of the age had been brought into play in connection with the birth of the prince. A peasant had visited the king to inform him that a mermaid had foretold the birth of a son to the royal pair, who should "become an excellent king and lord in these Northern lands," a prophecy which gained general credence. The mother had the chief care of the boy's education and early training. She had been reared according to the strict rules of her German home, in Mecklenburg ; she loved order and economy, and took great interest in household affairs and the management of the royal estates, a love for the practical which was inherited by the son. He was well educated in the learning of the age, and could speak and write several languages, but as a student he was only moderately successful, as his interest centered chiefly on architecture, ship- building, seamanship, and other practical pursuits, in which he ex- hibited energy and talent, and a desire to see and do things in his own way. In regard to his kingly duties he entertained views re- sembling those of the Stuart kings in England, or of the Tudor Henry VIII. He would not only be the highest power in the state, but he would give personal attention to all details of government, so that nothing, however unimportant, might happen which did not reflect his royal will. As he possessed great courage, energy, and practical insight, and was always ready to take an active part in all adminis- II CIIUISTIAV IV. AM) HIS KCK 185 trative affairs, he institutLHi, at least in a practical way, a pers(jiial rule which bears the marks of his own teinperaiiiciit and character. lie was a hold seaman, and visitet opportunity. lb- made the voyage with a wliolc s(|ua(lrnn of war vessels, and capture*! several Dutch incrciiant shij)s wliicJi sought to sail to Russia by way of Vardohus. His firm hand was soon felt also in the internal administration in Norway, where the discontent was general because of the extortions practicc(l by the Danish Irn.sfn'rrrr and t]\v'\r fofjnh, who jjaid little attention to the laws, and increased arbitrarily their own income and the burdens of the people. The Nonvegian bfitider did not patiently submit to injustice of that kind, but sent delegations to the king to ask for justice. The complaint was again directed against Ludvig Munk, IcihsJwrrc in Trondciagcn, who liad imprisoned and exec-utcd those wlio on a former occasion had served as messengers to the king. This time the old offender was made to feel the heavy hand of royal justice. lie was dismissed from his office, banished to his estates in Jutland, and forced to pay a heavy fine. During the union period Dcinnark had gradually established an ovcrlordship over .Norway, which for military j)urposes, as well a.s in the eyes of the world at large, made the two kingd<>i!is one united realm, and greatly increased Denmark's prestige and power. Not Duly was the central government Danish, but nearly all the local officials of any importance in Norway were Danes. The .Norwegian laws had been translate;D his AGE 187 and Imd to yield the most abject obedience, not only to the lord hirii- < If, but also to his representatives of whatever sort, even to his (Tvants and stjihlc-boys. In the rules made by Chancellor Nils K;uis and Treasurer Christopher \'alkendt)rf, June 5, 1578, for the rvice to be rendered the " iionest and noble-born" J0rf;en Marsvin [)> the peasants, it is sUited tiiat they siiall not l)e for(;eoacher instructed to put out his eyes, or hang hira on the nearest tree. I'iie king's officials are instructed to watch, so that no man from the cities kill animals, either large or small, or any hares; and that no jDgcd, or steward of a manor, or peasants shall keep greyhounds or retrievers, or shoot animals, large or small, on penalty of death, or the loss of their property.' In the stiitute of Frederick II., lo.')(). the people in the cities, |)reachers and peasants, are instructcni tiiat they MHist keep no dogs unless these are always tiwl, or that one of their front legs is cut off. In \r>7:i King Frederick II. wrote to the people of Kolding Icn that .since he iiad li'arned that several of them kept many dogs, which ran about in the forests and fields, and ehasl^^ awjiy and harmed the wild animals, he wished them to take notice that no one should kccj) more than one dog. and that dog should have one ' Rasmus Xyonip, Shildriiif/ur nf Tihdinden i Ihinmnrk og Sorge i aldre ng nyere Tider, vol. I., p. 3GS ff. Nyt dansk Mngnsin, vol. II.. p. 167. » Suhmake nye Samlinger til den danske Historic, vol. I., p. 107 ff.. quoted l>y Xyorup. * Rasmus Nyorup, Skildringvr nf Tihlandcn i Danmark og Norge, vol. I., p. ;iSl (T. Arnt Borntson B«'r^r(Mi, Danmark oc Norgis frugtbar Herlightd, 1656, p. 147 ff. 188 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II front leg cut off above the knee. In 1577 the wild animals did so much damage that the peasants in Lem sogn were unable to pay their taxes. It is not strange that the Danish nobles, who were accustomed to look upon the peasants as a class possessing no rights which they were obliged to respect, should attempt also in Norway to override the laws, and oppress the people. But in Norway they did not possess the same privileges as in Denmark. Even Frederick I. had promised in his Norwegian charter to rule the Norwegian people "according to St. Olav's and the kingdom of Norway's laws and good old usages unchanged in all respects." ^ As already stated elsewhere, the freedom of the Norwegians was safeguarded in the first place by the law of odel, which maintained a relatively large class of free hinder who owned their farms.^ In the second place, the renters, who were more numerous, were protected by the laws as to their personal liberty and independence of their landlords. The amount of rent to be paid was fixed by law, and beyond this the renter owed no obedience or responsibility to the landlord. Since the old nobility had practically disappeared,^ Norway had virtually become a democracy, while Denmark was the most typical exponent of aristocratic rule. This may have been the reason, also, why the principle of elective kingship was maintained in Denmark, while Norway always inclined to the hereditary principle, which had also been introduced in Sweden by Gustav Vasa. The aristocratic social organization, and the elective principle, proved a weakness which sapped Denmark's strength, and retarded her prog- ress, though at the time she exercised dominion over Norway. On the other hand, the democratic conditions in Norway, though they had pushed the Norwegians for a season into the background, fostered powers and possibilities for a new national development. The Danish lensherrer and fogeds, who looked upon the Norwegian ^ Kong Fredrik den f^rstes norske Haandfcestning af 1534, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. I., p. 1 fif. 2 Professor J. E. Sars has shown that of the ea. 30,000 farms in Norway at the time of the Reformation about 10,000 were owned by odelsh^nder, and 20,000 were operated by renters. J. E. Sars, Norge under Foreningen med Danmnrk. Om'\F olkemoengdens Bevoegelse, by the same author, in His- torisk Tidsskrijt, anden raekke, vol. III. ^ Yngvar Nielsen, AJ Norges Historie, p. 77. 11 CHRISTIAN IV. AM) MIS \C.K 189 laws as a restriction upon their privileges, sought to introduce the Danish system also in Norway. ThecrDWii-Iaiuls had heen increased through the secularization of monasteries, and the confiscation of church-lands until the crown owncil over one-fourth of all the t^ixahle lands in the kingdom. Tlic Dani-'li lords Itcgan to demand service of the tenants living upon these crown-lands, and gradually also of the renters dwelling on their own esUites. Many of the minor len.t had been grante , where the Reformation had still wrought but an iin])erfect conversion of the people to the Lutheran faith. Disguised as mer- chants they traveled about in the country, ami sought to persuade young men to go to Catholic schools in foreign lands, .\fter the.se young men had comj)leted their studies, they often returned to Norway to be ordainem sutfering and disaster. He lacked the statesman's intuitive foresight. He spent much of his time in a multitude of details in which he was unable to distinguish the important from the uiiiinportant. and his foreign policy was often dictated by persf)nal pi(iue and ambition rather than by a wise forecast of j)olitical events. In 1597 the king married Anna Catharine of Brandenburg, who l)ore him six children, three of wliom died in childhood. The queen died in 1012, but even before her death he had fornunl illicit att^ichments. In 1015 he acknowledged Christine Munk, a daughter of Ludvig 198 HISTORY OF THE xNORWEGIAN PEOPLE II Munk, to be liis legally wedded wife, though nothing is known of the marriage ceremony, and he never gave her the title of queen. She bore him twelve children, but the marriage was finally terminated by a divorce accompanied by a scandal.^ He had many illegitimate children with different mothers. His illegitimate sons, Christian Ulrik, Hans Ulrik, and Ulrik Christian, received the surname of Gyldenl0ve. Even in that age of no very delicate tastes, the king's moral laxity must have been a constant source of scandal and offense. In Sweden serious clashes between the Protestants and the party representing the Catholic reaction had led to important changes. King John's son, Sigismund, an ardent Catholic, who had become king of Poland, succeeded his father on the throne of Sweden, but in 1599 he was deposed because of his attempt to overthrow the Lutheran faith. The Duke of Sodermanland, a younger son of Gustav Vasa, and brother of King John HI., was placed on the throne as Charles IX. The new king possessed some of the ability of the great Vasa dynasty, which was to place Sweden in the front rank of European powers, but he assumed from the outset a very aggressive and un- compromising attitude towards Denmark-Norway, due in part, perhaps, to the fact that Christian IV. had shown himself a friend of Sigismund, if not an open supporter of his party. In 1610 Charles founded the city of Gottenborg, which would give the Hollanders a new harbor, where they could unload their cargoes, and avoid pay- ing the toll for passing through the Sound. The Swedish aggressions in Finmarken, which had caused trouble in the previous reign, became more pronounced than ever. Charles IX. called himself "King of the Lapps in Nordland," collected taxes as far as Malangen and Titisfjord, a distance south of Troms0, and gave the merchants of Gottenborg right to trade from Titisfjord to Varanger.^ Christian IV., w^ho wished to maintain a naval supremacy both in the Baltic and the North Sea, resisted these encroachments vigorously, but neither protests nor negotiations could influence the independent * Aage Skavlan, Historiske Billeder fra den nyere Tid. * Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Slander, p. 131. N. Slange, Christian IV.'s Historic, p. 256 ff. Amtmand G. Hammer, Historisk Underretning om Finmarkens Handel, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. III., p. 261 ff. II FOREIGN REL.\TI0N8. THE K.\LMAU WAIl 199 and haughty King (.'liarles IX. The Northern Trotestant powers were thus drifting towards open hostihties at a moment when their (Jernmn brt'thren stood confronted ])y tlie Empire and the papacy, who were niarshahng their forces for the last great assault on Protes- tantism, the Thirty Years' War. In KiO.S the "Protestant Union" was formed with Elector Frederick of the Palatinate as Director, and the following year the "Catholic League" was organized with Elec- tor Maximilian of Bavaria as commander-in-chief. The "Uni(jn" sought the support of Henry I\'. of France, and of Christian IV. of Denmark-Xorway, hut King Christian chose to wage war with Sweden rather than aid his Protestant brethren in Germany. In 1611 he finally forced the Council to declare war agaiiLst Sweden. It appears that he did not onl> intend to protect his realm against encroachments, hut that he entertained a hope of being able to con- quer Sweden, and to establish once more the union between tlie three Northern kingdoms. He invaded Sweden with an army of about 6000 men, and while he laid siege to the city of Kalmar with the greater part of his force, he dispatched Sten Sehested with a portion of it again.^t Elfsborg. The army was supported by the fleet, which was superior to that of Sweden. The Norwegian forces were stationed in the border districts, and were instructed not to enter Swedish ter- ritory unless special orders were given.' On May 27 Kalmar, with the exception of the castle, was taken, an event which gave to the struggle the name of the Kalmar War, and on Inly 17 an undecisive battle was fought with the Swedisii army under King Charles IX., who had arri\ed in the neigliboriiood of the citN'. The day after the battle Kalmar castle was treacherously surrendered by its com- mandant, and in a similar way Gland fell into the hands of the Danes, though Gustavus Adolphus, the brave son of King Charles IX., recaptured the island l)ei'ore the campaign was closed in the fall. On October 30 King Charles IX. died at Nykoping castle, and Gus- tavus Adolphus ascended the thnuie of Swalen. He wisheio sine*' IcarntHl that tho.so Scots who wcro dcfcati-d and faptunnl on their man-h thmiigh thi.s country havo ahsolutoly neither liurned, nnirdertHl. nor d««stroye»l anything either in Romsdal or (ludltrand.sdal. e.xeept only a Dane, Sofren Setnes by name, who (hv<'Ils in Romsdal. From him they took a chest full of silver articles, etc." Norske Smnlinger. vol. II., p. '2HS ff. The Zinklar Vise, a popular hallad written about this battle by Kdward Storm (1742-1794). is biused on jxtpular traditions, and abounds in exaggera- tions, as ballads usually do. S«>«> H. P. S. Krag, Sngn orn Slaget tfd Krin- gelen. The following stanza may servo as an example : 202 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II way, and crossed the mountains into Gudbrandsdal. But news of their approach had been received, and the brave lensmand Lars Hage had assembled the men of Lesje, Dovre, Vaage, Fron, Lom, and Ringebu, who under tlie command of the foged Lars Gram took their position on a mountain side overlooking Kringen, where a road passes at the foot of the mountain along the Laagan River. Their exact number is not known, but in a song written shortly after the battle they are said to have numbered 500, which seems to be ap- proximately correct. The officers who were taken prisoners stated that the Scots numbered 350 men.^ The binder gathered piles of stone and timber on the mountain side, and everything was ready when the Scots arrived on August 26, 1612. The advance guard was allowed to pass, but when the main body arrived, the signal was given,^ and an avalanche of stone and timber swept down upon them. Many were killed outright, and many were swept into the river and drowned. The rest, attacked in front and rear, were forced to sur- render. The advance guard was also captured, but most of them were put to death after they were taken prisoners. Only eighteen were escorted to Akershus, among whom were the oflScers Ramsey, Bruce, Moneypenny, and Scott, who were sent as prisoners to Copen- hagen. Hay and Sinclair had fallen. Some of the Scots remained in Norway, and some enlisted in the Danish army. Insignificant as this episode was from a military point of view, it was, none the less, the spark which kindled the national patriotism, and roused the martial spirit of the Norwegians. Hitherto they had been too in- different even to defend themselves ; henceforth their valor became proverbial. A stone slab was erected on the battlefield of Kringen fifty years later bearing the inscription : " Here Colonel Sinclair was shot on the twenty-sixth of x\ugust, 1612." This slab was replaced And with him fourteen hundred men : On mischief all that band were bent ; They spared nor j'oung nor aged then, But slew and burnt as they went. The song has been translated by Thomas Michell, History of the Scottish Expedition to Norway in 1612, part II. 1 Olav Kringen, Fra Snelandets Hytter, Decorah-Posten, October 1, 1907. » The tradition says that a girl, Pillar Guri, was stationed on a mountain top, opposite Kringen, and that she gave the signal by blowing a trumpet. II FOREIGN RELATIONS. THE KALMAR WAR 203 in 1733 by a wooden cross bearing a boml)a3tic rliymed inscription which King Cliristian VI. read on his visit in Gudbrandsdal.' A new stone shib with the inscription: "In memory of the bravery of the b0nder 1012" was erected in 1S20. This was again replaced by a new stone monument August 26, 1912. King Christian liad learned two things in the KaJmar War. In the first place, that his army organization was antiquated and wholly inefficient, and secondly, that Deimiark could no lunger seek terri- torial aggrandizement in Sweden. As soon as the war was over, he began to im{)r()ve the army both in Norway and Denmark. In 1614 he issued an order for the creation of a small national militia, which should always be ready for military service. In Norway this force was to consist of 2100 men, but the order does not seem to have been systematically carried out, and the plan was soon aban- doned. In 1017 the firearms which had been provided for this army were finally sold to the people. Not till after Denmark's sad * This inscription reads : Courage, loyalty, bravery, and all that gives honor. The whole world 'midst Norwegian rocks can learn. An example is there seen of such bravery. Among tlie rocks in the Xorth, on this very spot: A fully armed corps of some hundred Soots Was here crushed like earthen pots; They found that bravery, with loyalty and courage. Lived in full glow in the liearts of the men of Uudbrandsdal. J0rgen von Zinclair as the leader of the Scots, Thought within himself, "Xo one will here meddle with me." But, lol a small number of b0nder confronted him, Who bore to him Death's mes.sago of powder and ball. One Northern monarch, King Cliristian the Sixth, To honor on his way we have erected this; For him we are ready to risk our blood and life Until our breath goes out and our bodies lie stiff." This not very happy translation is found in Thomas Michell's History of the Scottish Expedition to Norway in 1612. The original is found in Ring's Norges Bcskrivdse, p. 348. H. F. Hjorthoy's Brskrivilsc over Gudbrandsdalcn, ch. II., p. 27. H. P. S. Krag, Sagn om Slagel red Kringelen. Christiania, 1838. A. Fabrioius, Minder fra Nordens Uistorie. O. O. Olafsen, SkotU- toget efter Folkesagnct og Historien, Molde, 1877. Xorske Samlinger, II., p. 288ff. 204 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II experience in the Thirty Years' War was the plan of a better mili- tary organization carried out.^ In 1618 the Thirty Years' War broke out, and nearly all nations of western Europe were drawn into its bloody vortex. Bohemia became the first theater of war. In 1620 the troops of the Emperor and the Catholic League defeated the Protestants in the battle of the White Mountain, near Prague, and Frederick V. of the Palat- inate, who had been chosen king of Bohemia, had to flee, and was later outlawed by the Emperor. Tilly, the general of the armies of the League, wasted the Palatinate with fire and sword ; Bohemia was fearfully ravaged, and the Catholic religion was reestablished. This encouraged the fanatic Emperor Ferdinand II. to make a general assault on the Protestants in Germany. In order to make himself independent of the League, he placed in the field a new imperial army under Wallenstein. The Protestant princes were in dire straits. Spain had also joined the Catholic alliance, and, by dangling before the eyes of King James I. of England a possible marriage between his son Charles and a Spanish princess, succeeded in keep- ing him inactive. France, though hostile to the House of Habsburg, was a Catholic power, and Holland lay bleeding and exhausted after the wars with Philip II. In their distress the Protestants again turned to Christian IV. Elizabeth, the daughter of his sister Anna and King James I. of England, was married to the exiled King Frederick of Bohemia. He sympathized with the Protestants, and, what possibly weighed still more, he had for some time been trying to extend his influence in lower Germany in the hope that he might be able to obtain some of the secularized bishoprics for his sons, and also to gain control of Hamburg and Bremen. He did not fear the consequences of a war with the powerful Catholic coalition, but the Council would not embark on so hazardous and expensive an under- taking. The king, however, turned a deaf ear to their remonstrance. A promise of aid from England, and the fear that Gustavus Adolphus might become the leader of a Protestant alliance, led him to decide ^ A. C. C. Drolsum, Del norske Folk og dels Forsvarsvcesen, p. 25 ff. I. Chr. Berg, Aktstykker til den staaende Hcers Historie, Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 404 ff. ; vol. IV., p. 1 ff. Didrik Schnitler, Del f^rste Aarhundrede af den norske Hocrs Historie, Christiania, 1874. PLATK V II FOREIGN RELATIONS. TIIR KALMAR WAR 205 fur war. In May. lOlT), lie cutertHl Germany with an army f)f al)»»ijt 2(),(KK) nu'u, and tlie rceiifnrccments sent hitn \)y the Pnitestaiit princes increaseil his availahlr forces to about .'iO,(M)() men, thf greater part of which consisted of (icrman mercenaries. But Chris- tian's operations were slow. lie wastc(i much time in minor skir- mishes which could lead to no decisive rotilt, and riothiu;; was ac- complished iu the iirst campai^'u. In 1G20 WalleiLstein dcfcate*! tiie Protestant forces under Mansfeld at Dessau, while Christian was facing Tilly with an army which was rapidly being reduced in num- bers through sickness and desertions. Money was scarce, and the aid given by England was of little real value. At length Christian risked a decisive battle, .\ugust 17, at the village of Luttcr am Barn- berg, near Wolfenbiittel, but suffered a crushing rlcfeat. The retreat turned into a rout; panic seize(I the fleeing army, and the king barely escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. When he reache27, but the resistance which he could make proved use- less. In July Tilly crossed the Elbe, and united his army with that of Wallcnstcin, and the two generals began the invasion of Den- mark. The whole {)eninsula was soon overrun and subjected to the wildest ravages, not only by the lawless warriors of Tilly and Wallen- stein, l)ut by the mercenaries in King Christian's own army, who turned brigands and marauders. Dcinnark was on the verge of utter ruin, and Emperor Ferdinand II. anfl Wallcnstcin were already laying plans for extending the borders of the Em|)irc. and of estab- lishing its control over the Balti<- and the .\orth Sea. This grave danger brought (lustavus .Vdolphus into the arena. The imperial forces laid siege to the city of Stralsund. l)nt it rccci\('(| help from Sweden and Dernnark, whose fleets controlled the Baltic. antiMn 1\'. for the defense of the .Vorth and the Lnthcran laith, and nothing could ha\c secmnl nmrc advantage«)us for Denmark at this moment, as Wallcnstcin ofrcntl (lUstavus to partition the kingdom of Denmark and Xorvvay in such a way that 206 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II Sweden should receive Norway, while Denmark should be the portion of the Emperor. But Christian's suspicion and jealousy prevented an alliance of the Protestant kingdoms of the North at this critical moment. It may be urged in his defense, however, that by avoid- ing an alliance with Sweden he could obtain more favorable terms of peace. On May 12, 1629, he signed the treaty of peace with the Emperor at Liibeck. He had to relinquish all claims to German possessions for his sons; he had to resign as commander of the Protestant forces in Germany, and had to promise not to meddle with German affairs in the future ; but he lost no territory, nor was he forced to pay any war indemnity. These easy terms were not granted by the Emperor and Wallenstein from any kindness of heart, but because they wished to have their hands free for the coming struggle with Gustavus Adolphus. But though Christian had suc- ceeded in making peace on better terms than could have been expected, Denmark had paid dearly for his participation in the war. The ravages and suffering brought upon the kingdom seem to have destroyed its vigor, and the battlefield of Luther am Barnberg marks the beginning of Denmark's national decHne. In 1628, while the realm was in its deepest distress, the king began in earnest the reorganization of the army. According to an order issued on January 18 of that year to the Norwegian statholder Jens Juel, four farms (gaards), or eight half farms, or sixteen quarter farms should form a Icegd, which should furnish and maintain one soldier. According to this plan, an army was raised, consisting of five regiments : Trondhjem, Bergenhus, T0nsberg, Akershus, and Bohus, and three fcenniker: Stavanger, Agdesiden, and Jsemtland. After peace was concluded at Liibeck, this organization was again abandoned, because of the resistance of the people to mihtary burdens, but it was reestablished by the ordinance of September 19, 1641, which united the Stavanger and Agdesiden fcenniker into a sixth regiment. Each regiment numbered about 1000 men, and was divided into three companies, except the regiment of Bergenhus of 1300 men, which was divided into four companies. Cavalry was organized through rostjeneste ; i.e. mounted service demanded of nobility, clergy, and odelsh^nder. According to the military ordi- nance of 1641, the cavalry numbered 520 arquebusiers and 500 dra- II NEW NATIONAL GROUTH 207 goons, hut the latter, which was selected from the infantry, mi^ht be regarded as mounted infantry. Through the ordinance of lO'iS fourteen city coin[)anies, each tunnl)ering ahout KK) men, were also organized; two in Trondhjem, four in Bergen, two in ('hristiania» and one in each of the cities of Fredrikstad, T0nsl)erg, Skien, Kong- helle, Marstrand, and Tdevalla. These companies totidling 14()() men were recruited among the citizens of these cities, and were to serve as a sort of garrison for their {jrotection. The fortresses in Norway at this time were: Vardohus, Trondhjem with Munkhol- men, Bergenhus, Akersims, Boims, Fredrikstad, Marstrand. and the redoubts of \'inger, Flekker0, and Fr0s0en in Jiemtland. These fortresses had permanent garrisons, which were greatly strengthened by Cliristian IV. The term of military service was fixed at three years, and no one could rent land or own or operate a farm who had not rendered the required military service.' Norway had thus received a national army, which in time became an invaluable aid in the struggle for national liberty, and which was of far greater value to the country in time of need than the lawless foreign mer- cenaries employed at that time in the wars in all countries. 27. New N.vtional Growth. TTaxxibal Sehested. A New War with Swhdkn Immediately after the introduction of the Reformation, which destroyed what was still left of the old spirit of independence, Nor- way reached its lowest ebb of national weakness. But signs of a new social and economic growth soon began to manifest themselves, and before a century passed, considerable i)rogress had been made towards a new and more vigorous natioiud life, which was charac- terized, however, by a more distinct stratification of social elas.ses. A Lutheran clergy had arisen, generally well edu(atehii> was made atdtholdcr of Norway. Christiaiiia, as his residence city, became the center of Norwegian administration, tlie place where the Assembly of Estates met, where kings were hailed,' where the leading men of the kingdom assemble' o|)j)osed an attack on Sweden. The quarrel was not theirs. They would never, they said, attack Sweden, for their Swedish neighbors wishetween Halland and the border of Sweden." Samlinycr til del norskc Fulkn Sprog og Historic, III., p. 70. Statholder Uannihal Schcsteds Copicbog for Aant 164-^. This was an oxapporation at the time, as the Norwegians had already made several expeditions into Sweden, but in order to make political cApital. he bases this statement on the well-known fact that the Norwejfians were opposed to the war. * Osear Alb. .lohnsen. Hamnhnl Schcsteds Stalholdcrskah, p. .'i.") fT. * Yugvar Nielsen, Om Indre og Sccrna, Historitk Tidtitkrifl, III., p. 195 tt. 212 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II of 2000 men, assisted by a similar force under Henrik Bjelke. But he was ordered to cooperate with the king, who had already spent some time before Gottenborg. On the arrival of Sehested King Christian departed to take charge of the naval operations. On May 16, 1644, he met Thijssen's fleet, and defeated it in the battle of List Dyb, off the west coast of Schleswig, and after a second engagement a few days later, Thijssen had to return to Holland. On July 1 King Christian and Admiral Vind fought the great naval battle of Kolberger Heide, off Kiel, with the Swedish fleet under Klaes Fleming. The old king showed the greatest bravery. Even after he was so severely wounded that he lost the sight of one eye, he stood on the deck of his flagship, "Trefoldigheden," and encouraged his men. As a result of the battle the Swedish fleet was bottled up in the harbor of Kiel, but through the negligence of the Danish admiral Gait it managed to escape. Gait was sentenced to death and executed, and Eirik Ottess0n Orning, a Norwegian captain, became chief admiral. When Thijssen had repaired his ships, he again put to sea, sailed through the Sound under the thundering can- nons of the Kronborg, and joined the Swedish fleet. A Danish squadron of seventeen ships under the Norwegian admiral, Pros Mund, was attacked and destroyed ; only three frigates escaped into the harbor of Copenhagen. Sehested did not engage in active operations till in June, when he attacked and destroyed the newly founded city of Vernersborg, and sent George von Reichwein across the border from Vinger and Eid- skog. Morast redoubt was taken, but the Swedes dispatched Gabriel Oxenstjerna to recapture it. Sehested now joined the Norwegian forces, which numbered 2825 men with eighteen field-pieces. A seri- ous battle was fought, in which the Norwegians were victorious; Henrik Bjelke entered Dalsland, and took the city of Am§,l, but the Norwegian forces found it necessary to withdraw again to the border, and in May, Morast redoubt was the only point in Swedish territory in their possession. The newly organized Norwegian army had proven that it could render efficient service, but the active part which Norway had been forced to play in the war could not avert the disastrous outcome. After the destruction of Pros Mund's squadron, Denmark's strength was so nearly exhausted that King i n A NEW \V\K WITH SWEDEN 213 Christian was compelleliiiiiM lie kept. This cavalry was, however, dismissed l»y royal order in l(Vt7. The regiments should be kejjt up and strengthened, and able officers should be employed. Accord- ing to Sehested's jjroposition, sanctioned by the king, the regiments of Hohus, Akershus, and Trondhjem were to be maintained, and these were increased respecti\ely to 2()()(), .SCK)(), and 'M)()() men. The fortresses were to be repaired, and the garrisons strengthened, and as they were far apart, forts were also to be erected at other places. Sehested sought also to create a separate Norwegian fleet of thirty ves.sels, but failed to carry out the plan, as it received no general support. The Danish nobility, and the Council led by Korfits Ulfeld, another son-in-law of King Christian, were bitterly opposed to the policy pursued by Sehested and the king in regard to Norway. They scouted the idea that Norway should have a separate army and navy, that the finances of the kingdom should be administered for Nor- way's own benefit, and that no contributions were to be sent to the Danish treasury. This j)olicy, they believed, would lead to Norway's complete independence. The king was now old and weak, and when he lost his oldest son. Prince Christian, who hafi been elected succes- sor to tiie throne by the assembled Danish Estates, the Council gained full control. The reform policy in Norway was abandonetl, the expenditures for the Norwegian arin\' were reduced, the Danish chancellor was given control of the Norwegian fiiuinccs, and the lenshcrrcr were instructed to send their contributions directly to Denmark. ( )n the charge of malfeasance in office, to which he pleaded guilty, Sehested was dismissed, and lost all his possessions. But, though he was overthrown, his reform plans in Norway were destined to be revived. He luul given the kingdom an army; he had organized a centralized administration separate from that of Denmark, and had placed autonomy as the goal towards which Nor- way shonhl be striving. Such a lesson in self-government couKl not be wholly forgotten, and the Norwegian army remained as a result of what had been done, as a new repository of national strength to be used in future struggles. 216 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H 28. Frederick III King Christian IV. died at Rosenborg palace in Copenhagen, February 28, 1648, and as the elected successor to the throne, Prince Christian, had passed away in 1647, a new king had to be chosen. Prince Frederick, the king's next oldest son, born in 1609, seemed to be the logical candidate. He was statholder of the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, to which he was the sole heir. During his broth- er's lingering illness both he and his ambitious wife, Sophia Amalie of Braunschweig-Liineburg, had made it their aim to obtain the throne, if a vacancy should occur, and the prince styled himself in all pubhc documents "Heir to the throne of Norway." But the nobles opposed him, because of his pronounced autocratic ideas. There could be no doubt that if placed on the throne, he would at- tempt to strengthen the royal power to the greatest extent possible, but as he was the king's only legitimate son, his election could not be prevented. On the 18th of April, 1648, he was chosen king of the united realms, and on August 24 he received the homage of the Norwegian people in Christiania.^ According to usage, the king had to sign a charter by which the nobility safeguarded their privileges and powers.^ The attempt was made to introduce a stipulation with regard to Norway which would have revived the long-forgotten clause in the charter of Christian HI., and would have once for all reduced that kingdom to a Danish prov- ince. The nobles proposed that Norway "shall forever remain an inseparable province under the crown of Denmark," and that the king "shall have no rights thereto either by inheritance or otherwise," but to this the king would not subscribe. The charter, as finally signed, created restrictions on the royal power which had never yet been imposed on a Danish king, but as a final compromise Norway was not mentioned. The charter became a purely Danish document. But while the Danish nobles would regard Norway as ^ Andreas H0jer, Jus Publicum eller Stotsforfatning og Rettigheder for Danmark, Norge og Fyrstendfimmerne, Christiania, 1783, p. 32 f. J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, vol. IV., p. 41. * Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. I., p. 13 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Frederik Ills Hylding i Christiania 1648, Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. I., p. 23 ff. II FREDERICK III 217 a province of Denmark, the national s[)irit was again awakened amonj; the Norwegians. Througli the development of the Estates they had again received a national rej)resentation, after the Nor- wegian Conneil had disaj)peared.' It is true that the Estates num- bered many Danish nobles and officials, i)Ut it was, nevertheless, a representation which could speak in behalf of Norwegian interests. This they had done cpiite cfTectively when the question arose of using Norwegian reveimes in tiie kingdom instead of i)aying them into the general treasurx , and it is evident that the Danish govern- ment did not dare to disregard Norway's rights as a separate king- dom. Wiien Frederick 111. wa.s to be hailed in Christiania, the Danish chancellor in a speech to the No^^vegian Estates asked them to swear allegiance to the new king, but lie did not mention with a word the clause which had l)cen inserted in the " Code of Christian IV." that "whatsoever lord or prince the Danish Council, nobility, and Estates shall choose to be king of Deiunark shall also be king of Norway." lie offered an apology for the failure to summon the Norwegian Estates to take part in the election, but said that it was owing to the haste with which the election had to be made. The native-born Norwegian chancellor, Jens Bjeike, replied that the Nor- wegian Estates would take the oath of allegiance to King Frederick 111. as heir to the throne of Norway, as no one had a better right to the throne than he.^ King Frederick's position in Norway was not made clear, but the Norwegians had fearlessly maintained that ' Yngvar Nielsen, Norgcs Ifintorir, vol. IV., 2, p. 260. J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norskr IfistoHr, vol. IV., p. 41 IT. F. Ilammerich, Fire kj^b('nhai. He says ooneerninjr hereditary kingship in Norway: "The people elunj; to the hereditary kingship .so long as it served their interests and tiie country's wi-lfare, but they abandoninl it and opposed tlu< hereditary kin^:shi|) and the iuri'ditary principle when in the union period these were becoming a d:l^^rer to the country and (he nation; finally they ajjain rec()^rui/.ed the king's hcre', and render them less able to resist the king, who aimed to curtail their power, if not to destroy it. In IGot) his eldest son, Prince Christian, was elected successor to the throne, but the election was made t)nly in behalf of Denmark, and when the royal successor was to be haileil in Christiania, 1G50, the question again arose whether he was to be regarded as heir to the throne, or as elected crown prince. On this occasion a treatise entitled "Norges Rige Arve-Ilige," written t*) prove that Norway had always been a hercditar\' monarchy, was submitted to the king. The author is thought to have been a Dane, Jens Dolmer.^ who had been the tutor of King Christian's ille- gitimate son Ulrik Christian Gyldenl0ve, and who at the time of tlie ' Lcuoro rhristiiu' rifcliit, JnminrrH-mirKic, puMishod by S. Hirkot Smith. CoponhiHJcn. Lcnorc Christine Grcvinde I'lfddt'a Levned, ('oi>en- hagen, 1870. * GusUiv Storm, Om Fnrfnttercn til dct stntsrrtsligc Skrift fra 1656 " \orgcs Rige Arve-Rigc." Hintorisk Tidaakrift, andeu ra?kko, vol. IV., p. 114 ft. Dolmor also translated tho llirskni, Ilird-Sfcrna udi det gamU I^'orskt Sprog rcllcUgcn ovcrsal pan Danske, Cupculia^eu, 1606. 220 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II festivities was granted a yearly pension from the royal purse. Pro- fessor Gustav Storm says : " When the document was submitted to the king at a Norwegian council by a man who was personally so well acquainted with him, and who a few days later received a pen- sion from the royal treasury, it is evident that the author has written it at the instigation of the king, and expresses the views of the king and his surroundings. The treatise is, therefore, a link in the chain of utterances by the king regarding the hereditary kingship in Nor- way, and reveals the plans which were maturing at the court." That King Frederick should welcome such a plan to increase his power is quite natural, but he was Jess favorably disposed to a petition submitted by the Norwegian merchant class, or third estate, aiming at securing new improvements and privileges for Norway. The petitioners prayed that Norwegian officers might be employed in the army instead of foreigners ; that Norway might get a chamber of commerce, a superior court, and a university.^ These were all timely and useful improvements, but no attention was paid to the petition, though it was renewed the following year. Even though hereditary kingship and absolute power were established, Norway might derive but slight benefit from the change. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus his gifted but eccentric daughter Christina succeeded to the throne of Sweden, after a regency had conducted the government during her minority. She became of age in 1644, and ruled till 1654, when she abdicated, and her cousin, Charles Gustavus, became king of Sweden as Charles X. King Frederick III. had been longing for an opportunity to regain the provinces lost in the late war with Sweden, and when Charles X., shortly after his accession to the throne, became involved in a war with Poland, he thought the time had come for the inevitable con- test with the rival power. Without much preparation, and without weighing carefully the possible outcome, the king signed the declara- tion of war, July 1, 1657. " Seldom has a war been declared more from pure motive of revenge, and the feelings associated with it," says Professor Yngvar Nielsen.^ In his work, " Adelsvseldens sidste Dage," * Becker, Samlinger til Danmarks Historie under Fredrik III., vol. I., p. 118. Quoted by Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 43. * Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., 2, p. 284. II FREDERICK III 221 J. A. Fridericia says: "Weak and poor was the kingdom (Denmark) when the war he^an, disrniMiihered and ruined when it endwl. No single man can be made responsible for its weakness and poverty, the reasons for which he deep in tiie people's history, in exterior mis- fortunes, in unfortunate errors made by kings and statesmen, in the absence of a powerful merchant class; but especially in the arro- gance, demoralization, and worthlessness of the nobility. Perhaps this weakness and j)overty would sooner or later have led to the same dismemberment and devastation which the kingdom now suffered, but for the misfortunes lus they happened in these years, that prince whose will was the war of 1657 cannot be wholly free from blame." ' The Norwegian army was able to render able service during the war. Attacks were made against Sweden both from Tr0ndclagen and from Boiuislen. Peder \'ibe was commandant of Trondhjem, but the expedition against Sweden in this quarter was to be led by J0rgen Bjelke, probably the ablest officer in the Norwegian army at that moment. His forces numbered 2()00 men, who had been recruited chiefly in Tr0ndelagen. With this force he invaded Jremtland and Ilcrjedalen, drove out the Swedish garri- sons, and placed the two provinces once more under Norwegian ad- ministration. In the northern districts, Preben von Ahnen, com- mandant of Bod0gaard, raised a small force, and attacked and destroyed the Sweflish silver mines at Nasafjall and Silbojocki. The ex|)edition from Bohuslcn was led by Tver Krabbe, commandant of Bohus. He was successful in a battle at Hjertrum, but failed to effect a junction with the Danish army, which had crossed the border further .south. While Sweenien to Lan^eland, which sur- rendered without resistance. On tiie Nth of Fel)njar\' he entert^d Falster, and on the 1 1th he stootl in Seeland, where Gustav \V range! joined him with the rest of the Swedish army. There was now noth- ing left for Denmark to do but to conclude j)eace, no matter how humiliating the terms. Peace negotiations were begun, and after a preliminary protocol had been agreed upon, the treaty was finally signed at Roskilde, February 2(), Kjo.S. Denmark had to cede Skane, Ilalland, Blekinge, and Bornholm ; Jjcmtland and ilerjedalen had to be evacuated, and Bohuslen and Trondhjems len in Norway were given to Sweden. King Frederick 111. was, furthermore, to give King Charles 2(100 horsemen; he had to agree to abrogate all hostile alliances against Sweden, and to seek to prevent any foreign fleet, hostile to either of the two realms, from passing through the Sound.' F^)r the second time Norway had become the victim of a Danish foreign policy aiming solely at the maintenance of the power and glory of Denmark. Norway's interest had never been consid- ered, and the peace of Roskilde not only alienated great portions of Norwegian territory, but almost destroyed the kingdom by dividing what rcMuained into two dissevered halves. But in those days war was still a royal sport, and IVederick 111. did not ai)pear to be very downcast by the overwhelming misfortunes which he had brought upon his realm. He invited King Charles to visit him at Fredrik.s- borg palace, where a great festival was arrangeil in his honor. For several days the two nionanhs feasted, drank, chatte7-l (!i>0; Fndtn i Roskilde. C. F. Allen, tlaandbog i FiedrtlandtU llititorie, p. 4<)S f. Dan- marks Rigcs Hislorie, vol. IV., p. 304 Cf. iSrerigcsltlistorie, vol. III. Sorges Historic, vol. IV., 2, p. 283 ff. 224 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II Both kings were, however, dissatisfied with the terms of the treaty of Roskilde. King Frederick III., because he had lost so much terri- tory, and Charles Gustavus, because he did not take more when he had the opportunity. With regard to Trondhjems len the treaty was very vague, and King Charles claimed that the district of Romsdal as well as Nordland and Finmarken were included in the cession. Romsdal was recognized to be a part of Trondhjems len, but King Charles still planned to renew the war. In July, 1658, he decided in a meeting with his Council at Gottorp to attack Denmark, and Gus- tav Wrangel was instructed to begin operations against Copenhagen.^ The city was invested, and a siege begun. Kronborg was surrendered to General Wrangel without much resistance, but animated by the desperate situation, the Danes concentrated their forces within their capital, which they were resolved to defend to the last extremity. The unprovoked attack, and the fear that Sweden would gain abso- lute control in the North, soon moved other powers to intervene in behalf of Denmark. Holland sent a fleet of forty vessels and twenty-eight transports with a force of 2200 men under Jakob van Wassenaer Opdam to Danish waters. This fleet passed through the Sound in spite of the fire from the fortresses of Kronborg and Helsingborg, defeated the Swedish fleet, joined the Danish squadron, and sent the transports with provisions and reenforcements to Copen- hagen. Brandenburg and Poland also commenced war against Sweden, and sent an army into Holstein, which forced the Duke of Gottorp, King Charles's ally, to remain neutral. King Charles Gustavus had planned this time to take possession of all Norway, but the Norwegians were determined, not only to defend their country, but to recover the lost possessions. The people of Tr0ndelagen regretted bitterly that they had been forced under Sweden. The Swedish commissioner, Lorentz Creutz, who acted as governor of the province, was ordered by King Charles to raise a force of 3000 men for the Swedish army, but this was so violently opposed by the people that the order could be carried out only with the greatest difficulty. Finally 2000 men were impressed to fight 1 J. A. Fridericia, Adelsvceldens sidste Dage, p. 349 ff. Fredrik Ferdinand Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungarne af pfalziska Huset, part 1, p. 354 ff. II FREDERIi K III 225 ill Sweden's foreign wars. Tlu'v were (ordered to be sent U) Livonia, and till' kin;; wrott' to John OxcMistjiTiia to watch carefully so that the Norwegians did not desert. Many escai)ed, hut ahout 140() were transported to Livonia, few of whom ever saw their native land a^ain. The Swedish kinf; did notliiiiK to win the favor of the Norwegians. His only tiiou^iit had Keen to raise men and money in the ecjiiquered provinces. The taxes were increased, and the Tr0nders, who had hitherto heen well disposed towards the Swedes, were now eager to aid in any undertaking wliich promiseIsen, Knininn om Trondhjcin tGo7-l6GO; Trondhjema Stad og Leii under svcnsk Shjrclsr. * Yn^ar Nielsen, Jmt lijdki til Ostnial, p. 37.") ff. ; Kampfti om Trotidhjem 1657-1660. Om Troudhjvms Tilh(uj,l(nnls, ,if dr Sorskc, Savilingrr tU del norskr Folkn Sprog mj Hisloric, vol. VI., p. lOo (T. H. (J. Ilejjglveit, Trondhjem i FoTlid og Siitid, p. 187 fT. VOL. II Q 226 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11 the Swedes, and the detachments which he sent out to reconnoiter met the advancing Norwegian troops, and were forced to fall back on Trondhjem. King Charles, who had not failed to understand the gravity of the situation in Tr0ndelagen, speedily sent a force of 500 men to reenforce Stjernskold. If this force had reached the city, the Swedish governor might have been able to successfully de- fend it, as he would then have had a garrison of about 1200 men. But Eilerik Visborg, who had been sent to Vserdalen with a part of the forces from Bergen, met and defeated the Swedish reenforcements,^ and the Norwegian forces, numbering about 4000 men, laid siege to Trondhjem. The garrison of the city numbered about 750 men, but as many of these were Norwegians, desertions occurred almost daily. The supply of provisions and war material in the city was small, and after a siege lasting from October 3rd till December 11th Stjernskold capitulated, and Trondhjems len again became Norwe- gian territory. J0rgen Bjelke was personally leading the defense of the southern districts, where he had raised an army of about 4000 men. Sep- tember 13, 1658, the Swedish general, Harald Stake, crossed the Swedish border with a force of about 1500 men, and marched upon Halden (Fredrikshald), which was defended by 900 men, of whom the greater part were volunteers. This force, led by Peder Nordmand and Mathias Bj0rn, took up a position in the hills east of the town, where they resolutely attacked the Swedes when they arrived. After a battle lasting from eight o'clock in the morning till three o'clock in the afternoon, the Swedish general was forced to retreat, and he led his army back to Sweden. A second attack was com- menced in February ; this time by an army of 4000 men, also com- manded by Stake. The town was defended by a force of 1800 men under J0rgen Bjelke and T0nne Huitfeldt, who defeated the Swedish general, and forced him to retreat to Bohuslen. After the attack had been repulsed, Kuitfeldt began to construct more efficient forti- fications around Halden, and Bjelke advanced into Bohuslen in the fall of 1659, and attempted to wrest that province from the Swedes. But a Swedish army of 4500 men under Marshal Kagg was advancing 1 Yngvar Nielsen, Eilerik Visborgs Kamp med de Svenske 1658, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, vol. IV., p. 286 ff. II FREDERK K III 227 to renew the attack on the small XorwcKian fortress, and Bjelke had to return. lie increased the garrison of the place to 2100 men, and placed Iluitfeldt in command.' In Jaiuiary, !(>(>'), the Sweties attempted to take the fortress l)y storm, hut the attack was success- fully repulsed. In tlie meantime Bjelke had raised an army of 3800 men, with wiiich he had hoj)ed to reenforce the garrison of Halden. The army was attacketl hy Kagg at IIun(ie!)UMderi, and a stubborn battle was fought, in which the Norwegians were victori- ous. A second assault on the fortress on February l.'kJi was like- wise repulsed, and a third attack on tlie 2iJth was also unsuccessful. On Feljruary -2d the siege was raised, and Kagg led his forces back to Sweden, where he received the news that the warrior king, Charles X. Gustavus, had died in Gottenborg. February 13, 10(iO. The defense of Halden and the capture of Trondhjem were events of the utmost importance to Norway, Even from a military point of view they were great achievements which awakened the people's self-confidence and national pride. Hitherto the Danes had looked upon Norway as wholly incompetent in military affairs, but the late events had awakened such admiration of the bravery of the NorAve- gians that when Frederick I\'. \isited Norway al)out forty years later, he caused a coin to be struck, bearing the superscription: " Courage, loyalty, bravery, and all that gives honor, the whole world among the rocks of Norway can learn." This was, undoubtedly, done by the king to flatter the Norwegians, but they had shown in these wars with Sweden that they could defend tiieir country, and that they could bring victory home from tlie fields of battle, even in struggles with experienced generals and the best troops of Europe- The disasters which had befallen Norway in the wars between Swe(i ff. 228 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U existence, had become deeply rooted in all hearts. An efficient army had been developed, and able and patriotic leaders had appeared. These distinct gains were doubly important since they would con- stitute the basis for a new national development. The war was still continued, but the end was, nevertheless, in sight. Copenhagen resisted bravely, and when the Swedes attempted to take the city by storm they were repulsed with heavy losses. As England and France as well as Holland were interested in preserv- ing Denmark's independence, Sweden's plan of subduing the whole kingdom was becoming ever more hopeless. Holland's great ad- miral, Michael de Ruyter, was dispatched to Danish waters with a large fleet, and when the Swedish army in Fyen was defeated and cap- tured, the three western powers, Holland, France, and England, finally came to an understanding as to the terms of peace to be offered the belligerents. Norway should retain Trondhjems len with Romsdal ; Sweden should keep Sk§,ne, Halland, and Blekinge, together with Bohuslen ; and Bornholm, where the Swedes had been driven out, should be returned to Denmark. These terms were at length agreed to, and the treaty of peace was signed at Copenhagen, May 26, 1660. 29. Hereditary Kingship. The Introduction of Absolutism The peace of Copenhagen was hailed with joy, but the people both in Denmark and Norway had been brought to the brink of ruin, and suffering was intense in both kingdoms. An Assembly of Estates met in Copenhagen, September 10, 1660, to consider the difficult problems confronting the Danish people. The aristocracy still insisted on retaining the privilege of freedom from taxation, though the feeling against them had become very bitter ; but the clergy and the third estate united and demanded equal privileges. When the nobles were finally forced to yield, the opposition had become strong enough to control the situation.^ Under the leadership of Mayor Hans Nansen of Copenhagen and Hans Svane, Bishop of Seeland, they resolved to overthrow the rule of the aristocracy by means of a coup d'etat. The city gates were closed, the harbor was blockaded, and the garrison was held in readiness ; if the nobles should refuse * T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814^, p. 464 ff. II HEREDITARY KIN^JSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 229 to submit, force would l»r u.^nl. Tlieir resistance was soon broken, and on October i:ith they signed a declaration that they would join the other estates in ackiiowicdt^inj^ the herelish. A couple of them were wholly unfit to govern, and their rule was purely a nominal one. Among those who formed the immediate surroundings of these kings — their favorites, councilors, and ministers in a more special sense — only two attempted to assume in the name of the king the power which according to the constitution belonged to him, namely (rrif- fenfeld and Struensee, and both were overthrown after a short rule." " The place which through the constitution was given the king re- mained in many ways vacant throughout the period here mentioned. Contrary to what might have been exi)ected, judging from the prin- ciples expressed in the new constitution (Kongeloven), the govern- ment became of a very staid and impersonal character. According to the letter of the constitution, the government should have been distinctly monarchical, but in reality it became distinctly bureau- cratic. Its center was not formed by the kings personally, nor by their Council (Geheimeraad, Privy Council), or their ministers in a more limitc. .Johnsen. Sorgcs His- toric, vol. v., 1. p. 3 fT. 232 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II Shortly after the hereditary kingship had been established, King Frederick III. created five Administrative Colleges (or committees) by the ordinance of November 4, 1660, among which the various administrative duties were divided.^ The Geheimeconseil (Privy Council) was also created, consisting of the five presidents of the Administrative Colleges. The Council convened daily in the pres- ence of the king, and exercised, quite naturally, a great influence upon his decisions. In his "cabinet" the king kept protocols and private secretaries for receiving petitions and communications. These matters would either be passed upon by the king personally, or he would turn them over to the Administrative Colleges.^ A new judicial tribunal, the H^iesteret, was also created. This was a court of final jurisdiction for Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland, as well as for Denmark. It represents a very marked improvement over the old method, according to which the councils of magnates acted as a higher court. But it was an essential drawback that the new court was a purely Danish institution, which always convened in Denmark, where Norwegian cases could not be properly investi- gated. But the king, who exercised as absolute power in judicial matters as in other affairs, was superior even to this court, and could act as supreme judge. The office of Statholder of Norway was retained with about the same powers and duties as before. The statholder was to exercise supervision over all subordinate officials, and he should so encourage the economic development of the country that the royal revenues might increase. He had to watch the relations "with Sweden, keep army, fortresses, and magazines supplied with the necessary stores and equipments, and guard against the violation of treaties with foreign nations touching Norway's commerce; but he retained no power over the revenues of the kingdom, as in the days of Hannibal Sehested. As a result of the introduction of absolutism, the nobles lost their exclusive right to the lens, and these might now be granted to any * The five departments were : admiralty, war, treasury, commerce, and state, or foreign affairs. * T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indlil 1814, p. 582 ff. II HEREDITARY KINGSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 233 one whomitlif kiiij; might see fit to appoint. In n>02 Frei fogeds, mayors, and councilmen, who were all appointed by the king. Their office was, nevertheless, one of great dignity and power, as they were the king's deputies and personal representatives in the local administration. The enforcement of the laws, the management of pulilic property, and the supervision (jf the work of subordinate officials were some of the more important executive duties delegated to them. But they should also act as the guardians of the common people in protecting them from oppression and injustice. They were to be watchful in preventing fogcd-t from collecting excessive taxes, and merchants from cheating the hinder, aiul they were given special instruction to see to it that the renters were not unjustly treated by their land- lords.' The stiftsdminicpud were superior to the others in rank, and acted as superintendents over the aintnupiid, fognh, and .skrivere (judges) within their ,'itift.s(iint. The office of Stiftsamtmand of Akershus was connected with that of Statholder of Norway, that of Stiftsamtmand of Christiansand with the ollice of \'icivst;itholder, create07. 236 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II Hannibal Sehested's successors in Norway, Nils Trolle and Iver Krabbe, were men of mediocre talents, who showed no trace of orig- inality or special administrative ability. In 1664 King Frederick's illegitimate son, Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve, was appointed stat- holder. He was a young man, accustomed to the splendor and excit- ing social life of the higher circles of the Danish capital, and people feared that he would be wholly unfit to shoulder the irksome bur- dens of this high office. But Gyldenl0ve, who possessed talents, as w^ell as will and energy, became a worthy successor of Hannibal Sehested. He studied condi- tions in Norway very closely, and became the ardent advo- cate of many important re- forms. Some of these had, in- deed, already been suggested by Sehested, but through Gyldenl0ve's efforts the gov- ernment was finally persuaded to take action. He advocated the simplification of the system of taxation, and the valuation and registration of taxable property. He urged the creation of a Norwegian fleet of smaller war vessels for coast defense, the improvement of Norwegian fortresses, the creation of a Norwegian superior court, from which an appeal could be made to the king alone, and, finally, the revision of the " Code of Christian IV." After encountering much indifference and opposition, he finally succeeded in persuading Frederick III. to decide in favor of some of these re- forms. By royal edicts it was decreed that Norway should have a separate superior court, Overhofretten, from which, however, an appeal could be made to the Hdiesteret in Copenhagen. It was also decided to revise the "Code of Christian IV.," a work which was done under Frederick's successor Christian V. Gyldenl0ve became very popu- FiG. 4. — Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve. II UKREDITARY KINOKIIIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 237 lar, as he knew how to win the people's favor hy straiKhtforwanl manners and clieerfiil pMxI-will. Karl Deichman has descnhed his popuhirity as follows: "The Xorwej^iatis regarded Gyldenl0ve as their patron saint, and tiu-y had a pecnliar veneration for this lord, because of his excellent conduct, democratic spirit, brave leadership, and gay life. lie extended his j)rotection to all, especially to the common people, whom he defended against seizures and unjust impositions. He could jx-rsuade the nation to do whatever he pleased. He listened to the people's (•oini)laints, and seldom did he leave them unconsoled. The hofidcr in the mountain districts always addressed him "tliou (iyidenl0ve." Many stories are told that he often trav- eled about in disguise in order to learn if the people's love for him was to be relied upon." ' Molesworth says of him: "He is about fifty-six years t)f age, has been one of the handsomest, and continues one of the finest gentlemen that Denmark has produced." ^ The P^aroc Islands retained their old judicial system of six syssel- things, and the Lagthing as a sii])erior court. But appeal could be made from the Lagthing to the H^iesteret in Copenhagen. Frederick III. granted these islands as a fief to his favorite Gabel and his son Frederick. Tiiese lords and their fogeds oppressed the people sorely, and though the king would seek to redress the wrongs when the com- plaints grew loud, no marked iini)rovement was nuide in the i)Cople's conditions till after the death of Frederick Gabel. Also in Iceland the old system of syaaeWiings and lagthings was suffered to remain; but here as in Norway and the Faroe Islands the H0iesteret in Copenhagen became the highest court of appeal, while the administrative colleges and governmental departments in Den- mark gradually" assununl the functions of govermnent for the island. In lGS;i a Uvidjogcd was appointed to receive the tiixes and revenues, after these had been collected by the sysselnurnd. The following year a stiftsaintmand was appointed, and two years later an amtiiuind was added to the list of crown ofTicials. an indication that the adminis- tration was being directi-d from Copenhagen.^ But as the .tiiftsaint- * Quoted by Ludvig Daao in Del gntnlc Christiania, j>. 113. * Robert M()lt>s\v»)rth, An Account of Drnmnrk as 1 1 Wii.'> in the Year 1692, p. 145. Roar Tank, I'lrik Fredcrik Gyldcnlovr og Xordmrrniicnc, Sprogligc og hisloriske Afhandlingcr I'icdc Sophus liuggrs Mindc, Christiania, lOOS. * Edvard Holm, Dnnmark-.Worgcs indrc ffinloric under Encv(rldcn, vol. I., p. 88 fif. J6n Sigurdsson, Om Islands statsrclsligc Forhold, Copenhagen, 1855. 238 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II mand never visited the island, the royal government must have been limited principally to the collection of taxes and revenues, while the domestic affairs must have been largely left to the local authori- ties. 30. Foreign Relations Of the powers which had aided Denmark-Norway in the war with Sweden, only Holland maintained the alliance until peace was con- cluded. But the relations had grown less friendly as the war pro- ceeded, and Denmark began to look around for other allies. In 1663 a treaty was formed with France, and Denmark joined the Rhenish alliance which had been formed between France, Sweden, and some of the German states for the defense of the peace of West- phalia. This step was taken by Frederick III. in the hope of being able to force France and Sweden apart. In this he failed, but France promised to pay Denmark a subsidy in case it was again attacked by Sw^eden. In 1665 the great naval war for commercial supremacy, which Holland and England had waged with such fury in 1652-1654, was formally renewed, after hostilities had already lasted about a year. England was jealous of Holland's commercial superiority and extensive carrying trade, which she had sought to harm by navigation acts.^ Sweden concluded a defensive alliance with England, and the English king, Charles II., sought to form an alliance with Denmark-Norway against Holland, but Frederick III. hesitated ; different opinions prevailed among his councilors, and no definite step was taken, though he secretly favored England through- 1 Molesworth says : ' ' The exactest computation that I have known made of the English, Dutch, and French trades to these parts in times of peace, ran thus : Of English there passed the Sound yearly, from two hundred vessels to three hundred ; of Dutch from one thousand to eleven hundred ; of French from ten to twelve, and the like proportion to Norway." An Account of Denmark as 1 1 Was in the Year 1G92, p. 110. In 1656 the English trade was only one-fifth as large as Holland's, and still in 1696 Holland's merchant marine measiu"ed 900,000 tons, England's 500,000 tons, the rest of Europe 200,000 tons. O. A. 0verland, Norges Historie, vol. VII., p. 203. This agrees quite well with the figures given by H. von Treitschke, Die Republik der vereinigten Niederlande, in Historisch und polilische Aufsdtze, neue Folge II., Leipzig, 1870, p. 608 ; quoted by Ludvig Daae in NordmcEnds Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 21 f. n NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION IN THE BEVEN'TEENTH CENTURY 239 out the war. 'riii> l'a\ or lie even displayed in a manner wiiich throws a dark stain upon his character. As a result of their luival \icUjries, tlic Kn^hsh hecarne masters of tiie North Sea, and in tlie summer of 1605 a hirge fleet of IloUand merchantmen sou^,'ht refuge in the neutral harbor of Bergen. Sir (iilhcrt Taihot. tiie English amhas.sa- dor in Denmark, su^^'iicsted to I'Vcdcrick 111. tiiat he .Nhouid cooperate with an Kiiglish squadron in capturing tiiis merchant fleet, and the booty should be divided between the two kings. Frederick should publicly protest his innocence, and Charles II. should reprimand his admirals for violating the neutrality of Denmark-Norway. King Frederick consented to this plot, and ordered his general Ahle- feld at Bergen to .seemingly j)rotest, but to do nothing to hinder the English from attacking the Iloiiandcrs. But Ahlefeld receivi-d the orders too late. He aided the llollauilcrs, and trained the can- nons of the forts upon the Engli.sh squadron, which was defeated after a sanguinary battle. The plan had miscarried, and Denmark's peace was greatly endangered. But Frederick's vacillating foreign policy again changed. In 1(»(>() he formed an alliance with Ilolland, but the hostilities which broke out with p]ngland in con.sequence of it were tenninatetl by the peace of Breda, 1()()7. 31. Norwegian Emigration to IIoli^vnd, England. Russia and America in the Seventeenth CENTimv and Latkr The great development of commcne and iia\al activity in Ilolland and England had (Tcatcd a great demand for seamen. As recruit- ing was not yet i)roliibitete.- Ivolu-rt M<»les- ' J. (\ de Joii^o, Gischiriirnii^ van hct \^rdi'rlau(lKchr Zrrrprsen, vol. II. ThlB traffic was prohibited by articlo 7. oliapt(»r 4, hook (1 of lh»< (^ode of Chri«Han v., for Norway, KiST, whi((h impos«>«l tho jM-nalty of doatli «»n any «»no who undertook to onhst soamon in Denmark and Norway without tho kinc's perniiasion. * \Mu>n JiMis Miink mad«> liis voyajjo to (JnMiil.-iiid. he wiMit to Holland to hire seamen for tho c.\-ptditioa ; and Christian IV. sought to persuade 240 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II worth says: "The best seamen belonging to the king of Denmark are the Norwegians ; but most of them are in the service of the Dutch ; and have their famihes estabUshed in Holland ; from whence it is scarce likely they will ever return home, unless the Dutch use them worse, or the Danes better than hitherto they have done; for the Danish sea-provision is generally very bad." In 1670 Markus Gj0e, the Danish-Norwegian minister to The Hague, wrote to his government that a great number of the king's subjects lived in Hol- land, and that most of them were Norwegians. He added that they were sailors and officers of lower rank, as the Hollanders were too jealous to make them lieutenants or captains; but Admiral Nils Juel, who had been in the Dutch service for many years, stated a few years later that the officers who were good for anything were mostly Norwegians and Englishmen who had come to Holland to enlist.^ Even church history shows that many Norwegians and Danes settled in Holland. In 1634 King Christian IV. gave three hundred riksdaler to a Lutheran church in Amsterdam, and in 1663 a Danish-Norwegian congregation was organized there, whose first clergyman. Christian Peders0n Abel, published a hymnbook for his congregation.^ Many Norwegians fled to Holland, either to escape punishment for crimes and misdemeanors, or because of religious intolerance at home ; in time of war also to avoid military service.^ But the greater number had emigrated with their families because of the higher pay and better opportunities offered in the service of the Dutch, With the growth of Norwegian lumber export to Holland, the communications with that country became very active, and young men of the seacoast districts found new oppor- the Norwegian and Danish seamen to return home. For this pm-pose he issued a general pardon for those who had committed any wrong, except those who were guilty of murder and incest. In 1700 Jens Juel went to Holland and hired 500 to 600 seamen, e\'idently Danes and Norwegians ; and Peter Tordenskjold hired 150 sailors in Holland in 1713. Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 22 ff. 1 Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 14. Chr. Bruun, Curt Sivertsen Adelaer, p. 215 f. * Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifls Bispe- og Stiftshislorie, p. 255. Holger Fr, R0rdam, Anders Chrislensen Arrebos Levnet og Skrijter, vol. 11. , p. 161. ' Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 255 fif. II VORWEOIANf EMIORATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CE>rrURY 241 tunities for adventure and jjrofitable emplojinent as Dutch seamen.' Kvtm in the early part of tlie seventeenth century many Xorwc^jian sailors had ^one to Holland, and in tiie war with England in the time of Cromwell (1052-1054) the Dutch had enlistejp}iri, vol. 1. Lud- vig Daao, Nnrilmcrnds I'llvandringcr til Holland og England i nycrc Tid. p. IS f. * The passiiffe is quoted by Ludvig Daae in Nordmandu L'dvandringer lU Holland og England i nyerc Tid, p. 13, from Saga, ct Fjcrdingsaarsskrift, published by J. S. Munch, Christiania, ISOti, vol. 1. VOL. II — u 242 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II culture, and regarded it as a calamity even worse than the Black Death. As to the number of emigrants who yearly left Norway but few and incomplete statistical data exist, but we get a general idea from the statements of contemporary writers. Erik Pontoppidan (1698-1764) states that when the merchant fleets returned from the East Indies, the West Indies, Greenland, and other countries, the Norwegian, Danish, and Holstein sailors assembled in Amster- dam numbered 8000 or 9000 "by a conservative estimate." ^ "Some of these visit their homes about every three years, and finally, in their old age remain at home to live on their earnings, but a great number remain abroad all their lives, not to speak of those who lose their lives in the service." ^ L. F. R0mer, who was born in Holland, says : " We have aided the Dutch in that many thousand Norwegian, Danish, and Holstein seamen and officers yearly have left their homes to earn something abroad, since we have nothing for them to do." Such yearly losses of the ablest youth of the country would naturally be felt as a calamity, especially in the districts along the seacoast, which were most directly affected by the emigration. The govern- ment bewailed the decrease in the quota of army recruits, a truly alarming thing for the Danish kings, who "esteemed soldiers their only true riches, " as Molesworth puts it. But the losses, real or apparent, caused by the emigration were probably more than com- pensated for in other ways. What the Norwegians needed at this time was stimulus strong enough to stir them to mental and physical action ; experiences of a kind which could invigorate the phlegmatic and bloodless national organism. Such a stimulus was given by the life of adventure and enterprise in the Dutch maritime service. Many private accounts show that it was a hard service. Often the Norwegian sailors in the cities of Holland were kidnapped and brought by force aboard the ships, which were to sail around Africa to India, across the Atlantic to the West Indies or distant Green- land. The life on board was hard, and the punishments inflicted for offenses were barbarous. Often they were in danger of attack * Erik Pontoppidan, Menoza en asiatisk Prinds; and Det f^rste Fors^g pan Norges naturlige Historie, vol. II., p. 3S0. ' Ludvig Daae, Nordmrvnds Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 42 ff. L. F. R0mer, Tilforladelig Efterretning om Kysten aj Guinea, p. 249 f., quoted by Ludvig Daae. n NORWEGIAN EMIGIIATION IN TIIK KEVENTEENTH CENTIKV 243 by pirutt's, «)r of falling into the hands of Moorish corsairs, who would carr>' tlieiu into sla\ury. iJut this liard school again sliowwl the Norwegians tiie path to greatness — tJie sea. Once again, as of old, tliey iiecanu' skillful and daring navigators, iruircd to the hanl- ships of the sea, and fascinated with its freeners, among others Hans Ilolsten. In the beginning of ISII the crews for two warships were again sent, and these sea- men remained in the French fleet till 1815." ' I^ngland's atUick on Denmark-Norway K*d to a war which terminated all intercourse with (ireat Britain. When peace was established after the down- fall of \ai)oIcoii, tile old relations were not reestiiblished either with Kngland or Holland with regard to emigration. New condi- tions had been created, and the remarkable development of the United States of America soon offered far better opportunities to the Norwegian emigrants. Of the Norwegians stjiying in Holland not a few went to the Dutch colonies in America during the seventeenth century. Mr. Torstein Jahr of Washington, D.C, who has made special investigations of the Norwegian emigration to the Dutch New Netherland, shows that the great patroon Van Rensselaer, received a large tract of land near the present city of Albany, in the state of New York, on the condition that he should bring over fifty colonists within four years. In MV.M), he sent nine colonists, of whom three were Norwe- gians. In \V)'M he again made a contract with nine men to go to New Netherland. lM)ur of these were Norwegians, but only two finally went to America. In MVM) Van Rensselaer made a contract with .VIbert Andriessen of Fredrikshald, Norway, who sailed from .Vinsterdam September 25 with the ship " Rensselaerwyck " and thirty-<.'iglit col- onists, of wiioni many were Norwegians. Among these colonists were six women, one of whom was Captain .Vndriessen's wife, .\nnetje, who on the voyage gave birth to a child, which was baptized in Kng- land, and received the very suggestive name of Sturm van der Zee. Tlie colonists arrived safely at Manhattan. March \, \(y\7, and many '.I. O. Ilist, Lchcnscrinnmmgen hcraiisgrgthin von G. Pod, Qotba, ISSO. quotinl by Ludvig Daao, in Nordmotnds Udvandringer, p. 123. 246 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II of Albert Andriessen's descendants still live in and about the city of Albany. Among the pioneers in Schenectady, New York, were also many Norwegians. Jahr says : " In all the Dutch settlements in New Netherland one can find more or less distinct traces of the Norwegians. Those about whom we have any knowledge were capable and honest people, who have done their share and deserve their part of the honor for the colonization of the new land, and they fostered strong and energetic descendants to continue the work of increasing the homesteads of their fathers." ^ Among the more prominent Norwegian settlers in New Nether- land the same author mentions especially Anneke Jans (Jansen) and her husband, Roelof Jansen, who came over in the ship "Een- dracht" in 1630. Roelof became overseer of Van Rensselaer's farm de Laetsburg in 1632, and in 1636 he received deed to a sixty-two- acre tract of land now included between Warren and Canal streets, Broadway and the Hudson River, in the city of New York. He built a house, and began to clear and cultivate his farm, but he soon died, and his widow, Anneke, married Rev. Eberhardus Bogardus, the first regular clergyman in the colony.^ Her mother, Trina Jonas, came to the colony in 1633 as practicing midwife in the employ of the Dutch East India Company. She received deed to a parcel of land near the foot of the present Pearl Street, where she built a house. Trina Jonas had also another daughter, Maritje, who also came to New Netherland with her husband, Tymen Jansen. These people became wealthy and influential, and Jahr observes that the New York families De Lancey, De Peyster, Gouverneur, Jay, Knicker- bocker, Morris, Schuyler, Stuyvesant, Van Cortland, and Van Rens- selaer became related to them through marriage, and that nearly all the old families in New York state, who pride themselves on being the genuine Knickerbockers, can trace their lineage to the Norwe- ^ Torstein Jahr, Nordmcend i Nieuw-Nederland, Symra (Deeorah, la.), vol. v., p. 65 ff. ^ Torsteia .Jahr, Nordmcend i Ny-Nederland, Anneke Jans fra Marstrand, hennes Farm og hennes Slekt, Symra, vol. IX., p. 9 ff. Nordmcend i Ny- Nederland, in Dagsposten (Norway), November 19, 1905, by the same author. Torstein Jahr, Nordmcend i Nieuw-Nederland, Ervingen (Deeorah, la.), vol. II., p. 1 f. I. B. Frieh, Bidrag til de Forenede Staters Kirkehistorie, Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende (Deeorah, la.), 1907, p. 211 ff., 237 ff., 265 ff., 321 ff., 348 ff., 403 ff., 430 ff., 459 ff., 487 ff. U THE CLOSE OF THE RFACS OF FREDERICK HI 247 gian midwife Trina Jonas, and Iht daughter Anrieke Jans Bogardus. It is nott'wortliy in tliis connection that on April 7, 1!K)U, Mrs. Mar>' A. Fonda began a lawsuit against the Trinity corporation of the city of New York for the possession of a part of the Trinity church iJHipcrty, of uliicli she claimed she was the rightful owner. i)ecause she descended dire', which 'A. D. J0rgonsen, Ptdi-r Schumacher GriJJfmfeld. vol. I., p. 2SS (T. Roar Tank, Ulrik Frcdcrik Gyldcnlove og Nordmcvndcne, Sprogligp og historiske AfhandlingcrHcdeSophiis Baggcs Mindc. Ffistorixk Tidssk-rift,vo\. II.. p. 337. 252 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II permanently effected Denmark's future political development. According to his views the people had no rights either as individuals or as a nation, except what the king would graciously grant them. To the king belonged all the power; the kingdom and all its posses- sions were his. But how these possessions were originally acquired, by what rights they were held, the historical reasons for existing conditions, and the people's right as a nation to safeguard their own develo])ment and future destiny were ideas for which there was no place in the system of political science formulated by this astute politician, this keen but shortsighted statesman. He worked for the interest of the king ; the welfare of the nation and the realm he never clearly understood. For the future development of the Danish people it would have been of the greatest importance to join the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein more closely to the Danish king- dom ; but he did not attempt it, not because it was impossible, but because the king had some sort of title to them, and as everything was regarded as the king's personal possessions, it made no differ- ence by what title he held them. Neither do we find that Griff en- feld with his great talents and still greater power attempted to insti- tute any reforms which could serve to develop the nation socially and economically. He devoted his attention chiefly to diplomacy and foreign affairs, in which he had gained a great reputation and exercised great influence, but so far as Norway especially was con- cerned, the reforms instituted were chiefly due to the initiative of Stat- holder Gyldenl0ve. War clouds again obscured the political horizon of Europe. Louis XIV. was preparing to seize the Spanish Netherlands, and no one could doubt that an attack would also be directed against Holland. The danger of French preponderance had for some time alarmed the statesmen, and a triple alliance of England, Holland, and Sweden had been formed in 1668 to resist the ambitions of the French king. But Louis XIV. used his excellent diplomatic service and his treasury to destroy the alliance, an effort in which he was quite successful, as Charles II. of England was induced by large subsidies to join France, and Sweden soon followed a similar course. In the meanwhile Wil- liam of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, the most sagacious statesman of his time, sought to form a new coalition against France. Frederick II THF: (JVLDLNLpVK W Ml 253 William of Hrandenhurg ami KnijxTor LcopdM of (Jcrinariy wcrt* |)ersuaded to form an alliance witii Ilollaiui, and Cliristiaii \'. of I )eiiinark-Xorway was also stroiij;ly urKfd to join. An alliance with Holland under these circumstances would j)rol)al)Iy mean war with Sweden, the ally of France, hut Christian V. nevertheless favored this course, while some of his advisers, notahly (IrifFenfcId, advocated neutrality. The war party ^'ained the u|)per hand, and on June ;!(), 1G74, Denmark formed an alliance with Holland, and jiromised to place 16,(MK) men in the field, if France received aid from any other power. As Brandenhurj^ and Spain soon he^an war against Louis XIV., and Sweden rushed troops into Brandenburg to aid France, the die was cast, and the rival Northern jjowers were launched upon a new struggle. It seems that this war ought to have been averted, especially since Deimiark had not recovered from the ravages of the wars waged in the previous reign, hut the hope of recovering Sk&ne and other possessions tempted Christian \'. to hazard a new armed conflict. As soon as circumstance pointed to the possil)ility of a new war, Gyldenl0ve was sent as statholdcr to Norway, 1G73, to organize the military forces, and strengthen the defenses of the kingdom. He made a tour of inspection through the country, and found that neither the army nor the fortresses were in so good a condition as they ought to be, but the reconmiendations for imj)rovements which he submitttnl were opposed, esj^'cially by Griffenfeld, until the war was on the point of breaking out, when some concessions had to be made. Grilfenfeld seems to have feared that Gyldenlove was becoming too powerful in Norway, and he sent a truste (ierman pmvincr^M,' and war he^Mn in Auj^ust, lO?."), when a Danisli army of IG, ()()() men marched into Meoklenhur^. 'I'he main i)art of this force advanced into Pomerania, while some minor detaeliments hesie^'cd Wismar, which was taken before the campaign closed for the year. In Bremen a smaller Danish force had ctxiperated with the allies, and a greater part of the hishopric was taken. The operations along the Nor- wegian border had commencelaor," and "Nils .luel." * By the treaty of Wes^tplialia, U'AH, Sweden roorived the eity of Wi)«mar and the greater part of Pomerania, topoth«*r with Riigcn. and tho bi^hoprioi of Bremen and Verden, but not the city of Bremen. 256 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II for the conquest of Sk§,ne, supported by an attack on the Swedish border provinces by the Norwegian army, was planned for the fol- lowing year. Griffenfeld, being an advocate of peace, not only opposed the war, but he sought still through diplomatic negotiations to maintain friendly relations with France, the ally of Sweden. Great power, flattery, and royal favor had made him very arrogant, so that he even offended the king himself, and aroused the hatred of the nobles. He continued to take bribes in spite of continued warnings, and as his diplomacy and statesmanship began to take a course ever more opposed to the policy of the king and his generals, who were determined to push the war with vigor, it became easy for his enemies to undermine his influence, and bring about his over- throw. His most powerful opponents were General Frederick Arens- torf and the king's mistress, Sophia Amalie Moth, who was created Countess of Sams0, and became the head of a court camarilla, which virtually controlled the king. But Griffenfeld also had numerous personal enemies, especially in the court circles, and no man in so exalted a position possibly ever had fewer real friends. On the morn- ing of March 11, 1676, when the chancellor arrived at the palace to lay the latest letters before the king, he was accosted by General Arenstorf, who informed him that he had been ordered by the king to arrest him. His house was placed under guard, his papers were seized, and the distinguished prisoner was locked up in the citadel. After being tried on several grave charges, among others, perjury, simony, treason, extortion, and the taking of bribes, he was sen- tenced to be executed, and to have forfeited all his honors, titles, and possessions. He had already placed his head on the block, when he was pardoned by the king, and his sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Griffenfeld was undoubtedly innocent of many of the gravest oflFenses with which he was charged, and the sentence was manifest'y unjust, but he had himself created the conditions which brought about his fall, and by his conduct in his high office he had made himself justly liable to severe punishment. For twenty- two years he remained imprisoned. In 1680 he was transferred from Frederikshavn to the castle of Munkholmen, near Trondhjem, where he stayed till 1698, when he was liberated from prison, and allowed to stay in the city, because of his failing health. He died in Trend- II THE (iYLDENL0VK WAK 257 hjein, Maix'li 12, Id!)!*, iiiul liis hody was lirou^'lit, lo DL-nmark, wliere it rests in tlu' ccinctcTy of N'atT churcii in Jutland.' The Swedisli i' ves.sels carrying IKM) guns advanced to attack liini, hut as Jucl had strict orders not to engage in battle with a greatly sujjerior force, he retreated towards the coast of Sk&ne, and anchored behind Falsterbo Reef, followed closely by the Swedes. Here he received reenforcements of five Danish and four Dutch shi|)s, but had to turn o\er the chief com- mand to the Hollander Cornelius Tromp. After some maneuvering the two fleets finally joined in battle oil" Oland, June 1, 107(3, where the Swedes suffered a serious defeat. Both flagships were destroyed, the two admirals, Creutz and Ugga, lost their lives, and many shij)s were captured. This defeat so crippled the Swerlish fleet that the contemplated invasion of SkS,ne could be undertaken without fear of serious opposition. Gyldenhne fortified the pass of Kvistrum, and seized Uddevalla without encountering much opposition. \'eners- borg was also taken after a sharp engagement. An attempt to seize Gottenborg was unsuccessful, but Gyldenkne turned towards Bohus, wliere he was joined by reenforcements under Toime Iluit- feldt, which increased his forces to SOOO men. In their operations in Sk&ne the Danes were very successful, as their countrymen in that province wclconied them as liberators. Helsingborg opened its portals to the invaders, Landskrona was tiiken without great resist- ance, and Kristianstad was forced to surrender after a severe engage- ment. .\s tile people of Skilne also rose in arms, and organize where attackeaign in Sk&ne, was dismissed, because the king did not like him. Chris- tian himself would be chief general, a position for which he was as little qualified as for that of dijjlomat. Armies were destroyed, and opportunities wasted through lack of competent leadership, until Louis XIV. could dictate the terms of peace. In matters of internal administration, his efforts to play autocrat and emulate the great French king only brings to light a la<'k of ability which forms a glaring contra.st to his unlimited power. During a long reign of twenty-nine years he was unable to develop a well-systematized form of ad- ministration, and we look in vain for new ideas, or an effort to create better economic and social conditions. By the wars with Sweilen, and the extravagance of the court, public burdens had been increased to an almost unbearable degree, and as the peasants were imable to pay the taxes, tlie government resorted to the scheme of making the larger landowners res|)()nsil)le for the revenues, in return for which they were exempted from taxation. The German-born nobles, who had emigrated to Denmark in large numbers, owned a great jxirtion of the largest estates, but they resided in Copenhagen, and their es- tates were managed by overseers iridefogedji) , whose business it became to extort the taxes from the peasants. The wooden horse and other instnmients of torture were invented by them, and the condition of the jx'asants grew even worse under the rule of the nobles. Agriculture fell into decay, and no i)rogress was made by the cities. Rather than to seek to ease the people's burdens, and to further economic and social development, he would inaintjiin old social conditions, and play guardian of his people in minor domestic af- fairs, where his meddlesome interference could do nought but harm. The king showed no interest for scientific research, but his solicitude 264 HISTORY OF THE l^ORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11 for the religious and moral life of his people was of the most anxious kind. He ordered that the daily hours of devotion in the city churches should be better attended, and that in the country districts the people with their children and servants should spend some time in prayer both morning and evening. If people did not go to church, it was to be regarded as sacrilege, and by the ritual of 1685 the deacons were instructed to be present and observe who went to communion, and to write their names in a book kept for the purpose. Against luxury of all kinds the king instituted a vigorous campaign,^ and sought to regulate in detail the people's daily life. Regulations were issued regarding funerals, describing in what sort of coflBns people of the various classes should be buried, and the ceremonies to be used for each class. To give food and drink to those who carried the coffin to the grave was forbidden, likewise also the burning of candles, or excessive decorations of the house of mourning. Funeral orations could be delivered only if the deceased were persons of quality, and if the funeral took place in the evening, the oration should not last over fifteen minutes. Still more annoying were the royal orders issued by Christian V. in 1683 regarding attire, weddings, parties, etc. In a solemn introduc- tion the king declares that he "perceives how the extravagance in attire as well as food and drink at weddings, confinements, and parties is carried to such extremes that God thereby must be highly offended, and as one will not be inferior to the other in such matters, they waste their means until they are utterly ruined." He then proceeds to lay down rules, says Holm, as to " who are to be allowed to wear gold and silver embroidery, precious stones, lace, gold, and silver brocade, flowered velvet, rings above a certain price, etc. Only those belonging to the highest classes were numbered among these especially favored ones. There was one kind of attire ; for example, 1 Efforts to limit luxiiry had been made also in the previous century both by the kings and the clergy. The sixteenth century was especially the period of luxury-laws. France took the lead, and other nations followed her example. In thirty years, from 1545 till 1575, not less than eight statutes were issued against luxury in France. In Denmark Frederick I. began to legislate against luxury in 1528, and laws on this subject appeared at brief intervals, but usually to no purpose. See Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden, vol. IV., p. 130 ff. II INTEKNAL AM) FOREIGN AFFAIRS 265 Mark or plain cnlorcMl Ni-lvct, which all persons of rank, as well as the nobles, mi^ht wear. Rej^ulations were also made how promoti doc- lores in thrologia and promoti doctores in other faculties should he attired. Those who had studied abroad, the princijjal royal officers \\\\o were not of 'rank,' the thirty-two members of the city council of Copenhaj^en, etc., were regarded as equal to these. Those who f '('longed to this class might wear mantels of black velvet or other iiitable attire of silk, grofgr^n, tersonel, ferandin, taffeta, and other plain silks manufactured in this country, and likewise, also, all kinds «if India silks which are brought hither with the Company's ships, and rings to the value of a hundred riksdaler ; lynx, martin, and stjuir- rtl, and other lining of reasonable price. All others were forbidden to wear silk, nor could they wear any rings save plain gold rings. Kcgulations were made as to the length of the train of ladies' dres.ses according to rank, what ornaments they should wear, what kind of l)raid peo|)le should use on the uniforms of their lacqueys, what kind of carriages they should drive in, etc. A series of regulations for weddings, banquets, and childbirth parties were made to correspond. It was stipulated how everything was to be done at engagement feasts and weddings, according to people's rank, and a fixed grada- tion was established regarding the decorations of the bridal bed, from gold and silver fringes for privy councilors, counts, and knights, down to craftsmen and servants, who were i)ermitted to use ' woolen cloth which can be made in this country, but without fringes, tassels, or braids.' People were in general allowed to invite twelve coujiles to a wedding, besides their nearest relatives, but a limit was placed on the miinber of meals to be served, and it was ex'])ressly forbidden to offer the guests more than eight different dishes, and no |)yramids of confectionery were allowed to l)e placed among the Nictuals. Crafts- men and servants should not invite more than six couples, and they shoidd serve a frugal iiical of only four dishes. Not more than eight couples should be iiiN itcd to a country- wctlding, and not above six ordinary- dishes should be served. .\ general provision, which was nuule binding ujion all. specially forbade the giving or receiving of wedding presents by a n\- one whatsoever ; but parents might give tli(- and defenses were j,Teatly strcnf^theiu-d. At the outbreak (tf the war in Sk&ne, Iii7"), the Xorwej^ian army iniinhcrcd 12,(H)() nieii, hy KiS!') it had l)een increased to 1(>,;>(I(I, and in 17III) it liad reached a total of 21,()()() men.' 'l\\v joint I )anish-.\()r\vcj,qan fleet experienced an even greater development under the efficient leadership of Kort Adelaer and Nils luel. Throu^li j)urcliase, as well as hy the building; of new shijjs, a relatively strong fleet was created before the outbreak of the war \\ ith Sweden, and b\' cncoura^MiiU the Xorwej^ian merchants to con- Muct ships which could be converted into war vessels, a valuable .iuxiliary squadron of "defense siiij)s" iiad been created, which was to be used for the ])rotection of the Norwegian coast. In 1G74 the fleet, tdUether with the "defense ships." numbered sixty-three vessels, (if which seventeen carried fift,\' guns, and forty-six were "defense ^liips." By 1()7!) the fleet had been increased to 107 vessels, of which only seventeen were "defense ships." In 17(10, after some reduction had been made in the niunber of vessels, it still numbered thirty-three -liij)s of the line, carrying 2778 guns. Denmark-Norway had become one of the leading naval powers.'^ The fortresses of the kingdom were much improved, and new forts were built under the direction of Gustav Wilhelm Wedel, a German by birth, who was nuide commander-in-chief in Norway, IGSl, during the absence of Statholder GyIdenl0ve. Frcdriksten was strengthened by the building of new forts, and tlie Glommen River was made a strong line of defense through the construction of several fortresses and redoubts, a work which proved to be of great value in the next war with .Sweden. \'inger was completed in 16.S2, Kristiansfjeld, Blakja?r, and Hasmo were founded the following year, and the Kongs- vinger and Sj^onviken fortifications were also erected at this time. In 1()S.') Ghristian V. visited Norvvay, and the people welcometl him on all occasions with enthusiastic loyalty. I'Vom Christiania he journeyed across the Hovre Mountains to Trondhjcin, and after 'J. Clir. Berp, Aktstykk-vr (il den stnarudi' Ifdrs llislorir, Samlingrr til del norskr Folkn Sprog ng ffistorie, vol. IV. Ditlrik Schnitlor, Dc( fprste Aarhundrcdv af dm nnrskc Ifirrs Ifislorie. ' Edviird Holm. Daiunnrk-Norgrs indrc Historic under Enevrrlden, vol. I., p. 4r)5 IT. Rohort Molrswortli, .In Acmtml of Denmark, p. 131 (T. Oscar Alb. Johnson, Norgcs Ilisloric. V, 1, p. 127 IT. 270 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II visiting Bergen, Stavanger, and the towns of southern Norway, he returned home. King Christian was neither broad-minded nor very gifted, but he was conscientious, and devoted himself with great diHgence to the numerous routine duties which devolved upon him as absolute ruler. He was a lover of moderation, always kind and good-natured, and by his gentle manners he won the hearts of the people to quite an unusual degree. Molesworth speaks of him as a prince of singular ability and good nature, but adds that "he is often overruled by those about him, to whom he leaves the whole management of affairs, because he neither loves nor has a genius for business." ^ He died August 25, 1699, at the age of fifty-three. Touching his policy of internal administration in Norway Professor Oscar Alb. Johnsen says : " He regarded Norway and his other pos- sessions with a feeling akin to that with which a landed proprietor looks upon his estates and his subordinates. Everything existed for the benefit of himself and his family, and was to be administered in such a way that it yielded him and his family the greatest and most lasting profit. He sought to promote the interests of the binder, because they were good taxpayers. He was interested in shipping, for without it there would be no able seamen to serve in the wars. From his diary it is clear that it was principally the more elementary features of administration which interested him, — the defenses, taxa- tion, and economic conditions." ^ With regard to Norway, he pursued a policy of political amalgama- tion with a definite aim to obliterate as far as possible the national existence of the Norwegians, and to reduce the two kingdoms to one country. This policy comes to view especially in the Norwegian code of laws, which is based almost exclusively on the laws of Den- mark. He wished to introduce a uniform code for both kingdoms, and the same laws were henceforth made to apply as far as possible to both kingdoms, even when they were not adapted to Norwegian local conditions. In the administration the two countries were also treated as one estate, and the specific Norwegian interests were often ignored or neglected. Norway received no university or central ad- ministration, though an earnest desire for these very necessary im- ^ An Account of Denmark, p. 139. ^ Gorges Historie, vol. V., 1, p. 130 f. II INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 271 provemeuts liad loii^' been expresiied, neither did the kingdom liave ;i bank or a eaijital city,' all features which would have teiidinl to unite its scattered cities and separate coinnuinities into a more firmly nsolidated state, and would have j^iven a new impetus to the de- velopment of national j)atriotisTn. Hut the kin^s of tiie period of .I'Kolutism, like the kin^s during the union {x'riod from the time of (^ueen Marf^aret, wanted a strong Denmark, not a strong Norway. The kingdom united with Denmark should lose its own individuality, in the hope that it would gradually become an integral part of that rtalm. This short-sighted statesmanshij), which was of no benefit t" cither kingdom, often resulted in a wanton neglect of Norway's iiic>~-t \ ital interests, aiul retarded, though it could not wholly arrest, tlic national develoj)ment of the Norwegian people. The absolute kings, like their earlier predecessors in the union period, did not atti'mpt to further the true development of either nation. Their interests were personal, dynastic, and wholly self-centered, which made their rule a monotonous routine, or a greedy desire for lands and revemies, usually barren of all good results. In Sweden the late wars had caused great losses. The fleet had l"cn destroyed, cities burned, and the German provinces, as well as the border districts of the kingdom, had been devastated by repeated raids. A great public debt had been created, and the burdens upon the common ])eople were excessively heavy, while the nobles were still exempted from paxing taxes. A change had also taken place in the gf)vernnient. Though the old forms were to all appearances maintained, the Council had been pushed into the background, and the king had begun to act with more independence than before, partly because the stress of circumstances had made it necessary, but partly also because his growing |)opularity enabled him to assume more direct control of the affairs of government. In order to meet as well as possible the exigencies of the situation, the Est^ites were assembled at Stockholm in IGSO. Thecommons demanded that the crown-lands which had been gi\en or sold to the noiilcs should be conliscattHl and that the ro>'al power shoidd be .strengtheiUMl. Th(> Council and the nobles had to yield, and the king became virtually absolute also in Sweden. * J. E. Stirs, Uusloriak Indlednin^ til Grundloven, p. 78 f. 272 history of the norwegian people ii 34. Economic and Social Conditions in Norway in the Seventeenth Century After the overthrow of the Hanseatic merchants, the Norwegian cities found new opportunities to develop, and they gradually as- sumed a character very different from the surrounding rural com- munities, from which they had at first been but slightly diflFerentiated as to economic interests and mode of life.^ The development once begun struck a rapid pace, and soon wrought an important change in the social as well as the economic life of the nation. At the assembly of the Estates in Oslo, 1591, the burghers and the binder appeared for the first time as two distinct estates,^ and this division of the commons into two separate classes with diverging social tendencies and economic interests grew even more distinct, until it developed into a social struggle of far-reaching importance.^ The cities had been regarded from the outset as a part of the dis- trict in which they were situated, and the rural communities had been the local units of government and religious life.^ In course of time the new urban development inverted the order, and the cities through their growing influence and power became commercial, social, and cultural centers to which the rural districts were attached as tributary territories. The burghers were rapidly rising, and the binder were correspondingly depressed in the social scale. The growth of the cities was favored, not only by an increasing com- merce, but especially through privileges granted by the kings, who became their special patrons, and sought to force their development. Limited privileges had been granted the cities by various statutes from quite early times, and from 1299 the right of the rural districts to carry on trade was restricted in favor of the cities.^ But more radical measures were taken by Christian IV., who, among other things, 1 T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Reisforfatning f0r 18S7, p. 19 f. ^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Stoender, p. 112, 115 f. ^ Halvdan Koht, Bonde mot Borgar i nynorsk Historic, Historisk Tids- skrift, femte raekke, vol. I., p. 29 ff. * Absalon Taranger, Oslos celdste Byprivilegium, Historiske Afhandlinger tilegnet J. E. Sars. Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre og Handel. L. J. Vogt, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 80 ff., 273 ff. ^ T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 19. II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL C(JNDITIONS 273 i>>iK'(l a royal (iccrcf coiiiiiiaiKliii^ the j^coplc of tlu' nci^hljoriiif; towns to move into the new cities of Christiania and riiristiansand, which he liad foiiiuU-d.' Mach city was to have its own fixed district, inside of which it luul a trade monopoly, and all harbors within a dis- tance of twenty-one miles shonld be abandoned. Christiansand was especially favored, as the kin^s were determine- i»iiilding. Even Milton alludes to it in lii.s "Paradise Lost" (1058- l(iG5), where he says: His spear to rrnial wliich the largest pine Hewi) on the Norwi-f^ian hills, to be the mast Of some great ammirul, were hut a wand.^ A new stimulus was ^iven this trade hy the great fire in London, September 3, IGGG, which destroyed eighty-nine churches and 1.3,(X)() houses. Three hundred streets, alxiut two-thirds of the city, were laid in ashes. Luinl)er for the rel)uilding of the city was eagerly ought, and the greater part of it was imported from Xorway, Bishop fens Birehcrod writes in liis diary March 7, 1G67 : " I heard a cap- tain, who had come from Xorway, tell of the great pnjfit wliich the iiihahitants of X'orway had of the great fire which occurred in L Paradise Lost, book 1.. v. 202 ff. * Ludvii; Daao, Nordrmrtuls Udvaridringrr (il JToUnnd ng England i nycre Tid, p, 100 ff. P. E. Beudi.xon, El Omrids av Norgcs Ilanddshistoru, p. 23 ff. 276 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II used the opportunity to pay a very low price. In order to protect the binder from this crying injustice, the king gave them permission to sell their timber to foreign buyers, if the merchants would not pay the full value, and receive it at the customary places of delivery. Later fixed prices were established, but with the proviso that the right to the lumber trade should remain with the cities and their inhabitants, and the attempts to regulate the trade were generally lame and unsuccessful. In the northern districts the situation was still more unfavorable to the binder. We have already seen how the Hanseatic merchants of Bergen had gradually reduced the small native traders, the Nord- farer, who brought fish from Nordland to Bergen, to a sort of com- mercial serfdom by keeping them continually in debt, and these conditions were not improved when the native merchants gained control. They had learned from the German merchants how to take advantage of the fishermen from Nordland, who every year brought their catch to the great central market of Bergen, where they also bought their supplies for the coming year. In Peter Dass' descriptive poem of Nordland, the "Nordlands Trompet," from about 1700, the swindle and extortion practiced by the Bergen merchants in their dealings with the fishermen of Nordland are described with great vividness, sometimes with humor, but always with characteristic sympathy for the oppressed.^ Occasionally the king sought to put a stop to their cheating and extortion. He even reduced the amount of indebtedness of the binder, ^ and sometimes even cancelled their old debts, but these attempts at regulation did not alter the general relation between the burgher class and the binder. In the early part of the seventeenth century until the loss of Bohuslen, Norway had ten chartered cities {kj^bstceder) , ranking as follows, according to a tax levied in 1599 to pay the bridal outfit ^ Halvdan Koth, Bonde mot Borgar i nynorsk Historie. A. E. Erichsen, Peter Dass' Sarrlede Skrifter, vol. I., p. 11 ff. Alexander Bugge, Nordlands skiftende Skjcebne, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde rsekke, vol. V., p. 423 ff. Amund Helland, Nordlands Amt, p. 210 ff., Norges Land og Folk. Erik Hansen Sch0nneb0l, Lofotens og Vesteraalens Beskrivelse, Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele, edited by Gustav Storm. ^ I. Chr. Berg, V entilationer angaaende den nordlandske Handel, Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 659 ff. Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevcelden, vol. I., p. 168 f. II ECONO\nC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 277 ior one of tlic i)rinces.ses : Bergen (250 riksdaler), Chriitiania (125), Trondhjcm (100), Marsirand (100), Fredrihtud CU^), Tumbcj^ (25), >tavanger (25), Kongelv (25), Skien (12|), Oddevald or Udrlevalla (12J). With th<' loss of Bohusieii in KiOO the nuinlHT was n'diiccd to seven, IS Marstriind, Kongelv, and Uddevalla were located in that province ; lit before the close of the century the number had been increased to • leven, the new cities being: Fredrikshald, Krageri, Drammen, and Larvik. Of the more important towns Moss, Ilolmestrand, 0sterris^r, Arendal, Mulde, Lille-Fosen {Christiansurid), and Trdnisfi became ' ities in the eighteenth century.^ The population of the cities at this time cannot be determined with any degree of accuracy. J. E. Sars has estimated that in the latter part of the seventeenth century ( 'hristiania had between 3000 and 35(XJ inhabitants,'^ but Ludvig Daae considers this estimate too low.' Roar Tank holds that the popula- tion of Christiaiiia in IG83 was about 4000,^ which agrees in the main with the estimate of A. CoUett, who thinks that the populatitm of the city in 1654 was about 4000.^ The population of Fredrikstad is t '^timated by Tank to have been 900 in 1683.' According to the tax levied in 1599, Bergen would have 8000 to Christiania's 4000, and Trondhjem and Stavanger would have 3500 and 800, respectively. Oscar Alb. Johnsen estimates that before 1660 Marstrand had 14(K) inhabitants, Kongelv 500, and Uddevalla less, probably about 400.^ Skien probably had a similar number. It is clear, however, that the ' I. Clir. Berg, VerUilalioner angaaeruie den nordlandske Handel, Samlinger til del norskc Fulks Sprog og Ilislorie, vol. V., p. G13 ft. Ludvig Daat>. Bidrag til Chrislianxdnds Historie indtil 181U Iliatorisk Tidsskrift, tredio nvkke, vol. II., p. 293 (T. Molde and Lillo-Fosen were chartered as cities in 1742, and Lillo-Foson was called Christiansund. In 1701 Lilk'-Fosen is estimated to have had 000 inhabitants. O. C. Bull, Adskilligt ufn Kjpb- ataden Molde, Topografisk-statisliske Samlinger luigivtt av SeUkabet for Norges Vel, vol. I., p. 73 ff. * Norge under Forcningen med Danmark, p. 99. * Del gamlc C hristiania, 2d edition, p. 51. * Sludier i Chrisliania Byx Folkemxngde i del syttende Aarhundrede, Hi»- torvsk Tid.ssk-rifl, fjerdo ra-kke, vol. V., p. 478 S. * Gamlc Chriiytiaiiia Bilkder, p. 98. * Fredrikstad 1660-1699, Hislorisk Tidsskrijt, fjerde rffikke. vol. V., p. 284 fif. ' Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Befolkningsforholdene i Bohuslen /#r AfalaacUeih Historuik Tidaskrifl, fjordo roikku, vol. III., p. 247. 278 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II burgher class was rapidly growing in number, not only through the increase of the population of the old cities, but also through the rise of new ones.^ A danger to the independence of the binder, greater than any other, was the practice of the wealthy burghers to buy land in the country districts. After they had gained control of the lucrative lumber trade, their next attempt was to get possession of the forests, and when crown-lands were sold, they were the heaviest buyers. In the latter part of the seventeenth century a number of large private estates (proprietcergods) were created, and the areas of land owned by the burgher class was rapidly increasing. Lorens Berg has shown that in Brunla len they owned fourteen per cent of the land in 1661, and eighteen per cent in 1703, while the holdings of the hinder did not increase.^ At this time not above one-third of the hinder were freeholders, the rest were renters. A large part of the soil was owned by the crown, which had gradually acquired possession of the estates of the Catholic Church and of the old noble families who be- came extinct.^ The crown finally owned about one- third of all the land in the kingdom, while the rest belonged to the noblemen, officials, burghers, and rich landowners among the hinder} During the wars with Sweden these opulent classes had loaned money to the crown, and the kings, who were generally short of funds, hit upon the idea of paying their creditors with lands. What remained after these debts were liquidated, they sold in order to replenish their treasury. From 1660 till 1670 crown-lands were thus disposed of for the amount of 1,300,000 riksdaler, mostly to rich burghers, officials, and noblemen.^ ^ Many towns which have later become cities arose at this time along the southern coast. Fredrikshald, Moss, Soon, Dr0bak, Bragernes, Holmestrand, Larvik, Brevik, Krager0, Ris0r, and Arendal owe their existence to the flour- ishing lumber trade. A. Schweigaard, Norges Slatislik, p. 126. 2 Lorens Berg, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde rsekke, vol. V., p. 202 f. Ibid. Andabu, p. 56, 276, 327 ff., 336 ff. 2 Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Fraa Leilending HI Sjplveigar, Syn og Segn, 1910, p. 349 ff. L. J. Vogt, Om Norges Udffirsel og Trcelast i mldre Tider, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rajkke, vol. V., p. 306 ff. * Henrik Holiesen, Udsigt over Bel0bet af offentlig Jordegods i Begyndelsen af del 17de Aarhundrcde, Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 513 ff. * Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Fraa Leilending til Sjfilveigar, Syn og Segn, 1910, p. 281 ff. II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 279 A class of rich Jiuidowners thus sprang into existence, and the hdiuier, who were forced to rctit lands from them, soon found that they were worse oft" under these greedy masters than they had been as tenants under tlie crown. In order to make their investments as prolitahlc as possible, tliese hmdiords increased the rents, and intro- duced methods of oppression resembHnp those in vogue in Denmark, and the bitterest resentment was awakened among the Norwegian hondcr, who understood that they were tiireatened with complete subjugation. Their spirit of resi.stance was aroused, and according to old custom they brought their complaints directly to the king- Deputations were sent to (^)penhagen to ask for redress of grievances, but as the recpiest involved the redemption of the alienated lands, the kiui; neither woultl nor could grant the relief sought. Finally Statholder Gyldenl0ve, who foresaw that serious troubles might arise, esj)oused the cause of the bonder, and urged the king to grant them relief by curbing the greed of the landowners. "In Norway," he said on a later occasion, "the goverimient differs so much from that of other lands that there it consists of the bdndrr, and is main- tained by them." — "The prosperity of the bonder is the main thing, the root and basis for the preservation of the whole kingdom," ' a statement pregnant with a fundamental truth, which had been clearly perceived by the statholder. So long as Griffcnfeld remained in power, Gyldcnl0vc's advice remained unheeded, as he was opposed by the powerful chancellor, but after the king assumed more direct control of affairs, he took steps to iiLsure the Norwegian hinder against oppression by the landlords. In KiSt-lOSo regulati(Mis were pub- lished fixing the rate of rent to be charged, and limiting the amount of free service to l)e rendered by the peasants.- The farm had to be leased with all its comcniences to th«' leaseholder for his whole life- time, the rent had to be stipulated by nnitual contract, and fixeil prices were established for the products by which the farmer paid his rent. The jurisdiction exercised by Danish landlords over their * !^orslxr SninlitK/ir, vol. I., p'. ."SIO, Forshuj oij Bi tunkniuo angnacndc LeUelser for den norskc Ahnuc, Statholder Guldcnloirs For»lag af Sdcn Januar 1693. * These luws remained in force only a sliort time, as thoy were roplacod by the laws for tenants in the Code of Christian V., of 1687, book III., oh. 14. 280 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II peasants was not allowed in Norway. Heavy fines were imposed on any landlord who charged excessive rents, or in any way wronged or abused the leaseholders, and the main provisions of these laws could not be abrogated even by contract. Some features of these laws were so favorable to the leaseholders that they could not be en- forced at once, but they served to insure the renters fair treatment. Under these conditions the landowners found it little profitable to own extensive areas, and they sold the greater part of their holdings in smaller portions to their renters, thereby increasing the number of freeholders. "The struggle with the landlords had in general a wholesome effect upon the renters," says Professor Johnsen. "It roused them from their slumber. Now for the first time they understood the importance of owning their own farms, and they saved money so that they could buy land. After 1680 the king again began to sell land, but what he now sold was mostly separate farms, small places, and parts of farms, and the binder bought the greater share." The laws of 1684-1685 were also intended to protect the binder against extortion and injustice practiced by the royal oflficials. After the lensherrer had been replaced by amtmoBnd, who could exercise but slight control over their subordinates, who also ranked as royal officials, abuses of that sort had been increasing.^ In order to right these wrongs the laws established fixed rates of charges for clergy- men and other officials, and imposed other necessary restrictions. But as the laws were to be enforced by the selfsame oflBcials whom they were supposed to govern, it is natural that in too many instances they were allowed to remain inoperative. The binder were hard pressed both by the officials and by the burgher class. They were not only reduced to a worse situation socially and economically than in any earUer period, as the burghers and officials gradually intrenched themselves in a position of power such as no class outside of the old nobility had hitherto enjoyed, but they were also forced into the background politically, after absolutism had eliminated all partici- ^ T. H. Aschehoug, Aktstykker om Finmarken i Aaret 1667, Norske Sam- linger, vol. I., p. 120 ff. L. Daae, Fern Dokumenter til Oplysning om Avgift- ernes Bel0b i del sytlende Aarhundrede, Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. V., p. 485 ff. These documents consist of supplications and complaints of the people of various districts in the kingdom. M ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 281 I'iitioii of the people in airairs of administration and government. But the hinder had awakened to the realization of the situation, and :i deteniiiiied striigj;le he^aii, which c<)nstuntly increased in bitterness.' Scattered uprisinj^s grew more frequent, able popular leaders appeare