Magnus Lagab%C3%B8te
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Magnus Haakonsson ( non, Magnús Hákonarson, no, Magnus Håkonsson, label=
Modern Norwegian Modern Norwegian ( no, moderne norsk) is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350–1536) and Dano-Norwegian. The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Pro ...
; 1 (or 3) May 1238 – 9 May 1280) was
King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...
(as Magnus VI) from 1263 to 1280 (junior king from 1257).''Magnus 6 Håkonsson Lagabøte – utdypning'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> One of his greatest achievements was the modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code, after which he is known as Magnus the Law-mender ( non, Magnús lagabœtir, links=no, no, Magnus Lagabøte, label=Modern Norwegian). He was the first Norwegian monarch known to have used an ordinal number, although originally counting himself as "IV".


Early life

He was the youngest son of King
Håkon Håkonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...
and his wife Margaret Skulesdatter. He was born in Tunsberg and was baptised in May 1238. He spent most of his upbringing in
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
. In 1257 his older brother
Håkon Haakon, also spelled Håkon (in Norway), Hakon (in Denmark), Håkan (in Sweden),Oxford Dictionary of First Names Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges - 2006 "Håkon Norwegian: from the Old Norse personal name Hákon or Háukon, from hā ...
died, leaving Magnus the heir-apparent to the kingdom. His father gave him the title of king the same year. On 11 September 1261, he married Ingeborg, the daughter of King
Eric IV of Denmark Eric IV, also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny ( da, Erik Plovpenning), ( – 10 August 1250) was king of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. His reign was marked by conflict and civil wars against his brothers. Early life E ...
, after she was practically abducted by King Håkon's men from the monastery she was living in. The struggle to claim Ingeborg's inheritance from her murdered father later involved Norway in intermittent conflicts with
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
for decades to come. Magnus and Ingeborg were crowned directly after their marriage, and Magnus was given
Ryfylke Ryfylke is a traditional district in the northeastern part of Rogaland county, Norway. The district is located northeast of the city of Stavanger and east of the city of Haugesund and it encompasses about 60% of the county's area. It includes ...
for his personal upkeep. On 16 December 1263 King Håkon died while fighting the Scottish king over the
Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...
, and Magnus became the ruler of Norway.


Reign


Foreign policy

Magnus' rule brought about a change from the somewhat aggressive foreign policy of his father. In 1266 he gave up the Hebrides and the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
to Scotland, in return for a large sum of silver and a yearly payment, under the
Treaty of Perth The Treaty of Perth, signed 2 July 1266, ended military conflict between Magnus VI of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The text of the treaty. The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had becom ...
, by which the Scots at the same time recognised Norwegian rule over Shetland and the Orkney Islands. In 1269 the ''Treaty of Winchester'' cemented good relations with the English king Henry III. Magnus also seems to have had good relations with the Swedish King
Valdemar Birgersson Valdemar ( English: Waldemar; sv, Valdemar Birgersson; 1239 – 26 December 1302) was King of Sweden from 1250 to 1275. Biography Valdemar was the son of the Swedish princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter and Birger Jarl, from the House of Bjelbo ...
, and in the 1260s, the border with Sweden was officially defined for the first time. When Valdemar was deposed by his two brothers and fled to Norway in 1275, this stirred Magnus into gathering a
leidang The institution known as ''leiðangr'' (Old Norse), ''leidang'' ( Norwegian), ''leding'' ( Danish), ''ledung'' ( Swedish), ''expeditio'' (Latin) or sometimes lething (English), was a form of conscription ( mass levy) to organize coastal fleets for s ...
-fleet for the first and only time in his reign. With a large fleet, he met with the new Swedish King
Magnus Ladulås Magnus III ( 1240 – 18 December 1290), also called Magnus Ladulås, was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290. Name He was the ''first Magnus'' to rule Sweden for any length of time, not generally regarded as a usurper or ...
to try to bring about a settlement between the two brothers, but without success, Magnus of Sweden would not give in to pressure and the Magnus of Norway retreated without engaging in hostile actions.


Internal policies

In internal politics, Magnus carried out a great effort to modernise the law-code, which gave him his epithet ''law-mender''. These were adopted at the
Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...
s in the years 1274 (''Landslov'') and 1276 (''Byloven''). In 1274 he promulgated the new national law, known as ''
Magnus Lagabøtes landslov ''Magnus Lagabötes landslov'' ("Magnus Lagabøte's State Law") was a law covering the whole of Norway, issued by King Magnus VI of Norway between 1274 and 1276. The law was the first to apply to Norway as a whole and is one of the first examples ...
'', a unified code of laws to apply for the whole country, including the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and Shetland. This replaced the different regional laws which had existed before. It was supplemented by a new municipal law (a law for the cities) in 1276, ''
Magnus Lagabøtes bylov ''Magnus Lagabøtes bylov'' ("Magnus Lagabøte's City Law") was promulgated for Bergen in 1276 during the reign of King Magnus VI of Norway (known as Magnus ''lagabøte'' or "law-mender"). Oslo, Trondheim and Tønsberg received their own version ...
'', and a slightly modified version was also drawn up for
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. A unified code of laws for a whole country was at this time something quite new, which had until then only been introduced in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
and Castile. His code introduced the concept that crime is an offense against the state rather than against the individual and thus narrowed the possibilities of personal vengeance. It increased the formal power of the king, making the throne the source of justice. The municipal law gave the cities increased freedom from rural control. A specific section fixed the law of succession to the throne, in accordance with the arrangements laid down by King Håkon Håkonsson in 1260. The royal succession was an important and prickly matter, the last of the civil wars, fought for decades over disputed successions to the throne, having finally ended only in 1240. In 1273 Magnus gave his eldest son, five-year-old
Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
, the title of king, and his younger brother
Håkon Haakon, also spelled Håkon (in Norway), Hakon (in Denmark), Håkan (in Sweden),Oxford Dictionary of First Names Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges - 2006 "Håkon Norwegian: from the Old Norse personal name Hákon or Háukon, from hā ...
the title of
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
, thus making it unequivocally clear who would be his heir. Although Magnus was by all accounts a personally very pious king, his work with the law-codes brought him into conflict with the archbishop, who resisted temporal authority over the church, and sought to preserve the church's influence over the kingdom. The Tønsberg Concord (''Sættargjerden in Tønsberg'') signed in 1277 between King Magnus and Jon Raude, Archbishop of Nidaros, confirmed certain privileges of the clergy, the freedom of episcopal elections and similar matters. The church preserved considerable independence in judicial matters, but gave up its old claim that the Norwegian kingdom was a
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
under the ultimate authority of the Catholic Church. In cultural terms Magnus continued his father's policy of introducing European courtly culture to Norway. In 1277 he replaced the old Norse titles
lendmann Lendmann (plural lendmenn; non, lendr maðr) was a title in medieval Norway. Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the hird of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only earls and kings. In the 13th century there were between ...
and skutilsvein with the European titles baron and ''riddar'' (
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
), at the same time giving them certain extra privileges and the right to be addressed as ''lord'' (''herra''). Magnus is probably also the first Norwegian king to have named himself using an ordinal number - he called himself "Magnus IV" (he did not count Magnus Haraldsson (II) and Magnus Sigurdsson (IV)). Immediately after his father's death, he commissioned the Icelander
Sturla Þórðarson Sturla Þórðarson ( ; ; 29 July 1214–30 July 1284) was an Icelandic chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century. Biography The life of Sturla Þórðarson was chronicled in the Sturlunga saga. Sturla was th ...
to write his father's saga, or biography. In 1278, he commissioned the same man to write his own saga. The Saga of Magnus the lawmender (''Magnúss saga lagabœtis'') thus became the last of the medieval Norwegian
kings' sagas Kings' sagas ( is, konungasögur, nn, kongesoger, -sogor, nb, kongesagaer) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of the lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings, also known as saga kings. They were comp ...
; unfortunately only a short fragment of it has been preserved.


Death and aftermath

In the spring of 1280, Magnus fell ill in Bergen. He planned to have his son Eric crowned at midsummer as co-ruler, but died on 9 May. Eric succeeded him at the age of 12. Real power fell to a circle of advisors, prominent among them Magnus' widow, Ingeborg. Magnus was remembered as a good ruler, who ruled by law rather than by the sword. The nationalist-conservative historian Oscar Albert Johnsen, who headed the Institute of Medieval Texts, founded during the occupation of Norway by the Nazis, considered Magnus a weak king for giving up the Hebrides and acquiescing to the demands of the Church.e.g. Oscar Albert Johnsen, ''Noregsveldets undergang'' (Kristiania, 1924) Mostly considered a rather wise king, sparing the kingdom of unnecessary and unfruitful wars, while preserving stability at home and finally bringing the
Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With ...
under Norwegian control. Magnus was buried in the church of the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
monastery in Bergen, which has since the 16th century been the Bergen Cathedral (''Bergen Domkirke'').


References


Other sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus 06 Of Norway 1238 births 1280 deaths 13th-century Norwegian monarchs Fairhair dynasty People from Tønsberg Burials at Christ Church, Bergen House of Sverre