Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (

: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the

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 king ...

from 934 to 961. He was noted for his attempts to introduce Christianity into Norway.

Early life

Haakon is not mentioned in any narrative sources earlier than the late 12th century. According to this late saga tradition, Haakon was the youngest son of King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

and Thora Mosterstang. He was born on the Håkonshella peninsula in

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

. King Harald determined to remove his youngest son out of harm's way and accordingly sent him to the court of King

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern histori ...

. Haakon was fostered by King Athelstan, as part of an agreement made by his father, for which reason Haakon was nicknamed ''Adalsteinfostre''. According to the

Sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

, Athelstan was tricked into fostering Haakon when Harald's envoy used the custom of knésetja, whereby a child was formally adopted if it was set on the knees of the foster-parent. Becoming someone's foster-parent reportedly meant that they were subordinate to the child's parent. Haakon is not mentioned in any contemporary Anglo-Saxon sources, and later historians of Athelstan, such as William of Malmesbury, make no reference to Haakon. According to Norwegian royal biographies from the late 12th century, the English court introduced him to the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religion. On the news of his father's death, King Athelstan provided Haakon with ships and men for an expedition against his half-brother

Eric Bloodaxe Eric Haraldsson ( , ; c.930−954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( , ) and Brother-Slayer (), was a Norwegians#Viking Age, Norwegian king. He ruled as List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 932 to 934, and twice as List of monarchs of Northumbr ...

, who had been proclaimed king of Norway. '' Historia Norwegiæ'' describes Haakon as an apostate who observed both pagan and Christian rites.

Reign

At his arrival back in Norway, Haakon gained the support of the landowners by promising to give up the rights of taxation claimed by his father over inherited real property. Eric Bloodaxe soon found himself deserted on all sides, and saved his own and his family's lives by fleeing from the country. Eric fled to the

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

and later to the Kingdom of Jorvik, eventually meeting a violent death at Stainmore,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, in 954 along with his son, Haeric. In 953, Haakon had to fight a fierce battle (''Slaget på Blodeheia ved Avaldsnes'') at

Avaldsnes Avaldsnes is a village in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern part of the island of Karmøy (island), Karmøy, along the Karmsundet strait, just south of the town of Haugesund (town), Hauge ...

against the sons of

(''Eirikssønnene''). Haakon won the battle, at which Eric's son Guttorm died. One of Haakon's most famous victories was the Battle of Rastarkalv (''Slaget på Rastarkalv'') near Frei in 955 at which Eric's son, Gamle, died. By placing ten standards far apart along a low ridge, he gave the impression that his army was bigger than it actually was. He managed to fool Eric's sons into believing that they were outnumbered. The Danes fled and were slaughtered by Haakon's army. The sons of Eric returned in 957, with support from King

Gorm the Old Gorm the Old (; ; ), also called Gorm the Languid (), was List of Danish monarchs, ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147

, King of Denmark, but were again defeated by Haakon's effective army system.

Skaldic poems A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

and the

Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early elev ...

link the introduction of the leiðangr naval system in Norway to Haakon. Haakon may have emulated King Æthelstan's naval system.

Succession

Three of the surviving sons of Eric Bloodaxe landed undetected on the coast of

in 961 and surprised the king at his residence in Fitjar. Haakon was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fitjar (''Slaget ved Fitjar'') after a final victory over Eric's sons. The King's arm was pierced by an arrow and he died later from his wounds. He was buried in the burial mound (''Håkonshaugen'') in the village of Seim in Lindås municipality in the county of

. Upon his death his court

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, Eyvindr skáldaspillir, composed a skaldic poem '' Hákonarmál'' about the fall of the King in battle and his reception into

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

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

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

Modern references

* Haakon's Park (''Håkonarparken'') is the location of a statue of King Haakon sculpted by Anne Grimdalen. During 1961, the statue was erected opposite Fitjar Church for the one thousand-year commemoration of the Battle of Fitjar. * ''Håkonarspelet'' is a historical play written by Johannes Heggland in 1997. * Haakon is a major character in '' Mother of Kings'' by Poul Anderson. * Haakon is the protagonist in ''God's Hammer'' by Eric Schumacher.''God's Hammer'' by Eric Schumacher. (Paul Mould Publishing. 2nd edition, 2005)

References

Other sources

* Birkeli, Fridtjov (1979) ''Norge møter kristendommen fra vikingtiden til ca. 1050'' (Oslo: Aschehoug & Co) * Enstad, Nils-Petter (2008) ''Sverd eller kors? Kristningen av Norge som politisk prosess fra Håkon den gode til Olav Kyrre'' (Kolofon forlag) * Krag, Claus (1995) ''Vikingtid og rikssamling 800–1130'' (Oslo: Aschehoug's History of Norway, Bd. 2) * Sigurdsson, Jon Vidar and Synnøve Veinan Hellerud (2012) ''Håkon den gode'' (Oslo: Spartacus forlag AS) * van Nahl, Jan Alexander (2016). "The Medieval Mood of Contingency. Chance as a Shaping Factor in Hákonar saga góða and Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar". In: Mediaevistik, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Medieval Research 29. pp. 81–97.

External links

*
''Saga Hákonar góða'' (Heimskringla Snorra Sturlusonar)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haakon the Good 920s births 961 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century Norwegian monarchs Fairhair dynasty Monarchs killed in action Vikings killed in battle 10th-century Vikings People from Hordaland