by Pope Nicholas I. in 858.* But, on the other hand, it must be remembered that Norway never formed any part of the Roman Empire, and therefore the Kaiser had no special claim upon it, or authority to enforce his will there,and also that the christianizing of Norway was the work of English, and not German, missionaries, except to a limited and uncertain extent in Viken. Adalbert, however, was, from his point of view, quite in order in making a demand, for which he could claim the authority both of Pope and Kaiser.

The archbishop's ambassadors were the bearers of a letter to the king, which was worded in a manner little calculated to conciliate such a man as Harald Haardraade. In it Adalbert lectured the king on his iniquities in appropriating for his own uses the treasury of the shrine of St. Olaf, and, further, with not having his bishops consecrated in Bremen, and thereby acknowledging the metropolitan authority of that see.

This letter filled Harald with fury, and he sent Adalbert's messengers back to their master with the scornful words: "I know of no archbishop or ruler in Norway save myself, Harald, alone."

Having received this response to his demand, Adalbert decided to invoke the papal aid, and laid his case before Alexander II. The Pope supported his metropolitan, and despatched a letter to King Harald. In this he reminded the king and his people of his apostolic authority. He pointed out to them, that they in Norway, were as yet but comparatively unlearned in the faith and in all matters of Church discipline, and ended up with an exhortation, or rather command, that they should submit themselves to the Archbishop of Bremen, and yield the same obedience to him as they should show to the chair of St. Peter.†

* This again was confirmed by Pope Victor II. (1055) in a bull which recognized the right of the Bremen archbishops to consecrate bishops in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland.

+ Adam.-Book III., Chap. xvi., and Scholiast, 70.

This letter is a notable document as being the first papal brief sent to Norway. It, however, met with no more consideration than Harald had shown to the messages of Adalbert, and the Norwegian king was equally indifferent to the threats and thunderings of Bremen or Rome. While he lived, affairs remained in the same state; but this was not long, and his successor, Olaf Kyrre, was ready to admit the authority of Bremen without any question. Shortly after his death the claims of Bremen were no longer in existence, as Lund, in Skaane, at that time a part of the kingdom of Denmark (1104), was made the metropolitan see of the North.

CHAPTER IX.

OLAF KYRRE, TO THE DEATH OF SIGURD

JORSALFARER.

Olaf the Peaceable and his Character-Development of the CountryViking Expeditions come to an End-Gilds Established-Magnus Bærføtte-Lund made a Metropolitan See-Three Kings in Norway -The Crusade of Sigurd-Harald Gille-Last Years of SigurdBishop Magnus-Death of Sigurd.

WHEN Harald Haardraade fell at Stamford bridge, he left behind him two sons, Magnus and Olaf, and they divided between them the royal power. Happily for Norway this state of things did not long continue, for Magnus died in the year 1069, and Olaf became sole king. Magnus left one son, but as he was only a little child, his claim was not then brought forward.

The reign of Olaf, who is known as Olaf Kyrre, or the Peaceable, was a period of much peace and quietness for the land, which was sorely needed after the constant warfare of Harald's reign. Olaf was a man of a most gentle and loveable disposition, and seems to have in every way deserved the name he bore. He devoted the whole of his reign to improving the condition of his people. We are told that his motto was, "The freedom and happiness of my people my joy and pleasure."

is

The Church in Norway found in Olar Kyrre a true nursing father," and it advanced much in power and authority during his reign. We find an interesting account of the king in the Chronicles of Symeon or Simon of Durham, a Benedictine monk, who died in 1143. He tells us of a monk named Turgot, who having been imprisoned

in Lincoln, effected his escape, and concealed himself on a Norwegian vessel and reached the court of Olaf Kyrre. "He attained" (says the Chronicle) "to the acquaintance of King Olaf, who, as he was of a very religious turn, was accustomed to the use of the sacred writings, and cultivated learning amid the cares of his kingdom. He was wont also to assist the priest at the altar, and when the latter was putting on the sacred vestments he would pour water on his hands and devoutly perform other offices of this kind. Hearing, therefore, that a clerk had come from England (which at that time was reckoned an important event), he took him as his master in learning psalmody."*

The reign of Olaf Kyrre was a time during which Norway was practically at peace with all other nations, and therefore there is but little to chronicle in the political history of his reign. It was not, however, a time which passed by without leaving its impress on subsequent events. To it we owe the beginnings of two very important cities. Olaf Trygvessøn had founded Nidaros, afterwards known as Trondhjem; Harald Haardraade established Oslo, the future Christiania; and now Olaf, his son, added two more towns, which are well known at the present dayBergen and Stavanger. The former was originally known as Bjørgvin, and the site was well chosen for purposes of trade, the deep watera nd well-sheltered position making it easy of access for shipping. The town soon grew to be a place of importance, to which the comparative nearness of Evenvik (where the great Gula Thing, which legislated for the southwest of Norway, met), probably helped not a little. Stavanger, lying a hundred miles further south, was a good centre for

* Symeon of Durham's "History of the Kings," translated by the Rev. J. Stevenson. Turgot after his return to England, was subsequently prior of Durham and bishop of St. Andrew's; he died at Durham in 1115. Selden and others believe that Turgot was the real author of the history, which bears the name of Symeon of Durham.

trade, and was at that time the nearest port to England and the possessions of the kings of Norway beyond the seas.

Olaf did all in his power to encourage trade and to induce his people to adopt a more settled mode of life than had formerly been their custom; and his reign is usually fixed as the time when we note the practical ending of the famous Viking cruises, which for more than three hundred years had made the Northmen the terror of the coasts of Europe. The political results of these famous expeditions are "writ large" upon the history of nearly every country of modern Europe; and it fills us with wonder that such a small nation as Norway, even when aided by like adventurous spirits from Denmark and Sweden, should have been the means of effecting changes, the results of which are still visible in Europe.

The increase of trade which the foundation of new towns called forth, naturally led also to an increase of civilization, and to a decided improvement in the mode of life of the people, who gradually, especially in the retinues of the king and the greater chiefs, adopted the customs and habits of the more civilized peoples of Europe, and the semibarbarous life of the early days began to pass away.

In the king's own household changes are noted from the old fashion of a fireplace in the middle of the room, with a hole in the roof for the escape of the smoke, to a regular chimney in the corner, and windows were placed to give light in the room. Costly drinking-cups of silver began also to replace the horns and bowls from which, in ruder times, the king and his men drank their beer.

Olaf increased the royal retinue, which had formerly been small, to one hundred and twenty men, sixty of whom were huskarls; and we can also note the beginning of a body of what might be called, high court officials.

Olaf was a great builder of churches, and the most important of these were Christ Church, in Nidaros, to which