Same power base in western Norway as his brother (Erik Bloodaxe) & father (Harald Fairhair)
No sources indicate he had incluence in Viken or interior of E. Norway
From the beginning, he had strong support from his friend and ally Earl Sigurð of Lade
From Stad north, Sigurð had the real power and Hakon was probably just king in name
Hakon was sympathetic to the farmers and their eladers, and his rule appears to have been a peaceful one, at least in the areas he controlled - less harsh than brother/father (=> 'the good')
1 of 4
Military Reform
Sagas tell us of military reform - naval levy, known in Old Norse as the leiðung
= Compulsory military service by farmers, under leadership of the king
Additionally to the levy, the king had his own permanent retinue of professional warriors
Skaldic poems tells us that Hakon also had military support from the earls and magnates
Levy system seems to represent an expansion of the farmers' earlier customary obligation to help defend the people in their district
Organisation of levy is known from later laws: country divided into skipreiður, which were to provide ships and crew which were under the control of royal officials (in later version)
Likely the 10th century levy did not covery the entire country, and system that Hakon put into place was primarily based in western Norway
New defence force naturally placed a certain burden on the farmers, but they were probably compensated by Hakon's otherwise milder rule
=> Hakon didn't need to have as many warriors in his retinue as his father/brother, so the farmers didn't need to give so much in the way of provisions
2 of 4
Administration and Justice
Claus Krag: cautious about the extent of Hakon's involvement with assembly organisation in western norway, as the adminstration of justice was still chiefly something that was the affair of the farmers themselves and their leaders
Ole Georg Moseng: disagrees, arguing Hakon was involved in the reform of the system of law-assemblies
Hakon probably worked with the farmers to change this, and is credited with reorganising and expanding the Gulathing and Frostathing jurisdictions to include new areas
He also changed the legal assemblies from being general assemblies to representative assemblies
I.e. instead of attending assemblies themselves, the farmers now sent representatives
Change probably caused by the jurisdictions getting bigger: it was no longer easy for the farmers in the jurisdiction to get to the assembly - assemblies for the small regions remained general assemblies
3 of 4
Conversion to Christianity
Earl Sigurð of Lade (& Trondelag for the most part) was pagan => Hakon did not try to force a general conversion to Christianity, even though he himself was pagan from his upbringing in England (Æthelstan's foster son)
Archaeological evidence: little evidence that Hakon was successful in spreading Christianity even in SW Norway, which should have been his area of direct rule
One site that seems to have been Christian: on the island of Veøy in Romsdal, excavations have uncovered a churchyard from the 9th or early 10th cent., with Christian burials and the remains of a small wooden church = earliest Christian graveyard in Norway
Seems Christian settlement began as a religious community, persaps a monastery, perhaps founded by people from the British Isles
Archaeology shows many Insular objects found in pagan graves in this area - hence Irish or British settlers - ritual objects that Christian clergy would have needed
Small size of the reliquary sugests that it was the personal possession of a travelling monk, not one belonging to a rich monastery
Stone crosses have also been taken as evidence that Hakon succeeded in christianising the area of Norway under his direct control, but Saebjorg Wallaker Nordeide: can't be used as evidence, as can't be dated and have continental and English parallels
Comments
No comments have yet been made