E17: Kings of Norway II | Hakon the Good (934 - 961 CE)

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Shawn continues his series on the Kings of Norway with Hakon the Good, the first Christian king of Norway and another son of Harald Fairhair. Raised in the court of King Æthelstan of England, Hakon returns home to challenge the rule of his half-brother, Eric Bloodaxe. If you remember from our previous episode, the lords of Norway welcome this new claimant if it means they can be rid of Eric's wife Gunhild.  (To be fair, Eric also had the small problem of being an unlikeable kinslayer.)  The episode follows Hakon's rise to power, his battles against his nephews (the sons of Eric) and their Danish allies led by King Harald Bluetooth, and the challenge of ruling a pagan kingdom as a Christian king (anddd,,,, yes he did want the Norwegians to give up their gods for the Christian faith).  Was Hakon hoping the Norwegians would simply 'know them by their fruits,' or was he always destined to move from persuasion to royal authority in these conversion attempts?  Shawn also explores the Norse sacrificial practices, and the growing religious tensions that nearly cost Hakon both his throne and the loyalty of the people who had chosen him to rule.  Shawn wraps up exploring conflicting sources surrounding Hakon's legacy. Did Norway's first Christian king remain Christian until the end of his life, or did he drifted back toward the old gods?  From his  performative participation in pagan sacrifices to the poem Hákonarmál, where Odin himself welcomes him into Valhalla, the sources don't always tell the same story.  Sources Used: Heimskringla (Dover Publications), translated with the assistance of A.H. Smith Heimskringla (Project Gutenberg), translated by Samuel Laing   Historia Norwegiae (Viking Societ for Northern Research), translated by Devra Kunin Follow on IG:  https://www.instagram.com/sagaswshawn/?next=%2F Follow on YT:  https://www.youtube.com/@SagasWithShawn