Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - V. Later Catholic Period in Sweden - D. Administration of Torgils Knutsson - E. Sverre, One of Norway’s Greatest Kings
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
74 A History of Sweden
peace and happiness to my soul." He knelt down and
with a calm and noble bearing met his death. The sad
news crushed the exiled father and hastened his death.
But on Mora Plain men from all the provinces met
in 1319 and chose Magnus, the three-year-old son of
the unfortunate Eric, as king of Sweden. Through his
mother he was also heir to the throne of Norway.
E. SVERRE, ONE OF NORWAY’S GREATEST KINGS
His Struggles for the Throne. Norway, like Sweden
and Denmark, was long rent by civil strife. Here dur-
ing the twelfth century the descendants of Harold
Fairhair fought among themselves for the throne. The
royal power was weakened, and the country was on
the verge of breaking up into petty states as before
the days of Harold Fairhair. Then came Sverre, who
was regarded as one of Harold’s descendants, and re-
stored unity to the kingdom.
He spent his boyhood on the Faroe Islands, and there
on fishing expeditions in the roaring surges of the sea,
and in scaling the steep and lofty cliffs of the islands,
he developed courage and presence of mind. Under
Bishop Roe of the Faroe Islands he was educated for
the church and was ordained a deacon. But at this
time his mother revealed to him a secret: He was a
descendant of Harold Fairhair. At once his decision
was made. One day he suddenly appeared in Norway
accompanied by a band of ragged adventurers and high-
waymen, who on account of their practice of wrapping
their legs and feet with birch bark were called Birch-
legs (Birkebeiner). They were men who endured ev-
erything and feared nothing. With this band of seven-
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
