Magnus I. (Norway)

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Magnus the Good and Åsmund Granskjellsson. Drawing by Halfdan Egedius

Magnus I , called the Good , (* around 1024 , † October 25, 1047 ) was King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042 .

origin

The illegitimate son of King Olaf Haraldsson , the saint, was brought to Norway in 1035 from Novgorod , where he had been educated at the court of the Kiev prince Jaroslav I since 1028 , by the nobles who had killed his father years earlier in the Battle of Stiklestad fetched back and raised to the rank of king after King Canute the Great of Denmark and England , previously the Upper King of Norway, had died. It was named after Carolus Magnus, Charlemagne , which sheds light on the ideals around his father.

Political situation at the time of the seizure of power

Magnus and Hardeknut meet

According to the more recent Historia Regum , which is attributed to Symeon von Durham , the North Sea kingdom Knuts was initially under his sons Hardeknut from the church marriage with Emma of Normandy , the widow Æthelreds , (Denmark), Harald Harefoot (England) and Sven (Norway) , both from the peace marriage with the Anglo-Saxon Alfiva , shared.

It is more likely that the Encomium Emmae Reginae , written in Flanders before 1040 , stated that the legitimate son Hardeknut should be the sole heir to the throne . However, Hardeknut was initially unable to assert himself in England, as he was militarily bound in Denmark when his father died. Brother Harald is said to have used this absence to usurp the royal power in England with the support of Leofric of Mercia and his mother Alfiva. This led to the division of England, which is also documented numismatically: Hardeknut got the southern part, Harald the northern part. Soon afterwards, however, Harald drove Emma out and was crowned king over all of England.

Sven did not succeed in asserting his claim to Norway, but was expelled from Norway together with his mother.

The later sagas report that there was a contract between one son Hardeknut and Magnus, according to which the one of the two who lived the longest should inherit the other in the rule. The contemporary sources (e.g. the Roskilde Chronicle) do not know anything about it, so that this news is unlikely to correspond to the facts.

Magnus cracked down on his father's enemies and drove Kalv Arnesson to the Orkneys . At the same time he strongly promoted the cult around his father. A coin probably later minted by him in Schleswig shows a king with an ax on the reverse, Olav the saint's main attribute. He also took back some of the most controversial provisions of the Alfiva laws passed by his predecessor Sven. Snorri leads back the nickname " the good one " back.

Magnus in Denmark

Five years after Knut's death, Hardeknut , who was king in Denmark after his brother Harald died unexpectedly in 1040, also became king of England. Two years later in 1042, Hardeknut suddenly collapsed at a wedding of one of his followers and died soon after. The Danish-English royal rule dissolved. In England, Edward the Confessor , a half-brother of Harald on his mother's side, became king.

There was no suitable heir to the throne in Denmark. This was the first time that the Danish upper kingship ceased to exist. Magnus filled this vacuum. He received great support from his stepmother Astrid. His real mother, Alvhild, with Olav in a Friedelehe had lived, had to stand back.

In 1041/1042 Magnus moved with an army to Denmark when Hardeknut was still alive but was bound in England. So when Hardeknut died in England, Magnus was already in Denmark and was accepted as king over Denmark. There was no need for an inheritance contract. At the same time, Sven Estridsson , a nephew of Hardeknut, joined Magnus and became his Jarl . But very soon Sven was also honored as king in Denmark. There were armed conflicts between Sven and Magnus, all of which Magnus won. In addition, he was belligerently present in the Baltic Sea. He grabbed z. B. Wollin at.

So Magnus was mostly in Denmark. His half-sister Wulfhild (also Ulfhilde), daughter of Olav the Holy and his wife Astrid, married Otto (also Odulf or Adulfr hertogi af Brunsvig ), the eldest son of Duke Bernhard II of Saxony in 1042 . This was also due to the fact that at that time the Wends attacked Denmark again and again in the south. Possibly there was a certain connection between Sven Estridsson and the Wendish prince Ratibor . According to Adam of Bremen , the Bishops Adalbrand of Bremen , Thietmar of Hildesheim , Ratolf of Schleswig and Duke Bernhard II. In Schleswig were supposed to have held a discussion on this problem, on the occasion of which Otto's marriage to Magnus' half-sister was agreed. The conversation could have taken place in 1042. As King of Denmark, he had to fend off the Wendish threat.

Battle on the Lürschauer Heide near Schleswig.

The Danish Jarl Harold had been killed by Otto, probably because he could also have laid claim to the royal rule in Denmark from his family. After Adam of Bremen, the Danes killed the Slav duke Ratibor . His eight sons tried to avenge him, but were also killed. Thereupon the Winulers gathered a large army and plundered as far as Ribe . Coming from Schonen , where he had followed Sven, Magnus drove with his fleet to Haithabu and defeated the Wends near Schleswig in an open field battle in September 1043 (it is called the battle on the Lürschauer Heide ), where according to other sources his brother-in-law Otto was active should have supported. Saxo Grammaticus attributes the nickname " the good one " to this victory.

Magnus lays claim to England

As the Danish king, Magnus, as the successor to Sven Tveskæg and Canute the Great, also laid claim to English royalty and is said to have requested a declaration of submission from Edward the Confessor. This threat to possibly go to England in a warlike manner was apparently taken seriously, because English sources (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) report that Edward, as a precautionary measure, gathered a fleet near Sandwich in 1044 to resist Magnus. He did the same with a huge army in the same place the next year. According to the saga writers, the matter ended peacefully when Edward pointed out that he was anointed by bishops like Magnus and that he would not submit, which is why Magnus had to kill him, which Magnus had godly refrained from.

Harald Sigurdsson's return

In 1045 his uncle Harald Sigurdsson returned from Byzantium, laden with gold, where he had been in the imperial service. The arguments with Sven Estridsson in 1044 and this new situation in 1045 apparently made him refrain from a campaign to England. As the brother of Olav the Holy, Harald laid claim to the kingship, which corresponded to the right of succession to the throne at that time . The later historians let Harald descend from Harald Hårfagre , but they certainly did not have any reliable information about it, rather the connection to Harald Hårfagre via the legendary Samin Snøfrid Svåsedotter and her equally legendary son Sigurd Haraldsson Rise indicates a late construction. There was a conflict between uncle and nephew, which the later saga writers tried to downplay. Harald first allied himself with Sven Estridsson, who was staying with the Swedish King Anund Jakob at the time, against Magnus. Then there was a comparison between Magnus and Harald in 1046, and Harald broke with Sven. After this comparison, a dual kingship should be established, with Harald being given priority in Norway. With this comparison Magnus had averted the danger of a joint attack by Sven Estridsson, Harald and the Swedish king.

Magnus' death

In 1047 there was a sea battle with Sven Estridsson, where Magnus inflicted a heavy defeat on him. He chased Sven to Sjælland . He was so badly injured by falling on his horse that he died. On his deathbed he let Sven Estridsson rule over Denmark.

For the saga writers, Magnus stood in the tradition of Olav the Holy in his capacity as "just king".

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sarnowsky p. 52.
predecessor Office successor
Knut III. King of Denmark
1042-1047 		Sven Estridsson
Knut the great King of Norway
1035-1047 		Harald III.

Web links

Commons : Magnus I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Magnus I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian and Danish king
DATE OF BIRTH around 1024
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 1047