The Norse Files

Corpse usurpation in medieval Scandinavia  Throughout the Catholic period of the Norse Middle Ages, people put significant effort into ensuring they were buried in the best possible way and place. But their efforts were sometimes thwarted by their rivals, society, or the law. This episode of The Norse Files explores the phenomena of corpse usurpation and unlawful burial in medieval Scandinavia. 

King Magnús ascends to the throne after the premature death of his brother Hákon the young, and the demise of his father King Hákon the old in Orkney. His reign begins with the crown established as the factual power in Norway and as an expanding power in the North Atlantic. King Magnús embarks in a most ambitious legal reform, which replaced the four provincial codes of Norway for a National code and had an impact in the laws of the tributary lands of the crown, most specially for Iceland.

In this episode, we cover the final years of King Hákon Hákonarson, from the defeat of Skúli Bárðarson to his death in Orkney. We will follow the king in his negotiations with the church to obtain his coronation, his expanding policy in the North Atlantic, and his conflicts with the emerging Scottish crown over the Norwegian crown possessions in Scandinavian Scotland.

The conflict between Earl Skúli Bárðarson and King Hákon Hákonarson continues. Opportunities appear for the king to consolidate his authority in the North Atlantic, if he manages to contain the earl's ambitions. We follow Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar (the Saga of King Hákon Hákonarson), composed by the Icelandic poet and lawman Sturla Þórðarson, to tell the story of the consolidation of King Hákon Hákonarson and his final clash with his father-in-law and only competitor to the throne of Norway.

In this episode, we follow the events after the death of King Sverrir Sigurðsson and the untimely demise of his only son, Hákon Sverrisson. The birkibeinar consolidate their power in half of the country, while the bagler solidify their alliance with the Danish crown. A son of Hákon Sverrisson is found in bagler territory, and a commando operation is launched to recover what could be the only hope of the birkibeinar to remain united. That young boy becomes the king of Norway, but his problems are far from over, as he has to finish the war with the bagler, deal with internal and external threats, and prove himself again and again as the rightful ruler of the land.

The civil war period (Norwegian borgerkrigene) was the period that extended from 1130 to 1240. These 110 years are the prologue to our story, and the reason behind many of the decisions made by the kings of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Brothers killing brothers, boy-kings, blindings, maimings, and lots and lots of blood. We will cover the history of Norway from the death of King Sigurðr the crusader to the last days of King Sverrir Siguðsson, the founder of the Sverrir clan that went on to rule Norway for more than a hundred years and to restore peace and stability in the country.

A brief presentation of what we will be discussing in the podcast: the period we will be covering, the questions we will address in the following episodes, and some general methodological questions you will need for the remainder of our story. Do not skip!