Haakon IV of Norway - Views On Haakon's Reign

Views On Haakon's Reign

Norwegian historians have held strongly differing views on Haakon's reign. In the 19th century, historian P. A. Munch portrayed Haakon as a mighty, almost flawless ruler, which in turn influenced Henrik Ibsen in his 1863 play The Pretenders. In the early 20th century, poet Hans E. Kinck countered and viewed Haakon as an insignificant king subordinated to forces outside of his control, a view which influenced historians such as Halvdan Koht and Edvard Bull, Sr.. Haakon has often been compared with Skule Bårdsson, and historians have taken sides in the old conflict. While Munch saw Skule as a traitor to the rightful Norwegian king, Koht viewed Skule as a heroic figure. On more sketchy grounds, Kinck praised Skule as representing the original and dying Norse culture, and Haakon as a superficial emulator of foreign culture. Since the 1960s, historians including Narve Bjørgo, Per Sveaas Andersen, Knut Helle, Svein Haga and Kåre Lunden have in turn professed a reaction against Koht's view. According to Sverre Bagge, modern historians tend to follow Koht when it comes to see Skule's rebellion as a last desperate attempt to stop Haakon from enroaching his power, but lean closer to Munch's overall evaluation of the two men.

Knut Helle interprets the saga to leave an impression of Skule as a skilled warrior and politician, while noting that the author of the saga purposely created a diffuse image of his role in the conflict with Haakon. On the other hand, Helle notes that Skule was outmaneuvered with relative ease by Haakon's supporters in the immediate years after 1217, and that this may suggest some limited abilities. While neither giving a clear picture of Haakon, Helle maintains that Haakon "obviously" learned to master the political game in his early years. He interprets Haakon as an independent and willstrong ruler whom he assigns a "significant personal responsibility" for the policies pursued during his reign—notably regarding the internal consolidation of the kingship, the orientation towards European culture and the aggressive foreign policy. Norsk biografisk leksikon acknowledges that Haakon was empowered by the strong institutional position of the kingship at the end of his reign (which it should be noted that he had developed himself), and that his policies were not always successful. It nonetheless recognises the substantial political abilities and powerful determination Haakon must have had in order to progress from the difficult position in which he started his reign.