The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-09-21
Norway Before
the Onion.

4 e II = y u ~
up. Each ship was equipped with a
device for hurting stones into the
ranks OF the enemy, and the bow and
arrow and shield comprised the imple-
ments of destruction and defense of
each individual warrior. Feeling that
they were now capable of more than
the mere plundering and burning of
coast towns, they began career of
conquest. They took possession of the
Orkney, Shetland and Hiberdes Islands.
and colonized them. In 838 they con-
quered Dublin, and soon after had all
Ireland under subsection; but through
treachery on the part of an Irish king,
the Morse leader was slain and his fol-
lowers were driven from the land.
Paris was forced to submit to them in
845, but only for a short time. Such
were the results of all their conquests
with the exception of the islands just
mentioned, which they held until their
union with Denmark, whose king
pawned them to James Ill. of Scot
land. They were never redeemed.
The uniting of all Norway was serv-
ing we'll it's purpose, and King Harold,
who had forcibly accomplished part of
this task, was much loved king and
the ideal of nearly every successor to
the Norwegian throne. He punished
severely those who continued to carry
on the pillaging of foreign shores;
granted almost exclusively, to the peo-
pie, the right to. make their own laws,
and was very ienient in Ievying taxes
This latter, however, was met with
much opposition; because to pay taxes
was not considered becoming of free
man.
But things were not destined to go
forever according to the good plans of
King Harold. The law that the kings
eldest son succeeded to the throne was
changed by later king who decreed
that call my sons shall reign, be they
legitimate or not" Up to this time
Norway had prospered. Christianity
had been introduced, but had not been
universally accepted, altho there was
not the opposition that had marked
previous attempts to substitute it for
paganism which was their first religion;
uniform laws were passed, and in
many other ways the country was
gradually being raised above what it
had always been, but to which it
again reverted, wholly because of a
kings desire that all his sons should
reign.
One can readily imagine the condi.
tion at the death of king, when
three or four sons, each possessing the
same right to the throne, went about
the country gathering forces with
which to substantiate his right to rule
In the end the strongest would win
and who would Danish, but more often
put to death, the weaker ones unless
they escaped to Denmark, which was
their favorite refuge, until they could
command another army. And wher
all the acknowledged heirs apparent haG
been exterminated, there was no deartf
of pretenders who could usually estab
lish proof of birth, and who had M
trouble in enlisting men from Swede1
and Denmark by promising earlship
and the like, should they be victorious
In this manner was Norway gradual.
, declining under its own kings unit
,, 1880, at which time the only rightfu
heir to the throne was the then kim
:. of Denmark, and as consequence b.
,, became also King of Norway, but tn
laws of the latter country were, for tn
time, unchanged.
; By 1897, mainly through the valor o
the Norsemen, Sweden was conquere'
2 and on July goth of that year, docu
t ment was signed by representative
: from the three Scandinavian countries
q uniting them under one king. This
) known as the Kalmar union, an
y marks the beginning of the darkes
g days of Norway's existence. The prir
y cipal condition of the union was tina
= each country was to be governed b
d it's own laws and customs; but if on