Norwegian (Civ3)/Civilopedia

The Norwegians were perhaps the most prolific explorers and raiders of the Viking era. Their longships ranged far and wide, birthing settlements as far as Newfoundland and Morocco. Like the other Viking nations Norway elected its kings until it adopted Christianity in the late 10th century C.E., although in Norway the church's efforts to extend its reach into secular spheres of influence was much more strongly resisted. More than one Norwegian king was excommunicated by the Church due to intransigence or open conflict against church authorities and lands. The Norwegian king Harald Hardrada played a significant role in the Norman Conquest in 1066 C.E., forcing the Saxon king Harold Godwinsson to force-march south after confronting Harald's army (Harald was killed in the battle) to fight William the Conqueror. Many historians speculate that this force march led to the Saxon defeat at Hastings and the ascension of William to the English throne.
After that, the conflict between the church and the monarch continued, deepening into a ruinous civil war that would last for decades. The civil war finally ended in 1217 with the crowning of Haakon IV as king of Norway; he formally established the hereditary succession of the crown along with ending traditional Viking blood feuds. He also formalized Norwegian authority over the various Viking colonies, creating a very early and primitive colonial empire. He also created a court system that was unprecedented in its subtlety and cleverness; the modern Anglo-American system involving different "levels of appeal", in which one court's decision can be appealed to a higher one and so on to the highest court in the land, owes its basic structure to Haakon's brainchild. Haakon's sons maintained the stability and prosperity their father had brought to their country, until the regency of Margaret I and her brilliant campaigns to unify the three Viking crowns. Margaret's plan came to fruition in 1397 C.E., when the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian thrones were occupied by a single man (Margaret's great-nephew Erik).