#scandinavians

[stone-cold-groove]

Young Viking. TAB Books | Scholastic Press - 1959.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Gerda Hinrichsen - The Body Shop - Barnes & Noble - 1977 (cover design by Fred Charles)

[thedeathofthelamb]

so apparently we would all starve at Mads house? lol in reference to: "scandinavians don't feed house guests"

[scotianostra]

On October 2nd 1263 the Battle of Largs took place.

Before I go into the full details it is thought that anywhere between 1200 and 2,000 ships set sail from Norway to vanquish the Scots, can you imagine how they would have looked sailing round the islands on the West coast? It must have been an amazing, if frightening sight!

Another thing, when I posted on this before, pointing out thta there was no real winner on the battle on the day, someone came back with a comment that we di win the battle and he wished people would stop saying we didn’t. Well my understanding of it, and it seems to be backed up by many historians, is that while the Norsemen were repelled they were far from beaten. They mustered back on Orkney to regroup, however their monarch, King Håkon IV fell ill and died in the Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall, putting an end to the campaign.

Scotland took advantage of circumstances when Haakon died in, it would eventually mean the end of Viking influence over the west of Scotland.

Much more interestingly, The Battle of Largs also gave rise to the legend of how Scotland’s national flower, the thistle came about.

When the Vikings had first begun raiding across the North Sea 400 years earlier, there had been no king of Norway and no king of Scotland. Their often savage raids evolved over time into trade and settlement. By the early 1200s both countries were united under powerful and ambitious kings.

When you hear of the Hebrides most only think of the Western Isles, the Outer Hebrides, and maybe Skye but the region known as Innse Gall also included islands such as Bute and Cumbrae on The Clyde estuary, very close to the Scottish mainland. Isle of Man, Shetland and Orkney Isles were also held by the Norsemen.

Haakon IV and Alexander II of Scotland were born within a few years of each other and came to the throne around the same time. They were both ambitious and were keen to extend and maintain their Kingdoms. It was Bute and Cumbrae that Alexander II had his eyes on. Alexander however had died on Kerrera of fever after sailing the west coast with a powerful fleet in 1249 in order to meet the Norwegians in battle.

Things calmed down for a while, probably due to the new Scottish King, Alexander III being a young boy when acceding to the throne, partly due to a struggle for the Scottish throne that included the Comyns and Mac Williams.

By 1263 the infighting was over and matters turned once more to pushing for control of The Hebrides. The dispute with the Alexander III over the Hebrides induced Haakon to undertake an expedition to the islands. Having learned in 1262 that Scottish nobles had raided the Hebrides and that Alexander III planned to conquer the islands, Haakon went on an expedition with his formidable “leidang” fleet in 1263, having become accustomed to negotiating backed by an intimidating fleet. The fleet left Bergen in July, and reached Shetland and Orkney in August where they were joined by chieftains from the Hebrides and Man. Negotiations were started by Alexander following Norwegian landings on the Scottish mainland, but were purposely prolonged by the Scots.

The 59-year-old Norwegian king - an old man by the standards of the day - took personal command of the fleet. For Haakon, this was unfinished business. The chance to crush Scottish ambitions in the Hebrides once and for all.

In Orkney, a Viking stronghold, his already powerful fleet was joined by local forces. Haakon led his fleet through the Hebrides, island by island, demanding allegiance.

By the time he reached the disputed territories of the Clyde, he had around 2,000 ships and up to 20,000 men at his command. It was a force that would have rivalled the Spanish Armada of 300 years later.

Alexander, based down the coast in Ayr, knew he could not defeat Haakon at sea but if he could stall long enough then the autumn weather might do what his forces could not.

Haakon sent envoys to demand Alexander withdraw his claims but the Scottish king spun out the negotiations.

On 1st October 1263 the weather broke.

The storm was so sudden and so powerful that survivors could only imagine it had been conjured up by sorcery. Haakon’s fleet was scattered, with several ships driven ashore under the noses of local militia.

The next morning Haakon managed to get onshore with 1,000 men to salvage the ships and their cargo. That was when the Scots pounced.

Haakon’s bodyguard got the king back to the safety of the fleet but on the shore the Norsemen were collapsing in disarray. Finally a long ship managed to get ashore to reinforce the beleaguered rearguard and the Norsemen made a stand.

The Battle of Largs petered out into a long distance and sporadic shooting match. Neither side had won. There was no decisive victory, just the usual grim reckoning in warfare.

But if the skirmish fought on the Clyde coast did not decide anything, the aftermath would.

The Norse king’s options were limited. Winter was approaching, his supplies were low and his men were getting restless.

He agreed to disperse the fleet and spend the winter in Orkney. He would return in the spring to have his bloody revenge on Alexander.

As I have already said, it didn’t happen, their new monarch, King Magnus' rule brought about a change from the somewhat aggressive foreign policy of his father. In 1266 he gave up the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland, in return for a large sum of silver and a yearly payment, under the Treaty of Perth, by which the Scots at the same time recognised Norwegian rule over Shetland and the Orkney Islands.

[l00k4tm4m45c415]

Jutta Gutafsberg

[thepastisalreadywritten]

[scandinavia-jokeblog]

universal language: hello scandinavian languages! today is a number day, so tell me, what’s your word for fortieth?

swedish: fyrtionde

universal: four tenth, i love that!

norwegian: førtiende

universal: before tenth? what do you mean

norwegian: førti means forty

universal: oh, whatever, danish what about you?

danish: fyrretyvende

universal: danish, no, i won’t accept that! forty twentieth?!

danish: yes *drinks beer*

universal language: *jumps out the window*