opposition Party in Norway 2 1 9 



leaving the country ; and as he had friends among the 

 leading men of Norway who were ready to take up his 

 quarrel, the matter nearly led to grave troubles. 



Olaf could not afford to raise up enemies at home on 

 slight cause. There was always an opposition party, 

 which may in a sense be called the heathen party ; for 

 its hostility was in great measure due to the energetic 

 action of the king in rooting out heathenism. Side by 

 side with this zeal for Christianity went in Olafs 

 mind a love of law and order, to which a large portion 

 of the population were strangers. For, fine as is the 

 Norse character, and brilliant as are the figures which 

 follow one another through the pages of early Norse 

 history, it cannot be maintained that the Norwegians, 

 as a nation, have shown on the whole more coherence, 

 or more power of self-government, than have the Irish 

 as a nation. 



We see that during this, the heroic period of her 

 history, there were but intervals during which Norway 

 submitted to the rule of a single king, and allowed him 

 peace enough at home for him to feel himself a match 

 for any of the neighbouring Scandinavian powers. 

 Between these intervals were others during which the 

 country was either partitioned among several rulers, or 

 allowed itself to sink to the lower position of a vassal 

 kingdom to Denmark or Sweden. 



As the nucleus of the party opposed to King Olaf 

 the Thick stood the adherents of the Earls of Hakon's 

 line who had lately ruled the country. Two of the 

 chief men of Norway were, we have already said, 

 connected with Hakon's house, Einar Tambarskelfir 

 and Erling Skjalgsson. Both were relatives of Olaf 



