CHAPTEE X 



HISTORY 



Magnus the Good — Harald Hardradi — The End of the Heroic Age. 



A.D. 103r.-1066. 



Once more Norway fell under the rule of Denmark. 

 Cnut made large promises to his supporters, especially 

 to Kalf Arnason, who had been the leader of the 

 bonders at Stiklestad, and proceeded to reduce Norway 

 to the rank of a dependency of the Danish Crown. 

 The bonders soon began to regret that they had taken 

 arms against the House of Harald Fairhair in favour 

 of a stranger. Olaf's zeal for the true faith was remem- 

 bered and exaggerated ; and as the Christian party 

 grew in strength a greater and greater halo grew round 

 the memory of Olaf the Thick, who was soon to change 

 his soubriquet and become for all future generations 

 Olaf the Holy. 



The heathen party, such as then remained, had no 

 supporters, for Cnut was a firm and zealous Chris- 

 tian. He had had his lesson against any tendency to 

 backsliding towards ancient beliefs, or the showing of 

 any disrespect to Christian saints. Had not his own 

 father, Sweyn (as was the general belief), received his 

 death through the miraculous power of Edmund, the 

 English saint — strong still to revenge a slight, though 



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