Magnus Berfoett 269 



That, however, the old adveuturous Norse spirit liad 

 not been utterly eliminated from the line of Harald 

 Sigurdsson, was proved by the accession of a son of Olaf 

 Kyrri, Magnus by name, who reverted to the character 

 of his grandfather. His life was a life almost entirely 

 of adventure, chiefly passed in the British Islands, in 

 the Hebrides, or in Ireland. His object was to extend 

 the power of Norway over these various communities 

 in the west, over the kings of the Hebrides, and the 

 islands south of them, over the King of Man, and over 

 the Norse colonies in Ireland, as Olaf and Magnus the 

 Good had established the power of Norway over the 

 Orkneys and Faroes. And for his own lifetime he suc- 

 ceeded — in Scotland at any rate. AVhen this Magnus 

 came back to Norway from his expeditions in the west, 

 he came weaving the dress of the countries in which 

 he had spent so much of his time : a dress something 

 like the Highland kilt, — and from this habit the king 

 earned the name of ' Bare-leg ' or ' Bare-foot,' by which 

 he is known in history — Magnus Berfoett. One saying 

 of his is worth remembering: we might call it a last voice 

 from the heroic kingship of old days. When Magnus' 

 friends reproached him for exposing himself too much in 

 battle, he answered, ' Kings were made for honour, not 

 for long life.' He was killed in Ireland at the age of 

 about thirty (a.d. 1103), after he had reigned for ten 

 years, most of which time was spent in expeditions of 

 adventure. 



Three sons succeeded Magnus Barefoot, one of whom 

 shared his character : this one is that crusading king, 

 Sigurd Jorsalfari, of w^hom we have already spoken. But 



