2 94 Norivay a7td the Norwegians 



Hakon embarked in it, and sailed first of all to the 

 Orkneys. 



There was a young king, Alexander iii., upon the 

 throne of Scotland. He was only twenty-two, and his 

 reign since he succeeded as quite a boy had been not 

 a little troubled by rival factions at home, and by 

 interference from England in the south. It cannot be 

 said, therefore, that Hakon's time was ill-chosen ; and, 

 in fact, he never did encounter any direct opposition 

 on the part of the King of Scotland. 



The enterprise failed rather through its own inherent 

 weakness. Hakon sailed from the Orkneys to the 

 Hebrides, and found in that kingdom a King John, 

 from whom he demanded homage and furtherance. 

 But John replied that he held more territories from the 

 King of Scotland than from the King of Norway, and 

 that he was bound by his oath not to take arms against 

 him. Another king, Magnus of Man, and the lord of 

 the southern islands, were more amenable, and Magnus 

 did no small amount of ravaging on the western coasts 

 of Scotland, which is described in inflated terms by the 

 poet of this expedition — of whom more presently. 



At length Hakon brought his fleet round the Mull 

 of Kintyre, and anchored between Arran and Ayr. 

 Messengers came from the King of Scotland to nego- 

 tiate a peace. They even offered — according to the 

 Norse account — to restore to Norway the supremacy 

 over the western islands that she had possessed of old. 

 But Hakon asked for more. He must have the islands, 

 such as Bute and Arran, which were enclosed by the 

 mainland, and which had never formed part of the 

 Scandinavian group. Then the Scots began to spy 



