Church and Aristocracy 301 



came from without aud never much affected the people. 

 Thus when, in 1814, Norway once more obtained a con- 

 stitution of its own, it reverted instinctively, as it were, 

 to the condition of things to which it had been brought 

 by the warlike efforts of Sverri, his son and his grand- 

 son, and by the statesmanship of Magnus, the law- 

 reformer. 



The Church in Norway was more successful in hold- 

 ing its own than the aristocracy. Sverri had succeeded 

 in spite of it. Hakon Hakonsson, though he made 

 peace with the Church, aud was crowned by a papal 

 legate, receded very little from the attitude which his 

 grandfather had taken up towards the privileges of 

 churchmen. But his son INIagnus came to an agree- 

 ment with the ecclesiastical body, and a sort of Con- 

 cordat was signed between the two powers, whereby 

 the king virtually gave up all jurisdiction in Church 

 affairs, conceding that very point which Becket had 

 attempted in vain to wring from Henry 11., which the 

 Constitutions of Clarendon were especially framed to 

 reject — that priests should be removed altogether from 

 lay jurisdiction. 



Such was the condition of things in which Magnus 

 left the country. The two sons who followed him 

 tried their best to shake the power of the Church, to 

 revoke the Concordat which Magnus had established, 

 and to return to the condition of things which Sverri 

 had bequeathed to Hakon. Magnus' immediate suc- 

 cessor, his eldest son Erik, was for this cause constantly 

 embroiled with the priesthood, and so got the name 

 of Erik the priest-hater (Praesteliader). This Erik, 



