The Means to Success: Diplomacy

Military success is thus mainly a means to win political support. How important is it compared to other means? The question may be put in the traditional terms of the contemporary mirrors of princes: what is more important for the prince, to be feared or to be loved? Some places Snorri refers to the general rule that people normally submit to superior forces. The leader of a burning and looting army normally has his will (OT chap. 87:411; Ingi chap. 2: 352). But a much more common means to success is the use of gifts and concessions. There may be some social differences in this. Ordinary men are more easily terrorized, whereas it is necessary to win the friendship of magnates and mighty men. But the difference should not be exaggerated. In the long run, it is not possible to rule by terror and suppression. Those who try are deposed and killed, as the fate of numerous kings in Heimskringla demonstrates. In the saga of Haraldr harðráði this point is established as a general "law": when trying to persuade Haraldr to attack England in 1066, Earl Tósti points out that support from the magnates and the people is decisive in winning a country. Haraldr's predecessor Magnús succeeded in holding Denmark because he had this support, whereas Haraldr failed because he lacked it. Magnús did not try to conquer England because the people there wanted Edward as their king. Now, however, Tósti offers Haraldr the support of the majority of the magnates and people (HHarð . chap. 79). Snorri usually seems to imply that a conqueror, particularly a for-

eign one, will normally be unable to hold a country permanently through force. Though fear is not unimportant, Snorri thus seems to lay greater emphasis on love as a motive for obeying the prince.

"Love" in this context can be created in two ways, through an attractive personality (charisma) or by gifts, concessions, and so forth through which the king or pretender convinces people that it will be in their own interest to follow him. Snorri's speeches may serve as a clue to this. The importance of eloquence appears from the speeches at the meeting of the Oppland kings, from general statements to this effect in the characterizations of persons, and from numerous other speeches throughout Heimskringla . As we should expect, neither legitimacy nor ideological arguments play a prominent role.

The normal way of arguing is to start with a short presentation of one's claims and then to continue, either with an emotional appeal, or—more frequently—by appealing to the interests of the audience. When King Cnut presents his claim on Norway, St. Óláfr does not find it worthwhile to refute them in detail, but depicts Cnut as a man who tries to grasp everything that comes his way and declares his will to defend his claim on Norway with armed force (OH chap. 131). The Danish bishop Sigurðr's appeal to the army of Óláfr's adversaries before the battle of Stiklestad is also strongly emotional, depicting Óláfr as a Viking and robber. But the bishop soon turns to the questions of interest: who is without reasons for revenge? And what will be the consequences if Óláfr wins? The saintly king himself, in his speech before the same battle, also primarily appeals to his men's interests, though with more of the dignity and restraint of the future martyr (OH chap. 211). In the speeches in the Swedish assembly where St. Óláfr's peace proposal is discussed, interest is the most important argument brought forward by the peace party: war with Norway causes considerable damage and is against Swedish traditions, according to which expansion ought to take place in the Baltic region. By implication, this latter policy is considered to be in the people's interest, by giving booty and honor (OH chap. 80). Characteristically, the Swedish king, who is consistently depicted as an arrogant fool, brings no real arguments, only accusing his adversaries of treason. As we have seen, considerations of interest proved decisive to the petty kings of Eastern Norway when Óláfr presented his claims. Finally, Einarr's famous speech at the Icelandic Álþingi against ceding to King Óláfr's demand of Grímsey, an island off the northern coast, in return for his friendship, is entirely in terms of interest: doing this will give the Norwegian king a threshold, which may prove dangerous in the future (OH chap. 125:274 f.).

There are thus two main sorts of arguments in the speeches, rational arguments intended to convince the audience that it is in their interest to

support the faction in question and emotional arguments that serve to emphasize the charismatic personality of the speaker. The importance of appealing to people's interests can be demonstrated from numerous examples from practice. Hákon góði wins support through his promises of giving the people back their óðal (the right to own their farms) which Haraldr harfagri had taken away from them, and through his attractive personality (HG chap. 1; cf. 15: 189). Earl Hákon Sigurðarson of Lade has strong support in his home region Trøndelag and he has the luck that the harvests are good and there is plenty of fish during his reign. Moreover, he comes to Norway with the Danish king and a large army, having killed Haraldr gráfeldr. And finally, his adversaries, the Eiríkssons, are extremely unpopular (OT chaps. 16, 45; see also HGráf chap. 2). Óláfr Tryggvason is lucky enough to arrive in Norway at the time of the rebellion against Earl Hákon and is acclaimed as a liberator (OT chaps. 49, 51). Cnut wins through his generous gifts of gold, his promises to the leading magnates of high rank in his service, and through Óláfr's increasing unpopularity (OH chap. 130; see also above). Magnús góði's success is due to a combination of his father's sainthood and opposition against the Danish rule, which is skillfully exploited by the two leading magnates, Kálfr Árnason and Einarr þambarskelfir. During the civil war of the 1150s, King Ingi is clearly the most popular of the three sons of Haraldr gilli. He shows the greatest generosity to the magnates, which explains his victory (Ingi chaps. 22, 30-31). The fate of his brother, King Eysteinn, shows how dangerous it is not to be generous. His men desert him when he mobilizes against Ingi, one of them with the words: "Let your chests of gold support you now and defend your land!" ("fylgi gullkistur þínar þér nú ok veri land þitt." Ingi chap. 31; see also below.)

The importance of charisma is less evident from the speeches, but appears from several stories. Winning the king's friendship is an important motive for conversion to Christianity, and although interests are clearly involved in this, it also has something to do with the attractive personalities of the two Óláfrs. Hákon góði's looks and personality are also able to impress the people, in addition to his promises. In accordance with Snorri's ideas of the human personality one should probably not distinguish too clearly between the kings' personalities and their successes. A man's personality is very much the sum of his acts. A man who has success is therefore by definition a great man, with an attractive personality. The importance of military victory for gaining support may be regarded in this light. It clearly has something to do with the traditional idea of hamingja , which frequently occurs both in Snorri and other historians. It is not easy to draw the line of division between the attraction of a charismatic personality and the desire for gain. Most of the alliances made at least by the great magnates of Snorri's society are

easily explained through individual interests. But the emotional aspect, which emerges strongly from many of Snorri's stories and the scaldic stanzas that he quotes, should not be overlooked. Probably, there was a stronger connection between friendship as an emotional relationship between men and as the result of mutual interests than in our society.

In addition to these examples of the importance of giving a favorable impression and appealing to people's interests, we may point to the importance of diplomatic skill in general in Snorri. The embassy to the King of Sweden is a good example of this. Snorri describes vividly and in great detail the Icelander Hjalti's careful and gradual approach to the King of Sweden, first via Earl Rognvaldr^[*] , then via the king's daughter Ingigerðr, and his attempts to gain the king's friendship by offering him silver, pretending it to be his payment of the tax (landaurar) when visiting Norway, thus recognizing him as king of the country. Finally, having spent a long time at the king's court, he takes the opportunity when the king is drunk and in good spirits to approach the subject of peace with Norway (OH chaps. 69-72). Though this approach eventually turns out to be a failure, Snorri's joy and admiration of Hjalti's diplomatic ability in this respect is evident from the story. Clearly, diplomacy is of greatest importance when approaching someone in a higher position than oneself. But it is also important for a king who tries to gain acceptance and defeat his rivals, as is evident from the story of St. Óláfr's conquest of Norway through his alliance with the Oppland kings, and Earl Hákon's, Kálfr Árnason's, and Einarr þambarskelfir's careful maneuvering in the political game. Further, Erlingr skakki's settlement with King Valdimarr of Denmark is presented as a diplomatic triumph, whereas King Eysteinn Magnússon achieves through gifts and diplomatic ability what his predecessors have attempted in vain by force, to attach Jämtland to Norway (Msyn . chap. 15).