Den fryktede kongen i Norges "borgerkrigstid"

Abstract

This article aims to discuss two principal emotions of power a king should evoke as a principle of rulership, in the sense that a medieval king should be loved as well as feared. It explains how this principle was formulated in Norwegian royal ideology according to normative sources in the 12th and 13th century, and also influenced the depiction and assessment of kings in the narrative sources, i.e. the Kings' sagas. The main focus will lay on the depiction of regents from the so-called "civil war" period, 1130‒1240, and how kings managed to frighten others into submission. The article argues that kings had to keep a balance between the two guiding principles in order not to be labelled as cruel and provoke opposition. Thus, their exercise of violence was limited and exemplary, and served mainly to restore their authority when other means failed.