Philip Sparke

The Saga Of Haakon The Good

The piece traces key events in the life of Haakon the Good, later to become King Haakon I (ca. 921-960), who had been fostered by King Athelstan of England as part of a peace agreement made by his father (The Future King). TheEnglish king brought him up in the Christian religion and, on the news of his father's death, provided him with ships and men for an expedition against his half-brother Eirik Bloodaxe, who had been proclaimed king of Norway. Onhis arrival he travelled north (The Journey to Trondheim), where he began to gain the support of the landowners by promising to give up the rights of taxation his father had previously claimed. Elrik's sons allied themselves withthe Danes, but were invariably defeated by Haakon, who was successful in everything he undertook except in his attempt to introduce Christianity to the country (The Missionary King), which aroused an opposition he did not feelstrong enough to face. One of his most famous victories was The Battle of Rastarkalv (near Frei) in 955. By placing ten standards far apart along a low ridge (to give the impression his army was bigger than it actually was), hemanaged to fool Eirik's sons that they were outnumbered (the ten standards are represented by ten loud chords that begin in m. 420). The Danes fled and were slaughtered by Haakon's army.