The Royal Court of Norway

History and Recent Events​

Earliest Times​

Settled since the end of the last ice age, modern-day Scandinavia contains finds from the Stone age and Bronze age, such as rock carvings. From the time of the Roman Empire until about 800 AD, Scandinavia is known for its Iron Age culture. Many stone inscriptions can be found, written in Runes. Then Scandinavia became famous in the Middle Ages for its fearless warriors, explorers and traders, the Vikings. Between AD 800 and AD 1100, the Vikings discovered and settled Iceland and Greenland, and conquered parts of France, Britain, and Ireland, and were also known to travel as far as Constantinople, Greece, Northern Africa and Newfoundland. By utilising their excellent boats and organisation they became master traders and warriors.

Snorre Sturlason (c. 1200) was the name of a writer whose history writings Heimskringla and Younger Edda give information about the early kings. The stories about the earliest times are legends, which can not be taken as accurate history. However, they may have their origin in some historical facts, but the understanding is highly debated among scholars. (See Anglo-Saxon kingdom genealogy, Jakten på Odin, Ynglinga saga, House of Yngling)​

The Viking Kings​

During this period the Christian faith came to Norway​

By the time of the first historical records of Scandinavia, about the 700s AD, some 29 petty kingdoms existed in Norway. A number of small communities were gradually organized into larger regions in the 9th century, and in 872 King Harald Fairhair unified the realm and became its first supreme ruler. King Harald had many children, and his heirs ruled Norway with short interruptions until 1319. Religious influence from Europe (especially England and Ireland) led to the adoption of Christianity. Central in this was King Olav Haraldsson ("The Holy") who died in the battle of Stiklestad, 1030. He became Norway's patron Saint Olav, and his tomb at Nidaros cathedral Trondheim became the most important pilgrimage destination in Northern Europe. The archdiocese of Nidaros was established in 1153. Around 1200 the Norwegian king ruled over land from Man in the Irish Sea to the Kola Peninsula in the east. Greenland and Iceland were incorporated as dependencies in 1262.​

Persons and Families of Note​

Olav IV Haakonsson, (1370 - Present Day), King of Norway and Denmark, son of Haakon VI of Norway and Margaret of Denmark. Haakon is was son of King Magnus II of Sweden and Margaret daughter of King Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark. Olaf inherited the Danish throne through his mother and reigns as king of Denmark (1376- Present Day) as Oluf III and the Norwegian throne from his father and reigns in Norway (1380- Present Day) as Olav IV. The somewhat young king rules the two lands under the guidance of his mother, who acts as the kingdom's regent.

Past Kings of Denmark

Noble Families of Norway​

Within Norway, the power of administration is held be a king. However, due to the Danish union it has occurred that most of the actual day to day administration is left to noble families and clergy. The main families of noted a listed below in rate of decreesing authority. Personages from all these groups have representatives within both the Danish and Norwegian governments.

Galtung – This is one of the now only noble families left from the pre-Danish period. The oldest line can be found in Danmarks Adels Aarbog, while other lines belong to the farmer class. The Galtung family received Adelsbrev (nobility letter's patent) during the Danish period, thus confirming their status during the pre-Danish period


Danish Uradel (i.e. with lines living in Norway) -


Arenfeldt -


Huitfeldt -


Krabbe -

Provinces of the Realm​

Viken(3) – (literally the bay) is a landscape defined by Oslofjord in southeastern Norway which terminates at Terra Scania on the coast of West Sweden. The cultural hub is centred in Oslo and the capital of the region was formerly at Borre. It comprises the historical areas of Westfold, Östfold, Ranrike, Vingulmark and Bohuslän. During the Völkerwanderung, this was a heavily fortified area of Vikings. Viken colonised Ireland, the Isle of Man and Galloway, North West England and South Wales. The migration brought commerce, a centralised government in the Irish Sea and with them a conjoined nature of Danish-Norwegian placenames. Goidelic Lochlann is a translation of Scandinavian Viken. Contrary to the culture within the Viken and the Irish Sea, there is an isolation between placenames in the Earldom of Orkney from the Normans' home of Vestlandet and placenames in the Danelaw from Denmark.(Zealand placenames in Jorvik and Jutland placenames in East Anglia.)

Bergenhus(2) – This is a portion of the land centered around the city of Bergen. The region is inhabitabed by a great population of people who fuel its thriving industries.

Bohus(3) – This region is Norway is known best for the new Bohus Fortress, or Bohus Fästning. Construction began under king Håkon V of Norway in 1308, who named it "Bagahus", later shortened to "Båhus". Strategically located where Göta älv divides to surround the island of Hisingen, it was for a long time the central installation for defense of southern Norway against Sweden. Today this massive fort proves to be the region’s center points.

Faeroes(0) – The Faroe Islands or simply Faroes (Faroese: Føroyar, meaning "Sheep Islands") are a group of islands in the north Atlantic Ocean between Scotland, Norway and Iceland. The region provides very little income for the kingdom but may serve as the launching point for further expeditions into the north.

Finnmark(0) – Finnmark (Finnmárku in Sami) is a county in the extreme north, bordering Troms. Finnmark is the northernmost county in Norway. (Svalbard is not considered a county.) The northern and western parts are indented by bays. The nature varies from bare coast to river areas with gullies and tree vegetation. The point Knivskjellodden at Nordkapp is the northernmost point of Europe, although Kinnarodden at Nordkyn is the northermost point on the mainland.

Hålogaland(0) – This Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces for a spell. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms. Perhaps the best known inhabitant was Ottar from Hålogaland. first earl of Lade, Håkon Grjotgardsson, ruler of Trøndelag, came from Hålogaland, and sought to extend his kingdom southwards. Here, he met with Harald Fairhair, and joined him.

Härjedalen(2) – A province in the middle of the country, it borders on Sweden and acts as an important passage between the Kingdom’s extreme north and south.

Iceland(0) – This is the island colony of Norway. Very few people live upon the island and it yields almost no income. Its position, however, holds some strategic worth.

Shetlands(0) – The Shetland Islands (sometimes historically spelled Zetland, formerly Hjaltland) are pieces of land north of Scotland. The Shetland Islands act as a Norwegian colony.

Stavanger(2) – This region is centered around the like named city of Stavanger, which is in the county of Rogaland. It is located on the southwest coast and is the largest city in such region.

Tröndelag(1) – This region in mainland Norway is of very little note but encompassed a sizable amount of land, ruled by prominent families.​

Military Affaris of Realm​

Diplomatic Concerns​

*Realms in Favor ~ Denmark and Sweden


*Realms in Disfavor ~

Treaties Honored Within the Realm​

The Court is Open but Under Construction​

Prospects​

The sea is a fearsome place, and yet men flock to its shores in herds. Why would a man willingly go to a place that puts his wellbeing in jeopardy? The specific answer to that question lies in the hopes and dreams of the individual, and thus can not be said. However, in a general sense it is the prospect of a better life that draws man to the sea. Since the beginning of time the sea has given great wealth to those brilliant enough to seek it. In this age, in the far and bitter north, that wealth comes in the form of fish similar goods. In their pursuit of riches, as determined by the eye of the beholder, men are driven to do extraordinary things. Very few series of events, related to the sea and desires for earthly possessions, can be remarked as more strange than those concerning voyages to the Icelandic shores...​

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The expedition was to be a simple one, or so states the story that peasants whisper over their suppers. Originally, the concept of the expedition had been to seek new fortunes in Iceland. This was, by no means, a new idea in Norway but it was intriguing enough a prospect to raise interest among those informed of it. The plans for this particular expedition were crafted Harold Krabbe, an estranged member of one of Norway’s ruling families. Harold’s original idea of transporting several groups of men to Norway’s “new” frontier in Iceland and exploiting their labors, it has been said, was crafted amidst a night of far too much drinking. This disputed fact cast a shadow over the future of Harold concept from the very beginning. As the story continues, Harold, after recovering from the night upon which he conceived the idea of a voyage, realized the daunting demands of such a mission. The rowdy and rather drunken man found that if he was to continue with his outlandish scheme, he would need to suddenly come upon a rather sizable supply of both men and money. Harold, who by himself was a man of simple means, saw only one way to come upon those two necessities. That being, to beg them of his parents, who were at this time still grasping to some power in northwestern Norway.

Next, in pursuit of his plan Harold traveled to the quaint estate of his parents. Upon his arrival on the land he received a rather cold welcome. Despite the unconcealed tensions existing between Harold and his parents the two parties sat down in a simple meeting. At this point with the story, details become rather obscured. As a direct result, it can not exactly be told how Harold was able to convince his parents, with whom he had fallen out of favor, to fund and supply his drunken scheming. Perhaps, some theorized, the young man had enlightened his parent as to the potential profits to be had from establishing a successful link to Iceland. Despite that such would have been an overstatement of fact, it seems the most likely reasoning. Anyway, by some means, Harold acquired his parent’s favor. And therefore, he had found a sponsor for his planned voyage. With his parents now reluctantly funding his actions, the would-be voyager made the necessary arrangements for a ship to be crafted and supplies conscripted. Next, in the process of transforming his scheme into a calculated plan, Harold found from among his parent subjects a group of men and women willing to commit themselves to a new life. These poor souls could not possibly have known to what they were applying themselves, but all the same they agreed to travel to Iceland. Following the acquisition of these souls, Harold found himself in a rather peculiar position. He then had the fate of a group of men entrusted to him. The fate of those souls would soon be decided…​