Emperor Skofte I (1285-1313)
Emperor Skofte I’s reign was a time of continued decline for Norgesveldet.
Family
Emperor Skofte I was married to two women during his life. The first was a Norwegian noblewoman, Thordis, while the second, Nikolina, was a Byzantine noblewoman. Together, they sired four children, none of which would inherit the throne:
Maria
Gudrid
Åshild
Eilif
His reign
The reign of Emperor Skofte I started well, with a victory in the war for the control over the duchy of Bacs in 1286 AD. However, already the year after the despotissa of Armenia, a vassal of the Byzantine Emperor, declared holy war for the duchy of Transylvania. This war was impossible to win, especially as the king of Africa – the previous Emperor for a short year – and the king of Vladimir as well as the count of Cerdaña all demanded independence from the throne. Skofte I refused, but between the war for Transylvania and the independence war, he was unable to cope and soon lost both wars. As such the two powerful kingdoms of Africa and Vladimir was no longer part of Norgesveldet.
The year after, in 1290 AD, the war with Augsburg was also lost, and after a three years respite, which was not nearly enough, the duke of Jülich declared holy war for the duchy of Slesvig. Here the war went somewhat well for a while, but in 1294 AD Skofte I was captured in battle and forced to end the war on his enemy captor’s terms.
In 1296 AD, the duchess of Lancaster declared holy war for the county of Bordeaux. Unable and unwilling to defend such faraway lands, Skofte I gave in immediately. The same was done when the duke of Duklja declared holy war for Genoa two years later.
In 1298 AD the duchess of Upper Lorraine also declared holy war, this time for the county of Dokkum. This war was closer to home, and Skofte I did not give in in this case. In 1300 AD he managed to secure a white peace.
He was not as lucky with the holy war declared in 1299 AD by the duchess of East Franconia for the county of Schmalkalden. Two year later he had to give up the county. The same happened with the war declared at the same time by the duke of Moldavia, claiming the county of Neamt, which ended in defeat the same year.
In 1302 AD the Muslim wali – that is count – of Ashir declared holy war for the duchy of Tlemcen. Skofte I called in his allies, which fought well, but not well enough, and two years later this war was lost too.
Right after this however, a turnover happened, as Skofte I got declared war on for the duchy of Holstein. By the help of his allies, he managed to actually win this war and got much needed gold that he used to build up his men-at-arms, which had been depleted for a long time. 1305 AD would stand as an important year for Norgesveldet, as this marked the time the tide slowly turned for the Empire. With the war for Holstein won, Skofte I began to see wars won again.
First out was the war declared in 1306 AD by the duke of Angria for the duchy of Pomerania, which with the help of his allies Skofte I won by 1309 AD. This was done at the same time as a war with the duchess of East Franconia was fought. It ended in white peace in 1312 AD.
In 1309 AD the duke of Hesse declared holy war for the duchy of Thüringia and the year after the duke of Mordvinia declared a hoyl war for the county of Bacs. Both wars went pretty well by the time of Skofte I’s death. But he had seen much troubles and had begun early to turn to the drink. On May 7th, 1313 AD, his liver could take it no more. Emperor Skofte I died of his alcohol abuse and was succeeded by his relative Emperor Eirik II, aged 45.
Aftermath
The legacy of Emperor Skofte I is mixed. He oversaw some of the worst defeats in the history of Norgesveldet, but he also oversaw what would later prove to be the turning point of the Empire’s decline.
Ultimately, Skofte I is not the most well known Emperor of Scandinavia, but among historians his importance is noted, especially in his tireless work for building a big alliance network which would prove to be of great importance for the Empire’s resurgence.
