Helgi I (938-981)
The reign of Helgi I saw the Norwegian realm rise to a size and prestige never seen before. His wars were many, not all of his own choosing. Above all, he is seen a great Crusader King, having participated in two Crusades for Jerusalem and greatly contributed to both Crusades’ success – although the kingdom of Jerusalem would not stop falling during his time on Earth.
Family
Helgi would lose three of his wives to childbirth. Only his fourth wife, Dub-Lemna, would survive him. He would sire seven children, of which one – his first – was a bastard:
Samuel
Folki
Sunniva
Guttorm
Helgi
Martha
Gudleik
None of his children would succeed him as king.
His reign
The first six years of the reign of king Helgi I was a struggle uphill. Shortly after his rise to power, the Waldensian jarldom of Iceland declared holy war for control over the jarldom of Trændalog. This war would have to be fought at the same time as the faithful of Asatru rebelled, and the Christian powers in Wessex and West Francia joined together to take lands from Norway in southern England.
The latter war Helgi simply surrendered on day one, as he had no way to resisting, and his lands in Britannia was of lesser importance in his mind. The other two wars would divide his forces, but in the end the Asatru were defeated and the jarl of Iceland would agree to a white peace.
At this point, Helgi showed his pious side. He declared holy war on the independent jarldom of Skåne and won, only to turn against Sweden to claim the jarldom of Småland in holy war. Both wars would be won easily.
In the 950s, the Norse culture, which had been a pretty coherent culture for a long time, began to fracture. Where there earlier was one, coherent cultural entity throughout all of the Viking world, with Norway’s adoption of Christianity the culture begun to split up. Basically, if you were a Christian Norseman, or within Christianity’s influence as Norway had been for a couple decades now, you would now regard yourself as Norwegian If you were Asatru Norse, and outside Christianity’s reach, you would identify as Swedish. As such, the areas of modern-day Norway and Denmark would identify largely as Norwegian by this point, while the area controlled by Sweden at this time would identify as Swedish.
Forward to the 960s, a new Crusade was launched, with Helgi pledging both money and men for the endeavor. Greatly contributing to the eventual success of the Crusade, Helgi would lead by example and lead his armies down to the Holy Land.
In 965 AD the Crusade was won, and Helgi with his newfound prestige and money began a big infrastructure program in his domain, before beating up on the Swedish kingdom once more, going on a holy war for the jarldom of Opplond. He won decisively, and with almost no opposition.
In 971 AD, Helgi then turned his gaze westward, declaring it was time for Iceland to submit to the Norwegian crown. Much weaker than the King, the Waldensian jarl of Iceland would have little choice but to submit, although not before he had been beaten and sieged down by the larger Norwegian host.
By this point, Norway was a powerhouse in Catholic Europe. In a show of how prestigious the ruling Yngling dynasty had become, Helgi’s daughter Sunniva was in 972 AD bethrothed to the underage Basileus of the Byzantine Empire, Niketas.
In 974 AD, Jerusalem had again fallen, and the Pope launched another Crusade. Helgi again pledged his support in money and men and went down to the Holy Land to save the home of Christ. Again, the Crusade was a success and merely two years later it was won.
With the Pope in eternal gratitude, Helgi then got the Holy Father’s support for a holy war for the entirety of the kingdom of Sweden, which was launched in 977 AD. Three years later, Helgi was victorious. The Swedish king lost all his lands, but fled eastwards vowing to continue the fight. Helgi merely let the man fume and began reorganizing Sweden with Christian chieftains and jarls.
He also crowned himself king of Denmark. He was now a dual king. It would be his last act, however as on February 11th 981 AD, he died in his sleep, an old man, revered by all of Christian Europe. His nephew Ivar was crowned Ivar I at an age of 42 years.
Norgesveldet at the death of Helgi I of Norway.
Aftermath
Helgi I’s reign was successful, and he became the rare man to have participated in, and largely won, two Crusades in his lifetime. His life was long and accomplished. But he would ultimately be overshadowed by his successor Ivar I, despite Ivar reigning for a much shorter time.
For modern Norwegians, Helgi I is known as the Crusader King, a mighty warrior and pious ruler in every regard.
