tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post705229775955289671..comments2023-09-11T11:01:12.221-05:00Comments on Rivergarth: Day of Remembrance - Jarl HakonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post-42229785955427149792009-06-04T05:55:01.715-05:002009-06-04T05:55:01.715-05:00It is an honor to visit! And may I thank you profu...It is an honor to visit! And may I thank you profusely for your honoring of me on your blog! I'll, um, keep working on my titles! (And I do have a piece in the works explaining precisely why I call my blog "Heathen Ranter". It actually is making reference to the 17th Century English Ranters...)SiegfriedGoodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696170388891436569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post-3273900475284024002009-05-21T08:58:11.448-05:002009-05-21T08:58:11.448-05:00All good points, SG. Thank you for your comments ...All good points, SG. Thank you for your comments and for visiting my blog. I am honored.Morning Angelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16756082722300038196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post-5868139292087198812009-05-21T06:12:52.219-05:002009-05-21T06:12:52.219-05:00Quick review of the Saga of the Jomsvikings confir...Quick review of the Saga of the Jomsvikings confirms that he sacrificed his seven-year-old son!! It even tells us who did it : the same thrall who ended up killing Hacon himself later. There is a certain irony here, and not a little bit of poetic justice on the part of the norns, wouldn't you say, which perhaps demonstrates just what the Holy Powers themselves thought of such heinous ritual murder --- of one's own kinsman!!SiegfriedGoodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696170388891436569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post-71084062842362645072009-05-21T05:43:13.169-05:002009-05-21T05:43:13.169-05:00Of course, if one was a woman, one might not like ...Of course, if one was a woman, one might not like Hacon the Jarl very much either : "But as time went on, it often happened with the jarl that he was improper in his dealings with women ; the report went far and wide that the jarl had the daughters of mighty men taken and brought home to him ; he lay with them a week or two and then sent them home. Hereby he was shown great unfriendliness by the women's kinsmen and the bonders began to grumble..." Ya think?<br /><br />So he forcibly kidnaps and abducts women to have sex with them for two weeks, and then sends them home. Last time I checked, kidnapping and rape weren't really honorable deeds. And it's clear this was completely unconsensual because it was repeatedly protested against. Not only that, it was, as is appropriate, seen as abominable behavior. So much so that an entire "army of bonders" went after him.<br /><br />In fact, this rapacious behavior brought on his death, as he went too far, and the army of bonders went after him, and he had to hide (some courage!!) in a pigsty. Great behavior on the part of a noble! He acts bold when leading a battle and fleecing the citizenry of women, but when the people rise up, he acts like a complete coward.<br /><br />What was the popular reaction?<br /><br />Well, first they exhumed his body, dragged it away, and burned it. These were pissed peasants!<br /><br />Then? "The strength of the enmity, which the Tronds now showed towards Hacon the Jarl, became so great that no one dared name him in any way other than as "the evil jarl" ; this byname was used long after."<br /><br />The folk themselves had declared that he was evil! And the dishonor they heaped upon his corpse is symbolic of how dishonorable they felt he had been in life.<br /><br />Snorri tries to shore up his reputation by saying that nevertheless, he had a "great lineage" -- like anyone cares about that when it comes to a friend-killer, a son-killer, and a serial rapist -- that he was a clever politician (Snorri says "wisdom and insight to use his power", nice euphemism), and that he was "bold in battle" and won victories.<br /><br />Torleiv Raudfeldarson said, "Hacon! We have not / A more noble jarl / 'Neath the path of the moon."<br /><br />Oh, really? Had skalds really become such syncophants by this time? He certainly didn't speak for the folk!<br /><br />He accomplished some good things. But how it all weighed out in the balance, on his doomsday? Very difficult to say.<br /><br />But the folk themselves did not doubt how that trial would end up, and in their estimation was not very good for Hacon the Jarl :<br /><br />"The whole army gathered there and shouted and cast stones at them [the heads of Hacon and his thrall] and said that there could the one outcast fare with the other."<br /><br />In other words, he was as good as a thrall, and that meant the folk didn't think he'd be making Einherjar rank anytime soon.<br /><br />I'm willing to count his accomplishments as important. But it's hard to hear him described as "honorable" when his reported deeds speak so differently.SiegfriedGoodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696170388891436569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6749535128392129622.post-5775377522016818092009-05-21T05:43:00.045-05:002009-05-21T05:43:00.045-05:00Did I miss something here? Accomplished important ...Did I miss something here? Accomplished important things? Yes. Restored heathenism where he could? Yes. Honorable? Absolutely in no way! The man was a bastard! I mean, it's true that we need to be mature enough to appreciate that people are complex and that a person who is personally a bastard may still accomplish good things for his people, but I hardly equate treachery with honor! <br /><br />"Between Hacon and Gold-Harald there was great friendship."<br /><br />...<br /><br />"Hacon the Jarl said to the king : " ... Now will I win Norway under thee and slay Gold-Harald, if thou wilt promise that I may easily be reconciled with thee for this deed ; I will be thy jarl and by my oath will I bind myself to win Norway with thy help...""<br /><br />...<br /><br />"Hacon the Jarl and Gold-Harald met a little while after Harald Greyskin fell. Hacon the Jarl went to battle and there he had the victory. Harald was taken and Hacon had him fastened on the gallows."<br /><br />Some friend! I mean, talk about treachery! And all for personal gain! With no evidence presented by Snorri that Gold-Harald had done anything to deserve this! What was his motivation to kill his own friend? <br /><br />I don't deny that he did help restore the temples, which is good, but it doesn't turn treachery into honor.<br /><br />Then, of course, there's "It is a tale among men that Hacon the Jarl had in that battle sacrificed his son Erling to get victory..." Ok, granted, this is just a tale among men, but if true, what a wonderful statement about his character : he'll engage in ritual murder of his own son in the mistaken belief that this will have any impact on events. If true, very, very sad, and not only sad, but downright criminal and abominable. But I'll give benefit of the doubt that in Snorri's story this may merely be Christian propaganda that circulated around.SiegfriedGoodfellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696170388891436569noreply@blogger.com