They threaten me for mourning a lover they killed by
sword.
May God be merciful to one generous with her tears
or to her who cries for one killed by his rivals,
and may the afternoon clouds so generously drench the
land wherever she may go.
After Ab ̄u Yafar’s death H.afs.a went to Marrakech,
where she became tutor to the princesses.
All seventeen of H.afs.a known poems were written in
the earlier part of her life. Although she produced some
satirical and panegyrical poems, most of her works are
love poems, at which she excelled. Of the almost forty
women poets of al- Andalus, H.afs.a is the most repre-
sentative and the best known.
See also Wall ̄adah Bint Al-Mustafki
Further Reading
Garulo, T. Diwan de las poetisas de al-Andalus. Madrid, 1986.
Sobh, M. (comp.) Poetisas arábigo-andaluzas. Granada, 1985.
Cristina González
HÁKON GÓÐI (“THE GOOD”)
HARALDSSON (ca. 920–960)
Hákon góði Haraldsson was a younger son and succes-
sor of Haraldr hárfagri (“fair-hair”) Hálfdanarson, who
fi rst brought Norway under a single kingship. Hákon
was also called “Æthelstan’s foster-son,” because he
was fostered in England at the Christian court of King
Æthelstan of Wessex. Around 935, Hákon learned in
England of his father’s death, and returned to Norway
to regain the throne from his haif-brother, Eirikr blóðøx
(“blood-axe”) Haraldsson. Hákon sought the support of
Earl Sigurðr Hákonarson in Trondheim, and was named
king in Trøndelag after promising the farmers that he
would restore their patrimonial rights (óðal). When
Hákon moved south and seized power in Oppland and
Vík, Eiríkr, without further resistance, fl ed from Norway
to York. Hákon became king over Norway, but in reality
his power lay in the southwest; he allowed Earl Sigurðr
to retain sovereignty in Trøndelag, and he gave his neph-
ews, Tryggvi Óláfsson and Guðrøðr Bjarnarson, virtual
autonomy over parts of southeastern Norway.
Hákon’s popularity has been traditionally ascribed to
his achievements as a lawgiver and organizer of military
defense. The poet Sighvatr Þóðarson’s Berso ̨ glisvísur
(“Plain-speaking Verses,” ca. 1038) extol Hákon for his
justice and his laws. The histories Ágrip, Fagrskinna,
and Heimskringla variously credit him with establishing
the GulaÞing Law for the fylkir (“districts”) of Rogaland,
Hordaland, Sogn, and the Fjords, and the Frostuþing
Law for the fylkir of Trøndelag together with Nordmøre,
Namdal, and later Romsdal. But these histories are not
wholly accurate, for the Guiaþing, at least, had probably
been established in the 930s. It is more likely that Hákon
reorganized existing law federations (the Gulaþing in
western Norway, Frostaþing in northern Norway, and
EiðsivaÞing around the southeastern Lake Mjøsa area)
by extending their reach into neighboring districts and
changing them into representative and consultive bodies.
Each district was required to send a certain number of
delegates (nefndarmenn) to the þing. The integration of
fylkir into larger regions and the reorganization of the
law federations on a more representative basis enabled
the monarchy to consult more easily with the several
regions and thereby seek both legal and popular approval
for national as well as local matters. Thus, Hákon can
probably be credited with introducing the principle of
representation into the Norwegian social order.
According to Heimskringla and Fagrskinna, Hákon
also reorganized the military defense set up by his father,
Haraldr Hálfdanarson, into a levy system (leiðangr), by
which the king could summon on a proportional basis a
levy of ships, warriors, weapons, and equipment. Hákon
divided all the coastal lands into skipreiður (“ship-pro-
viding [districts]”) and stipulated by law the number of
warships and men to be supplied by each district. He
also instituted a system of war signal fi res along the
mountaintops to warn of approaching enemies.
Although Hákon had been raised a Christian, his
attempts to introduce Christianity into Norway did not
succeed. According to Heimskringla, Hákon invited
priests from England and built churches in western
Norway. Further evidence of English mission activity in
mid-10th-century Norway may be provided by the list-
ing of a “Sigefridus norwegensis” among the names of
Glastonbury monks who were bishops during the reign
of King Edgar (d. 975). When Hákon proposed at the
Frostaþing that the people accept Christianity, however,
he reportedly met with great resistance and was forced
to abandon his attempt. Hákon presumably left the faith
himself, for the memorial poem Hákonarmál (ca. 961)
commemorates him as a staunch upholder of pagan
sanctuaries, although this poem may refl ect the poet’s
sentiment more than the historical accuracy of Hákon’s
return to paganism.
Around 955, Hákon repelled the fi rst of many attacks
on Norway by his nephews, the Eiríkssons, who had
taken refuge in Denmark with their uncle, King Harald
Gormsson. Hákon retaliated with raids on Denmark, but
when the Eiríkssons (ca. 960) renewed attacks at Fitje
(Fitjar) on the island of Stord (Storð) off western Nor-
way, Hákon was mortally wounded. Heimskringla re-
ports that he was given a pagan burial, and lauds Hákon
as a king who brought peace and good seasons. His
famous eulogy Hákonarmál states: “Unbound against
the dwellings of men/the Fenris-wolf shall go/before a
king as good as he / walks on that empty path.”H.AFS.A BINT AL-HAYY AR-RAKUNIYYA