MAGNÚS HÁKONARSON
(r. 1263-1280)
Magnús Hákonarson son of Hákon Hákonarson, ruled
Norway 1263–1280; he became king in 1257, and ruled
together with his father until Hákon died in 1263.
Magnús Hákonarson and his closest advisers, the
“good men,” concentrated on the domestic conditions of
Norway. Legislative and organizational work character-
ized Magnús Hákonarson’s reign, and secured him the
name lagabætir (“law-mender”). During his reign, the
State Council was more fi rmly structured than before.
Furthermore, he saw to it that a staff of civil servants was
educated at the royal chapel, the Apostolic Church in
Bergen. We are able to distinguish a group of diplomats
employed in his service during his reign.
The object of his legislation was a comprehensive
revision of the old law books. The legal revision was a
continuation of the State Laws dating from the time of
Magnús Erlingsson (1161–1184) and Hákon Hákonar-
son (1217–1263). The latter had initiated the revision
of the Frostuþing Law. The revision of the law went
through two stages. The fi rst one included a revision of
the law books for Gulaþing in 1267, and Eiðsifa- and
Borgarþing in 1268. The latter consisted of the working
out of the National Law in 1274 (which also came to
apply to the Faroe Islands), a Town Law in 1276, and
two law codes for Iceland, Járnsíða in 1271 and Jónsbók
in 1281. An older court law was expanded and revised,
and became the Hirðskrá (1273–1277).
The object of this legislative work was to create
uniform laws for the entire country. The legislation
increased the authority of the king with regard to the
administration and execution of the laws, as well as the
public regulation of society. At the same time, it entailed
important reforms, regulation of the tax system and of
the institutions for the poor. There is no actual Christian
Law in the National Law. The reason for this exclusion
was a major confl ict between the monarchy and the
Church concerning Christian legislation, dating from
the end of the 1260s. Magnús Hákonarson claimed that
the king and the Church should administer the Christian
legislation in unison. On the basis of this claim, Chris-
tian legislative decisions were publicized in a statute
dating from the middle of the 1260s. The revision of the
Gulaþing Law and the Eiðsifa-and Borgarþing law in
1267 and 1268 included the Christian Law. During the
revision of the Frostubing Law, the king was strongly
opposed by the new archbishop, Jón rauði (“the red”),
who independently started to make a Trondic Christian
Law in accordance with purely ecclesiastical principles.
The confl ict between the king and the archbishop was
diffi cult, but an agreement was reached in Tønsberg in
1277.
Magnús Hákonarson’s fi rst task as absolute monarch
was to conclude a peace treaty with Scotland. Thus, he
abandoned his father’s expansive foreign policy. The
negotiations with the Scottish king began in 1264, and
an agreement was reached two years later, the Treaty
of Perth. Magnús Hákonarson gave up his claim to the
contested islands, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, in
return for a one-time compensation of 4,000 pounds
sterling and 100 pounds sterling annually in perpetuity;
at the same time, Norwegian control over the Orkney
Islands and the Shetland Islands was secured. Magnús
Hákonarson preserved the contact his father had es-
tablished with neighboring countries and with Europe.
His relations with Sweden and Denmark were peaceful,
even though he became involved in the dispute over
the throne in Sweden in the 1270s and in inheritance
claims in Denmark. He also extended legal rights of all
German-speaking merchants in Norway, surpassing the
rights of native and other foreign merchants. This was
the fi rst step in the development of special privileges for
the Germans in Norway, based upon their special role
in the economy of the country.
See also Hákon HákonarsonFurther Reading
Literature
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MAGNÚS HÁKONARSON