"'Every man in Norway shall have the right to worship as he sees fit, if he does not offer humans to the gods and does not raise his hand against Christians who have not harmed him, or against their halidoms.'"
-Poul Anderson, Mother Of Kings (New York, 2003), Book Four, Chapter XV, p. 341.
This position has implications that might have to be spelt out. Thus, the King himself should not be pressured to offer to the gods, or to eat offered food, if he does not want to. In other words, church and state should be separate. (If the King does choose to eat meat that has been offered to Odin, then that is a matter between him and his confessor and no one else.)
The hero of these passages is Sigurd Jarl who goes out of his way to keep the peace (speech, not spears) between the King and his yeomen. Knowing that Haakon plans to attack him, he nevertheless arrives armed and ready to defend the King against invaders but points out that the men will fight only if they have certain assurances - which Haakon can now give. He has learned, not weakened.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Just a quick comment. Exactly, thru painful rial and error, both King Haakon and his subjects, pagan and Christian alike, had managed to work out a practical modus vivendi.
Sean
Post a Comment