training. The war vessels include four battleships of 3500 to 4000 intended for coast defence only. The chief naval station is at Karltons cach, and about 16 other vessels, besides a torpedo flotilla-johansværn (Horten).

of mediation (forligelseskommission), from which an appeal lies to Justice.-Civil cases are usually brought first before a commission the local inferior courts, which are also tribunals of first instance, and are worked by judges on circuit and assessors. There are three superior courts of appeal (overretter), at Christiania, Bergen and Trondhjem, and one supreme court (hoiesteret). Criminal cases are tried either in jury courts (lagmandsret) or courts of assize with minor offences and is a court of first instance. Military crimes (meddomsret). The first is for more serious offences; the second deals are dealt with by a military judicial organization. Finally there is a high court of impeachment (rigsret), before which members of parliament, the government, &c., are tried for misdemeanours committed in their public capacity.

Local Government.-The country is divided into twenty counties (amler) (see population), the cities of Christiania and Bergen being included in these. Other towns are formed into communes, governed by representatives, from whom a council (formand) is elected by and their chairmen form a county council (amtsthing) for cach county. themselves. Rural communes (herreder) are similarly administered, At the head is the amtmand, the county governor. The electoral franchise for local council election is for men the same as the parliamentary franchise, and, like it, is extended in a limited degree to

comes of age at eighteen. His authority is exercised through, | for maritime conscription, and are put through some preliminary and responsibility for his official acts rests with, a council of state consisting of a minister and councillors, who are the heads of finance, public accounts, church and education, defence, public works, agriculture, commerce, navigation and industry and foreign affairs. The king appoints these councillors and high officials generally in the state, church, army, navy, &c. He can issue provisional ordinances pending a meeting of parliament, can declare war (if a war of offence, only with the consent of parliament) and conclude peace, and has supreme command of the army and navy. The legislative body is the parliament (storthing), the members of which are elected directly by the people divided into electoral divisions, each returning one member. Until the election of 1906 the members were chosen by electors nominated by the voters. Elections take place every three years. The franchise is extended to every Norwegian male who has passed his twenty-fifth year, has resided five years in the country, and fulfils the legal conditions of citizenship. Under the same conditions, and if they or their husbands have paid taxes for the past year, the franchise is extended to women under a measure adopted by the Storthing in June 1907. Members of parliament must possess the franchise in their constituency, and must have resided ten years in the country; their age must not be less than thirty. The Storthing meets at Christiania, normally for two months in each year; it must receive royal assent to the prolongation of a session. After the opening of parliament the assembly divides itself into two sections, the upper (lagthing) consisting of one-quarter of the total number of members, and the lower (odelsthing) of the remainder. Every bill must be introduced in the Odelsthing; if passed there it is sent to the Lagthing, and if carried there also the royal assent gives it the force of law. If a measure is twice passed by the Odelsthing and rejected by the Lagthing, it is decided by a majority of two-thirds of the combined sections. The king has a veto, but if a measure once or twice vetoed is passed by three successive parliaments it becomes law ipso facto. This occurred when in 1899 the Norwegians insisted on removing the sign of union with Sweden from the flag of the mercantile marine. Members of parliament are paid 13s. 4d. a day during session and their travelling expenses. Parliament fixes taxation, and has control of the members of the council of state, who are not allowed to vote in either house, though they may speak.

Finance, &c.-The annual revenue and expenditure are each about 5 millions sterling. Considerable sums, however, have been raised by loans, principally for railways. These amounted, between 1900 and 1906 (the financial year ending the 31st of March) to nearly £4,500,000. The principal sources of revenue are customs, railways, post office and telegraphs, the income tax (which is graduated and not levied on incomes below 1000 kroner or £55, 6s. 8d.), and excise. The principal items of expenditure are railways, defence (principally the army), the post office, interest on debt, the church and education, and justice. The Bank of Norway is a private joint-stock corpora tion, in which the state has large interests. It is governed by special acts of parliament, and its chief officials are publicly appointed. It alone has the right to issue notes, which are in wide circulation. The Mortgage Bank (Norges Hypothekbank) was established by the state to grant loans on real estate. The currency of Norway is based on a gold standard; but the monetary unit is the krone (crown), of Is. Id. value, divided into 100 ore. The metric system is in use. Army and Navy.-The army consists of the line, the militia or reserve (landvarn), and the second reserve (landstorm). All capable men of twenty-two years of age and upwards are liable for conscription (except the clergy and pilots), and when called they serve 6 years in the line, 6 years with the reserve and 4 years with the second reserve. In war, men are liable to service from the 18th to the 50th year of age. Only the line can be sent out of the country. The men only meet for military training from 18 to 102 days in each year. The peace establishment of the line is 12,000 men, with 750 officers; its war footing 26,000, or more, but may not exceed 18,000 without the authority of parliament. Of enlisted troops there are only fortress garrisons, and the Christiania garrison of Norwegian Guards. The principal fortresses are Oscarsborg on Christiania Fjord, Agdenes (Trondhjem Fjord), Bergen, Tönsberg and Christiansand. A number of Norwegian forts along the S. Swedish frontier were dismantled under the convention with Sweden of 1905, when a neutral zone was established on either side of the frontier southward from 61° N. The navy consists of about 1200 officers and men on permanent service; but all seafaring men between twenty-two and thirty-eight are liable

women.

Religion and Education.-The state religion, to which the king must conform, is Evangelical Lutheran. Only about 2.4% of the population are dissenters. All Christian sects except Jesuits are tolerated. The king nominates the clergy of the established church. Norway is divided into six bishoprics (stifter), Christiania, Hamar, Christiansand, Bergen, Trondhjem, Tromsö; and these into deaneries (provstier), with subdivisions into clerical districts (præstegjeld), parishes and sub-parishes. The clergy take a leading part in primary education, which, in spite of the difficulties arising in a sparsely Education is compopulated country, reaches a high standard. Pulsory, the school-going age being from 6 to 14 years in towns and 7 to 14 years in the country. About 94% of the children of schoolgoing age attend the primary schools, which are administered by school boards in the municipalities and the counties. Teachers must belong to the established church. Their training colleges include one free public college in each diocese. The municipalities and counties bear the cost of primary education with a state grant. There are continuation schools, evening schools, &c., and for secondary education, communal middle schools, and state gymnasier. There is a state-aided university at Christiania.

AUTHORITIES.-See Norway (official publication for the Paris Exhibition) (Eng. trans., Christiania, 1900, dealing with the land and its inhabitants in every aspect, and giving Norwegian bibliographies for each subject); A. N. Kiær and others, Norges Land og Folk (Christiania, 1884 seq.); N. Rolfsen, Norge i det Nillende Aarhundrede (Christiania, 1900 seq.); Y. Nielsen, Reisehaandbog over Norge (10th ed., Christiania, 1903); various guidebooks in English; P. B. du Chaillu, The Land of the Midnight Sun (London, 1881); and The Land of the Long Night (London, 1900); C. F. Keary, Norway and the Norwegians (London, 1892); A. F. Mockler-Ferryman, In the Northman's Land (London, 1896); J. Bradshaw, Norway, its Fjords, Fjelds and Fosses (London, 1896); A. Chapman, Wild Norway (London, 1897); E. B. Kennedy, Thirty Seasons in Scandinavia (London, 1903); E. C. Oppenheim, New Climbs in Norway (London, 1898); W. C. Slingsby, Norway, The Northern Playground (on mountaineering) (Edinburgh, 1904); H. H. Reusch, Det Nordlige Norges Geologi (Christiania, 1892); T. Kjerulf, Udsigt over det sydlige Norges geologi (Christiania, 1879; a German translation was published at Bonn, 1880); W. C. Brögger, Die Silurischen Etagen 2 und 3 (Christiania, 1882); see also a series of memoirs on the eruptive rocks of the Christiania region in Videnskabsselskabets Skrifter (Christiania); A. E. Törnebohm, Grunddragen af det centrala Skandinaviensbergbyggnad, Kongl. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Handl. vol. xxvii. No. 5 (1896); Jahrbuch des Norwegischen Meteorologischen Instituts (Christiania); H. Mohn, "Klima Tabeller for Norge," in Videnskabsselsk. Skrifter (1895 seq.); M. N. and A. Blytt, Norges Flora (Christiania, 1861-1877); C. Hartman, Handbok Scandinaviens Flora (Stockholm, 1879); J. M. Norman, Norges Arktiske Flora (Christiania, 1894 seq.); Statistisk Aarbog for Kongeriget Norge Christiania, annual); H. L. Brækstad, Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway (London, 1905); F. Nansen, Norway and the Union with Sweden, and Supplementary Chapter, separate (London, 1905). On the licensing system in Norway-Foreign Office Report, Misc. series, 279 (London, 1893); Board of Trade Rep. on Production and Consumption of Alcoholic Liquors (London, 1899); H. E. Berner, "Brændevinsbolagene i Norge," in Nordisk Tidskrift (1891). (O. J. R. H.)

History.

Early History.-Archaeological and geological researches have revealed a fishing and hunting population in Norway, possibly

as far back as c. 6000 B.C. Until lately this aboriginal people, | of a king some of his heirs would take their share of the patri. which was certainly non-Aryan, was held to be Lappish, but recent investigations seem to show that the Lapps only entered Norway about A.D. 900-1000, and that the original population was probably of Finnish race, though only distantly allied to the Ugro-Finns now inhabiting Finland. To them belong perhaps certain non-Aryan names for natural features of the country, such as Toten, Vefsen, Bukn.

mony in valuables, gather a hird, and spend their lives in warlike expeditions (see VIKINGS), while one would settle down and become king of the fylke. There are indications that these conditions were fostered by a matriarchal system, and that it would often occur that a wandering king would marry the daughter of a fylkes-king and become his heir. Probably the king's power was only absolute over his own hird. He was The time of the immigration of a Teutonic element is far from certainly commander-in-chief and perhaps chief priest of the certain. It did not extend N. beyond the Trondhjem district | fylke, but the administrative power was chiefly in the hands of until about the beginning of our era, but there can be the herser and possibly of an earl. The position of earls is vague, Teutonic little doubt that the immigrants' advance was ex- but it is noticeable that both those of whom we hear in Harald Immigra tremely slow, and it is suggested, on the evidence of Haarfager's time take the opposite side to their king. The tion. archaeology, that the Teutonic element entered S. herser (Old Norse hersir), of whom there were several in each Norway towards the end of the (Scandinavian) later Stone age, fylke, united high birth with wealth and political power, and with c. 1700 B.C. (see SCANDINAVIAN CIVILIZATION). But what- the holder, the class of privileged hereditary landowners from ever were the stages of the process, the language of the older race which they sprang, formed an aristocracy of which there seems was superseded by Teutonic, and those aborigines who were not little trace in the other Scandinavian countries at this period. incorporated (probably most often as slaves) were driven into Its rise in Norway is perhaps due to the fact that the nature of the mountains or the islands that fringe the coast. In the high-the country, as well as the individualistic system of settlement, lands the "Finns " maintained some independence down to historical times. The old English poem Beowulf mentions a "Finnaland" which should perhaps be located in S. Norway in about the 6th century, and later on the ancient laws of this region forbid the practice of visiting the "Finns " to obtain knowledge of the future. But only in Finmark, which even in the 13th century stretched far into Sweden and included the Norwegian district of Tromsö, could the earlier inhabitants live their old life, and here they finally fell into the utmost want and misery. Their existence is mentioned as a thing of the past by a North Trondhjem writer in 1689.

left more scope for inequalities of wealth than in Denmark or Sweden. Once a family had become wealthy enough to fit out Viking ships, it must have added wealth to wealth, besides enormously raising its prestige. The lands of almost all the most powerful families were on islands, whence it was easy to set forth on roving expeditions. The family property of the earls of Lade, for instance, whose representative in the latter half of the 9th century was the most powerful man of the district, was on the island of Nærö. These islands had been the refuge of the aborigines, and it is possible that, as A. Hansen has suggested, the rise of the aristocracy depends here, as elsewhere, on a subject population. Among the proper names of thralls in a poem in the Elder Edda are several which can only be explained on the hypothesis that they are Finnish, e.g. Klums, Lasmer, Drumba. Harald Haarfager's decree concerning" those who clear forests and burn salt, fishermen and hunters" probably refers to the Finns as a class apart. There can be no doubt that, in Haalogaland for instance, the aristocracy gained its wealth not only from the tribute extorted from the Finns in Finmark, but also from slave labour.

The new Teutonic element of population seems to have flowed into Norway from two centres; one western, probably from Jutland, the other eastern, from the W. coast of Sweden. The western stream covered Agder, Rogaland and Hordaland (the modern districts of Christiansand and Söndre Bergenhus), and finally extended N, as far as Söndmöre, while the eastern stream flowed across Romerike and Hadeland through the Dales to the Trondhjem district, where it divided, one stream flowing down the W. coast till it met the western settlements, another penetrating N. into Haalogaland (which included the modern Nordland as well as Helgeland), and a third E. into the N. Swedish districts of Jämtland and Helsingland. The bodies of immigrants were no doubt more or less independent, and each was probably under a king. It is probable that the Horder, who gave their name to Hordaland and Hardanger, were a branch of the Harudes whom Ptolemy in the 2nd century mentions as living in Jutland, where their name remains in the present Hardesyssel. The Ryger, who gave their name to Rogaland, and the modern Ryfylke, are probably akin to the Rugii, an E. Germanic tribe at one time settled in N.E. Pomerania, where we have a remi-Tradition made the royal family a branch of the great Yngling niscence of their name in Rügenwalde. The first mention of any tribe settled in Norway is by Ptolemy, who speaks of the Chaidenoi or Heiner, inhabiting the W. of his island Scandia. The system of settlement in Norway appears to have been different from that adopted by the same race in other lands. In Denmark, for instance, a group of as many as twenty settlers held land more or less in common, but this system, which demanded that a considerable extent of land should be readily accessible, was not feasible in the greater part of Norway, and except in one or two flatter districts each farm was owned, or at least worked, by a single family.

The eight Trondhjem fylker had a common Thing or assembly very early, but these districts were remote, while the wealthy western districts were too much cut off from each other to unite effectively, though here also a common Thing was early estab lished. The first successful attempt at unification originated round Vestfold, the modern Jarlsberg and Laurvik Amt on the Christiania fjord. Here also there was a certain degree of union very early, and it is possible that national feeling was fostered by proximity to the Danish and Swedish kingdoms. The district was thickly populated, and a centre of commerce. dynasty of Upsala, which claimed descent from the god Frey. Through several generations this family had extended its kingdom by marriage, conquest and inheritance, and by the end of the reign of Halfdan the Black, it included the greater part of Hamar and Oslo Stift, and the fylke of Sogn, the district round the modern Sognefjord.

Harald
Haar

fager.

Halfdan's son, Harald Haarfager, having no brothers, succeeded to the whole kingdom, and was further fortunate in that an uncle helped him to maintain his rights. By 866 his power was so well established in S. Norway that he contemplated the conquest of the whole land.. When history first sheds a faint light over Norway we find each The chief obstacle appears to have been the resistance, small district or "fylke" (Old Norse fylkir, from folk, army) not only of the petty kings, but also of the aristocratic families, settled under its own king, and about twenty-nine who dreaded the power of a monarchy established by force, and Early fylker in the country. At times a king would win an consequently supported the vaguer authority of their own kingship. overlordship over the neighbouring tribes, but the kinglets. There can be no doubt that Harald introduced a character of the country hindered permanent assimilation. feudal view of obligations towards the king, and landowning The king always possessed a hird, or company of warriors families, who had regarded their odel, or inherited property, as sworn to his service, and indeed royal birth and the possession of absolutely their own, resented being forced to pay dues on it. such a hird, and not land or subjects, were the essential attributes In each district Harald offered the herser the opportunity of of a king There was no law of primogeniture, and on the death | becoming his vassals, answerable to him for the government of

Introduc tion of Christianity by Olaf.

the district. The increased dues and the grants of land made by | ful "bonder," or landed proprietors, worked them up to Harald rendered the position of one of his earls more lucrative revolt, and, in 995, there landed in Norway Olaf, greatthan that of king under the older system; and it shows to what grandson of Harald Haarfager and son of the king Tryggve a paramount position the old aristocracy must have attained, of the Vik whom Gudröd Eriksson had slain, and whose father that numbers of the herser and holder could not reconcile them- Olaf had been slain by Erik Blodöxe. selves to the limitation of their independence, but quitted the lands which were their real title to influence, rather than submit to the new order. But the little kingdoms only made futile attempts at combination, except in the western districts of Agde (comprising the modern Lister and Mandal and Nedenæs), Rogaland and Hordaland. Here was the home of the "western Vikings" who for nearly a century had owed wealth and fame to their raids on the British Isles. Attack by land was impossible, and Harald had to gather men and ships for three years before he could meet the fleet of the allied kings at Hafsfjord. The battle (872) resulted in a victory to him, and with it all opposition in Norway was at an end. An expedition to Scotland and the Scottish isles (c. 891) dispersed enemies who could harry the Norwegian coast, many of them taking refuge in Iceland; and the earldom of the Orkneys and Shetlands became an appanage | of the Norwegian Crown. For the moment the whole country was under a single king, but Harald himself destroyed his work, in accordance with old custom, by giving about twenty of his sons the title of king, and dividing the country among them, only qualifying this retrograde step by installing his favourite son Erik Blodöxe as over-king (930). Moreover, Harald had established no common Thing for the whole of his kingdom. Norway is naturally divided into three parts, and each of these remained more or less separate for centuries, even having separate laws until the second half of the 13th century. The Frostathing district (so called from Frosta near Trondhjem) included the eight Trondhjem fylker, and also Naumdal, Nordmöre and Raumsdal. The Gulathing district consisted of Söndmöre, Firdafylke, Sogn, Valdres, Hallingdal, Hordaland and Agde, and met at Gula in Hordaland. The third, the Eidsivathing, met on the shores of Lake Mjösen, and included the Uplands and also the "Vik," i.e. all the districts round Christiania fjord, until St Olaf established the Borgarthing at Sarpsborg as a centre for these latter. The king's council was composed of the local lendermænd, and thus varied with the district he happened to be visiting, an arrangement that had its advantages, since the local chiefs were acquainted with the laws of their district, though it was another hindrance to unification. It was only in 1319 that a permanent council was formed, the Rigets Raad.

Haakon the Good.

The earl was treacherously killed by his thrall while in hiding, and Olaf entered unopposed upon his short and brilliant reign. His great work was the enforced conversion to Christianity of Norway, Iceland and Greenland. In this undertaking both Olaf and his successor and namesake looked for help to England, whence they obtained a bishop and priests; hence it comes that the organization of the early church in Norway resembles that of England. No more than England did Norway escape the struggle between Church and State, but the hierarchical party in Norway only rose to power after the establishment of an archiepiscopal see at Trondhjem in 1152, after which the quarrel raged for over a century. Until the year 1100, when tithes were imposed, the priests depended for their livelihood on their dues, and Adam of Bremen informs us that this made them very avaricious. In the year 1000 Olaf fell at the battle of Svolder off Rügen, fighting against the combined Danish and Swedish fleets. The allies shared Norway between them, but the real Relations power lay in the hands of Erik and Svein, sons of with Earl Haakon. In 1015, when Erik was absent in Denmark. England, another descendant of Harald Haarfager appeared, Olaf, the son of Harald Grenske, a great-grandson of Harald Haarfager (see OLAF II. HARALDSSÖN). He defeated Svein at Nesje in 1016, which left him free to work towards a united and Christian Norway. For some years he was successful, but he strained the loyalty of his subjects too far, and on the appearance of Knut the Great in 1029 he fled to Russia. His death at the battle of Stiklestad on his return in 1030 was followed by a few years of Danish rule under Svein Knutssön, which rendered Olaf's memory sweet by contrast, and soon the name of St Olaf came to stand for internal union and freedom from external oppression. In 1035 his young son Magnus, afterwards called the Good, was summoned from Russia, and was readily accepted as king. A treaty was made with Hardeknut which provided that whichever king survived should inherit the other's crown. Hardeknut died in 1042, and Magnus became king of Denmark, but a nephew of Knut the Great, Svein Estridssön, entered into league with Harald Haardraade (see HARALD III.), the half-brother of St Olaf, who had just returned from the East. As soon, however, as overtures were made to him by Magnus, he forsook the cause of Svein, and in 1046 agreed to become joint king of Norway with Magnus. The difficulties arising out of this situation were solved by Magnus's death in 1047.

End of
Harald

Haar-
fager's
live.

Harald died in 933. Erik Blodöxe (Bloody-axe) only managed to rid himself of two rival over-kings, Olaf and Sigfred, his half-brothers, for on hearing of his father's death, another son, Haakon (q.v.), called the Good, who had been brought up at Æthelstan's court, came to Norway Harald's attempts to win Denmark were vain, and in 1066 with a small force and succeeded in ejecting Erik (934). he set about a yet more formidable task in attacking England, After Haakon's death in 961 at the battle of Fitje, where his which ended with his death at Stamford Bridge in long struggle against Erik's sons and their Danish allies ter- 1066. His son Olaf Kyrre (the Quiet) shared the minated, these brothers, headed by Harald Graafeld (grey-cloak) | kingdom with his brother Magnus until the latter's became masters of the W. districts, though the ruling spirit death in 1069, after which the country enjoyed a period appears to have been their mother Gunhild. Earl Sigurd of of peace. A feature of this reign is the increasing importLade ruled the N., and the S. was held by vassal kings whom ance of the towns, including Bergen, which was founded by Olaf. Haakon had left undisturbed. By 969 the brothers had succeeded In 1093 Olaf was succeeded by his turbulent son Magnus Barfod in ridding themselves of Sigurd and two other rivals, but the (barefoot) and by Haakon, son of Magnus the Good. The following year Harald Graafeld was lured to Denmark and latter died in 1095. Besides engaging in an unsuccessful war treacherously killed at the instigation of Earl Haakon, son of against the Swedish king Inge, in which he was defeated at Sigurd, who had allied himself with the Danish king Harald Foxerne in 1101, Magnus undertook three warlike expeditions Gormssön. With the latter's support Earl Haakon won Norway, to the Scottish isles. It was on the last of these expeditions, but threw off his yoke on defeating Ragnfred Erikssön at in 1103, that he met his death. He was succeeded by his three Tingenes in 972. The S.E. districts were, however, still held by sons, Eystein, Sigurd and Olaf. Olaf died young. Sigurd underHarald Grenske, whose father had been slain by the sons of took a pilgrimage, from which he gained the name of Jorsalfar Erik. Haakon ruled ably though tyrannically, and his prestige (traveller to Jerusalem). He won much booty from the Moors was greatly increased by his victory over the Jomsvikings, a in Spain, from pirates in the Mediterranean, and finally at Sidon, band of pirates inhabiting the island of Wollin at the mouth of the which he and his ally Baldwin I. of Jerusalem took and sacked. Oder, who had collected a large fleet to attack Norway. The Eystein died in 1122. Sigurd lived till 1130, but was subject date of their defeat at Hjörungavaag, now Lidvaag, is uncertain. to fits of insanity in his later years. He was the last undoubted But finally the earl's disregard of the feelings of the most power-representative of Harald Haarfager's race, for on his death