Hakon proved a brilliant and successful king; regulated many things,
public law among others (_Gule-Thing_ Law, _Frost-Thing_ Law: these
are little codes of his accepted by their respective Things, and had a
salutary effect in their time); with prompt dexterity he drove back
the Blue-tooth foster-son invasions every time they came; and on the
whole gained for himself the name of Hakon the Good. These Danish
invasions were a frequent source of trouble to him, but his greatest
and continual trouble was that of extirpating heathen idolatry from
Norway, and introducing the Christian Evangel in its stead. His
transcendent anxiety to achieve this salutary enterprise was all along
his grand difficulty and stumbling-block; the heathen opposition to it
being also rooted and great. Bishops and priests from England Hakon
had, preaching and baptizing what they could, but making only slow
progress; much too slow for Hakon's zeal. On the other hand, every
Yule-tide, when the chief heathen were assembled in his own palace on
their grand sacrificial festival, there was great pressure put upon
Hakon, as to sprinkling with horse-blood, drinking Yule-beer, eating
horse-flesh, and the other distressing rites; the whole of which Hakon
abhorred, and with all his steadfastness strove to reject utterly.
Sigurd, Jarl of Lade (Trondhjem), a liberal heathen, not openly a
Christian, was ever a wise counsellor and conciliator in such affairs;
and proved of great help to Hakon. Once, for example, there having
risen at a Yule-feast, loud, almost stormful demand that Hakon, like a
true man and brother, should drink Yule-beer with them in their sacred
hightide, Sigurd persuaded him to comply, for peace's sake, at least,
in form. Hakon took the cup in his left hand (excellent hot _beer_),
and with his right cut the sign of the cross above it, then drank a
draught. "Yes; but what is this with the king's right hand?" cried
the company. "Don't you see?" answered shifty Sigurd; "he makes the