Page:The Early Kings of Norway.djvu/29

 HAKON THE GOOD. 19 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 in- troducing the Christian Evangel in its stead. His transcendent anxiety to achieve this salutary enter- prise 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 baptising 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, c 2