! Assembly of The Elder Troth - Day of Rememberance for Jarl Hakon !

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Just as with many organisations and faiths, the Assembly of The Elder Troth too has special days and events which are celebrated by many Asatruar. The links below provide a list of months and the events that you will find occur during those months. We hope you find the information both informative and useful.

From Living Asatru: A handbook of Simple Celebrations by Stephen A. McNallen, 1993.
Edited and adapted by Rurik Grimnisson, Shope and Steersman of the A.E.T. Inc.1996.

Day of Remembrance for Jarl Hakon

April 9th (Suggested)

Jarl Hakon was a dedicated heathen who fought against the tyrannical King Harald Fairhair of Norway and his sons, and actually regained ground lost to the Christianisation of his country.
Hakon experienced the violence of religious imperialism first-hand. His father, Sigurd, Jarl of Kladir, was burned to death inside his hall by Harald's grandsons. Their leader was Harald Greycloak. At the urging of his nymphomaniacal mother, Harald and his brothers destroyed heathen temples, murdered chieftains, and levied exorbitant taxes. It was said that their sacrileges brought the bad weather and crop failures of the time.

Hakon vowed revenge, and got it by causing the deaths of Greycloak and his allies. Finally, Hakon and the Danish king - who was also named Harald - sailed to Norway with 600 ships and defeated Finehair's descendants. Denmark's ruler placed Hakon over western Norway, and the Jarl in turn paid tribute and vowed to assist the king in war.

During his reign, Hakon brought back the ancient rights of chieftains and farmers which Harald Finehair and his outlaw offspring had usurped. He rebuilt temples and honoured the Gods, so that, according to the skald Einar Helgason in his poem "Vellekla", the Northlands became fruitful again:

Earth bestows bounty as before
Since the generous chieftain cheers
The folk to fare
To worship without fear.

When war broke out between King Harald and the German Emperor Otto II, Hakon responded. He fought stoutly along the Danavirki, on the border between Denmark and Germany. Unfortunately for the Danes and for Hakon, the Germans won. Emperor Otto then put pressure on Harald to convert Norway - and Hakon - to Christianity. The Jarl was forcibly baptised, and made to take home with him a boatload of priests who were to christen his countrymen.

However, Hakon was made of sterner stuff than that. At the mouth of the fjord, he threw the priests overboard to sink or swim. He then attacked Danish lands in Skania, sailed to the east coast of Sweden, and gave a great sacrifice to Odin on the islands called the Gautasker. As Snorri says in Heimskringla, "Then two ravens came flying and croaked loudly, and the earl thought it certain that Odin had accepted the sacrifice, and that he would have success in fighting".

The omen proved true. Harald tried to invade Norway, but was thrown back. His days of paying tribute were over. Svein Forkbeard and the Jomsvikings hoped to ambush him but he discovered their scheme and countered with an overwhelming fleet of 180 ships and the famous battle of Hjorungavag resulted. When the outcome of the slaughter was in doubt, a hailstorm arose and blew into the faces of Hakon's foes, sending them fleeing. Odin had spoken.

Hakon modelled many of the virtues that we as Asafolk uphold. He was robust, bold and honourable. His valiant efforts for Asatru may have kept our ways alive long enough transferred to Iceland, where they took root in the literature that has come down to us. In other words, without Hakon we might not have our religion today. We owe him more than of Remembrance - but it is a start.

Here are some ways you can keep Jarl Hakon's memory alive:

Do something to promote liberty, just as Hakon did when he threw off the Christian chains. Talk back to a bureaucrat, write letters to the editor. Question authority. Complain to your Member of Parliament, telephone the Prime Minister's Department, and be politically incorrect.
Choose one of your Civil Liberties and vigorously exercise it, aware that you are acting in the finest traditions of our Teutonic social and political heritage.
Read from the Edda or the Icelandic sagas, knowing that the rich heathen cult that far-off island might not have existed had it not been for the political impact of Jarl Hakon's revival of Asatru. Give silent thanks that our religion escaped such a close call.
Hakon's restoration of Asatru no doubt invited the return of the land elves banished by the Church, thus making a subtle spiritual difference in the countryside itself. You too make them welcome again where Christianity now reigns. Go into the woods and streams, address the spirits of the place, and offer them a libation of ale or milk.
Formally renounce Christianity, as many must have done when Hakon was bringing back our troth. A good way to do this is to reverse the oath the Christians imposed on the Saxons. Your words might be: "I forsake the Christian God, and I forsake all worship of him and I renounce all his works! I take up the words and work and worship of our Gods and Goddesses, of Thunor and Woden and Saxnote and all who are their companions!" Take the pledge, and affirm it with an appropriate act.

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