King Håkon
IV of Norway lived from 1204 to 16 December 1263. He is also referred to as
Haakon or Haco. The Norwegian Account of Haco's Expedition
Against Scotland, 1263 is a classic account of Håkon or Haco's
campaign against Alexander III of
Scotland in 1263, a campaign that culminated in the
Battle of Largs and resulted in
Håkon's death.
The account was first published in 1782 by the Rev. James
Johnstone, Chaplain to His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary at the Court
of Denmark. He translated it into English from the original Flateyan and
Frisian Manuscripts which were written in Old Norse from the personal
recollections of many who were involved on the Norwegian side. It is often said
that the victor writes history: not in this case, but the Norse authors of the
original manuscripts do a fine job in talking up the heroism of the Norwegians
who, in the event, suffered a fairly narrow tactical loss that eventually
resulted in a major strategic defeat for Norwegian interests in the Western
Isles.
Like other eBooks whose texts are reproduced on Undiscovered
Scotland, The Norwegian Account of Haco's Expedition
Against Scotland, 1263 is long out of copyright. What sets the
Undiscovered Scotland version apart is the cross linking between the text of
the book and features elsewhere on the site, allowing the reader to explore
beyond the text itself, finding out more about the places and people mentioned.
Relevant textual notes prepared by Rev. James Johnstone have been added within
the text {in these brackets}, as have the locations of further place names
mentioned in the text, both established and {suggested?} where this is likely
to make things clearer for the modern reader.
