In spite of his conciliatory disposition, King Magnus' reign had its share of quarrels and disturbances. Chief among these was his controversy with the Church, which ended, on his part, with an abject surrender. The archbishop, at that time, was the haughty and ambitious Jon the Red (Röde), who, before consenting to a change in the law of succession, which the king had much at heart, extorted from him a series of humiliating concessions. At a meeting of notables in Tunsberg (1277), Magnus bound himself to abstain from all interference in the selection of bishops, and to surrender to the latter the right of filling, in accordance with their pleasure, all the clerical offices. He conceded, moreover, to the archbishop the privilege of coining money and to have a hundred men in his personal service, who should be exempt from feudal obligations to the king. In his relation to foreign powers Magnus was equally unsuccessful in maintaining the dignity of his crown. When his brother-in-law, the Swedish king, Valdemar, begged him for help against his brother Magnus, who had deprived him of the greater part of his kingdom, preparations were indeed made for a grand campaign, but after several futile meetings and much talk, the Norwegian fleet was ordered home again and the Swedish king was left to his fate. To a proud and adventurous people like the Norsemen, jealous of their dignity at home and abroad, this unconquerable reluctance to draw the sword must have appeared humiliating. A high regard for honor and a genius for war had characterized the race up to this time; and however much one may disapprove of war, one cannot deny that peace may be bought at too high a price. The right to hold one's head high; to feel proud of one's history and one's country, is a precious privilege, without which no race ever achieved great things. King Magnus, by lessening the prestige which the country had enjoyed during the reign of his father, therefore contributed much toward the decadence which followed. Physically as well as mentally, signs of degeneracy are beginning to be perceptible in the royal race of Norway. King Magnus was, indeed, endowed with a good intellect and his morals were blameless. But for all that, he was a far less sturdy and impressive personality than his father, and a still greater distance separated him from his great-grandfather, the wise, brave, gentle, unconquerable Sverre. Many of his imprudent acts are explained by the fact that his health was never vigorous. While he was yet in the prime of life, he began to suffer from ailments which warned his councillors that his days were numbered. He died in 1280, at the age of forty-one. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XXX. ERIK PRIEST-HATER (1280-1299).