Saur: Dog King of Norway
by A brief history of Saur, the dog king of Norway.
Ever since ancient times, kings have come in all types: brave kings, not so brave kings, and dogs. A dog as king? Yes, it is true. During eleventh century Europe, the nation of Norway had a dog as its king. His name was Saur. It may be unusual for a dog to hold such a lofty title, even if it was only for a brief period of three years. How Saur became king is rather unusual, for he didn’t stage a coup in order to gain the throne. Neither did the former king abdicate in favor of having a dog ruling Norway. What did happen was that Eystein, a competing king for the Norwegian throne, had his dog made as one of two choices for a ruler over the nation. The people had to decide who they would rather have on the throne: the king’s slave, or his dog.
Eystein himself was a descendant of King Raum, a legendary ruler of Norway. His father was Gudrod, the eldest son of Raum. Eystein came to power through the inheritance of land near Trondheim, located in central Norway where Saint Olaf first united Norway as a nation during his rule from 1015 to 1028. Eystein intended for his son Onund to take over as the king after the rule of Canute (who ruled from 1016 to 1035) but the local citizens did not like Onund and soon had him assassinated. What is significant about Canute’s reign is that he not only ruled over Norway but also Denmark and England. Eystein, in turn, said that either his personal slave or his dog would have to be chosen as the ruler. Apparently the slave was unsavory in both appearance and character so the citizens naturally chose Saur over the slave. Even though Saur was a figurehead like many monarchs are today, Eystein was the one really in charge of Norway. One of Canute’s sons, Harthecnut, considered trying to gain the throne a waste of time as it would mean a jousting match on the battlefield, and how could a human joust with a dog? At any rate, Saur enjoyed the lap of luxury, including a crown, robe, meals served on silver trays, and long naps in his sunlit bedroom. Saur’s reign came to an end when a wolf decided to challenge him on the battlefield and Saur, torn to pieces, lost the match.
This story appears in the Heimskringla, a Scandinavian epic written in 1225 by Snorri Sturlusson. While part of it is legend there are a few facts to consider here: Eystein Upplendingakonungr, the name as given in the Heimskringla, ruled around 800 C.E., not the eleventh century as some modern sources say. Second, the early years of Norway have a tradition of dog kings, as well as other parts of Scandinavia do. Other epics such as the Annals of Lund, Gesta Danorum, and Chronicon Lethrense also mention this tradition of having a dog on the throne.
Even though the story of Saur the King remains for the most part legendary, it provides some insight as to how dogs have been treated throughout history: in the case of Norway, it certainly was regally.
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On July 9, 2011 at 9:38 am
Kringla Heimsins, or Heimskringla if you prefer, actually tells the story quite differently:
“Eystein, a king of the Uplands, whom some called the Great, and some the Bad, once on a time made war in Throndhjem, and subdued Eyna district and Sparbyggia district, and set his own son Onund over them; but the Throndhjem people killed him.
Then King Eystein made another inroad into Throndhjem, and ravaged the land far and wide, and subdued it. He then offered the people either his slave, who was called Thorer Faxe, or his dog, whose name was Saur, to be their king.
They preferred the dog, as they thought they would sooner get rid of him. Now the dog was, by witchcraft, gifted with three men’s wisdom; and when he barked, he spoke one word and barked two.
A collar and chain of gold and silver were made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their shoulders when the weather or ways were foul. A throne was erected for him, and he sat upon a high place, as kings are used to sit. He dwelt on Eyin Idre (Idre Isle), and had his mansion in a place now called Saurshaug.
It is told that the occasion of his death was that the wolves one day broke into his fold, and his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but when he ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore him into pieces.
Many other extraordinary things were done by this King Eystein against the Throndhjem people, and in consequence of this persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and left their udal properties.”
This happened before 961 (death of Haakon the Good), and at this time there were lots of smaller kings, thus Saur was never king to the nation – what he ruled was comparable to a county (Trøndelag).
Further, the dog Saur didn’t fight and lose against a single wolf, but a pack of them, and it didn’t happen on a battlefield.