Editing Haakon IV (section)

===The Scottish expedition and death===
[[File:Norwegian Hereditary Empire excluding Greenland.png|thumb|left|280px|Medieval Norway at its greatest extent, around the time of Haakon's death.]]
Haakon employed an active and aggressive foreign policy to strengthen Norwegian ties in the west.<ref name="helle194">Helle, 1995, p. 194.</ref> His policy relied on friendship and trade with the King of England; the first known Norwegian trade agreements were made with England in the years 1217–23 (England's first commercial treaties were also made with Norway), and the friendship with [[Henry III of England]] was a cornerstone of Haakon's foreign policy.<ref>Helle, 1995, pp. 194–195.</ref><ref name="OrfBoy137">Orfield & Boyer, 2002, p. 137.</ref> As they had become kings around the same time, Haakon wrote to Henry in 1224 that he wished they could maintain the friendship that had existed between their fathers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diplomatarium Norvegicum XIX|page=117|publisher=University of Oslo|url=http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/middelalder/diplom_vise_tekst.prl?b=16109&s=n&str=|work=Dokumentasjonsprosjektet|access-date=12 April 2012|language=no}}</ref> Haakon sought to defend the Norwegian sovereignty over islands in the west, namely the [[Hebrides]] and [[Isle of Man|Man]] (under the [[Kingdom of the Isles|Kingdom of Mann and the Isles]]), [[Shetland]] and [[Orkney]] (under the [[Earldom of Orkney]]), and the [[Faroe Islands]].<ref name="NBL"/> Further, the Norse community in Greenland agreed to submit to the Norwegian crown in 1261, and in 1262 Haakon achieved one of his long-standing ambitions when he incorporated [[Icelandic Commonwealth|Iceland]] into his kingdom by exploiting the island's internal conflicts in his favour. The dependency on Norwegian maritime trade and their subordination to the [[Archdiocese of Nidaros#Nidaros ecclesiastical province|Nidaros ecclesiastical province]] were some of the key reasons which allowed Haakon to assert sovereignty over the islands.<ref>Helle, 1995, pp. 195–196.</ref> The Norwegian kingdom was at the largest it has ever been by the end of Haakon's reign.<ref name="NBL"/>

Norwegian control over the Faroe Islands and Shetland was strong due to the importance of Bergen as a trading centre, while Orkney, the Hebrides, and Man had more natural ties with the Scottish mainland. Although traditionally having had ties with the [[Scandinavian Scotland|community of Norse settlers in northern Scotland]], Scottish rulers had increasingly asserted their sovereignty over the entire mainland.<ref>Derry, 2000, p. 48.</ref> Haakon had at the same time gained stronger control of the Hebrides and Man than any Norwegian ruler since [[Magnus III of Norway|Magnus Barefoot]].<ref name="helle196">Helle, 1995, p. 196.</ref> As part of a new development the Scottish king [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]] claimed the Hebrides and asked to buy the islands from Norway, but Haakon staunchly rejected the proposals. Following Alexander II's death, his son [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]] continued and stepped up his father's policy by sending an embassy to Norway in 1261, and thereafter attacking the Hebrides.<ref>Bagge, 1996, p. 126.</ref>

In 1263, the [[Scottish–Norwegian War|dispute with the Scottish king]] over the Hebrides induced Haakon to undertake an expedition to the islands. Haakon learned in 1262 that Scottish nobles had raided the Hebrides and that Alexander III planned to conquer the islands. In 1263 Haakon mounted an expedition with his formidable ''[[leidang]]'' fleet of at least 120 ships.<ref name="helle196"/> He had become accustomed to negotiating while backed by an intimidating fleet.<ref name="helle197"/> The fleet left Bergen in July, and reached Shetland and Orkney in August, where they were joined by chieftains from the Hebrides and Man. Alexander started negotiations after Norwegian landings on the Scottish mainland, but the Scots purposely prolonged the talks.<ref name="helle196"/> The Scots waited until September and October for weather that would be trouble for Haakon's fleet. A Scottish force met a smaller Norwegian force at the [[Battle of Largs]] (2 October). Although the battle was inconclusive, Haakon withdrew to Orkney for the winter.<ref name="helle196"/><ref>Derry, 2000, p. 49.</ref> A delegation of Irish kings invited Haakon to become the [[High King of Ireland]] and expel the [[Lordship of Ireland|Anglo-Norman settlers]] in Ireland, but this was apparently rejected against Haakon's wish.<ref>Barrow, 1981 p. 118.</ref><ref>Lydon, 1998, p. 78.</ref><ref>Fry & Fry, 1991, p. 85.</ref>

Haakon over-wintered at the [[Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall|Bishop's Palace in Kirkwall, Orkney]], with plans to resume his campaign the next year.<ref name="FOP262">Forte, Oram, & Pedersen, 2005, p. 262.</ref> During his stay in Kirkwall he however fell ill, and died in the early hours of 16 December 1263.<ref>Helle, 1995, p. 173.</ref><ref>Barrow, 1981 p. 119.</ref> Haakon was buried in the [[St Magnus Cathedral]] in Kirkwall for the winter; in spring, his body was exhumed and taken back to Norway,<ref name="FOP262"/> where he was buried in the Old Cathedral in his capital Bergen.<ref name="NBL"/> Centuries later, in 1531, the cathedral was demolished by the commander of [[Bergenhus]], [[Eske Bille]], for military purposes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/Eske_Bille|title=Eske Bille|publisher=[[Store norske leksikon]]|access-date=26 April 2012|language=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Tord_Roed/utdypning|title=Tord Roed|publisher=[[Store norske leksikon]]|work=[[Norsk biografisk leksikon]]|access-date=26 April 2012|language=no}}</ref> in connection with the [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein|Protestant Reformation]], and the graves of Haakon and other Norwegian kings buried there might have been destroyed in the process or moved to another location.<ref name="NBL"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article1470628.ece|work=[[Aftenposten]]|title=En norsk kongegrav|first=Cato|last=Guhnfeldt|language=no|date=19 October 2011|access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>