W XII w. there was an increase in the power of the clergy. Stone churches and wooden stave churches were built all over the country (tooth. box in the chapter West Coast Fjords). The oldest of the few preserved buildings is the church in Urnes by the Lustrafjorden, coming from 1150 r. W 1107 r. King of the Vikings, Sigurd I, converted to Christianity ("Crusader”) he headed an expedition to the Holy Land. It sailed towards the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea 60 ships; three years later, the Normans contributed to the capture of Sidon. Sigurd died in 1130 r. Merciless civil wars fill the rest of the century in Norway, fought for the right of succession to the throne. Their culmination was an important naval battle (1184) at Fimreite on the Sogne-fjord, in which many wealthy and influential people died. The reign of the victorious king Sverre, servants of the Church, who became a warrior, initiated the so-called. golden age of medieval Norway, a time of general suppression of social unrest.
Bergen soon became the capital of the country. For a time, Norway enjoyed peace and prosperity, related to the development of trade between coastal cities (especially Bergen] and the Hanseatic League, based in Lübeck, Germany. Unfortunately, the growing power of the Hansa Kupćffs quickly led to the undermining of Norwegian trade and German control over the region. (For more information, see the box in Bergen and the Southwest Coast Fjords).
Hżkon V built two brick and stone fortresses: one in Vardo, to ensure the protection of the country against the Ruthenian principalities, and the other in Akershus w 1308 r., to defend the Gulf of Oslo. Under this king, the capital of the country was also transferred from Bergen to Oslo. Hikon V was succeeded by his grandson Magnus, son of Hikon's daughter and a Swedish prince. Magnus VII also received the Swedish throne – wl319r.This year both kingdoms were united, and the royal house of Harald Fairhair (HSrfagre) has expired. From then on for the next 200 Norway's position continued to deteriorate over the years, until finally the country was burned down into one more province of Denmark.
In August 1349 r. Norway's population was decimated by the Black Death epidemic – bubonic plague, brought on an English ship, who came to the commercial port of Bergen. This disease killed a third of Europe's population, and the same dealt with Norway. During this tragic period, the earth lay fallow, cities fell into disrepair, the Church suffered, trade stopped, and the property resources of the population declined by 65%. In Norway, the plague took all the way 80% nobility, it also decimated the peasants; as a result you, what they experienced, they had to return to the role, and this changed Norwegian social structure forever.
W 1380 r. Norway, entering into a political union with Denmark, she lost independence and control over Iceland. 10 years later, Queen Margaret of Denmark created the Kalmar Union, which included Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Eryk Pomorski became the ruler of the union. Margaret's neglect of Norway lasted until the 15th century., when trade ties with Ireland were severed, and the colonies in Greenland mysteriously vanished without a trace (due to the cooling of the climate, epidemics and possibly fights with the Inuit).
At the same time, the climate in the North Atlantic has cooled considerably, which made farming difficult. More and more powerful Hanseatic merchants led to a very favorable trade situation for the Germans. They imported essential goods for the Norwegians. The port of Bergen grew richer largely thanks to the export earnings of dried cod. W 1427 r. Hanseatic merchants from Bergen received news of an impending pirate attack on the port and… they ran away. The Norwegian defenders were unable to face the invaders. It was only after eight years that the German merchants returned and resumed trading.
W 1469 r. Danish-Norwegian King Christian I., collecting money for a dowry for his daughter, pledged the Orkney Islands and Shetland in favor of a Scottish crown. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, yet Scotland had annexed both island groups three years later. W 152^) r. Sweden left the union. King Gustav I of the Vasa dynasty sat on the Swedish throne. A long period of wars had begun.