This king Haakon was, in infancy, the child famous for being rescued by members of the "Birkebeiner" faction in the Norwegian civil wars. There's a famous painting of two Birkebeiners on skis carrying him over the mountains to safety in Trondheim. (A recent Norwegian film, "The Lost King," presents a highly fictionalized version of the story.)
The mention of King Haakon reminds me of when I met someone named Haakon. When I was a hippie eco-activist in Berserkely, I worked with a twenty-something guy named Haakon Chevalier. I forget precisely how I discovered this- probably from reading the names on one or more lefty petitions which were then very common- there was an older Haakon Chevalier Sr. I asked Haakon the younger if Haakon Chevalier Sr. was his father. Yes, he was.
Years later, I took the effort to find out that Haakon Chevalier Sr. was a somewhat famous writer and translator. When he was a professor at Berkeley, he was friends with Robert Oppenheimer. Chevalier was accused not only of being a Commie, but of also soliciting atomic secrets on the behalf of another lefty who didn't have good connections w Oppenheimer but had good connections w the Russians. Haakon left his position at Berkeley and moved to Paris. At least part of those allegations are true. How much, I leave to historians.
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This king Haakon was, in infancy, the child famous for being rescued by members of the "Birkebeiner" faction in the Norwegian civil wars. There's a famous painting of two Birkebeiners on skis carrying him over the mountains to safety in Trondheim. (A recent Norwegian film, "The Lost King," presents a highly fictionalized version of the story.)
Make that "The Last King."
The mention of King Haakon reminds me of when I met someone named Haakon. When I was a hippie eco-activist in Berserkely, I worked with a twenty-something guy named Haakon Chevalier. I forget precisely how I discovered this- probably from reading the names on one or more lefty petitions which were then very common- there was an older Haakon Chevalier Sr. I asked Haakon the younger if Haakon Chevalier Sr. was his father. Yes, he was.
Years later, I took the effort to find out that Haakon Chevalier Sr. was a somewhat famous writer and translator. When he was a professor at Berkeley, he was friends with Robert Oppenheimer. Chevalier was accused not only of being a Commie, but of also soliciting atomic secrets on the behalf of another lefty who didn't have good connections w Oppenheimer but had good connections w the Russians. Haakon left his position at Berkeley and moved to Paris. At least part of those allegations are true. How much, I leave to historians.
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