Broken on the wheel

The chronicles of Sweden record the hideous death of Alv Erlingsson in 1290: 

 '1290: Alff Aellingessun rotatus est in Helsinburg...' '

[…] Aluerus pyrata captus est et rota fractus apud Helsingæburgh…' 

The unfortunate victim was broken on the wheel – 'rotatus' – an especially nasty form of execution. This was the same Alv who had gone to England in 1286 to raise money and men for a campaign in Denmark. After Norway and Denmark made peace, he fought and lost a private war against Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne. Alv escaped the slaughter and went to Sweden. When the Swedish king denied him refuge, Alv turned pirate and set about attacking merchant vessels in the Baltic sea. 

His brother, Theodore, had also begged Edward I of England to grant Alv refuge. This was evidently denied, and for good reason: Alv had stolen two thousand marks of English silver. The vengeful English king was probably just as eager as anyone to get his hands on the fugitive.

Alv established his pirate's nest on Riga. We know this due to a letter from the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in Livonia, who wrote to the German towns complaining that it was becoming more difficult to convert the locals to Christianity. This was due to the depredations of certain pirates, 'money-sick wolves', who were burning and slaughtering up and down the coast. They were led, said the Grand Master, by that man Alv Erlingsson, former jarl of Norway. 

Once a great lord, Alv was now a hunted outlaw, without friends. Finally he was captured by one David Thorstenson, lord of Dacia, who clearly had little time for pirates. The prisoner was taken up to a headland overlooking the sea, and there subjected to the barbaric form of execution. Alv's broken body was left dangling on the spot for two years, until his brother came to collect the remains. 

The story has a curious postscript. Alv had borrowed money from Edward so Norway could pay off war damages to the merchant towns of the Hanseatic League. After his execution, that money was never recovered. Perhaps he had spent it, or buried it somewhere. This meant Norway still owed the debt. In 1295, Norwegian envoys entered into an alliance with France and Scotland against England and Germany. 

This was the treaty known as the famous 'Auld Alliance'. As part of the terms, Norway offered to send the impossible number of 50,000 warriors and 200 longships to invade England. In return they asked for a down-payment of 6000 livres tournoise. Incredibly, the French paid over the money. The Norwegians then broke the treaty and used the cash to pay off the outstanding debt to the Hanseatic league. 

Thus, in one of the strange ironies of history, a key term of the Auld Alliance stemmed from a broken promise to Edward I.