Magnus V of Norway
Encyclopedia
Magnus V Erlingsson (1156–1184) was a King of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 during the Civil war era in Norway
Civil war era in Norway
The Civil war era of Norwegian history is a term used for the period in the history of Norway between 1130 and 1240. During this time, a series of civil wars were fought between rival kings and pretenders to the throne of Norway. The reasons for the wars is one of the most debated topics in...

.

Biography

Magnus Erlingsson was probably born in Etne
Etne
Etne is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Etne is located within the traditional district of Haugaland. Etne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Most of Skånevik was merged with Etne on 1 January 1965.-Name:The municipality is named after the Etnefjord...

 in Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

. He was the son of Erling Skakke
Erling Skakke
Erling Skakke was a Norwegian Jarl during the 12th century. He was the father of Magnus V, who reigned as King of Norway from 1161 to 1184....

. His father was a Norwegian nobleman who earned his reputation crusading with Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the Earl of Orkney
Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney was originally a Norse jarl ruling Orkney, Shetland and parts of Caithness and Sutherland. The Earls were periodically subject to the kings of Norway for the Northern Isles, and later also to the kings of Alba for those parts of their territory in mainland Scotland . The Earl's...

. His mother was Kristin Sigurdsdatter, daughter of king Sigurd Jorsalfare
Sigurd I of Norway
Sigurd I Magnusson , also known as Sigurd the Crusader , was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his brother Eystein I of Norway , has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway...

 who was king of Norway from 1103 to 1130. Magnus Erlingsson was named king in 1161 at the age of eight. He was the first Norwegian king to be crowned. His father Erling took the title of earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...

 and held the real power since Magnus was a minor. Erling Skakke continued to be the country’s real ruler even after Magnus had come of age.
In 1166, Sigurd Agnhatt and his foster son Olav Ugjæva
Olav Ugjæva
Olav Ugjæva was a pretender to the Norwegian throne during the civil war era in Norway. Olaf was named king in 1166, but was subsequently defeated by King Magnus V of Norway and forced to flee the country.-Background:Olav Gudbrandsson was the son of Gudbrand Skavhoggsson and Maria...

 raised a force in Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

, and had Olav proclaimed king, while earl Erling Skakke was away in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Olav was the son of Maria Øysteinsdotter, the daughter of former king Øystein Magnusson. After Erling returned to Norway to fight this uprising, Olav and his men attacked Erling in an ambush at Rydjokul in Sørum
Sørum
Sørum is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørumsand. Sørum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

. Erling was wounded and barely escaped. In 1168 Olav and his men ventured south to the Oslofjord
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....

 area, but were there defeated in battle at Stanger in Våler
Våler, Østfold
Våler is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of "Våler i Østfold". The parish of Vaaler was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 .- Name :...

. Sigurd was killed in the battle, but Olav escaped and went to Denmark.

Magnus' reign saw the arrival in Norway of Sverre Sigurdsson, who claimed the throne for himself. In June 1177, Sverre first led his men to Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...

 where Sverre was proclaimed as king. Erling's position was compromised and he fell at the Battle of Kalvskinnet
Kalvskinnet
Kalvskinnet is an area of Trondheim, Norway, southwest in city centre, Midtbyen bordering the river Nidelva in the south. In Sverris saga the place is called akeren. The city is dominated by public offices, including such institutions as the Norwegian University of Science and Technology,...

 outside Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...

 in 1179. Several more years of warfare ended with Magnus' defeat and death in the Battle of Fimreite
Fimreite
Fimreite is a small village in the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village is located along the Sognefjord, about southwest of Sogndalsfjøra and about southwest of Kaupanger...

 on June 15, 1184. Sverre attacked Magnus' fleet sending his ships into battle in squadrons, to charge and overwhelm on one ship at a time, forcing the Magnus' men to jump over to the next. As the battle proceeded, the remaining ships became extremely crammed, and then started to go down because of the weight. King Magnus is reported to have gone down on one of the last of them.

Historic context

The civil war era in Norway
Civil war era in Norway
The Civil war era of Norwegian history is a term used for the period in the history of Norway between 1130 and 1240. During this time, a series of civil wars were fought between rival kings and pretenders to the throne of Norway. The reasons for the wars is one of the most debated topics in...

 would not end with the victory of Sverre over Magnus. After the death of Magnus, Sigurd Magnusson
Sigurd Magnusson
Sigurd Magnusson was a Norwegian nobleman who campaigned against King Sverre of Norway during the Civil war era in Norway. -Background:...

, Inge Magnusson
Inge Magnusson
Inge Magnusson or Inge Baglar-king was from 1196 to 1202 the Bagler candidate for pretender to the Norwegian throne during the Civil war era in Norway.In 1197, a serious challenge to the reign of King Sverre of Norway arose...

 and Erling Magnusson Steinvegg
Erling Steinvegg
Erling Magnusson Steinvegg or Erlingr Magnússon Steinveggr was the candidate of the Bagler to the Norwegian throne from 1204 to 1207. His candidacy resulted in the second Bagler War which lasted until 1208, when the question of the Norwegian succession was temporarily settled.-Biography:Erling...

 came forth all stating to be sons of Magnus and claiming the Norwegian throne. The civil war era in Norway extended over a 110 year period. It started with the death of King Sigurd I of Norway
Sigurd I of Norway
Sigurd I Magnusson , also known as Sigurd the Crusader , was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his brother Eystein I of Norway , has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway...

 in 1130 and ended with the death of Duke Skule Baardsson in 1240.

During this period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between Church and King. There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler
Bagler
The Bagli Party or Bagler was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clergy and merchants....

 and Birkebeiner
Birkebeiner
The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla...

. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of king from the contesting party.

Other sources

  • Snorre Sturlason, The Heimskringla: A History of the Norse Kings, vol. 3 (London: Norroena Society, 1907)
  • Finlay, Alison editor and translator Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway (Brill Academic. 2004)
  • Gjerset, Knut History of the Norwegian People (The MacMillan Company, Volume I. 1915)
  • Heggland, Johannes Den unge kongen (Eide Forlag, 1999) Norwegian

Ancestry

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