The Battle of Oslo was fought outside of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on the night of 3 February 1161 between

Haakon II of Norway Haakon Sigurdsson (1147 – 7 July 1162), also known as Haakon Herdebrei, was King of Norway (being Haakon II) from 1157 until 1162 during the Civil war era in Norway. Biography His nickname, ''Herdebrei'', means broad-shouldered. An illegitimate ...

and

Inge I of Norway Inge Haraldsson (Old Norse: ''Ingi Haraldsson''; 1135 – 3 February 1161) was king of Norway (being Inge I) from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era. He was never the s ...

during the

civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway ( no, borgerkrigstida or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne. In the absence of f ...

. As the son of Ingiríðr Ragnvaldsdóttir and king

Harald Gille Harald Gille (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Gilli'' or ''Haraldr Gillikristr'', c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably from Middle Irish ''Gilla Críst'' "servant o ...

(making him the only legitimate son of Gille), Inge had been named king of Norway after Gille was killed by

Sigurd Slembe Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (or Slembedjakn) (died 12 November 1139) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of ''Sigurd Slembe'', the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1862. Biograp ...

. His two half-brothers,

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and

Sigurd Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovin ...

, were also named kings around the same time, and the three ruled Norway. By 1157, Inge's brothers were both dead, and he was the sole remaining ruler of Norway. Haakon II, an illegitimate son of Gille, then contested Inge's rule, and at the Battle of Oslo Inge was killed. According to the

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

, Inge had 4,800 men.

References

{{Coord, 59.9071, 10.7369, region:NO-03, format=dms, display=none History of Oslo Oslo 1161 Oslo 1161