The House of Sverre ( no, Sverreætten) was a royal house or dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, the

Kingdom of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, hereunder the kingdom's realms, and the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

. The house was founded with King

Sverre Sigurdsson Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

. It provided the rulers of Norway from 1184 to 1319.

History

Norwegian Hereditary Empire excluding Greenland

The house was founded with King

, who claimed to be an illegitimate son of King Sigurd Munn, when he was made

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. After Sverre's death, his descendants would expand the influence, wealth, and power of the dynasty. Under his grandson

Haakon IV Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...

's rule, the Kingdom of Norway reached its peak, the civil war era ended, and it was the start of a golden age in Norway.

Margaret, Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historian ...

, a queen-designate of the

, was also a member of this family. The house replaced the

Gille dynasty Gille dynasty was a powerful royal house or dynasty which ruled the Kingdom of Norway during the 12th century. It is very unlikely that the rulers ever referred to the Gille dynasty which is a term coined by modern historians. The term "Gille" is ...

, and was again replaced by the House of Bjelbo, which inherited Norway's throne. They were the last reigning family that claimed patrilineal descent from

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

Coat of arms

The main arms of the kings belonging to the House of Sverre, was a golden crowned lion on a red field. The lion was later supplied with a silver axe symbolising

Olaf the Holy Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

. This became the

coat of arms of Norway The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of king Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing golden lion on a red background, bearing a golden crown and ax ...

. File:Haakon_Magnussens_segl-013.jpg, Seal of King Haakon V Magnusson, the last king belonging to the House of Sverre. File:Ingiburga of Sweden (daughter of Hacon) seal 1318 (1).jpg, Seal of King Haakon V Magnusson's daughter, Duchess Ingeborg. File:GelreNorge.jpg, Arms of King Haakon V Magnusson's daughter's son, King Haakon VI Magnusson, who was of the House of Bjelbo. His coat of arms includes the Sverre arms and the Bjelbo arms.

List of kings

The rulers within the royal house or dynasty would often have a "junior king" along with a "senior king" (three dates show the reign as junior king to the start of reign as senior to the end of their reign). Here is a list of the rulers when the house held the power in Norway:

Other members

Ingeborg of Norway Ingeborg of Norway ( Old Norse ''Ingibjörg Hákonardóttir'', Swedish ''Ingeborg Håkansdotter'', Norwegian ''Ingebjørg Håkonsdatter''; 1301 – 17 June 1361), was a Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish royal duchess with a positi ...

References

{{Royal houses of Norway Sverre Norwegian monarchy Sverre

History

Coat of arms

List of kings

Other members

See also

References