Magnus Sigurdsson ( – 12 November 1139), also known as Magnus the Blind, was
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 kingdoms ...
(being Magnus IV) from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the
civil war era in Norway, which lasted until 1240.
Biography
Magnus was the son of King
Sigurd I of Norway
Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brothe ...
and
Borghild Olavsdotter
Borghild Olavsdatter (fl. 1115), was the Norwegian royal mistress of King Sigurd the Crusader (c. 1090 – 1130) and the mother of King Magnus IV of Norway (ca. 1115 – 1139). She probably lived within the period 1090 to 1150 and was one of few ...
. When King Sigurd died in 1130, Magnus became king of Norway together with his uncle
Harald Gille. After four years of uneasy peace, Magnus began to openly prepare for war on Harald. On August 9, 1134, he defeated Harald in the decisive
Battle at Färlev near Färlev in Stångenäs herred in
BÃ¥huslen. Harald fled to
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
Against the advice of his councilors, Magnus disbanded his army and traveled to
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
to spend the winter there. Harald then returned to Norway with a new army and the support of the Danish King
Erik Emune. Meeting little opposition, he reached Bergen before Christmas. Magnus had few men, and the city fell easily to Harald's army on January 7, 1135. Magnus was captured and dethroned. He was blinded, castrated and had one leg cut off. After this he was known as Magnus the Blind (''Magnus Sigurdsson den blinde'').
Magnus was put in
Nidarholm Abbey
Nidarholm Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located on the island of Munkholmen in Trondheim Fjord on the sea approach to Trondheim, Norway.
History
The monastery was founded either in 1028 by King Canute the Great or in about 1100 by Sigurd Ull ...
on the island of
Munkholmen
Munkholmen ( no, Monk's islet) is an islet in the municipality of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island sits in the Trondheimsfjord about northwest of the island of Brattøra and the mouth of the river Nidelva in the center of the ...
in
Trondheim Fjord
The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland in ...
, where he spent some time as a monk.
Harald Gille was killed in 1136 by
Sigurd Slembe, another royal pretender who had himself proclaimed king in 1135. To back his claim, Sigurd Slembe brought Magnus back from the abbey and made him co-king. They decided to split up their forces, and Magnus headed for eastern Norway, where he had most popular support. There, he was defeated at the
Battle of Minne
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
by the forces of King
Inge I. He then fled to
Götaland and subsequently to Denmark, where he tried to get support for his cause. An attempted invasion of Norway by King
Erik Emune of Denmark failed miserably.
Magnus then rejoined Sigurd Slembe's men, but they continued to have little support in Norway. After some time spent more like bandits than kings, they met the forces of King Inge I and King
Sigurd II
Sigurd Haraldsson (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Haraldsson''; 1133 – 10 June 1155), also called Sigurd Munn, was king of Norway (being Sigurd II) from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Thora Guttormsdotter (''Þ ...
in a final battle on November 12, 1139. Magnus fell during the naval
Battle of Holmengrå south of
Hvaler
Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southern part of Viken County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the municipali ...
in the
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
. The loyal guard Reidar Grjotgardsson lifted his king at the final battle, but a spear impales them both. Magnus was buried in the Church of
St. Hallvard
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
in
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 of ...
. There is a monument erected in memory of King Magnus the Blind at the Storedal farm in
Skjeberg
Skjeberg is a district of Sarpsborg, Østfold County, Norway. Skjeberg was formerly a municipality in Østfold County. The last administrative centre was at Borgenhaugen. As of 2018, Skjeberg has a population of 1,397.
The parish of Skjeberg ...
in
Østfold
Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...
county.
''Magnus 4 Sigurdsson Blinde – utdypning'' ( Nils Petter Thuesen. Store norske leksikon)
/ref>
Norwegian civil war
During the civil wars period of Norwegian history
The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territor ...
(1130–1240) 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
The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clerg ...
and Birkebeiner. 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. ((Baglers and Birkebeiners did not exist before until about 30 years later, so this entry is not relevant to the subject matter, as it was a completely different war, in the same historical series of conflicts))
References
External links
The saga of Magnus the Blinde and Harald Gille
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus 4
1110s births
Year of birth uncertain
1139 deaths
12th-century Norwegian monarchs
House of Hardrada
Civil wars in Norway
Monarchs killed in action
Norwegian blind people
Blind royalty and nobility
Norwegian amputees
Castrated people
Norwegian military personnel killed in the Norwegian civil wars
Royalty and nobility with disabilities