The Battle of Holmengrå () was a naval battle fought on 12 November 1139 near the island
Holmengrå south of
Hvaler
Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southern part of Østfold County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the munici ...
, between the forces of the child kings
Sigurd Haraldsson and
Inge Haraldsson on the one side, and on the other side the pretender
Sigurd Slembe and his ally King
Magnus the Blind (by Sigurd's claim his nephew). Inge and Sigurd Haraldsson were sons of the previous king
Harald Gille
Harald Gille (, c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably .
Background
Harald was born ca. 1102 in Ireland or the Hebrides, more likely the former. Accord ...
, who had been killed by Sigurd Slembe in 1136. The sons of Harald Gille emerged victorious from the battle. Magnus the Blind was killed in action, while Sigurd Slembe was betrayed, captured, and later tortured and executed.
Background
After
Sigurd Slembe reportedly was told by his mother that he was a son of King
Magnus Barefoot
Magnus III Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Magnús Óláfsson'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Olavsson''; 1073 – 24 August 1103), better known as Magnus Barefoot (Old Norse: ''Magnús berfœttr'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Berrføtt''), was the King of Norway ...
, he travelled to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
where he gained military experience, and went on a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
.
Sigurd returned to Norway in 1136 and arranged a meeting with King
Harald Gille
Harald Gille (, c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably .
Background
Harald was born ca. 1102 in Ireland or the Hebrides, more likely the former. Accord ...
, requesting to be recognised as his brother (Harald had also claimed to be a son of Magnus Barefoot), but instead found himself accused of a murder in
Orkney
Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
and outlawed by Harald. Sigurd managed to escape, and after some time in hiding, he and some supporters assassinated Harald in
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
. While Sigurd took responsibility for the murder, the people responded that they did not want a man who murdered his brother for a king, or alternatively, if he was not Harald's brother, that he had no right to the throne.
After Harald's death, his queen
Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter
Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter (Old Norse: ''IngirÃðr Rögnvaldsdóttir'') (1100/1110 – after 1161 AD) was born a member of the Swedish royal family, became a member of Danish royalty by marriage and later was Queen consort of Norway as the spouse o ...
and the chieftains quickly arranged to have Harald's sons, still children, proclaimed as kings.
Sigurd Haraldsson was proclaimed king at the
Øyrating in
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
, while
Inge Haraldsson was proclaimed king at the
Borgarting in the south-east. Since they had been brought up in different parts of the country, both were proclaimed kings by their respective supporters, but the two factions soon joined forces in light of the threat from Sigurd Slembe.
Sigurd Slembe was again outlawed, and in an attempt to increase his support he allied himself with
Magnus the Blind, who had been deposed by Harald Gille in 1135, and had him reinstated as king.
When he was deposed, Magnus was blinded, castrated, and had one of his feet cut off, after which he had been placed in a monastery. Following his release by Sigurd, he managed to raise an army in the
Uplands by himself, but he was defeated by Harald's sons in the
Battle of Minne and fled to
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. Sigurd also went to Denmark with a small army, and thereafter turned towards raiding the Norwegian coast. Although Sigurd won little support, he gained much loot from the raids, which after a while allowed him to purchase troops in Denmark.
The battle
The fleet of Sigurd Slembe and Magnus the Blind finally met the fleet of the child kings Sigurd and Inge Haraldsson on 12 November 1139, near the island
Holmengrå south of
Hvaler
Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southern part of Østfold County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the munici ...
. After the first clash, Sigurd Slembe's contingent from Denmark retreated with their 18 ships, out of Sigurd's fleet of a total 30 ships. The casualties in the battle were heavy.
Magnus was struck by a spear and killed along with one of his men, Hreidar Griotgardson, who had attempted to carry the king to safety over to another ship.
Sigurd Slembe attempted to escape by jumping in the water and hiding under his shield, but he was captured after being betrayed by one of his men, who told his enemies where Sigurd was in exchange for being spared his life.
Sigurd Slembe was executed after the battle following brutal torture and mutilation. Although the chiefs had wanted to execute Sigurd instantly, according to
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
, "the men who were the most cruel, and thought they had injuries to avenge, advised torturing him."
[''Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the sons of Harald'', chapter 12] Sigurd's arms and calves were crushed with axe-hammers, the skin on his head was cleaved, his back was flayed and flogged, and his spine was broken, after which he was hanged, decapitated, and thrown into a scree of rocks.
References
Bibliography
;Primary sources
*
Sturluson, Snorri (c. 1230).
Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the sons of Harald' (in ''Heimskringla''). English translation: Samuel Laing (London, 1844).
;Modern literature
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Holmengra
Holmengrå
1139 in Europe
12th century in Norway
Civil wars in Norway
Conflicts in 1139
Battles involving Norway