The Swedish–Norwegian War (1099–1101), otherwise known as Inge the Elder's war against Magnus Barefoot, was a war between Sweden and Norway. It regarded the Norwegian claim to all lands west of the

Göta River Göta is a Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Göte. It may refer to: * Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer * Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast Other uses * Göta, Sweden *Göta älv The (; "River ...

. Inge managed to successfully repel the Norwegian invasions, and peace was later signed at Kungälv in 1101.

Background

According to the

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

, at the end of the 8th century,

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) 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 Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

conquered all land west of the

Göta river Göta is a Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Göte. It may refer to: * Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer * Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast Other uses * Göta, Sweden *Göta älv The (; "River ...

and

Lake Vänern A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, including

Värmland Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Name Several Latinized version ...

. The time when these lands became Swedish is uncertain, however, it most likely happened prior to 1000. These old writings are what Magnus Barefoot used to justify his campaigns into

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

. Additionally, both Inge and Magnus believed that the people west of the Vänern should recognize them as their overlords.

War

First campaign (1099)

The first campaign by Magnus seems to have been met with no resistance, and Magnus was able to force the Dalslanders to recognize him as their king and they recognized his right to the land. He also managed to establish a castle on the

Kållandsö Kållandsö is an island in lake Vänern in Sweden. With an area of 56.78 km² it is the second largest island in the lake after Torsö. It is the northernmost part of the municipality of Lidköping Lidköping () is a locality and the sea ...

with a garrison of 360 before heading back to Norway for the winter. However, not much was achieved. Inge saw Magnus' campaigning and quickly responded by sending a large army (probably 3,600) to Kållandsö, which, after a siege, was captured, Inge also took the weapons of the besieged, and each received a beating before being returned. After which the Dalslanders again pledged their loyalty to Inge and recognized him as their king.

Second campaign (1101)

Despite the setbacks, Magnus set out on a new campaign in 1101, and began plundering up the Göta river. However, before he reached Lake Vänern, two battles took place in Fuxerna. In the first battle, the Norwegians were victorious, with the Swedes suffering heavy casualties and Inge being forced to flee. However, in the second, the

Geat The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of the progenitor groups of modern Swed ...

army won, and Magnus was forced to flee for his life. A large number of Norwegians died during the battles, either from the fighting itself or the Norwegian retreat, and Magnus managed to save his life by switching jackets with one of his troops, who rode in another direction.

Peace

In 1101, the three kings of Scandinavia met in Kungahälla to conduct peace talks. Through the mediation of the Danish king, Sweden and Norway managed to make peace. The terms of the treaty were that the current borders were to apply, and Magnus had to marry Inge's daughter Margareta. Since she had received

as a dowry, the land came under Norwegian rule.

References

{{reflist Wars involving Sweden Wars involving Norway Norway–Sweden relations History of Scandinavia