Sverre I of Norway
|
|
Sverre Sigurdsson (Old Norse Sverrir Sigurðsson) (c. 1145/1151 - 1202) was a king of Norway from 1184-1202. He is considered to be one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He came to power as the leader of the rebel group, the Birkebeins in their struggle against King Magnus Erlingsson. Magnus fell at the Battle of Fimreite in 1184, after which Sverre ruled as sole king of Norway for some time. However, quarrels broke out between him and the Church, leading to his excommunication in 1194. As a result, civil war broke out again, this time against the church supported Baglers. This conflict had not yet come to an end when Sverre died in 1202.
The most important source on Sverre’s life is the biographical work Sverris saga, large parts of which were written while Sverre was still alive. However, this saga is not un-biased, the foreword mentions that the first part was written under Sverre’s direct sponsorship.
King Sverre is described as a man of below average height, as a result, he usually directed his troops from horseback during battles. Sverre had a talent for improvisation, both in political and military life, his innovative tactics often gave the Birkebeins an edge against more tradition-bound opponents.
| Contents |
Early life
According to the saga, Sverre was born in 1151, allegedly as the son of Gunnhild and her husband Unås, a comb maker from the Faeroes. When Sverre was five, the family moved to the Faeroes where Sverre grew up in the household of Unås’ brother Roe, who was bishop on the Faeroes. Here Sverre received training to become a priest and was also eventually ordained. However, Sverre didn’t settle well into a life as a priest. The saga tells that he had several dreams which he took as signs that he was destined for greater things, and then in 1175, his mother to him revealed that Sverre was really the son of king Sigurd Munn. The next year Sverre travelled to Norway to seek his destiny.
The veracity of Sverre’s claim
The tale told in Sverre’s saga is very much the official version. Most modern historians consider his claim to be King Sigurd’s son to be false, an opinion shared with many of Sverre’s contemporaries. That the kings had bastard sons was taken for granted, the main problem is chronological. According to the saga, Sverre was 24 when he learnt about his ancestry. However by Canon law, priest candidates had to be at least 30 years to be eligible, which would put Sverre’s birth date no later than 1145. Sigurd Munn was born in 1133 and could thus not possibly be Sverre’s father. The age requirement could be waived if no other suitable candidates existed, but other indices also points to Sverre being in his early thirties when he came to Norway, such as the age of his own sons and those of his younger sisters. However, if Sverre’s claim was false, he lacks a clear motive for contesting the throne, especially when such an enterprise must have seen doomed to failure.
Norway in 1176
Norway in 1176 was slowly recovering after several decades of civil wars. These had in large part begun because of the lack of any clear succession laws. According the old customs, all the king’s sons, bastards included, had equal right to the kingship. It was customary for brothers to rule the kingdom together, but when quarrels arose, this often lead to warring and open bloodshed.
Sigurd Munn, who Sverre claimed as his father, had been slain by his brother Inge Krokrygg in 1155. Sigurd’s son Håkon Herdebrei had then been chosen as king by his father’s followers. The conflict had now assumed aspects of a regional conflict, with King Inge having the strongest support in Viken, while most of Håkon’s followers came from Trøndelag. Inge Krokrygg fell in 1161. His party then took the five year old Magnus Erlingsson as king. Magnus was the son of Erling Skakke and Kristin, daughter of King Sigurd Jorsalfar. In 1162, at the Battle of Veøy, Håkon Herdebrei fell and his faction began to fall apart. In 1164 Magnus was crowned by Øystein Erlendsson, Archbishop of Nidaros. With the Church and most of the aristocracy on his side, Magnus’ kingdom seemed secure. Several uprisings followed, but they were all suppressed. Erling Skakke had been regent during his son’s minority and continued to be the country’s real ruler even after Magnus had come of age.
Sverre meets the Birkebeins
Thus when Sverre came to Norway, he found the prospects for a successful uprising to be small. Distraught he travelled east and came to Östergötland in Sweden just before Christmas. There he met with the local ruler, Birger Brosa, who married to Sigurd Munn’s sister, Brigit Haraldsdotter. Sverre revealed to Birger Brosa his claim to the throne, but Birger was at first unwilling to give any aid. He was already supporting another group, the Birkebeins’ — the Birchlegs. This group had risen in 1174 under the leadership of Øystein Møyla who claimed to be the son of King Øysten Haraldsson. They had received the name Birkebeins because of their habit to wound the bark of the birch about their legs. But in January 1177, the Birkebeins met a crushing defeat at the Battle of Re and Øystein fell. Sverre met with the remnants in Värmland. After some initial doubts, Sverre let himself be persuaded to become the Birkebeins’ next leader.
Rise to power
When he met them, the Birkebeins had been reduced to little more than a ragtag army of brigands and vagabonds, no more than 70 men according to the saga. That Sverre over time managed to forge them into a force of skilled and professional soldiers, stands as testimony of his leadership qualities.
Difficult years
During the first years as leader of the Birkebeins, Sverre and his men were almost constantly on the move. The populace most of all wanted peace, and the Birkebeins were viewed as troublemakers with little chance to success. The peasant gatherings were no match for the battle hardened Birkebeins, but as soon Magnus or Erling Skakke came too close, the Birkebeins were forced to flee.
In 1177, Sverre first led his men to Trøndelag where Sverre was hailed as king at Øreting in June. This was an important symbolic event, since traditionally new kings were chosen there. After this, the Birkebeins moved south until they came to Hadeland, where they were forced to move northwards again. Sverre then decided to move west in an attempt to take Bergen by surprise, but at Voss the Birkebeins were ambushed by the local peasants. Although the Birkebeins were victorious, the surprise element was now gone, and they had to move east again. After almost freezing to death on Sognefjell, they spent the winter in Østerdal.
The next spring, after a short stay in Viken, Sverre and the Birkebeins went back to Trøndelag. The Birkebeins now shifted to a more confrontational strategy, but their attack on the city of Nidaros failed, and the Birkebeins were beaten at the Battle of Hatthammeren. Defeated, they fled south until they met Magnus’ army in Ringerike. This skirmish ended in a tactical victory for the Birkebeins. Encouraged, the Birkebeins moved north to Trøndelag again and managed to subdue the region enough to stay in Nidaros during the winter.
Spring 1179, Magnus and Erling Skakke arrived with their army, and Sverre once again abandoned Nidaros. Confident that the Birkebeins had again fled southwards, Magnus’ men grew lax. However, this time Sverre turned around at Gauldal and marched upon the city. The two armies met 19 June in the Battle of Kalvskinnet. Here Erling Skakke was killed and the battle ended in a clear victory for Sverre. With this victory Sverre secured his grip on Trøndelag.
Victory over the Heklungs
After Sverre’s victory at Kalvskinnet, the war changed somewhat in character. The Trønders accepted Sverre as their king; the two sides were now much more equal in power. At some point, Magnus’ party acquired the nickname Heklungs. Hekle is Old Norse for hood and is here likely meant to imply the traditional monk garb. The Heklungs thus probably got their name from their close connection with the church.
Several battles now followed. Magnus Erlingsson again attacked Trøndelag in spring 1180, this time reinforced by conscripts from western Norway. But in the Battle of Ilevollene, just outside of Nidaros, the Heklungs were again defeated and Magnus fled to Denmark. With Magnus out of the country, Sverre could sail south and occupy Bergen, but his hold on the region remained weak.
Determined to achieve a decisive victory against the Birkebeins, Magnus returned with his fleet the next year. The two forces met at sea 31 May 1181 in the Battle of Nordnes. The battle ended in a tactical victory for the Birkebeins; the Heklungs fled when Magnus was mistakenly believed to have been killed. With his men in poor shape, Sverre decided to withdraw to Trøndelag. Some attempts at negotiation were now done, but these soon broke down. Magnus would not accept Sverre as co-king with equal status, and Sverre could not accept becoming Magnus’ vassal.
With Magnus controlling western Norway from his seat at Bergen, it became problematic for Sverre to keep his men supplied. Sverre therefore led his men south to Viken, a firm Heklung stronghold. He could therefore let his men plunder here with little damage to his cause. However, Magnus exploited Sverre’s absence well. In November he raided Trøndelag and managed to seize and burn the Birkebeiner fleet. Sverre had to return or risk losing his one secure foothold.
During summer 1182, Magnus made an attempt to take Nidaros by siege, but was repulsed with grave losses when the Birkebeins launched a surprise night attack. Sverre now started an extensive ship-building program. Without a fleet, he could have no hopes of expanding his influence further south. In spring 1183 Sverre attacked Bergen with parts of his new fleet. Avoiding detection by the enemy scouts, he caught the Heklungs off guard, seizing their entire fleet. Magnus fled to Denmark, leaving crown and sceptre behind.
In the sea battles of medieval Scandinavia, the side with largest and highest ships would usually have an advantage since this meant the crew could attack the enemy from above with projectiles and other weapons. Sverre now the set out build largest ship of them all, the Mariasuda. As a result of its great size, the seaworthiness of the Mariasuda was rather low and it would only be useful within the narrow fjords. Either because of luck or good strategy such a situation would soon arise.
Early spring 1184 returned to Viken from Denmark with new ships. In April Magnus sailed north towards Bergen. At about the same time, Sverre had gone to Sogn to put down a local uprising and was still there when Magnus came to Bergen in June. After chasing out the few Birkebeins there, Magnus set sail again, having heard news of Sverre’s current position. The two fleets met 15 June at Fimreite in the long and narrow Sognefjord. The Battle of Fimreite proved to be final struggle between Birkebeins and Heklungs. Magnus had several large ships, but none as huge as the Mariasuda. While the Mariasuda held up half of the enemy fleet, the rest attacked the outlying enemy ships. Panic began to spread as the Heklungs fled aboard their larger ships. These ships soon became overloaded and begun to sink. Many of the wounded and tired men could not keep themselves afloat and drowned, including King Magnus. Most of the Heklung leadership fell there, along with a huge number of men at both sides, 2160 according to the saga (though this number is probably too high). Leaderless, the Heklungs were now broken as a political party. Sverre could now finally, after a six years long struggle, claim to be the sole and uncontested king of Norway.
Troubled reign
The dissatisfied priest and his band of vagrants and outcasts had become the king and upper leadership of Norway; now Sverre begun the work of consolidating his power. He placed his own men in high positions throughout the kingdom and negotiated marriage alliances between the old and new nobility. Sverre himself married Margrete, daughter of Erik the Saint and sister of King Knut Eriksson of Sweden. Norway had seen several conflicts the last decades, but once a decisive victory had been won, the victor had reconciled himself with his opponents. However this time, this proved to be more difficult than earlier. This war lasted longer and with higher causalities than usual, most of the old noble dynasties had lost men they wanted avenged. That so many people of lowborn origin were now to be considered their equals was also difficult to accept. The peace was not to last for long.
Kuvlungs and Øyskjeggs
Autumn 1185 the Kuvlungs rose in Viken. Their leader, Jon Kuvlung, was a former monk and was claimed to be the son of Inge Krogrygg. This group was in many ways the direct successor of the Heklungs, with many of its members coming from former Heklung families. The Kuvlungs soon gained control of eastern and western Norway, the old Heklung strongholds.
In autumn 1186, the Kuvlungs attacked Nidaros. This offensive took Sverre by surprise; he took refuge in the recently constructed stone castle Sion. The Kuvlungs, unable to take the castle, were forced to retreat. In 1188 Sverre sailed south with a large fleet. They first met at Tønsberg, but neither side dared to offer battle. The Kuvlungs slipped away to Bergen. Sverre attacked Bergen just before Christmas. Here Jon Kuvlung was killed and thus ending the Kuvlung rising.
Some minor uprisings followed, but these never rose above banditry and were suppressed on a local scale.
The next serious threat came in 1193 with the Øyskjeggs – the Isle Beards. The nominal king for this group was a child claimed to be the bastard son of Magnus Erlingsson. The real leader was Hallkjell Jonsson who was Magnus’ brother-in-law. Conspiring with Earl of the Orkneys, Harald Maddadsson, Hallkjell gathered most of his men on the Orkneys and Shetland, hence the name of the group. After establishing themselves in Viken, the Øyskjeggs sailed on to Bergen. Although they occupied the city itself and the surrounding regions, a force of Birkebeins held on in Bergenshus Fortress. Spring 1194 Sverre sailed south to confront the Øyskjeggs. The two fleets met 3 April in the Battle of Florvåg. Here the battle experience of the Birkebeiner veterans proved to be decisive. Hallkjell fell with most of his men.
Sverre and the Church
The Bagler war
He died in Bergen March 8 1202.
External links
- Oslo's coin cabinet (http://www.dokpro.uio.no/umk_eng/myntherr/ss.html) – Coins issued by Sverre
References
Template:Book reference Template:Book reference