Civil War Era in Norway - Events of The Civil War Era - Rising of The Birkebeiner and King Sverre

Rising of The Birkebeiner and King Sverre

In 1174, a new faction arose, in rebellion against Magnus Erlingsson. Their leader was the young Øystein Møyla, a son of Øystein Haraldsson. This new faction was called the birkebeiner, meaning birch-legs because some of them were so poor that they wound birch-bark around their legs instead of proper footwear. Øystein Møyla was killed by Magnus and Erling's men at the Battle of Re in 1177. Soon after, the Birkebeiner made Sverre Sigurdsson their leader. Sverre had come to Norway from the Faroe Islands, and claimed to have recently discovered that he was in fact the son of King Sigurd Munn. His claim was widely disbelieved at the time, and also by most modern historians. However, after taking over leadership of the Birkebeiner, he became a rallying point for everyone disgruntled with the rule of Erling Skakke and King Magnus.

Some materialists among modern historians have tried to read a form of class struggle into Sverre and the Birkebeiner's fight against Erling and Magnus. However, the extent to which Sverre's men actually represented the impoverished strata of the population remains disputed. It is clear that most of the lendmenn - the nobility of the time - sided with King Magnus, but Sverre also quickly won several of them over to his side. In any event, the Birkebeiner did not try to change the social order of society - they merely wanted to place themselves at its top.

In 1179, Sverre won an important victory in the Battle of Kalvskinnet, on the outskirts of Nidaros, where Erling Skakke was killed. From then on, the Trøndelag region with Nidaros at its center became a stronghold of Sverre. King Magnus continued the fight after the death of his father, and refused several offers from Sverre to divide the kingdom between them. Sverris saga, which was written by Sverre's supporters, makes much of how popular Magnus was among the common people, and how this made Sverre's fight against him all the more difficult. The war between Sverre and Magnus raged on for several years, and Magnus at one point had to seek refuge in Denmark. The Battle of Fimreite, a final naval battle during 1184 in the Sognefjord, resulted in the death of King Magnus and victory for King Sverre.

Sverre was to rule Norway until 1202, but was unable to achieve long periods of peace. The Church, allied to King Magnus and Erling Skakke, remained virulent in its opposition to Sverre throughout his reign. In 1190, the archbishop, Eirik Ivarsson, fled the country, and in 1194 he received papal support to excommunicate Sverre and order the country's remaining bishops to join him in exile in Denmark, which they did. By then, Sverre had been able to coerce one of his strongest opponents, bishop Nikolas Arnesson of Oslo, to crown him in Bergen in 1194. In 1198, Pope Innocent III placed Norway under interdict. Although Sverre forged letters to show that his excommunication had been lifted, he in fact remained excommunicated until his death.

Several pretenders arose against Sverre. Among the most serious was Jon Kuvlung, a purported son of King Inge Crouchback. He was named king in 1185 and killed in battle in Bergen in 1188. Sigurd Magnusson, an illegitimate son of King Magnus Erlingsson, was proclaimed to be king in 1193 at the Haugathing near Tønsberg. Aged 13, Sigurd was a figurehead leader. He had the support of among others, Harald Maddadsson. His rising ended after his defeat and death at the Battle of Florvåg near Askøy, an island just north of Bergen in 1194.