Background
Sigurd Magnusson was the son of King Magnus V of Norway and Gyrid Aslak. Sigurd Magnusson was the only publicly acknowledged son of King Magnus. Several years of warfare with Sverre Sigurdsson had ended with the defeat and death of King Magnus in the Battle of Fimreite (Slaget ved Fimreite) in 1184. In the aftermath, groups made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clergy and merchants was formed to depose King Sverre.
The young Sigurd was proclaimed to be King of Norway in 1193 at the Haugathing near Tønsberg. As the son of Magnus Erlingsson, Sigurd was the nominal king supported by the so-called Isle Beards (Øyskjeggs). The real leader was Hallkjell Jonsson, who had been a son-in law of Erling Skakke as well as the brother-in-law of King Magnus. With Harald Maddadsson, the Earl of Orkney, Hallkjell gathered most of his men on Orkney 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 Birkebeiners held on in the fortress of Sverresborg.
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