Magnus was the son of King
Sigurd I of Norway and
Borghild Olavsdotter. When King Sigurd died in 1130, Magnus became king of Norway together with his uncle
Harald Gille. After four years of uneasy peace, Magnus began to openly prepare for war on Harald; the conflict between them was the start of the
110-year civil war in Norway. Harald had the most support in Viken, while Magnus had control over
Trøndelag and
Vestlandet On August 9, 1134, he defeated Harald in the decisive
Battle of Fyrileiv in Stångenäs herred in
Båhuslen. Harald fled to
Denmark. Against the advice of his
lendmen, as Harald's forces grew, Magnus disbanded his army and traveled to
Bergen to spend the winter there. Harald then returned to Norway with a new army and the support of the Danish King
Erik Emune.
Norwegian civil wars Starting with turbulent reign of Magnus IV, who himself ascended as king in 1130 amidst
Norway’s civil wars and met his end in 1139, the period from 1130 to 1240 witnessed several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian
succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between church and king. There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of
Bagler and
Birkebeiner. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of king from the contesting party.
Battle of Bergen The
Battle of Bergen (1135) decided the conflict over the exclusive right to royal power in the kingdom between the co-kings Magnus Sigurdsson and
Harald Gille. Meeting little opposition, Harald reached Bergen before Christmas 1134. Harald Gille did not want to fight at Christmas, which was a holy time, and waited until 7 January 1135. Harald entered the city with his forces, and Magnus' small army disbanded. Several escaped, and Magnus and several of his men tried to get away on the king's ship, but the whole of
Vågen was closed with an iron chain, and they could not get off. Only a few men were left of Magnus' army, and several of his men were killed. Magnus was captured, dethroned, and handed him over to Harald's
slaves. Magnus was mutilated by gouging out his eyes, cutting off a foot and
castrating him. After this he was known as Magnus the Blind (
Magnus Sigurdsson den blinde). Snorre quotes from a
quadri,
Haraldsdråpa, by
skald Einar Skulason about the battle:
After the Battle of Bergen Magnus was put in
Nidarholm Abbey on the island of
Munkholmen in
Trondheim Fjord, where he spent some time as a monk. He was maintained by the income from the Hernes farm on the
Frosta peninsula.
Harald Gille was killed in 1136 by
Sigurd Slembe, another royal pretender who had himself proclaimed king in 1135. To back his claim, Sigurd Slembe brought Magnus back from the abbey and made him co-king. They decided to split up their forces, and Magnus headed for eastern Norway, where he had most popular support. There, he was defeated at the
Battle of Minne by the forces of King
Inge I. He then fled to
Götaland and subsequently to Denmark, where he tried to get support for his cause. An attempted invasion of Norway by King
Erik Emune of Denmark failed miserably. Magnus then rejoined Sigurd Slembe's men, but they continued to have little support in Norway. After some time spent more like bandits than kings, they met the forces of King Inge I and King
Sigurd II in a final battle on November 12, 1139. Magnus fell during the naval
Battle of Holmengrå south of
Hvaler in the
Oslofjord. The loyal guard Reidar Grjotgardsson lifted his king at the final battle, but a spear impaled them both. Magnus was buried in the Church of
St. Hallvard in
Oslo. There is a monument erected in memory of King Magnus the Blind at the Storedal farm in
Skjeberg in
Østfold county. ==Notes==