Skule Bårdsson was born around 1189. As a son of Bård Guttormsson, he belonged to the Norwegian nobility and was a half-brother of King
Inge Bårdsson who in his last years elevated Skule to be an earl (
jarl). After King Inge's death in 1217, Haakon was chosen king at the age of 13, against the candidacy of Skule Bårdsson. However, Skule held much of the real power under a form of power sharing between Skule and Haakon. Skule's center of power was mostly in
Nidaros. He had noblemen who were handbound to him (his vassals/liegemen) such as
Endrid Bookling, and
Alf of Leifa-steads. These men would probably be somewhere between a European count and a high
Ministerialis. In order to facilitate a compromise between these two rivals, Skule's elder daughter
Margaret Skulesdatter was married to King Haakon in 1225. Skule thought he had too little power and intermittently participated in opposition against King Haakon. In 1237, as another attempt at compromise, Skule was given the first Norwegian title of
duke (
hertug). Later, Skule restarted his rebellion against King Haakon. Among others, the Icelander writer
Snorre Sturlason allied with Skule in the conflict, and the rebellion led to his death. Skule got into a personal confrontation with
Arnbjorn Jonsson over the Borg Stewardship but eventually Arnbjorn yielded his claim to the stewardship because Abbot Bjorn showed him that the king had indeed granted Skule the stewardship. Skule allowed his supporters to proclaim him king of
Norway at the traditional
Thing (
Øyrating) in
Trøndelag during 1239. Skule also tried, unsuccessfully, to win his other son-in-law,
jarl Knut Haakonsson, to his side. He raised a military host against King Haakon and won a battle at Låka in
Nannestad, but lost in
Oslo. His party was called the
Vårbelgs, a reference to spring pelts of bad quality fur for poor people. In May 1240, Skule was defeated by King Haakon and his supporters. He sought refuge in
Elgeseter Priory in
Nidaros but Haakon's men burned down the monastery and killed Skule. With Skule's death, the civil war era came to an end. ==Historical context==