Haakon Sigurdsson (1147 – 7 July 1162), also known as Haakon Herdebrei, was

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

(being Haakon II) from 1157 until 1162 during the

Civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway ( no, borgerkrigstida or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne. In the absence of f ...

Biography

His nickname, ''Herdebrei'', means broad-shouldered. An illegitimate son of

Sigurd Munn Sigurd Haraldsson (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Haraldsson''; 1133 – 10 June 1155), also called Sigurd Munn, was king of Norway (being Sigurd II) from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Thora Guttormsdotter (''� ...

, in 1157 he was named heir of his uncle Eystein II, who had been co-ruler of Norway together with his brothers Inge Haraldsson and

. Inge had become the sole ruler of Norway after the death of Eystein and Sigurd Munn. The former supporters of Sigurd Munn and Eystein II united behind Haakon, renewing the fight against Inge under the leadership of Sigurd Håvardsson of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

. On 3 February 1161, King Inge I was defeated and killed while leading his men into

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against Haakon II near

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, after many of his men, led by his vassal Godred II Olafsson, defected to Haakon’s side. On 7 July 1162 King Haakon II was killed in the Battle of Sekken not far from the market town Veøya in

Romsdal Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after ...

en. After Inge’s fall, his supporters had rallied behind the lendmann

Erling Skakke Erling Skakke (1115 – 18 June 1179) was a Norwegian Jarl during the 12th century. He was the father of Magnus V, who reigned as King of Norway from 1161 to 1184. Biography Erling Ormsson was born at Etne in the county of Hordaland, Norway. He ...

and his son,

Magnus Erlingsson Magnus Erlingsson ( non, Magnús Erlingsson, 1156 – 15 June 1184) was a king of Norway (being Magnus V) during the civil war era in Norway. He was the first known Scandinavian monarch to be crowned in Scandinavia. He helped to establish primoge ...

. Haakon II was succeeded as king of Norway by King Magnus V.''Magnus Erlingson's Saga'' (Heimskringla)
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Historic context

The

extended over a 110-year period. It started with the death of King Sigurd I of Norway in 1130 and ended with the death of Duke Skule Baardsson in 1240. During this period there were 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 Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; no, Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propaga ...

. 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.

References

Other sources

* Krag, Claus ''Norges historie fram til 1319'' (Oslo, 2000) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haakon 02 Of Norway 1147 births 1162 deaths 12th-century Norwegian monarchs Norwegian civil wars House of Gille Rulers who died as children Medieval child rulers Monarchs killed in action Norwegian military personnel killed in the Norwegian civil wars