Haakon Magnusson (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ''Hákon Magnússon'',

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: ''Håkon Magnusson''; 1068 – February 1095), byname Toresfostre (

: ''Þórisfóstra'', meaning "fostered by Tore"), was king of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

from 1093 to 1095. Haakon was only partially recognized within Norway and his reign was thus of limited significance. He has generally not been counted in the numbered series of Norwegian kings.

Life

He was the grandson of King

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

, son of King

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and nephew of King Olaf Kyrre. Haakon was born around the same time his father died. He was raised as a foster son by Tore på Steig of

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending tow ...

on the farm Steig in Fron. In 1090, he undertook a Viking expedition to

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙‎𐍐𐍒‎𐍜𐍙‎𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Vikin ...

, today the area of

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

in northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. After the death of Olav Kyrre he was hailed as King of Norway in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

, while his cousin, King

Magnus Barefoot Magnus Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Magnús Óláfsson'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Olavsson''; 1073 – 24 August 1103), better known as Magnus Barefoot (Old Norse: ''Magnús berfœttr'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Berrføtt''), was King of Norway (being Ma ...

, was hailed in

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

. He soon came into conflict with King Magnus and war seemed inevitable. In 1095, Magnus Berrføtt prepared an armed action against Haakon, but was surprised by the strong position held by his cousin. When Haakon learned that Magnus had come to

, he went across the

Dovrefjell Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central ...

mountain range. However, Haakon suddenly died during the trip over

. Magnus subsequently ruled as sole king of Norway. He captured Tore på Steig who was subsequently hanged.''Magnus Berrføtts saga'' (Snorre Sturluson: Heimskringla)
He was buriedbin Christ Church in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. By his wife Johanna he was the father of Harald Håkonsson (Trondheim, ca. 1091 - Trondheim, ca. 1167), father of Erik Haraldsson Sure (Trondheim, 1120 - Trondheim, 1198), married to Ragnhild Hansdatter (ca. 1123 - ca. 1194), parents of Håkon Eriksson Sure (Trondheim, 1145 - Trondheim, 1217), father of Harald Håkonson Sure (1172 - 1213), father of Auden Haraldsen Sure (Trondheim, ca. 1200 - Trondheim, 1276), father of Pål Audenson Sure (Trondheim, 1235 - Trondheim, 1289), who had three daughters married with issue, and Ingeborg Audunsdatter Sure (Trondheim, 1238 - Tingvoll, 1296), married to Ivar Toraldeson Aspen (Kvinnherad, 1237 - Kvinnherad, 1304), and had issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haakon Magnusson of Norway 1068 births 1094 deaths 11th-century Norwegian monarchs House of Hardrada