Magnus Haraldsson (

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

: ''Magnús Haraldsson''; c. 1135 – c. 1145) was a

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 kingdoms ...

from 1142 until his death around 1145, reigning together with three of his brothers. He was a son of Harald IV Gille of Norway by an unknown concubine. Magnus was born sometime after 1130, when his father arrived in Norway. He was raised by the chieftain Kyrpinga-Orm at Støle in

Sunnhordland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

. He does not appear to have been taken as king after his father's death together with his brothers

Sigurd Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...

and

Inge Inge is a given name in various Germanic language, Germanic language-speaking cultures. In Swedish and Norwegian, it is mostly used as a masculine, but less often also as a feminine name, sometimes as a short form of Ingeborg, while in Danish, Est ...

. He first appears in the sagas in 1142, when Harald's oldest son, Eystein, came from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and became king, together with Magnus. In a poem by the skald Einar Skuleson, all the four are counted as kings at the same time. In contrast to his three brothers who are praised for deeds as warriors, Magnus is said to "make peace between the men". According to the sagas, Magnus had poor feet, and he became sick and died at a young age. He has later generally not been listed in Norwegian regnal lists. He appears in some lists, however.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus Haraldsson of Norway 1130s births 1145 deaths 12th-century Norwegian monarchs Norwegian civil wars Medieval child rulers Norwegian people of Irish descent