Haakon II Sigurdsson (1147 – 7 July 1162), also known as Haakon Herdebrei meaning ''Haakon Broadshoulder'', 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 king ...

from 1157 until 1162 during the

civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway (, ''borgarkrigstidi'', ''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. ...

Biography

His nickname, ''Herdebrei'', means broad-shouldered, which he was called because of his big size for the age, and unusual broad shoulders. An illegitimate son of Sigurd Munn, in 1157 he was named heir of his uncle Eystein II, who had been co-ruler of Norway together with his brothers Inge the Hunchback and Sigurd Munn. 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 Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

. 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 co ...

against Haakon II near

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, 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 Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal traditional comprises the areas that are part of Aukra Municipality, Molde Municipal ...

en. After Inge's fall, his supporters had rallied behind the lendmann Erling Skakke and his son,

Magnus Erlingsson Magnus Erlingsson (, 1156 – 15 June 1184), also known as Magnus V, was a king of Norway during the civil war era in Norway. He helped to establish primogeniture in royal succession in Norway. King Magnus was killed in the Battle of Fimreite i ...

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

Historic context

The

extended over a 110-year period. It started with the death of King

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd the Crusader (; ; 1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Eystein I of Norway, Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been ...

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 The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, cle ...

and

Birkebeiner The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; (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 propaganda from the establ ...

. 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 Civil wars in Norway House of Gille Monarchs who died as children Medieval child monarchs Monarchs killed in action Norwegian military personnel killed in the Norwegian civil wars Sons of kings Illegitimate children of Norwegian monarchs