Sigurd Lavard (died c. 1200) was the oldest son of King

Sverre of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson () (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party known as the Birkebeiner i ...

. The name "Lavard" is an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

which probably derives from the Old Norse word for ''lord''.

Background

Sigurd Sverresson Lavard is mentioned the first time during the struggles of

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

in November 1181, when Sverre's rival, King

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 ...

, took the city. According to

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

, Sigurd was born while Sverre still lived on the

Faroes The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

and received the name Unås, honouring the man then thought to be Sverre's father. Later when Sverre claimed to be the son of King Sigurd Munn, Sverre had his own son change name accordingly. Sverre became king of Norway by leading a rebellion against the previous King Magnus.

Career

King Magnus was defeated and killed in 1184, but in 1196 his old followers united to form the

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 ...

party. The first encounter between Sverre and the Baglers took place along the coast of

Rånrike Ranrike (Old Norse ''Ránríki'') was the old name for a part of Viken, corresponding to southeast Norway (Oslofjord area) and the northern half of the modern Swedish (Norwegian until 1658) province of Bohuslän (roughly identical with ''Álfheimr' ...

. King Sverre gave Sigurd Lavard the responsibility of guarding a ballista which he had built. However, during the night, the Baglers launched a surprise attack. Sigurd and his men were caught off guard and chased away and the ballista destroyed. Sigurd was not given any commands after this episode. Sigurd Lavard died in 1200 or 1201 while his father was still alive. He left behind a young son Guttorm who would be king for a few months in 1204.''Guttorm Sigurdsson'' ( Norsk biografisk leksikon)
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Other sources

Sverris saga ''Sverris saga'' is one of the Kings' sagas. Its subject is King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway (r. 1177–1202) and it is the main source for this period of Norwegian history. As the foreword tells us, the saga in its final form consists of mo ...

is the main source of the brief life history of Sigurd Lavard.

References

Other sources

* Krag, Claus ''Sverre – Norges største middelalderkonge'' (Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co. 2005) . {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavard, Sigurd Civil wars in Norway 12th-century births 1200 deaths Norwegian princes Norwegian heirs apparent who never acceded House of Sverre Fairhair dynasty Sons of kings Illegitimate children of Norwegian monarchs