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

Sverre of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (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 ...

. The name "Lavard" is an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

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). Altho ...

in November 1181, when Sverre's rival, King

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 primog ...

, took the city. According to

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), 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 Denma ...

, Sigurd was born while Sverre still lived on the

Faroes The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betw ...

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 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 (''Þ ...

, 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, cler ...

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 Guttorm is a masculine Norwegian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Guttorm of Norway (1199–1204), King of Norway * Guttorm Berge (1929–2004), Norwegian alpine skier *Guttorm Fløistad (born 1930), Norwegian philosopher *Guttorm ...

who would be king for a few months in 1204.''Guttorm Sigurdsson'' ( Norsk biografisk leksikon)
/ref>

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 mor ...

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 Norwegian civil wars 12th-century births 1200 deaths Norwegian princes Heirs apparent who never acceded House of Sverre Fairhair dynasty Sons of kings