Magnus IV of Norway

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Death of King Magnus. The loyal guard Reidar Grjotgardsson lifts his king at the final battle, but a spear impales them both.

Magnus IV (ca. 1115-1139), also known as Magnus the Blind and Magnus Sigurdsson, was king of Norway from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which lasted until 1240.

Magnus was the son of King Sigurd Jorsalfar of Norway and Borghild Olavsdotter. When Sigurd Jorsalfar died in 1130, Magnus became king of Norway together with his uncle Harald Gille. After four years of uneasy peace, Magnus began to openly prepare for war on Harald. On August 9, 1134, he defeated Harald in a decisive battle at Färlev in Bohuslän, and Harald fled to Denmark. Against the advice of his councillors, Magnus disbanded his army and travelled to Bergen to spend the winter there. Harald then returned to Norway with a new army and, meeting little opposition, reached Bergen before Christmas. Magnus had few men, and the city fell easily to Harald's army on January 7, 1135. Magnus was captured and dethroned. He was blinded, castrated and had one leg cut off. After this he was known as "Magnus the Blind".

Magnus then spent some time as a monk. Harald Gille was killed in 1136 by Sigurd Slembe, another royal pretender who had himself proclaimed king in 1135. To back his claim, Sigurd Slembe brought Magnus back from the abbey and made him co-king. They decided to split up their forces, and Magnus headed for eastern Norway, where he had most popular support. There, he was defeated at Minne by King Inge I. He then fled to Götaland and subsequently to Denmark, where he tried to get support for his cause. An attempted invasion of Norway by King Erik Emune of Denmark failed miserably. Magnus then rejoined Sigurd Slembe's men, but they continued to have little support in Norway. After some time spent more like bandits than kings, they met King Inge I and King Sigurd II in a final battle at Hvaler on November 12, 1139. Magnus fell during the battle, and Sigurd Slembe was captured and killed.

[edit] Norwegian civil war

During the civil wars period of Norwegian history (1130-1240) 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 and Birkebeiner. 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.