Magnus V Erlingsson (1156 - 1184)

Born 1156 in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Ancestors

Husband of Estrid (Bjarnesdatter) Bjornsdottir — married 1175 in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Descendants

Died 15 Jun 1184 at about age 28 in Fimreite, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Maggie Andersson [send private message]

Biography

King. Parents: lenderman Erling Ormsson Skakke (died 1179) and Kristin Sigurdsdatter (ca. 1125-1178). Possibly married to Eldrid Bjarne Daughter, daughter of Bjarne Byrdarsvein and Rangrid Guttormsdatter.

Magnus V Erlingsson (Old Norse: Magnús Erlingsson) (1156–1184) was a King of Norway during the Civil war era in Norway. He was in 1161 chosen king of the viksk-vestlandske lendmannspartiet which was built around King Inge Haraldsson "Hookback" . He did not have the hereditary claim to the throne who which typically belonged to sons of former kings. But, he was born from a marriage between lenderman Erling Skakke and King Sigurd the Crusader legitimate daughter Kristin. Being the grandson of the former king gave him claim to the throne. In the absence of royal subjects with stronger inheritance law was sufficient for Erling managed to gather the former Inge supporters to his son as a candidate for king. In collaboration with Archbishop Eysteinn Erlendsson he legitimized Magnus as king through coronation and a new succession. As a result of the interaction between the crown and the church during Magnus' reign important steps had been taken in the institutional development of the Norwegian laws of succession. With church support Magnus was heralded as king of "lendmanns aristokratiet" which had the most followers in the west coast , to the detriment of Sigurd Munns son Hakon Herdebrei. King Magnus sacrificed his crown to St. Olav and took symbolic realm sit by him.

In 1174 Erling Skakke and Magnus traveled against Birchleg followers whose leader was Sverre Sigurdsson. Birkebeiner captain, Øystein Moyle, fell in the battle of Re in 1177. Sverre Sigurdsson rallied his warriors and continued fighting. In 1179 Erling Skakke fell in the battle of Kalvskinnetl, he had been the true governor of the kingdom of Norway even though his son was already of legal age. The civil war against opposing factions continued for many more years several years, but in the battle of Fimreite on Sognefjord in 1184 Magnus along with two thousand of the best men perished.

He was buried in the Church of Christ in Bergen, and Sverre Sigurdsson kept cubits over him.

Issue

Magnus was a womanizer and left several legitimate and illegitimate children. A genealogy in Fagrskinna will have it that he was married to Eldrid Bjarnesdatter from Rein they had a daughter, Kristin, who married bagler leader Reidar. According Bǫglunga sǫgur, however, Reidar married another daughter of Magnus', Margaret, who had previously been married to bagler leader Philip (Filippus av Veien). A third daughter, Ingeborg, married birkebeiner chief Peter Støyper, Sverres' nephew. This suggests itself that Magnus had children with several women.

Sources

• Fagrskinna
• HKR.
• Sverre's saga
• Bǫglunga sǫgur
• Norwegian medieval documents, no. 7-8 and 10, ed. and spare. S. Bagge o.fl., 1973
• H. Koht: biography in NBL1, Vol. 9, 1940
• K. Helle: kings and great men in Norwegian national control approximately 1150-1319, 1972
• ds: Norway is a state 1130-1319 , Vol. 3 by K. Mykland etc. (eds.): Handbook in Norwegian history, 1974
• https://nbl.snl.no/Magnus_5_Erlingsson
• https://snl.no/Magnus_5_Erlingsson

Notes

Sverre's saga draws in several ways a sympathetic picture of Magnus - A generous and beloved leader who never lacked men who would follow him eloquent, well-built and handsome if it were not for an unattractive mouth. As the young man he was, he liked stately clothes, women and war and like his father he was fond of drink.

The civil war era in Norway would not end with the victory of Sverre over Magnus. After the death of Magnus, Sigurd Magnusson, Inge Magnusson and Erling Magnusson Steinvegg came forth all stating to be sons of Magnus and claiming the Norwegian throne. The civil war era in Norway extended over a 110-year period. It started with the death of King Sigurd I of Norway 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 was 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.

Magnus Erlingsson was a member of the aristocracy in Europe.