Erling (Ormsson) Skakke (abt. 1115 - 1179)

Born about 1115 in Stodle, Etne, Hordaland, Norway

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 19 Jun 1179 at about age 64 in Trondheim, Sor Trondelag, Norway

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Biography

Liegeman, Earl. Parents: lenderman Orm Sveinsson (mentioned in the 1120- and 1130-years) and Ragnhild Sveinkesdatter. Married to Kristin Sigurdsdatter (mentioned 1155-1170), daughter of King Sigurd Magnusson I Jorsalfare (1090-1130) and Queen Malmfrid Mstislav Daughter (about 1100-ca. 1140). Father of King Magnus Erlingsson V (1156-1184).

Erlings went on a voyage to the Holy Land and battled with the Moors in Spain, where he received a wound in the neck "skakke" means slanted. This caused his head to become twisted, hence the nickname. After returning, he married Sigurd the Crusader only legitimate daughter Kristin and was named a liegeman (1155).

In the struggle between Harald Gilles sons he stood with Gregorius Dagsson and "lendmannspartiet" King Inge Krokryggs side. Erling became head of the remains of this party after both Gregorius and Inge in 1161 fell in battles with Hakon Herdebreid, son of Inge's brother Sigurd Munn, who for a short time was sole king. Erlings party chose Erling and Kristin's young son Magnus as King and he was crowned in Bergen in 1161. This was contrary to the old interpretation of the law that the only real royal sons had a right to the throne.

Erling, then went to Denmark with Magnus, to visit King Valdemar the Great, who was the cousin of Erling's wife Kristin. The sources diverge in the discussion of this visit. However, It is possible that he made ​​a pact with Valdemar in return for military support from the Danish king. In any case Erling returned to Norway, overcame Hakon Herdebreid in naval battle near the coast of Romsdal in the summer 1162 and continued to Trondheim. There he promoted his son Magnus as king of the traditional Øyrating, possibly with support from the newly installed Archbishop Øystein. Since his son was underage he also made himself regent and liege to the king.

In the following years Erling searched for obtaining a better legal basis for his son's kingdom by getting archbishop to crown and anoint him as the rightful heir to the throne. To accomplish this he had to go into a succession that broke strongly with earlier succession right. This new law demanded that a successor to the throne should be "fit" (rex justus), the Bishops with Archbishop spearheaded an important role in the royal election and made ​​the kingdom a fiefdom of the St. Olav , "the country's eternal King" (1163 el. 1164). With their demands for enekongedømme and ektefødthet very careful, this first real Norwegian succession law came to be while an ideological defense of Magnus and a kingdom that was very weak after older succession law. At the same time or later this also strengthened Erling ties to the archbishop and bishops by allowing Magnus privilege of the church.

Relations with Denmark were more problematic. The sagas tell that it came to war because Erling had not complied with an agreement to pay a fee to King Valdemar in exchange for helping to win Norway for Magnus. The Danish Saxo Grammaticus tells a very different story about Valdemar and his supported to a new resistance group against Erling and Magnus, the followers of another son of Sigurd Munn, Sigurd Markusson, who had been defeated by Erling men early 1160s. Valdemar undertook at least one sortie to Viken in 1165, apparently without achieving very much. But in 1170, was entered into a settlement which meant that Erling recognized Valdemar as overlord. According to saga tradition he took Viken, by agreement with the Danish king as his earl.There were still followers that opposed both Erling and Magnus, but without success, until Sverre Sigurdsson spearheaded Birchlegs and took up arms against him.

Erling Skakke fell in battle against Sverre in battle on Kalvskinnet at Trondheim 1179. His skill an opposition leader and military leader is indisputable, but the kingdom he had founded departed for Sverre when his son Magnus was beaten and fell at the Battle of Fimreite in Sogn in 1184.

Sources

• Heimskringla
• Morkinskinna, ed. of finnur jónsson, 1932
• Orkneyinga saga
• Sverre's saga
• AGRIPET
• Íslenzkar ártíðaskrár, Copenhagen 1893-96
• Latin document to Norwegian history until 1204, ed. and spare. E. Vandvik and V. Skånland, 1959
• Norwegian medieval documents, ed. and spare. S. Bagge et al, 1973, no. 7-8 and 10
• NFH, Vol. 2-3, 1855-57
• F. Paasche: biography in NBL1, Vol. 3, 1926
• GM Gathorne-Hardy: A Royal Impostor: King Sverre of Norway, 1956
• K. Helle: Norway is a state 1130-1319, Vol. 3 in Handbook in Norwegian history, 2. Ed., 1974
• S. Dyrvik: Etne soga, Vol. 1, Etne 1968
• F. Iversen: Were medieval lendmannsgårder nuclei in older freight collection ?, utr. h.oppg. in archeology, University of Bergen, 1997
• https://nbl.snl.no/Erling_Ormsson_Skakke
• https://snl.no/Erling_Skakke

Notes

Erling Ormsson was a member of the aristocracy in Europe.