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Sigurd Slembe

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	Topics Sigurd Slembe Topic Home Sigurd Magnusson Slembe, or Slembedjakn (died 1139) was a NorwegianNorway Insert non-formatted text hereNorway is a Nordic country on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering S... pretenderPretender A Pretender is a claimant to an abolished or already occupied throne.... to the throne. slembi in old Norse meant something like "noisy", slembidjákn = "the noisy priest". Sigurd, an unknown person, appeared in Norway claiming that he was a son of the late king Magnus III of NorwayMagnus III of Norway Magnus Barefoot, son of Olaf Kyrre, was king of Norway from 1093 until 1103 and King of the Isle of Man from 1099 until 1102... the Barefoot, and demanded his putative half-brother king Harald Gille (whose origin actually was quite similar) to share power with him, as co-kings. Sigurd had himself proclaimed king in 1135. In 1136 he arranged for Harald Gille to be killed in his sleep. As soon as Harald was dead, Sigurd (apparently in order to secure his own position) had the blinded previous king Magnus IV of NorwayMagnus IV of Norway Magnus the Blind was the son of King Sigurd Jorsalfar of Norway and Borghild Olavsdotter.... , his putative nephew, reinstated as co-king (Magnus had been imprisoned and mutilated by Harald). As Magnus was rather incapacitated, Sigurd claimed royal power in Magnus' name. In battle of Holmengrå in 1139 Magnus and Sigurd were put against supporters of the child Inge I of NorwayInge I of Norway Inge Haraldson.Also known as Inge Krokrygg.... , Harald's son. Magnus was killed in battle; Sigurd was imprisoned and executed. The main sources for Sigurd and his era are the kings' sagasKings' sagas The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings.... HeimskringlaHeimskringla Heimskringla is the Old Norse name of a collection of kings' sagas recorded in Iceland around 1225 by the poet and historian... , FagrskinnaFagrskinna *Fagrskinna* is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220.... and MorkinskinnaMorkinskinna Morkinskinna is an old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157.... . They in turn base their accounts on the now lost HryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykki *Hryggjarstykki* is a lost kings' saga written in Old Norse in the mid-twelfth century and dealing with near-contemporary ... whose author, Eiríkr Oddsson, either witnessed the events himself, or spoke to people who had. "Sigurd Slembe" is the name of a historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne BjørnsonFacts About Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjrnstjerne Martinus Bjrnson. Norwegian writer and a 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.... 1863. Historical context The civil wars period of Norwegian historyHistory of Norway Sorry, no overview for this topic lasted from 1130 to 1217. During this period 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.