Sigurd Magnusson

Sigurd Magnusson (* 1180, † April 3, 1194 ) was a Norwegian anti-king.

His parents were King Magnus Erlingsson (1156-1184) and his wife Gyrid Aslaksdatter († 1193 ).

Sigurd Magnusson is the only generally accepted son of King Magnus Erlingsson. He was proclaimed in 1193 by the Øyskjeggene, a group of insurgents from the Scottish islands, to the king, but was still too young to govern. He was therefore merely a figure of identification of the rebels against King Sverre.

He was brought by his guardian Hall Kjell Jonsson first on the Shetland Islands to Olav Jarlsmåg. This trip abroad was harmless because there Olav had great possessions. From there he came to Orkney in 1193, where he supported by Jarl Harald Maddaðsson, who had been good friends with the father of Sigurd. He already received the royal name, and many men from the Orkneys and the Shetlands swore allegiance to him. The team was named Øyskjegger ( Inseläxte ).

In the summer of 1193 the Øyskjeggene arrived in Viken, where Sigurd was proclaimed on the Haugating king.

1193-1194 Sigurd sat with his main force in Bergen. There he had great popularity.

For Lent 1194 met with King Sverre of the north front of her. On April 3, it came to the Battle of Florvåg on the south side of Askøy northwest of Bergen. The Øyskjeggene were at first the advantage, and the Birkebeiner had to withdraw. Hall Kjell was the better tactician here. But when the Øyskjeggene wanted to pursue the Birkebeiner, it turned out that their belts were useless. So they drove to maneuver in the flow. Since the Birkebeiner turned around and attacked the ships of the Øyskjeggene individually. Sigurd leapt overboard and was killed floating in water. Hallkell Jonsson and his men fell on their ship. Almost the entire force was wiped out. The corpse of Sigurd was found some time later.