Sigurd Slembe

Sigurd Magnusson Slembe, even Sigurd Slembidjakn († November 12, 1139 ) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne at the time of the Civil War.

Life

Descriptions of his person are passed down through the King say in the Heimskringla and the Fagrskinna. These are based in part on the now lost works of Hryggjarstykki Eiríkr Oddsson.

According to the Heimskringla, Harald Gille was king of Norway since 1130 and since his victory over Magnus IV 1135 autocrat, by a band headed by Sigurd Slembe in the night of 13 killed in the December 14, 1136 in bed. Slembe claimed to be a brother of Harald Gille, and had himself proclaimed himself king in the sequence. However, were still 1136 Harald Gilles sons Sigurd Munn and Inge Krogrygg, both little children, proclaimed kings.

Slembe combined with Magnus the Blind; the two wanted to be confirmed as kings. Later Slembe and Magnus kept on in Denmark. In the summer of 1138 Sigurd Slembe defeated in Lister Beintein Kolbeinson, a brave courtier of King Inge. Then Sigurd Slembe was pursued by King Inge of the sea; he hid in a cave on a fjord over the following winter.

In late autumn 1139 Sigurd Slembe came together with Magnus the Blind with 30 ships from Denmark to Norway. King Inge and King Sigurd pursued the fleet of twenty large ships. It came to the battle of Holmengrå ( Hvaler kommune in Østfold at the far end of the Oslo fjord ), which started in favor of the two young kings. Magnus and the majority of the crews of Magnus and Sigurd were killed; Sigurd Slembe was captured, tortured and eventually killed.

Reception

The resulting 1862 drama trilogy Sigurd Slembe (English under the same title in 1903 ) is dedicated to Slembes life of the Norwegian poet and Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) wrote in 1871 an overture for orchestra (opus 8) to Bjornson's drama. This came on 12 December 1871 in Leipzig for the premiere.

Documents

Swell

• Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: " The story of Magnus the Blind and Harald Gilli. " And "The Story of King Ingi ". In: Felix Niedner ( Übs ) Snorri's Book of Kings Vol 3 ( Darmstadt 1965), pp. 245-313.