Inge I of Norway
Encyclopedia
Inge Haraldsson (1135 – 3 February 1161) was king of Norway
from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era
. He was never the sole ruler of the country. He is often known as Inge the Hunchback (Inge Krokrygg), because of his physical disability. However, this epithet does not appear in medieval sources.
by his wife, Ingiríðr Ragnvaldsdóttir. At the time, however, legitimate birth was not an important factor in determining succession to the throne. Inge was fostered by Ögmund or Ámund Gyrðarson in eastern Norway. His father, Harald, was murdered in 1136 by the pretender Sigurd Slembe
. The one-year-old Inge was named king at the thing
of Borgarting near Sarpsborg
. His two half-brothers, also infants, Magnus and Sigurd
, were also named king at other things. Their respective guardians joined forces against Sigurd Slembe and his ally, the former king Magnus the Blind
. In 1139, they were defeated and killed. According to the sagas Morkinskinna
and Heimskringla
, Inge’s infirmity stemmed from having been carried into battle by one of his guardians during a battle in 1137: “...his back was knotted into a hump, and the one foot was shorter than the other; and he was besides so infirm that he could scarcely walk as long as he lived.”s:Heimskringla/Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald#Of Sigurd Slembidjakn. The Danish
chronicler Saxo Grammaticus
offers the alternative explanation that he became a hunchback after having been dropped on the floor by a maid during infancy. During the minority of Inge, Sigurd and Magnus, the country was ruled in peace by their guardians, prominent among whom was Inge’s mother, queen Ingiriðr. Magnus, of whom little more is known, died at some point in the 1140s. In 1142, a fourth, older brother, Eystein
, came to Norway from Scotland
, where he had grown up. Harald Gille had acknowledged Eystein as a son before his death, and Eystein was therefore given a share of the kingdom.
The division of the kingdom does not seem to have been territorial, all brothers seem to have held equal regal status over all parts of the country. According to the sagas, relations between the brothers were peaceful as long as their guardians were alive. This period of their reign saw the establishment of an independent Norwegian Archiepiscopacy in Nidaros
(Trondheim
) in 1152. As their guardians died, and the brothers grew up, conflict broke out.
In 1155, a meeting between the brothers in Bergen
resulted in fighting breaking out between the men of king Inge and king Sigurd, in which king Sigurd was killed. King Eystein was late in arriving for the meeting, and only approached the city after Sigurd was already dead. An uneasy settlement was reached between Inge and Eystein. The reasons for the fighting in Bergen remain disputed. According to the sagas, Eystein and Sigurd had plotted to strip Inge of his royal title and divide his share of the kingdom between them. Some modern historians doubt this version, seeing it as Inge’s excuse for his own aggressive actions. In any event, peace between Inge and Eystein did not hold for long after the events of 1155. In 1157, both sides gathered their forces for a confrontation. Inge’s forces outnumbered Eystein’s, and when they met, on the west coast near Moster
, Eystein’s forces melted away. Eystein was forced to flee, he was caught and killed in Bohuslän
later the same year.
Inge was now the last remaining brother. However, the supporters of Sigurd and Eystein united behind a son of Sigurd, Haakon the Broadshouldered
. They renewed the fight against Inge. Heimskringla notes that Inge was popular among the “chieftains” – the lendmenn
– because he allowed them a great say in the running of the kingdom. Foremost among his advisors was the lendmann Gregorius Dagsson, another prominent supporter was Erling Skakke
. The king’s mother, who survived her son, also appears to have remained influential throughout his reign.
7 January 1161, Gregorius was killed in a skirmish with king Haakon’s forces.
On 3 February the same year, Inge was defeated and killed, leading his men into battle against King Haakon near Oslo
, after many of his men, led by his vassal Godred, King of Mann and the Isles defected to King Haakon’s side. He was buried in St. Hallvard’s church in Oslo.
After Inge’s fall, his supporters rallied behind the lendmann Erling Skakke and his son, king Magnus Erlingsson
. This party is sometimes referred to as the lendmann-party. The sagas of king Inge do not mention any offspring, but one of the pretenders against king Sverre
, Jon Kuvlung
(died 1188), claimed to be Inge’s son.
Heimskringla
, Fagrskinna
, Morkinskinna
and Ágrip
. The three former base at least part of their account on the older saga Hryggjarstykki
, which was written some time between 1150 and 1170, and was thus a near-contemporary source. This saga itself has not been preserved.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era
Civil war era in Norway
The Civil war era of Norwegian history is a term used for the period in the history of Norway between 1130 and 1240. During this time, a series of civil wars were fought between rival kings and pretenders to the throne of Norway. The reasons for the wars is one of the most debated topics in...
. He was never the sole ruler of the country. He is often known as Inge the Hunchback (Inge Krokrygg), because of his physical disability. However, this epithet does not appear in medieval sources.
Childhood and accession
Inge was the only legitimate son of king Harald GilleHarald IV of Norway
Harald Gille was king of Norway from 1130 until his death in 1136. His byname Gille is probably from Gilla Críst, i.e. servant of Christ.-Background:...
by his wife, Ingiríðr Ragnvaldsdóttir. At the time, however, legitimate birth was not an important factor in determining succession to the throne. Inge was fostered by Ögmund or Ámund Gyrðarson in eastern Norway. His father, Harald, was murdered in 1136 by the pretender Sigurd Slembe
Sigurd Slembe
Sigurd Magnusson Slembe was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of Sigurd Slembe, the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1863...
. The one-year-old Inge was named king at the thing
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
of Borgarting near Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad...
. His two half-brothers, also infants, Magnus and Sigurd
Sigurd II of Norway
Sigurd II Haraldsson was king of Norway from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Tora Guttormsdotter . He served as co-ruler with his half-brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Eystein Haraldsson. His epithet Munn means "the Mouth" in Old Norse...
, were also named king at other things. Their respective guardians joined forces against Sigurd Slembe and his ally, the former king Magnus the Blind
Magnus IV of Norway
Magnus IV Sigurdsson , also known as Magnus the Blind, was King of Norway from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which lasted until 1240....
. In 1139, they were defeated and killed. According to the sagas Morkinskinna
Morkinskinna
Morkinskinna is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275....
and Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
, Inge’s infirmity stemmed from having been carried into battle by one of his guardians during a battle in 1137: “...his back was knotted into a hump, and the one foot was shorter than the other; and he was besides so infirm that he could scarcely walk as long as he lived.”s:Heimskringla/Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald#Of Sigurd Slembidjakn. The Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
chronicler Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
offers the alternative explanation that he became a hunchback after having been dropped on the floor by a maid during infancy. During the minority of Inge, Sigurd and Magnus, the country was ruled in peace by their guardians, prominent among whom was Inge’s mother, queen Ingiriðr. Magnus, of whom little more is known, died at some point in the 1140s. In 1142, a fourth, older brother, Eystein
Eystein II of Norway
Eystein Haraldsson , born c. 1125 apparently in Scotland, died 1157 in Bohuslän, Norway, was king of Norway from 1142 to 1157. He ruled as co-ruler with his brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Sigurd Munn...
, came to Norway from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where he had grown up. Harald Gille had acknowledged Eystein as a son before his death, and Eystein was therefore given a share of the kingdom.
Adulthood and reign
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
(Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
) in 1152. As their guardians died, and the brothers grew up, conflict broke out.
In 1155, a meeting between the brothers in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
resulted in fighting breaking out between the men of king Inge and king Sigurd, in which king Sigurd was killed. King Eystein was late in arriving for the meeting, and only approached the city after Sigurd was already dead. An uneasy settlement was reached between Inge and Eystein. The reasons for the fighting in Bergen remain disputed. According to the sagas, Eystein and Sigurd had plotted to strip Inge of his royal title and divide his share of the kingdom between them. Some modern historians doubt this version, seeing it as Inge’s excuse for his own aggressive actions. In any event, peace between Inge and Eystein did not hold for long after the events of 1155. In 1157, both sides gathered their forces for a confrontation. Inge’s forces outnumbered Eystein’s, and when they met, on the west coast near Moster
Moster
Moster is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.It was created by the split of Finnås on July 1, 1916, which created the new municipalities Moster, Bømlo and Bremnes. At that time Moster had a population of 1.316....
, Eystein’s forces melted away. Eystein was forced to flee, he was caught and killed in Bohuslän
Bohuslän
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...
later the same year.
Inge was now the last remaining brother. However, the supporters of Sigurd and Eystein united behind a son of Sigurd, Haakon the Broadshouldered
Haakon II of Norway
Haakon II Sigurdsson , also known as Haakon Herdebrei, was King of Norway from 1157 until 1162 during the Civil war era in Norway.-Biography:His nickname, Herdebrei, means broad-shouldered...
. They renewed the fight against Inge. Heimskringla notes that Inge was popular among the “chieftains” – the lendmenn
Lendmann
Lendmann , was a title in medieval Norway. Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the hird of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only earls and kings...
– because he allowed them a great say in the running of the kingdom. Foremost among his advisors was the lendmann Gregorius Dagsson, another prominent supporter was Erling Skakke
Erling Skakke
Erling Skakke was a Norwegian Jarl during the 12th century. He was the father of Magnus V, who reigned as King of Norway from 1161 to 1184....
. The king’s mother, who survived her son, also appears to have remained influential throughout his reign.
7 January 1161, Gregorius was killed in a skirmish with king Haakon’s forces.
On 3 February the same year, Inge was defeated and killed, leading his men into battle against King Haakon near Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, after many of his men, led by his vassal Godred, King of Mann and the Isles defected to King Haakon’s side. He was buried in St. Hallvard’s church in Oslo.
Aftermath
The period of peace during the minority of king Inge and his brothers – from 1129 until 1155 - was the longest peaceful period Norway was to see until 1240, as the dispute between the brothers ushered in the Norwegian civil war era. Heimskringla describes Inge thus:- King Inge was the handsomest among them in countenance. He had yellow but rather thin hair, which was much curled. His stature was small; and he had difficulty in walking alone, because he had one foot withered, and he had a hump both on his back and his breast. He was of cheerful conversation, and friendly towards his friends; was generous, and allowed other chiefs to give him counsel in governing the country. He was popular, therefore, with the public; and all this brought the kingdom and the mass of the people on his side.s:Heimskringla/Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald#Habits and Manners of Harald's Sons.
After Inge’s fall, his supporters rallied behind the lendmann Erling Skakke and his son, king Magnus Erlingsson
Magnus V of Norway
Magnus V Erlingsson was a King of Norway during the Civil war era in Norway.-Biography:Magnus Erlingsson was probably born in Etne in Hordaland. He was the son of Erling Skakke. His father was a Norwegian nobleman who earned his reputation crusading with Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the Earl of Orkney...
. This party is sometimes referred to as the lendmann-party. The sagas of king Inge do not mention any offspring, but one of the pretenders against king Sverre
Sverre of Norway
Sverre Sigurdsson was king of Norway from 1177 to 1202. He married Margareta Eriksdotter, the daughter of the Swedish king Eric the Saint, by whom he had the daughter Kristina Sverresdotter....
, Jon Kuvlung
Jon Kuvlung
Jon Ingesson Kuvlung was a pretender to the Royal Crown during the civil war era in Norway. He was a rival of the reigning King Sverre of Norway.-Background:...
(died 1188), claimed to be Inge’s son.
Ancestry
Sources
The main sources to Inge’s reign are the kings’ sagasKings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
, Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
, Morkinskinna
Morkinskinna
Morkinskinna is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275....
and Ágrip
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway, written in Old Norse. The preserved text starts with the death of Hálfdan svarti and ends with the accession of Ingi krókhryggr but the original is thought to have covered a longer period, probably up to the reign of...
. The three former base at least part of their account on the older saga Hryggjarstykki
Hryggjarstykki
Hryggjarstykki is a lost kings' saga written in Old Norse in the mid-twelfth century and dealing with near-contemporary events. The author was Eiríkr Oddsson, an Icelander about whom little is known...
, which was written some time between 1150 and 1170, and was thus a near-contemporary source. This saga itself has not been preserved.