Skule Bårdsson
Encyclopedia
Skule Baardsson or Duke Skule (Old Norse: Skúli Bárðarson) (c. 1189 – 24 May 1240) was a Norwegian nobleman and claimant to the royal throne against his son-in-law, King Haakon Haakonsson
. Henrik Ibsen
's play Kongs-Emnerne
(1863) is about the dispute between Duke Skule and King Haakon.
who in his last years elevated Skule to be an earl (jarl). After King Inge's death in 1217, Haakon was chosen king at the age of 13, against the candidacy of Skule Bårdsson. However, Skule held much of the real power under a form of power sharing between Skule and Haakon. Skule's center of power was mostly in Nidaros
. In order to facilitate a compromise between these two rivals, Skule's elder daughter Margrete Skulesdotter
was married to King Haakon in 1225.
Skule thought he had too little of the power and intermittently participated in opposition against King Haakon. In 1237, as another attempt of compromise, Skule was given the first Norwegian title of duke
(hertug). Later, Skule restarted his rebellion against King Haakon. Among others, the Icelander writer Snorre Sturlason allied with Skule in the conflict. The rebellion led to the death of Snorri Sturluson.
Skule allowed his supporters to proclaim him king of Norway
at the traditional Thing
(Øyrating) in Trøndelag
during 1239. Skule also tried, unsuccessfully, to win his other son-in-law, jarl Knut Haakonsson, to his side. He raised a military host against King Haakon and won a battle at Låka in Nannestad
, but lost in Oslo
. His party was called the Vårbelgs, a reference to spring pelts of bad quality fur for poor people. In May 1240, Skule was defeated by King Haakon and his supporters. He sought refuge in Elgeseter Priory in Nidaros
but Haakon's men burned down the monastery and killed Skule. With Skule’s death, the civil war era came to an end.
of Norwegian history
, which lasted from around 1130 to 1240. During that long warring period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. Norway was accustomed to royal sons fighting each other in order to wrest kingship to himself. 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
.
. This was incorporated into Morkinskinna
and was used by Snorri Sturlasson when he wrote about Sigurd Slembe in Heimskringla
. Another important source is Orkneyinga saga.
Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
. Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's play Kongs-Emnerne
The Pretenders (play)
The Pretenders is a dramatic play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Play overview:The Pretenders was written in bursts during 1863, but Ibsen claims to have had sources and the idea back in 1858. A five-act play in prose set in the thirteenth-century. The play opened at the old Christiania...
(1863) is about the dispute between Duke Skule and King Haakon.
Biography
Skule Baardsson was born around 1189. As a son of Baard Guttormsson, he belonged to the Norwegian nobility and was a half-brother of King Inge BaardssonInge II of Norway
align=right|Inge Baardson was king of Norway from 1204 to 1217. His reign was within the later stages of the period known in Norwegian history as the age of civil wars. Inge was the king of the birkebeiner faction...
who in his last years elevated Skule to be an earl (jarl). After King Inge's death in 1217, Haakon was chosen king at the age of 13, against the candidacy of Skule Bårdsson. However, Skule held much of the real power under a form of power sharing between Skule and Haakon. Skule's center of power was mostly in Nidaros
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...
. In order to facilitate a compromise between these two rivals, Skule's elder daughter Margrete Skulesdotter
Margrét Skúladóttir
Margrete Skulesdotter was a Norwegian Queen consort, spouse of king Haakon IV of Norway and Queen consort of Norway from 1225 to 1263.-Biography:...
was married to King Haakon in 1225.
Skule thought he had too little of the power and intermittently participated in opposition against King Haakon. In 1237, as another attempt of compromise, Skule was given the first Norwegian title of duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
(hertug). Later, Skule restarted his rebellion against King Haakon. Among others, the Icelander writer Snorre Sturlason allied with Skule in the conflict. The rebellion led to the death of Snorri Sturluson.
Skule allowed his supporters to proclaim him king of Norway
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...
at the traditional 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...
(Øyrating) in Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
during 1239. Skule also tried, unsuccessfully, to win his other son-in-law, jarl Knut Haakonsson, to his side. He raised a military host against King Haakon and won a battle at Låka in Nannestad
Nannestad
Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen...
, but lost in 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...
. His party was called the Vårbelgs, a reference to spring pelts of bad quality fur for poor people. In May 1240, Skule was defeated by King Haakon and his supporters. He sought refuge in Elgeseter Priory in Nidaros
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...
but Haakon's men burned down the monastery and killed Skule. With Skule’s death, the civil war era came to an end.
Historical context
Skule's rivalry for kingship was the last phase of the civil wars periodCivil 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...
of Norwegian history
History of Norway
The history of human settlement in what is present day Norway goes back at least 11,000 years, to the late Paleolithic. Archaeological finds in the county of Møre og Romsdal have been dated to 9,200 BC and are probably the remains of settlers from Doggerland, an area now submerged in the North Sea,...
, which lasted from around 1130 to 1240. During that long warring period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. Norway was accustomed to royal sons fighting each other in order to wrest kingship to himself. The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
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
Bagler
The Bagli Party or Bagler was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clergy and merchants....
and Birkebeiner
Birkebeiner
The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla...
.
Sources
The main sources of Sigurd's biography is a poem in HryggjarstykkiHryggjarstykki
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...
. This was incorporated into 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 was used by Snorri Sturlasson when he wrote about Sigurd Slembe in 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...
. Another important source is Orkneyinga saga.
Other sources
- Finlay, Alison editor and translator Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway (Brill Academic. 2004)
- Gjerset, KnutKnut GjersetKnut Gjerset as a Norwegian-American author and historian. He was a professor at Luther College and served as curator of the Norwegian-American Historical Museum.-Selected works:*English Grammar...
History of the Norwegian People (The MacMillan Company, Volume I, 1915) - Helle, KnutKnut HelleKnut Helle is a Norwegian historian. A professor at the University of Bergen from 1973 to 2000, he has specialized in the late medieval history of Norway. He has contributed to several large works.-Early life, education and marriage:...
Under kirke og kongemakt, 1130-1350 (Aschehougs Norges historie, Oslo: 1995) - Holmsen, Andreas Norges historie, fra de eldste tider til 1660 (Oslo: 1961)
- Røsoch, Henry Trondheim's History (Trondheim: F. Bruns Bokhandel. 1939)