Magnus IV Blind

Youth

According to the saga, he was born shortly after the death of Olaf Magnusson ^[2] ( 1115 ). Magnus IV was the son of Sigurd I and his concubine Borghilda Olafsdottir. He grew up and was brought up in Kholugaland by a man named Vidkun.

In 1127, Harald Gilly arrived in Norway, calling himself the son of Magnus the Golden-Footed and the brother of Sigurd I. Harald withstood the test of fire , but he vowed not to claim the Norwegian throne, while Sigurd I himself and his son, Magnus IV, lived. Magnus and Harald Gilley almost immediately became sworn enemies - they were constantly arguing, and besides, according to the sagas, Harald was superior to Magnus in physical development ^[2] .

In 1130, Sigurd I, the Crusader died, and Magnus was proclaimed the great king (king).

Governing body. Start of civil war

According to the saga, Magnus was haughty and cruel, and also greedy, rude, and ill-willful ^[3] , and only his late father’s popular popularity helped him stay in power. Simultaneously with the ting in Oslo , a ting was assembled in Tonsberg , at which supporters of Harald Gilly proclaimed him king and co-regent of Norway. Violation of the oath given to Sigurd I, Harald explained by the fact that it was given under duress ^[3] . This moment is considered to be a turning point in the country's history, since the century-long civil wars in Norway begin with it ^[4] .

Three years - until 1133, the kings ruled each in their own part of the country relatively peacefully, but neither Magnus nor Harald were satisfied with this situation. In the winter of 1133, Harald and Magnus decided to meet, but the meeting did not take place because of the fighting between their people. In the spring of 1134, Magnus openly announced preparations for war and began to gather troops to fight Harald Gilly. His main argument was accusing Harald of perjury. Harald also began to collect troops in Oppland and Vic .

On August 9, 1134, on the eve of “Lavranc Day” ( St. Lawrence Day - August 10 ), Harald with a thousand and a half people was in Furylewe in Ranriki (province Bohuslän ). Unexpectedly, the sentinels informed him of the approach of the 6,000-strong Magnus army. Harald's army was defeated , Harald himself fled to Denmark to King Eric the Unforgettable . Despite the advisors' requests to stay with the army in the south and wait for Harald to return, Magnus disbanded the army and headed north.

Overthrow Pretender to the Throne

Harald Gilly quickly assembled a new army and in the winter of 1134/1135 he returned to Norway. He laid siege to Bergen and entered the city on January 7, 1135 . Magnus tried to escape on the ship, but the exit from the Bergen Bay Vogen was blocked by Harald people. Thus, Magnus was surrounded on all sides by enemies. Then King Magnus surrendered - the warriors who boarded his ship took Magnus prisoner.

Magnus IV was deposed, Harald was proclaimed the sole ruler. As punishment, Magnus was given to the slaughter of his own slaves - they gouged out his eyes and castrated them , and also chopped off his right leg. After that, the disfigured Magnus, nicknamed Blind, was sent to a Benedictine monastery on the island of Munkholmen .

Magnus lived in the monastery until 1136 , when Sigurd Slembe killed King Harald IV Gilly. Sigurd, the illegitimate son of Magnus the Golden Foot (uncle Magnus the Blind), began to seek support in the struggle for power. Magnus joins Sigurd's troops, and he manages to draw troops to his side. In 1137, the fleet of Magnus the Blind became united with the fleet under the command of the young king Inge I (the actual commander was Tjostolf Alison). This battle took place at Munn (Minna). Magnus Blind's troops were defeated, but he managed to escape.

Magnus the Blind went south to Denmark, where Sigurd Slembe soon joined him. They tried to convince the Danish king Eric to help them, but to no avail. The only thing that allowed them to Eric, is to hire a few Danish ships. In the autumn of 1139, the Norwegian-Danish fleet moved north to Norway.

The Battle of the Gray Island and Death

On Sunday , November 12, 1139 (the day after the “Day of Martin ” - the day of St. Martin ^[5] ), the two fleets converged at Gray Island ( Holmengro, Hólm hinn grá ), one of the islands of Valera . The applicants had 30 ships (12 own and 18 Danish), and the kings of Norway had 20, but all of them were large. Moreover, soon after the start of the battle, the situation changed dramatically - the Danes left the battlefield. Troops applicants remained in the minority.

The royal troops, under the actual command of Tjostolph, Amunde, and Ottara, began to massively destroy their enemies. Soon Magnus the Blind was "cleansed of men." He himself because of his physical defects could not leave the ship. His squad named Hreigar picked up the king (see the image in the card) and, covering him with his body, tried to move to another ship. However, a spear hit Hreigar’s back, which punched him through, hitting Magnus. So died Magnus IV the Blind.

The body of Magnus on the orders of Tiostolf Alison was buried in the Church of St. Hallward in Oslo . His father, Sigurd I, was also buried there. Magnus the Blind was erected a monument on the Storedal farm in Skeberg (now Sarpsborg , Ostfold ) Magnus the Blind ^[6] .

The wife of Magnus was Christina , daughter of Knud Lavard and granddaughter of the Danish king Eric I , sister of King Valdemar the Great . According to the Snorri Sturluson saga, Magnus did not like his wife and after the death of his father “sent her back to Denmark” ^[3] , which caused discontent of the family of Danish kings.

• Forsten G.V. Magnus, Norwegian Kings // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.