The Story of Norway

by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

Seeing that they could not destroy Sverre by spiritual weapons only, his enemies resorted once more to the sword, and this time chance played into their hands in a most remarkable manner. The Byzantine emperor Alexius sent, in 1195, a Norseman named Reidar the Messenger (Sendemand), to Norway to hire him 200 mercenaries, and Sverre, though he was of opinion that Norway had no troops to spare, was persuaded to permit the emperor's emissary to enlist such as desired to follow him. Reidar went to work without delay and gathered a considerable force, but in the meanwhile Bishop Nicholas had approached him and induced him to enter into a league for the overthrow of Sverre's government. Next to Nicholas himself, the most important man in the league was Sigurd Jarlsson, the son of Erling Skakke, and formerly a chief of the Oyeskeggs. A boy named Inge, alleged to be the son of King Magnus Erlingsson, was their candidate for the throne. The band received the name of Bagler, i.e., Crookmen, after bagall, a crook or bishop's staff. They were, owing to the accession of Reidar's mercenaries, much more formidable than any of the former bands which had risen in rebellion against Sverre. In the first battle which the king fought with them, they had no less than 125 ships and 5,000 men. This encounter, which took place in Saltö Sound, in Viken (1196), was indecisive, though some advantage seems to have been gained by the Baglers. At all events, Sverre dared not remain in Viken, but steered northward to Nidaros, leaving the rebels masters of all the southern provinces. They had here the sympathy of the population, and experienced no difficulty in having the pretender Inge proclaimed king at Borgar-thing. Sverre, in the meanwhile, levied troops in the northern provinces, and in the summer of 1197 attacked the rebels at Oslo, where they suffered a crushing defeat. Here his prudent foresight and strategic skill insured him a splendid success, while Nicholas showed himself a cowardly braggart, devoid of generalship. He tried to make his men believe that the swords of the Birchlegs would not bite, because they were in the ban, and when this lie had been effectually disproved, the bishop was among the first to take to his heels.

"Ride forth hard now, my lord," one of the Baglers called to him. "Our men sorely need your help and exhortation; for, methinks, in sooth, that the swords of the Birchlegs bite pretty well."

"No, let us ride away as fast as we can," Nicholas made answer; "for now the Devil is loose."

After the battle the prelate sent a priest to Sverre with offers of peace; but the latter, who knew the treacherous character of his foe, would not treat with him, unless he appeared in person. He promised him safe-conduct, averring that he had other means of gaining fame than by killing a man like him. Nicholas made no response to this proposition; but instead of presenting himself before the king, hastened with his men overland to Nidaros, attacked the city, burned Sverre's fleet, which was lying in the fjord, and besieged the block-house, which finally fell by the treason of its commander, Thorstein Kugad. This was a severe blow to the king, and placed him in the subsequent contest at a great disadvantage. To meet the rebels on the sea with the small ships which were now left to him, was hazardous, as the battle of Thorsberg, near the mouth of the Drontheim fjord, during the following year plainly showed (1198). The Birchlegs were here worsted, in spite of their splendid bravery, and many of the king's staunchest friends and adherents were slain. Sverre hastened thence to Bergen, where the Bagler chief, Sigurd Jarlsson, in the meanwhile had been raging with fire and sword. He had burned those of Sverre's ships which he had found in the harbor, as well as the houses of the Birchlegs in the city, and he now laid siege to the block-house, where Queen Margaret was with all her household. As this rude fort was built of wood, his first intention was to fire it, and he began, for this purpose, to pile up wood for an enormous bonfire close to the walls. Sigurd Borgarklett, the commander of the fort, succeeded in lighting the wood-pile, before it was large enough to do any harm. The Baglers began to pile up wood once more, but again the besieged flung burning barrels of tar down upon them and drove them off. After many fruitless attempts, Sigurd Jarlsson gave up the plan of firing the block-house.

THORGHÄTTEN, A FAMOUS ISLAND WITH A NATURAL TUNNEL, IN NORDLAND.

It was not, however, only his enemies without, who gave Sigurd Borgarklett trouble. The queen, at the sight of the fire, grew frantic and insisted upon surrendering; and all her women surrounded the brave commander, tearfully imploring him not to expose them to being burned alive. A friend of Sverre, named Aura-Paul, to whose care the queen had especially been entrusted, feared that the lamentations of the women might have a discouraging effect upon the garrison, and in order to save the commander from their importunities, he persuaded them to enter the room above the gate, which had been used as a jail, and there await the issue of the negotiations with the Baglers. To this they readily consented; and were forthwith locked up, with full permission to wail to their hearts' content. When, however, the danger from fire was past, Aura-Paul went to the queen and asked her, what she would give him if he could induce the Baglers to depart. She offered him a great sum of money; whereupon he begged the loan of her seal. He now sat down and wrote a letter in the queen's name to two priests in the city, urging them to use every means in their power to detain the enemy, as the king was coming with a large force the next day and would be sure to make an end of them. This communication he despatched by a small boy who managed to be caught by the Baglers and, on being searched, had to deliver up the letter. Sigurd Jarlsson, without suspecting the deceit, hurried away as fast as he could, not, however, without having punished the two priests, who, though professing friendship for him, yet were in communication with the queen. This was regarded by the Birchlegs as a delightful joke; for the priests were, like most of their order, enemies of the king. But to make this comedy of errors complete, Sverre did actually, to the surprise of his friends, arrive on the day appointed in the letter. Nevertheless, it was fortunate that Sigurd Jarlsson had taken to his heels; for the main force of the Baglers were pursuing the king southward, and if the two divisions had effected a junction in Bergen, Sverre would scarcely have been able to hold his own against them.

The summer of 1198, which became known among the people as the Bergen summer, was passed by the hostile armies in and about the latter city, and there was almost an incessant skirmishing, besides some hard fighting. A battle at the Jonvolds resulted in favor of the Birchlegs, but was not decisive enough to destroy the Baglers' power of resistance.

The summer passed, neither party gaining any decided advantage. Then Bishop Nicholas, despairing of destroying the Birchlegs as long as they had the town to fall back upon, determined to deprive them of this shelter. He accordingly set fire to the town and burned the greater part of it. The Birchlegs had enough to do in saving the block-house, and could give but little aid to the citizens in their efforts to limit the conflagration. It is doubtful, however, if the Baglers gained any thing by this unwarrantable destruction, for the citizens of Bergen, a large number of whom had been favorably inclined toward them, became from this day their enemies. Sverre was, indeed, compelled to abandon his position, leaving, however, a garrison in the block-house. But the Baglers scarcely profited by his departure, as the country round about had been denuded of provisions, and want compelled them to move. Bishop Nicholas then sailed northward to Nordmöre and Haalogaland, where he met with no opposition; and desertion from the ranks of the Birchlegs increased his army until its very magnitude caused him embarrassment. Oddly enough, at this very time, when the king's fortune was at its lowest ebb, the traitor, Thorstein Kugad, who had surrendered the block-house in Nidaros, returned to him. He flung himself at Sverre's feet, embraced his knees, and cried: