During his visit in Sarpsborg, in 1203, King Haakon Sverreson had become enamored of a handsome girl of high birth, Inga of Varteig. She reciprocated his affection, and the intimacy that grew up between them was no secret to the king’s friends. Soon after the king’s death, Inga, who was then at the parsonage Folkisberg (in the present Eidsberg parish), gave birth to a son. The priest, Thrond, who well knew who the father was, baptized the boy and named him Haakon, after his father. Thrond kept the child at his home, but did all he could to keep the matter secret. Later he took Erlend of Huseby, a distant relative of King Haakon, into his confidence, and it was decided to get the child away from Viken, on account of the constant danger from the Baglers. Toward Christmas, 1205, when the boy was about a year and a half old, his mother, Inga of Varteig, the priest Thrond, and Erlend of Huseby started out on the dangerous journey. They arrived at Hamar Christmas eve, but were afraid to stay there long, and therefore continued their journey as soon as possible. They first came to Lillehammer, where a number of Birchlegs joined them, and then proceeded across the mountain to Oesterdalen, and thence north to Nidaros. During the journey across the mountain they suffered untold hardships on account of snow and cold, being often obliged to spend the night in the wilderness. Once the storm had become so severe that they did not know where they were. The royal child was then given to the two best ski-runners in the party, Thorstein Skevla and Skervald Skrukka, who started ahead of the others in order to find shelter if possible. They did not succeed in reaching any settlement that night, but struck a mountain hay-shed, where they made fire and prepared a couch for the child. The remainder of the party reached the place later in the night. In the morning the snow was so deep that it was only with the greatest difficulty that they could proceed. When they reached the settlements, however, they were well received, and many Birchlegs joined them on their journey northward.
When King Inge and his men heard of the journey of the royal child and of the hardships which the party had suffered, they all thanked God for having saved the child. The king and his whole court set out to meet the party at the blockhouse, and, on their arrival, he took the little boy in his arms and kissed him. The boy and his mother were given the best of care in Nidaros. The child became very popular with the old Birchlegs who had served under his father and his grandfather. They came often to see how he was getting along, and would sometimes playfully take him between them and stretch his arms and legs in order, as they said, to make him grow faster.
In the spring of 1206 Erling Steinvegg collected a fleet and proceeded north to Throndhjem, in order to attack King Inge in his stronghold in Nidaros. On Saturday, April 22, there were great festivities in Nidaros, for King Inge was celebrating the wedding of his sister Sigrid, daughter of Baard of Rein, to the liegeman, Thorgrim of Ljaanes. All the prominent men in the surrounding country had come to the wedding. There was much drinking during the night, and the king, as well as his chiefs and warriors, went to bed intoxicated. Toward morning the Baglers suddenly attacked the sleeping town and effected a general massacre. Many of the prominent Birchlegs, who had been with King Sverre in many of his battles, were killed by the Baglers on this occasion. King Inge, who was not at the royal residence, but was sleeping in the house of his mistress, was with some difficulty awakened by the latter’s servants. He escaped to a neighboring roof, where he lay until the Baglers had passed the house; then he ran down to the docks and threw himself in the icy river in order to swim across. The strong current made this a very difficult task. Out in the stream he caught hold of the anchor cable of a ship, to which he clung for a while, but a man, who was keeping guard on board, pushed him off with a pole, and he was obliged to swim further. He finally reached the other shore, but was then so exhausted from cold and exertion that he would probably have succumbed, if one of his faithful men, Reidulf Baardsbrother, had not happened to come to his assistance. Reidulf took off his cloak and wrapped the king in it, and carried him on his back to Skyaas, where they obtained a horse and sled and escaped to Klæbu.
In the meanwhile the Baglers continued their dreadful work in Nidaros. They searched all the churches and killed those who had taken refuge there, and committed numerous acts of plunder and depredation. King Inge’s half-brother, the seventeen year old Skule Baardson, escaped as by a miracle. He crept along the house walls and reached the river, where the chief, Jon Usle, and forty Birchlegs were just going across in some boats they had secured. They crossed in safety, and later proceeded to Klæbu, where Skule found the king with a hundred Birchlegs and peasants, who had gathered about him.
King Inge was greatly changed after the experiences of that awful night. The light-hearted and social young man became gloomy and melancholy. He never felt really at ease except on board his ship and in the solitude of his room. He was averse to seeing new faces, and only his nearest and dearest men were admitted to his presence.
King Inge soon returned to Nidaros with a force of Birchlegs, while the Baglers withdrew to Bergen with their large booty. Here they were soon afterward overtaken by Earl Haakon and the Birchlegs, who defeated them and took back the greater part of the spoil. Thus the two parties, from time to time, continued to surprise and attack each other with no other result than that the country suffered. Early in the year 1207 the Bagler king, Erling Steinvegg, died, and Bishop Nicholas at last succeeded in having his nephew, Philip, chosen as the third king of the Baglers.
In the summer of 1208 negotiations for peace were commenced. The manner in which the war had lately been conducted indicates that the strength of both parties was practically exhausted. The whole warfare was only a sort of hide-and-seek play, or a continual cruising back and forth between Bergen and Viken, in which they do not even seem to have tried to meet in decisive battle, but only to forestall each other, attack singly some one of the hostile party, and otherwise do as much damage as possible by plunder and depredation. Everybody began to realize that the resources of the country were thus being wasted, and that, whichever party finally won, there would only be an impoverished land and people to rule over. Bishop Nicholas saw this as well as any one, and consulted the archbishop in Nidaros. The result was a meeting of the chiefs of both parties at Hvitings Island (Hvitingsö), near Stavanger, where the king of the Baglers, Philip, swore allegiance to King Inge, and was, in return, made earl of Viken and the Uplands, and was given Christina, the daughter of Sverre, in marriage.
The war between the Baglers and the Birchlegs was thus ended, and comparative peace was restored. One of the disturbing elements that remained was the jealousy of Earl Haakon Galen and his ambitious wife. As the nephew of King Sverre, he thought he had been as much entitled to the throne as his half-brother, Inge. An open revolt was avoided; but, probably by the intervention of Archbishop Thore, a compact was made between the earl and the king (1212), by which it was decided that illegitimate children were to be excluded from the succession to the throne. This agreement was especially aimed against the young Haakon Haakonson and Inge’s own illegitimate child, Guthorm, and gave the succession to Haakon Galen’s own offspring. This agreement, however, was not approved by the old warriors among the Birchlegs, who were greatly attached to King Sverre’s direct descendant, the young Haakon.
In the evening, after the agreement had been made, the boy came home from school to the court of Earl Haakon, by whom he was being raised, and he hurried to the old veteran, Helge Hvasse, who was especially fond of the boy, and used to give a great deal of attention to him. This time, however, he turned away and would not speak to the child.
“Why are you angry with me?” asked the boy.