Birkebeiner
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The Birkebeiner, Birkebeinar or Birkebein Party were a political and rebel group in the Civil War period in Norway, formed in 1174 around Eystein Meyla, a pretender to the throne. The name has its ori
Skiing Birchlegs Crossing the Mountain with the Royal Child, by Knud Bergslien. Painting located at Holmenkollen Ski Museum, Oslo, Norway.
Civil war era in Norway
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The civil war era in Norway began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne.
Birkebeiner
…or Birkebein Party (Old Norse: Birkibeinar; Norwegian: Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or Birkebeinerne (bokmål)) were a political and rebel group in the Civil War period in Norway, formed in 1174 around Eystein Meyla, a pretender to the throne. The name has its origins in propaganda from the established party that the…
King Sverre crossing the mountains of Voss
King Magnus is mutilated. Illustration by Eilif Peterssen for Magnus The Blind's saga, from Heimskringla (1899 edition).
Erling Skakke burns the house of a supporter of Sigurd Markusfostre as imagined by artist Wilhelm Wetlesen in the 1899 edition of Heimskringla