Sigurd II of Norway Sigurd II (b. 1133 - d. 1155) was the son of Harald Gille, king of Norway and his mistress Tora Guttormsdottir. Sigurd grew up in Trøndelag, and was made king there in 1136 upon the murder of his father, King Harald, together with his younger brother Inge. During their minority, the Norwegian nobility cooperated to rule the kingdom and advice the kings. The early years of Sigurd's regin was dominated by battles against the pretenders Sigurd Slembedjakn and Magnus the Blind. These two were finally defeated and slain in a battle at Hvaler in 1139. After this followed a period of peace. In 1142, their brother Eystein came to Norway from Ireland. His parentage was accepted, since Harald Gille had acknowledged that he had a son in Ireland. Eystein thus became co-king together with Sigurd and Inge. In 1152, Norway was visited by the papal legate Nicholas Breakspear. During his visit, the church in Norway was organised into one archbisopric, with its seat at Nidaros. As they grew up, and their old advisors died, hostility began to grow among the brothers. In 1155, all three of them met at Bergen in an effort to keep the peace. Inge claimed Sigurd and Eystein for planning to have him dethroned. Sigurd denied the accusations, but a few days later one Inge's guards was killed by one of Sigurd's. At the advice of his mother Ingrid and his senior advisor, Gregorius Dagsson, Inge ordered his men to assault the house where Sigurd was residing. Sigurd had but few men, and no mercy was given. King Sigurd fell 6 February1155. After his death, Sigurd's supporters took his son Håkon Herdebrei as king. During the following civil war, many royal pretenders claimed to be the son of King Sigurd. This was mostly a political statement, and their claims were at best dubious. Sverre Sigurdsson was the most succesful by far of these claimants, and eventually succeded in becoming king of Norway. Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd_II_of_Norway