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'Magnus Erlingsson' (1156—1184) was a king of Norway, probably born in Etne in Hordaland. He was son of Erling Skakke and Kristin Sigurdsdatter, daughter of king Sigurd Jorsalfare. He was named king in 1161, and was the first Norwegian king to be crowned. His father Erling took the title of earl and held the real power while Magnus was a minor. Magnus' reign saw the arrival in Norway of Sverre Sigurdsson, who claimed the throne for himself. Several years of warfare ended with Magnus' defeat and death in the battle of Fimreite in 1184.
The civil wars period of Norwegian history lasted from 1130 to 1217. During this period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between Church and King. There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of the king from the contesting party.
Successor as the next Heklung pretender: Jon Kuvlung