Battle of Fimreite

Part of the Civil War Era in Norway (1130 to 1240)infobox military conflict
|conflict =Battle of Fimreite
|partof =the Civil war era in Norway
|image =Fimreite, Sogndal, Sogn no nb digifoto 20151105 00064 NB MIT FNR 06531. jpg

|size: = 200px|right
|caption = Norwegian naval battle
|date =15 June 1184
|place =Fimreite, Sogn
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|result =Birkebeiner victoryThrone usurped by Sverre
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|combatants header =
|combatant1 =Kingdom of Norway
|combatant2 =Birkebeiner party
|commander1 =Magnus Erlingsson
|commander2 =Sverre Sigurdsson
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|strength1 =26 ships Similarly, this battle also had long lasting effects on Norway as a whole. As stated previously, Norway was very volatile during this time, however, the result of this battle led to the installation of Sverre and a lasting effect on Norway's leadership. Sverre would go on to rule from 1184 to 1202, making him one of the longest standing sovereign kings in Norway's twelfth and thirteenth century. His leadership along with Norway's recent conversion to Christianity that spread the Administrative apparatus of the papacy would have long lasting effects on Norway's culture, economy, and society.

During the 12th century, Norway was an extremely volatile place. Around 7 different changes in leadership took place in the early 1100's making the idea of political coups relatively common and accepted. This widely accepted idea of taking leadership by force led to the establishment of several different kings and resulted in a previous change of leadership before the Battle of Fimreite. Prior to the events that took place at the Battle of Fimreite, Magnus Erlingsson gained his authority through his own political coup against Håkon II. At the age of 5 he was backed by numerous Norwegian aristocrats and his father because his mothers lineage could be traced back Sigurd I. Due to his lineage and the fact that Sigurd I was once king of Norway, Magnus and his followers known as magnates' challenged Håkon II and succeeded in defeating him at Sekken in 1162. Sverre had spent most of his young adult life being educated and trained to be a priest by his uncle until his mother returned from a religious pilgrimage in 1175. Upon returning, she explained that on the pilgrimage she had confessed to the pope who Sverre's true father was and began claiming that Sverre was an illegitimate son of Sigurd II. Consequently, Sverre changed his course of action and spent his next few months in Norway learning about the kingdom he believed he was destined to rule until the events of The Battle of Fimreite took place. Magnus had several large ships, and his fleets total is believed to have numbered around twenty six compared to Sverre's fleet of about 14. However, none of Magnus's ships were as massive as the Mariusud, which was Sverre's flagship. The Mariusud was a particularly high sided ship with about 30 benches on board. At this time it was one of the largest warships constructed in Norway, and because of its great size the seaworthiness of the Mariusud was rather poor making it only useful within narrow fjords. As the battle commenced, Sverre was alerted by watchmen that king Magnus and his royal fleet were approaching from the mouth of the fjord. Recognizing the impending battle he sent for his other two ships that were further down the fjord, and prepared his men for battle. On both sides of the battle each party prepared by placing bulwarks on the sides of their ships, donning armor, and preparing ranged weapons such as throwing rocks and bows and arrows. However, on Magnus's side of the battle one final preparation was made that would prove to be his downfall. Keeping with tradition, king Magnus lashed together a considerable amount of his ships creating a massive connected fleet. The first ships engaged were between the Mariusud and Magnus's ships which were lashed together. Although the numbers were with Magnus's fleet, due to the size of the Mariusud and it being turned horizontally most of the lashed together royal fleet was caught on the Mariusud leaving them immobile. Recognizing this, Sverre left the Mariusud to join the rest of his ships and begin attacking the remainder of Magnus's outlying ships which were not lashed together. As Sverre battled with the unconnected outlying ships, a man by the name of Eirik Siguròsson attacked the outermost ship that was lashed together. After attacking the outermost ship, he began slowly taking ship by ship and hopping from one to another until the remaining ships became extremely crammed and started to go down because of the weight onboard. At the end of the battle Sverre Sigurdsson was left victorious and king Magnus V was reported to have either drowned because of the weight of his armor or to have gone down on one of the last of his ships. Similarly, During this time Norway had recently become a part of the Christian church. Their conversion to Christianity and induction into the church would spread many ideas of other European societies. The administrative apparatus of the papacy now had a major effect on Norway which would change their politics, economics, society, and ideas on warfare. However, each of these rebellions along with many more after it were put down by Sverre. Sverre Sigurdsson's dynasty would prove to be resilient to the chaos of this time and go on to rule Norway for over a century. It would combine Sverre's idea on leadership along with the church's administration and ideas into one long lasting dynasty that shaped Norway's history.