Sigurd Ribbung

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Sigurd Ribbung, old Norse Sigurðr ribbungr, (died 1226) was a pretender to the throne of Norway from 1218 until his death, during the final phases of the civil war era in Norway.

Sigurd's father was the bagler king Erling Stonewall (died 1207), who himself claimed to be the son of king Magnus Erlingsson. The bagler was a rebel group, fighting the birkebeiner king of Norway, Inge Bårdsson. The bagler never achieved control of all of Norway, but established their rule in the Oslofjord-area (Viken) after 1204. When Erling died in 1207, he left two infant sons, Sigurd and his brother. They were passed over by the bagler, in favour of Philip Simonsson, who became the new bagler king. When Philip died in 1217, the bagler and birkebeiner were reconciled. The bagler party dissolved, and the under-age Håkon Håkonsson became king of Norway, with jarl Skule Bårdsson as de facto ruler.

Not all bagler were happy with the settlement. In 1218, disaffected elements raised a new rebellion. They were known as Ribbunger (sometimes translated to English as Ribalds). They tracked down Sigurd, and made him their king. At the time, men came of age at the age of 15 in Norway, so Sigurd was most likely under-age. As king of the Ribbunger, he was known as Sigurd Ribbung. The Ribbunger caused significant problems for the new regime in eastern Norway. Fighting dragged on for several years, until Sigurd agreed to surrender to earl Skule in 1222 or 1223. As Skule's prisoner, Sigurd was present at a gathering of all the most powerful men of Norway, which was convened in Bergen in 1223 to finally settle who would be king. Sigurd was one of five candidates at the meeting, which ended by confirming king Håkon as king. Skule, who had been another of the candidates, was now given Trøndelag as his part of the kingdom, and king Håkon took over more and more of the real royal power himself. Not long after, Sigurd escaped from Skule in Nidaros, and made his way back to the Oslofjord-area, where he renewed his rebellion. King Håkon was now personally in charge of quashing Sigurd's rising. Although he managed to contain Sigurd to eastern Norway, he never managed to capture him. Sigurd died in Oslo, still at large, in 1226, of natural causes.

After Sigurd's death, the Ribbunger sought out another of the candidates for the throne from 1223, Knut Håkonsson, and made him their new king. However, the rising was now a spent force, and Knut surrendered to king Håkon in 1227, ending the Ribbung-rebellion.

The main source to Sigurd Ribbung's life and rebellion is Sturla Þórðarson's Saga of Håkon Håkonsson, which was written in the 1260s.