House of Sverre

House of Sverre
House of Sverre
Parent house	Gille dynasty (claimed)
Country	Kingdom of Norway and Kingdom of Scotland
Founded	1184
Founder	Sverre Sigurdsson
Final ruler	Haakon V (Norway); Margaret (Scotland, disputed)
Titles	Chieftain of the Birkebeins ; King of Norway ; Queen of Scots (disputed)
Cadet branches	House of Rosensverd

The House of Sverre (Norwegian: Sverreætten)^[1] was a royal house or dynasty which ruled, at various times in history, the Kingdom of Norway, hereunder the kingdom's realms, and the Kingdom of Scotland. The house was founded with King Sverre Sigurdsson. It provided the rulers of Norway from 1184 to 1319.

History

The house was founded with King Sverre Sigurdsson, who claimed to be an illegitimate son of King Sigurd Munn, when he was made King of Norway. After Sverre's death, his descendants would expand the influence, wealth, and power of the dynasty. Under his grandson Haakon IV's rule, the Kingdom of Norway reached its peak, the civil war era ended, and it was the start of a golden age in Norway.

Margaret, Maid of Norway, a queen-designate of the Kingdom of Scotland, was also a member of this family.

Their descendants consist of the House of Rosensverd (Norway)^[2]

The house replaced the Gille dynasty, and was again replaced by the House of Bjälbo, which inherited Norway's throne. They were the last reigning family that claimed patrilineal descent from Harald Fairhair.

Coat of arms

The main arms of the kings belonging to the House of Sverre, was a golden crowned lion on a red field. The lion was later supplied with a silver axe symbolising Olaf the Holy. This became the coat of arms of Norway.

Seal of King Haakon V Magnusson, the last king belonging to the House of Sverre.
Seal of King Haakon V Magnusson's daughter, Duchess Ingeborg.
Arms of King Haakon V Magnusson's daughter's son, King Haakon VI Magnusson, who was of the House of Bjälbo. His coat of arms includes the Sverre arms and the Bjälbo arms.

List of kings

The rulers within the royal house or dynasty would often have a "junior king" along with a "senior king" (three dates show the reign as junior king to the start of reign as senior to the end of their reign). Here is a list of the rulers when the house held the power in Norway:

Name	Reign
Sverre Sigurdsson	1184–1202
Haakon III Sverresson	1202–1204
Guttorm Sigurdsson	1204
Rule of Inge Baardson of the Gille branch	1204–1217
Haakon IV the Old	1217–1263
Haakon Haakonsson the Young	1240–1257
Magnus VI Lagabøte	1257–1263–1280
Eric II Magnusson	1273–1280–1299
Haakon V Magnusson	1299–1319

Family tree

Members of the family are marked with red, and the monarchs of the family as bolded.

Sverre
King of Norway

Margaret of Sweden

Sigurd Lavard

Haakon III
King of Norway

Inga of Varteig

Christina of Norway

Philip Simonsson
Bagler pretender

Guttorm
King of Norway

Kanga the Young

Haakon IV
King of Norway

Margaret Skulesdatter

Sigurd Haakonsson

Gregorius Andresson
Lendmann

Cecilia Haakonsdotter

Harald Olafsson
King of Mann and the Isles

Olaf Haakonsson

Haakon the Young
Junior King of Norway

Rikissa Birgersdotter

Christina of Norway

Philip
Infante of Castile

Magnus VI
King of Norway

Ingeborg of Denmark

Sverre Magnus Haakonsson
Junker

Margaret of Scotland

Eric II
King of Norway

Isabel Bruce

Isabelle de Joigny

Haakon V
King of Norway

Euphemia of Rügen

Margaret
Queen of Scotland

Valdemar Magnusson
Prince, Duke of Finland

Ingeborg of Norway

Havtore Jonsson
Baron

Agnes Haakonsdotter

Eric Magnusson
Prince, Duke of Svealand

Ingeborg of Norway

Sudreim claim

House of Bjälbo

References

^ Lunden, Kåre; Mykland, Knut (1976). Norge under Sverreætten 1177-1319. Norges historie. Vol. 3. Cappelen. ISBN 9788202034535.
^ Billing., Hansen, Bent (1990). Rosensverdslektens forfedre. B.B. Hansen. OCLC 866271168.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[1] Lunden, Kåre; Mykland, Knut (1976). Norge under Sverreætten 1177-1319. Norges historie. Vol. 3. Cappelen. ISBN 9788202034535.

[:0-2] Billing., Hansen, Bent (1990). Rosensverdslektens forfedre. B.B. Hansen. OCLC 866271168.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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