Vikings / Famous Vikings / Magnus Barefoot
Magnus Barefoot
King of Norway
- In Old Norse
- Magnús berfœttr
- Lived
- 1073 – 1103
- Role
- King of Norway
Magnus III, grandson of Harald Hardrada, became king of Norway in 1093 and revived Viking-style expansion in the west. In 1098 he swept through Orkney, the Hebrides and Man, killed the Norman earl of Shrewsbury off Anglesey, and made a treaty with the king of Scots recognising Norwegian rule over the Isles. On a second expedition he allied with the Irish king Muirchertach Ua Briain but was ambushed and killed in Ulster in 1103. He is often called the last Viking king.
Known for
- Western expeditions of 1098 and 1102–1103
- Secured Norwegian rule over the Hebrides and Man
- Killed in an ambush in Ulster, 1103
In the story
Places
- 1Menai Strait, Anglesey, Wales
- 2Downpatrick, Ulster (near place of death)
- 3Trondheim (Nidaros), Norway
On the timeline
Events that name Magnus Barefoot
4 events. Each opens in the timeline.
- 1098 Magnus Barefoot Seizes Orkney and the Hebrides King Magnus III of Norway, grandson of Harald Hardrada, sails west with a large fleet. In Orkney he deposes the earls Paul and…
- 1098 Battle of Anglesey Sound Sailing south from Man, Magnus Barefoot enters the Menai Strait just as two Norman earls, Hugh of Chester and Hugh of Shrewsbury…
- 1098 Magnus Barefoot's Treaty with Scotland According to the sagas, Magnus Barefoot agrees with the king of Scots, in fact Edgar though the sagas name Malcolm, that Norway… Date or details approximate
- 24 August 1103 Death of Magnus Barefoot in Ulster On a second western expedition Magnus Barefoot allies with the Irish high king Muirchertach Ua Briain, whose daughter marries his…
Picture: Magnús Óláfsson, Battle of Downpatrick, Morris Meredith Williams (died 1973) · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.