Øystein Møyla

Øystein Møyla , Øystein Øysteinsson Møyla (* 1157 , † 1177 in what is now Re , Vestfold ) was a black birch chief and king . He got his nickname "Møyla" (girl) because of his small stature and childlike appearance.

His father was King Øystein II (approx. 1125–1157); his mother is unknown. He was the nephew of Kings Sigurd Munn and Inge Krogrygg .

Øystein Møyla was the leader of the first rebellious Birkebeiner army, which rose against King Magnus Erlingsson and Erling Skakke in 1174 . Two years later he was proclaimed king on the Øyrating.

In the sources close to Øystein, i.e. Fagrskinna , Heimskringla and Sverres saga, he is given as the son of Øystein II. Then he must have been born before 1157. After the Heimskringla he sought help from the Swedish Jarl Birger Brosa in Östergötland to build up a troop against King Magnus V. Birger was married to Brigida Haraldsdatter , who is said to have been Øystein's aunt. This connection and the close connection to the Swedish King Knut Eriksson would explain the support by Birger Brosa. The rival royal family of the Sverker was supported by the Danish King Waldemar, who in turn was allied with King Magnus V in Norway. An uprising against King Magnus could therefore strengthen Birger's position in both the Norwegian and the Swedish upper classes.

Øystein received money and a crew and a friendship agreement from Birger. Much people met him in Marker , and he was proclaimed king there. His team stayed mainly in the border area with Sweden for the next two years, but also made some advances against Viken . But he soon ran out of money and his clothes were torn so that they wrapped birch bark around his calf. From this they got their name "Birkebeiner". In the summer of 1176 the Birkebeiner finally got a ship and they sailed past Bergen without King Magnus and Jarl Erling noticing this, to Nidaros. Nikolas Skjaldvorsson, who was supposed to defend Nidaros, could not withstand the attack of the Birkebeiner. They took the city and Øystein was proclaimed king on the Øyrating. Now many men from the area joined them, so that the army finally grew to 2,000 men. They moved to Viken by land, fearing that Magnus would come from Bergen. But Magnus had moved to Tønsberg. In January 1177 there was a battle near Re . The Birkebeiner outnumbered them, but large amounts of snow hindered them. Øystein Møyla fell. He was the last anti-king to fall in battle against the kings of Vik and the nobles in Vestlandet . After him, the Birkebeiner gathered around Sverre .

Øystein's role and importance are assessed differently in the sources. Heimskringla values ​​his importance and the support he received from Birger. Fagrskinna mentions the alliance with Birger only in passing and emphasizes the influx of Øystein from earlier insurgent groups. After that, it was young men who had lost their friends in their fights against Magnus who joined Øystein. After the Sverres saga, Sverre, Øystein's successor, was skeptical about Øystein because of his youth. But in contrast to earlier young aspirants to the throne, such as Håkon Herdebrei or Sigurd Markusfostre , he managed to tie the elite of those who had fought against Magnus before or their descendants to the Birkebeiner.

literature

• Bente Opheim Brathetland: Article “Øystein Øysteinsson Møyla” in: Norsk biografisk leksikon , accessed on October 25, 2010.
• Knut Helle: Under kirke og kongemakt 1130-1350. Aschehougs Norges history. Vol. 3. Oslo 1995.

predecessor	Office	successor
Magnus V. Erlingsson	King of Norway (Birkebeiner) 1178–1177	Sverre