Eystein Orre

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The battle of Stamford Bridge as depicted by Matthew Paris.

Eystein Orre ( Old Norse : Eystein Orri ) († September 25, 1066 ) was a Norwegian nobleman. He was a friend and comrade in arms of Harald III. Sigurdsson called "Hardrada", King of Norway (1047-1066), and at the same time his brother-in-law and intended son-in-law. He took part in the king's expedition to England and distinguished himself as the leader of the Norwegian reserve troops brought in by forced marches in the final phase of the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 25, 1066, which was named after him "Orre's Battle". In the battle, however, after King Harald, Eystein Orre also fell and his bride Maria of Norway also lost her life on the same day.

origin

Eystein came from one of the most powerful medieval feudal families in Norway, which had its ancestral seat on the island of Giske (in the province ( Fylke ) Møre og Romsdal ) and was named "Arnmödlin-Aetten" after its progenitor, the Norwegian Jarl Arnmod. His son Arne Armodsson lived in the first third of the 11th century and became the closer progenitor through his sons Torberg Arnesson on Giske, Finn Arnesson on Austratt († 1062), Arne Arnesson on Austratt († around 1065) and Kalv Arnesson († 1050) the family. One of Arnes' daughters, Ragnhild Arnesdatter, was married to Harek von Tjotta (in Nordland), the son of the skald Eyvind Finsson called "Skaldaspillir" .

Death of Erling Skjalgsson, Eystein Orre's maternal grandfather:
painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo

Eystein Orre was the eldest son of Torberg Arnesson zu Giske from his marriage to Ragnhild Erlingsdatter, a daughter of Erling Skjalgsson († 1028) from his marriage to Astrid Tryggvesdatter. His grandmother was a sister of Olaf Tryggvason , King of Norway (995–1000), his grandfather Erling Skjalgsson as local ruler in Sola was one of the most powerful men of Norway of his time and an opponent of Olav II , “the holy” King of Norway (1015– 1030).

Eystein had three younger siblings

  • Ogmund Thorbergsson, who with a woman unknown by name had the son Skopti Ogmundsson von Giske († 1103), who through his daughter Thora Skoptisdatter, who was married to Asulf Skulesson von Rein, became the ancestor of the later Norwegian kings Hakon Hakonsson the Younger († 1257 ) and Magnus VI. Hakonsson called lagabætir (law improver) († 1280) was.
  • Thora Thorbergsdatter (* 1020/25, † after 1066) was three times more danico (according to Danish custom), d. H. without church wedding, married.
  1. From a first relationship with an unknown man she had the son Thorer von Steig in Gudbrandstal, who was the foster father of her grandson Haakon II. Magnusson .
Harald III, King of Norway, brother-in-law of Eystein Orre (historicizing representation in St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall )
  1. In her second marriage, she married Harald III. Sigurdsson called "Hardradi", King of Norway (1047-1066), who thus became Eystein Orre's brother-in-law and to whom she bore two sons:
    1. Magnus II. Haraldsson (* 1045/50; † 1069), who was thus a nephew of Eystein Orre and who from 1066 to 1069 together with his brother Olav III. when King of Norway ruled and left a son:
      1. Haakon II. Magnusson called "Toresfostre", who ruled from 1093 to 1095 as King of Norway.
    2. Olav III. Haraldsson called "Kyrre" (the peaceful), a nephew of Eystein Orre, King of Norway (1066-1093), who was raised by his son
      1. Magnus III. Olavsson called "Berrføtt" (the barefoot) († 1103) left a permanent offspring.
  2. After the death of King Harald III. she got a third marriage to Sven Estridsson , King of Denmark (1047-1076), around 1066 , but left no descendants from this marriage.
  • Jorunn Thorbergsdatter, who with the Icelander Ulf Ospaksson called "Stallare" († 1058), the marshal of King Harald III. Hardradi of Norway, was married. She had two children:
  1. Jon Ulfsson "the mighty" by Rosvold, whose grandson Eystein Erlendsson was Archbishop of Nidaros (1157–1188) and is venerated as a saint and
  2. Brigida Ulfsdatter, whose later descendants include Peter Brynjulfsson zu Husastad, who died on October 9, 1226 as Archbishop of Nidaros.

Life

It is only thanks to the Icelandic sagas - in particular the saga of King Harald Hardradi - that details about the life of Eystein Orre are known. In any case, he grew up in one of Norway's leading feudal families, who were closely related to the ruling dynasty there. Eystein's position was increased in particular by the fact that his sister Torah was the wife ("more danico") of King Harald III. Hardradi was the heir to his kingdom - the later kings Olav III. called "Kyrre" and Magnus III.  - had given birth.

Divided loyalty in the family

However, this identification with the Norwegian dynasty was not always so natural in the family, as the family was still politically divided in the generation of Eystein's father Thorberg Arnesson. While his father supported the rule of Olav II the Holy King of Norway (1015-1028), his father-in-law Erling Skjalgsson was on the side of the rival Jarls von Lade (the place is now a part of Trondheim), Svein Hákonarson, who is a vassal of the Swedish king Olav was lap king (* around 980, † around 1022), as he was connected to him through the marriage of his son Aslak Erlingsson with Sigrid Svendsdotter, the daughter of Jarl Svein, who ruled as co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to 1015 . Eystein's relatives therefore fought on March 25, 1016 in the naval battle of Nesjar on different sides, with the party of King Olav the Saint remaining victorious.

Brother-in-law and intended son-in-law of the king

Eystein Orre became a brother-in-law and member of the family of King Harald III through the "marriage" of his sister Torah. and to one of the king's closest confidants and comrades in arms, who also promised him the hand of his daughter Maria from his marriage to Elisaveta Jaroslavna of Kiev († after September 25, 1066), since Eystein was the king's most valued feudal man. Elisaveta Jaroslavna of Kiev was a daughter of Yaroslav Vladimirovich called "the wise" Grand Duke of Kiev (1019-1054) from his second marriage to Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden († February 10, 1050), a daughter of King Olav III. Lap King († around 1022) of Sweden.

Battle for England

Eystein Orre therefore accompanied King Harald on his campaigns and in 1066 also took part in his expedition to conquer England. King Harald III used his son Magnus Haraldsson as regent during his absence and, accompanied by Queen Elisabeth and his daughters Maria - the fiancée of Eystein Orre - and Ingegerd as well as by his son Olav Haraldsson and Eystein Orre, set off with a large fleet from the Solunder Islands in the Sognefjord from Norway up. On Orkney he left the Queen and his daughter Ingegerd, while Maria, Eystein's fiancée, stayed on board. The king reinforced his army there with the troops of the Jarle Paul and Erlend from Orkney and sailed from there to England.

After initial success, his army encountered resistance in North Yorkshire near Scarborough because the population was not ready to submit. King Harald therefore decided to burn the city down and achieved through this severity that other cities in Northumbria also submitted. The Norwegian fleet then continued its voyage along the Humber and landed on the banks of the Riccall River, about 10 miles south of York.

The next destination was the regional capital York . The advance of the Norwegian army, however, opposed the troop contingent stationed in York, which was commanded by Earl Morcar of Northumbria and his brother, Edwin, Earl of Mercia . The battle of Fulford took place two miles south of York on September 20, 1066 , where the Norwegians achieved a clear victory. This led to the fact that the city of York submitted without a fight on September 24, 1066 and took hostages.

King Harald, pleased with the easily achieved success, returned with his army to the ships at Riccall the evening after this submission. It was scheduled for the next day that he should take effective control of the city of York. Since everything seemed to be settled in this way, King Harald took only two thirds of his troops with him on the morning of September 25th and left a third under the command of Eystein Orre; his son Olav Haraldsson, Count Paul and Erlend von Orkney returned to the ships in Ricall. The weather was particularly warm, so heavy armor was dispensed with and limited to light armament with shields, helmets, spears and swords.

As they approached York, this army at Stamford Bridge (near East Riding of Yorkshire) unexpectedly came across the army of the English King Harald Godwinson , who had advanced in forced marches to the north and went unnoticed by the Norwegians in York during the night had moved in. Given the vastly superior English army, the alternative was either to return to the ships and defend oneself there with the entire army, as recommended by Toste Godwinsson Earl of Northumbria , or to bring the remaining troops from Riccall to the battlefield by messengers on horseback. King Harald decided on the second solution and presented himself to battle with his troops under his flag called "Landverwüster". As a result, an epic battle developed that went down in history as the Battle of Stamford Bridge and was sung about by the skalds Arnor and Thjodolf. In the course of the bloody conflict, King Harald Hardradi was shot by an arrow, as was Count Toste Godwinsson.

Orre's battle

At this critical moment, the remaining Norwegian army commanded by Eystein Orre arrived at the battlefield. A new phase of the battle began, called the "Orre's Battle". Orre had brought his fully armed troops at a rapid pace from the Ricall ships over 10 kilometers to Stamford Bridge, which made them so exhausted on arrival that some of them collapsed. He took King Harald's flag of "land devastation" and renewed the fight with his troops, who fell into such a fury that they shed their heavy armor, threw themselves into the battle and pushed the English back. In the afternoon, however, it was clear how the battle would end, as the Norwegians were not only unprotected, but utterly exhausted.

Eystein Orre fell with most of his fighters in battle, only a few escaped the pursuit of the English troops and were able to save themselves to the ships with which the son of King Harald, Olav III. Haraldsson Jaroslaw (later King Olav III) returned to Norway with the rest of the troops. His fiancée had taken part in the campaign to England, because after the expected victory and the assumption of rule in England by the Norwegians, the wedding was to be celebrated. However, she died on the same day as her fiancé Eystein Orre and like her father King Harald Hardradi - probably as a victim of the English troops that chased the defeated Norwegians to the ships in Ricall.

See also

swell

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnesson . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : Arbejderhaver – benzene . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1915, p. 133 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  2. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 105. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  3. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 107. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  4. ^ Charles Cawley: Medieval Lands
  5. ^ Charles Cawley: Medieval Lands
  6. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 109/110. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  7. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 98. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  8. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 107. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  9. ↑ King Harald's Saga , from Snorri Sturlusson's Heimskringla . Penguin Classics; Penguin Books, Harmondsworth UK 1966, Chapter 37, p. 88 and Note 2
  10. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New Series Volume II, The States Outside Germany ; Plate 107. Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984
  11. ↑ King Harald's Saga , op.cit., Chapter 82
  12. ↑ King Harald's Saga , op.cit., Chapter 84, Note 1 on p. 142
  13. ↑ King Harald's Saga , op.cit., Chapter 86, Note 1 on p. 142
  14. ↑ Kelly DeVries: The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066 . Boydell & Brewer, 1999, ISBN 978-0-85115-763-4 , pp. 250-261.
  15. ↑ King Harald's Saga op.cit., Chapter 87, p. 147
  16. ↑ King Harald's Saga , op.cit., Chapter 88, p. 148
  17. ↑ King Harald's Saga , op.cit., Chapter 93, p. 153
  18. ↑ King Harald's Saga op.cit., Chapter 93, pp. 153/54
personal data
SURNAME Eystein Orre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eystein Orri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH 10th century or 11th century
DATE OF DEATH September 25, 1066