Nikolas Arnason

Nikolas Arnason (* around 1150; † November 7, 1225 in Oslo ) was a bishop of Oslo in Norway.

His parents were Arne Kongsmåg auf Stårheim and queen widow Ingrid Ragnvaldsdatter (approx. 1105 – approx. 1170). He was also the half-brother of King Inge Krogrygg (approx. 1135–1161) uncle of the Bagler King Philipp Simonsson († 1217).

He was Bishop of Oslo for 35 years and one of the central figures of the Baglers in the fight against King Sverre and his successors.

Nikolas was one of the most distinguished families in the country and, through his mother, had family ties to the Swedish and Danish royal families. He was also related to the party around Magnus Erlingsson . He fought at his side against Sverre in 1180 at the Battle of Ilevolle, which Magnus lost, and later led negotiations with King Sverre for him. In 1189 he was a candidate for bishopric for the diocese of Stavanger , but Sverre prevented the election. A year later he was elected Bishop of Oslo, and Sverre was persuaded to agree by his wife Margrete, who was a second cousin of Nicolas. Nikolas took part in Sverre's coronation on June 29, 1194. But after Sverre was excommunicated soon afterwards, Nikolas joined Archbishop Eirik Ivarsson, who had fled to Denmark . In 1196 he became leader of the Baglers and fought against King Sverre for many years. After the defeat of the baglers in the sea battle at Strindsjøen in Trondheimsfjord on July 18, 1199, Nikolas fled to Denmark. It looks like he stayed there until Sverre's death and the 1202 comparison.

When the conflict broke out again in 1204, it again played a major role on the Bagler side. In 1207 he achieved that his nephew Philipp Simonsson was elected king by the Baglers. In this election the supporters of peace prevailed, and a short time later a comparison was made between the opponents. From 1207 to 1217 he was also one of the leading personalities in the Eastern Norwegian Bagler Empire as an advisor to King Philip. He took care of the church organization and divided his diocese into provosts . He built and fortified the Oslo bishopric.

The Sverre Saga, written from the Birkebeiner's point of view, paints a very negative picture of Bishop Nikolas Arnason. He is portrayed as cowardly, scheming and unreliable and is responsible for the decision to burn Bergen in 1198. Later he is said to have supported other insurgents in the east, the Slittunge and Ribbungene. He was judged more favorably by contemporaries, as can be seen from King Håkon Håkonsson's funeral oration. After that he was a man who was not looking for his own gain or honor. The negative image persisted for a long time, as in Ibsen's play Kongsæmnerne from 1863. Recent research has distanced itself from the description in the sagas and emphasized that the negative features are poorly documented. Halvdan Koht sees in Nikolas Arnason less the partisan of the rebels than the cleric who saw the interests of the church threatened by the Birkebeiners, but who was looking for peace and reconciliation. According to Sverre Bagge, however, one should definitely ask whether a distinction can be made so clearly between secular and ecclesiastical interests in the 12th and 13th centuries. In any case, it was important for the Norwegian aristocratic families to have their members sit on the bishops' see, and these bishops have certainly not forgotten where they came from. His affiliation with the baglers is certainly due to his family connections. This does not exclude the pursuit of church interests, and they ultimately led to reconciliation.

Erik Segersäll's gender

Ring around 936                         Erik Emund     Emund Eriksson                         Olof (co-regent) † around 980 Erik Segersäll     Olof Skötkonung                             An and Jakob Emund gamle                             Anund unknown daughter   Stenkil                                                               Neck Erik? Inge d. Older                                                                                                         Filipp Inge the younger   Ulvhild Håkonsdatter Ragnvald Niels   Margarethe Fredkulla Kristina Katarina   Björn Járnsiða                                                                                             Henrik Skadelår   Ingrid Ragnvaldsdatter Magnus Nilsson   Rikissa of Poland   Sverker I. d. Older Kristina   Erik d. Saints                           Nikolas Arnason Knut V. Sverre   Margrete Eriksdotter

After Lars O. Lagerqvist: Sveriges Regenter. Från forntid till nutid . Stockholm 1996 p. 39.
Not all marriages and descendants are entered, only the most important ones.
Fat = kings

Explanations

1. ↑ Erik Segersäll was King of Svear in the 10th century and at times also King of Denmark.
2. ↑ King of Sweden. * 1000; † 1050.
3. ↑ Emund the old was an illegitimate son of Olof Skötkonung. King from 1050 to 1060.
4. ↑ * at 1028; † 1066; King from 1060.
5. ↑ Halsten is only mentioned by Adam of Bremen as the brief king of Sweden for the year 1066.
6. ↑ Filipp was King of Sweden from 1110 to 1118.
7. ↑ Ulvhild was married three times to: 1. King Inge d. Younger, 2nd King Niels v. Denmark, 3rd King Sverker the Elder Older.
8. ↑ The identification of Ragnvald with Ragnvald knaphövde did not gain acceptance. Lars O. Lagerqvist: Sveriges Regenter. Från forntid till nutid . Stockholm 1997. p. 49.
9. ↑ Niels was King of Denmark from 1104–1134.
10. ↑ From 1101-1103 she was Queen of Norway and from 1105 Queen of Denmark.
11. ↑ 1125 King of Sweden.
12. ↑ In the meantime she was married to the Russian prince Volodar of Minsk. Lars O. Lagerqvist: Sveriges Regenter. Från forntid till nutid . Stockholm 1997. p. 52.
13. ↑ From 1147 he was King of Denmark.

literature

• Sverre Bagge: Article “Nikolas Arnesson” in: Norsk biografisk leksikon , accessed on November 4, 2010.