ships became extremely crammed, and then started to go down because of the weight. King Magnus is reported to have gone down on one of the last of them. Historic context The civil war era in Norway would not end with the victory of Sverre over Magnus. After the death of Magnus, Sigurd Magnusson, Inge Magnusson and Erling Magnusson Steinvegg came forth all stating to be sons of Magnus and claiming the Norwegian throne. The civil war era in Norway extended over a 110-year period. It started with the death of King Sigurd I of Norway in 1130 and ended with the death of Duke Skule Baardsson in 1240. During this period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts was the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between Church and King. There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of king from the contesting party. References Other sources Snorre Sturlason, The Heimskringla: A History of the Norse Kings, vol. 3 (London: Norroena Society, 1907) Finlay, Alison editor and translator Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway (Brill Academic. 2004) Gjerset, Knut History of the Norwegian People (The MacMillan Company, Volume I. 1915) Heggland, Johannes Den unge kongen'' (Eide Forlag, 1999) Norwegian 1156 births 1184 deaths 12th-century Norwegian monarchs People from Etne Norwegian civil wars Monarchs killed in action Medieval child monarchs Norwegian military personnel killed in the Norwegian civil wars House of Hardrada