Land or people · Contested ground · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Uplands

The inland valleys round Lake Mjøsa and the Glomma, Lågen, Begna and Hallingdal rivers, the old petty kingdoms of the Uplands.

No royal officer of Sverre's and no Bagler holder is named here for the winter of 1199-1200 in the sources checked. The Bagler kept their seat at Hamarkaupangen in 1196-99, their boy king was kept on the Uplands in 1197, and from mid-1200 until 1202 their main force sits here; en.wikipedia says that about 1200 they remained powerful in Hedmark and Østerdal, which are drawn as Bagler ground. The rest of the Uplands lies between Sverre's host at Oslo and the Bagler heartland, on the roads both sides use (the Gudbrandsdal road over Dovre to Trøndelag, the Valdres road to Sogn).

By en.wikipedia's account Uplanders joined the farmers who attacked Sverre at Oslo in March 1200. Drawn as contested: claimed by both, held firmly by neither.

Who holds it

Name
no lord or royal officer is named for that winter
Title
the Uplanders and their great men, under the Uplands' law and assembly (the Eidsivating, first at Åker on Hedmark, later at Eidsvoll)
Confidence
low

snl.no Eidsivating, Inge Magnusson; en.wikipedia Bagler

Overlord

King Sverre claims them; the Bagler claim them and draw their strength from the Uplands.

What it holds

  • Romerike
  • Solør, Odal and Vinger
  • Toten and Land
  • Hadeland
  • Ringerike
  • Valdres
  • Gudbrandsdal
  • Hallingdal and Numedal

Allies and rivals

Kin and neighbours of the Bagler-minded Hedmark chieftains; Sverre's men are far off in Oslo.

How things stand that morning

Leaning to the Bagler, with no army of either side known in the valleys that morning.

Military

The district levies; no figure.

Laws and assemblies

The Eidsivating (Heidsævisting), the Uplands' assembly and law, first at Åker in Vang on Hedmark and later at Eidsvoll; it covered Hedmark, Hadeland and Romerike, and later Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal (snl.no). Whether Valdres, Hallingdal and Numedal belonged to it in 1200 is not pinned.

Overlord claims and tributes

Sverre's king's rights and levy; the Bagler's claim. Who took the Uplands' taxes in 1199 is not pinned.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

In 1200

  1. early 1200Uplanders join the march on Oslo, by en.wikipedia's account (Tønsberg Fortress); beaten 6 March 1200.Depends on: The Viken rising. Stopped by: Sverre's men reaching the Uplands first.
  2. mid-1200 to 1202The Bagler main force sits on the Uplands; in winter 1201-02 Inge campaigns west as far as Sogn (snl.no).Depends on: Sverre staying in the west. Stopped by: A Birkebeiner march inland.

Later, on the likely course

  1. 1202Inge is killed on Helgøya in Mjøsa, by Uplands farmers or by his own men (snl.no gives both; en.wikipedia places it at Storøya by Fagernes).Depends on: Sverre's death and the Church's peace with Haakon. Stopped by: Sverre living on.

Places of note

  • Eidsvoll: Later meeting place of the Eidsivating.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: No source checked names a holder in these valleys that winter; the allegiance is inferred from the Bagler seat at Hamar, the 1197 custody, the 1200-02 campaigns and en.wikipedia's general statement.

On the map: A single outline for many valleys whose loyalties that winter are not recorded one by one; Hallingdal and Numedal are included as Upland valleys although their law district in 1200 is not pinned.

Sources and studies

  1. Store norske leksikon: Eidsivating
  2. Store norske leksikon (Norsk biografisk leksikon): Inge Magnusson
  3. Wikipedia: Bagler
  4. Store norske leksikon: Sigurd Jarlsson
  5. Wikipedia: Tønsberg Fortress

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.