Viken farmers (land or people) in 1200, Contested

Viken's farmers are the real power on the Oslofjord that winter.

Sverre sent several great levies east in 1198-99 and forced them to pay heavy war-taxes, which they resisted hard (snl.no). After Strindsjøen he came east himself and sat down in Oslo for the winter. In the first weeks of 1200 the farmers from Svinesund to Telemark, with the townsmen of Tunsberg (and, by en.wikipedia's account, Uplanders), gather an untrained army to drive him out of Oslo; Sigurd Jarlsson of the Bagler backs them, but no Bagler chief leads them and no leader of theirs is named.

On 6 March 1200 they attack in separate bands and Sverre beats them one at a time, partly in Bjørvika. On 1 January 1200 the rising has not yet taken the field: it is refusal, anger and the first gathering.

Who holds it

Name: no named leader; Sigurd Jarlsson of the Bagler backs them
Title: the farmers of the Borgarting law district (Borgarsysla, Follo, Vestfold, Grenland, Telemark), with the townsmen of Tunsberg
Since: resistance to the war-taxes of 1198-99; an armed gathering in the first weeks of 1200
Confidence: medium

snl.no Sverre Sigurdsson, Sigurd Jarlsson; en.wikipedia Sverre of Norway; Koht, Sverre-soga

Overlord

King Sverre claims them as his subjects and has taxed them by force; the Bagler claim them for King Inge.

What it holds

Borgarsysla (Vingulmark) round Borg
Follo south of Oslo
Vestfold with Tunsberg and the lower Drammen valley
Grenland round Skien
Telemark

Allies and rivals

With the Bagler and the townsmen of Tunsberg; against Sverre and the Birkebeiner.

How things stand that morning

Under Sverre's occupation and taxation, unbroken in spirit, days or weeks from open rising.

Military

The levy of the farms, untrained; numbers only as the saga gives them (snl.no: far more than Sverre's about 3,000).

Laws and assemblies

The Borgarting at Borg, the law assembly for the coast from the Göta river to about Risør, which had taken in Grenland and Telemark by about 1164 (en.wikipedia Borgarting); the Haugating at Tunsberg for Vestfold, where kings are proclaimed; the district assemblies.

Overlord claims and tributes

Sverre's war-taxes (1198-99) and his leidang; the Bagler's claim, which becomes tax-taking once they are back in Østlandet later in 1200 (snl.no Sigurd Jarlsson).

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.

January to early March 1200The farmers gather to drive Sverre from Oslo (snl.no; en.wikipedia).Depends on: Sverre staying in Oslo and keeping up the war-taxes. Stopped by: Terms from Sverre; his leaving early.
6 March 1200Beaten at Oslo, band by band (Koht; en.wikipedia).Depends on: No single commander. Stopped by: The Bagler fleet joining them; one leader.
later 1200They welcome the Bagler back into Viken after Sverre leaves (snl.no Inge Magnusson).Depends on: Sverre's departure in late March. Stopped by: A Birkebeiner garrison.

Places of note

Borgarting at Borg: Viken's law assembly.
Haugating at Tunsberg: Vestfold's assembly, where kings are proclaimed.
Bjørvika, Oslo: Where they fought Sverre in March 1200.

Where the sources disagree

en.wikipedia (Tønsberg Fortress) puts this attack in 1201 and adds Uplanders; it is 6 March 1200 (Koht; en.wikipedia Sverre of Norway).

Evidence: The rising's extent (from Svinesund to Telemark) and the townsmen of Tunsberg are snl.no's summary of the saga; no leader is named.

On the map: The outline follows the later Østfold, Akershus (Follo), Vestfold, lower Buskerud and Telemark boundaries, not a line the sources draw; whether the lower Drammen valley rose is not pinned.

Sources and studies

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