Reidar Sendemann

Who he is

Name

Reidar Sendemann (the envoy)

Title

Bagler troop leader (sveithøvding) and fleet captain

Since

1196 (a founder of the party)

Born

not known; a Viken man, perhaps from the Drammen country (snl.no)

Family

Parents unknown. No wife is recorded for 1200; after 1207 he marries Margrete (or Kristin), daughter of King Magnus Erlingsson and widow of the Bagler chief Philip of Veien (snl.no).

Confidence

high

snl.no Reidar Sendemann; en.wikipedia Sverre of Norway

Overlord

King Inge and Bishop Nicholas.

What it holds

• No land on 1 January 1200; a war band and ships.

How it was acquired

Recruited men with Sverre's own leave in 1195-96 and took them to the Bagler (snl.no).

Allies and rivals

Bishop Nicholas, King Inge, Sigurd Jarlsson; later a friend of the Birkebeiner chief Peter Støyper, with whom he goes on pilgrimage in 1208 (snl.no). Enemy: Sverre, whom he had first come to serve.

How things stand that morning

Coming back from Denmark with the Bagler chiefs; his attack on Oslo falls at Yule 1199-1200, whether before or after first light on 1 January is not pinned.

Military

Leads a war band and, with Inge, the fleet. Later holds Berget at Tunsberg with about 240 men (snl.no; saga figure) through the siege of 1201-02.

Threats

• Sverre's host in Oslo.
• Being cut off on Berget, as happens in 1201-02.

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. Yule 1199-1200 (not pinned to the day)Leads the Bagler attack on Oslo (snl.no).Depends on: The return from Denmark. Stopped by: Sverre's watch on Oslo.
2. January 1200Leads the fleet with King Inge (snl.no Inge Magnusson).Depends on: Ships from Denmark. Stopped by: The Birkebeiner fleet.
3. 1200 (not pinned)Keeps a standing force on Berget at Tunsberg (snl.no Inge Magnusson).Depends on: The Bagler getting back into Viken after Sverre leaves in March. Stopped by: Sverre leaving a garrison in Tunsberg.

Later, on the likely course

1. September 1201 to about 25 January 1202Besieged on Berget by Sverre; surrenders sick and starving and is taken to Bergen on Sverre's own ship (snl.no; en.wikipedia).Depends on: Sverre's great levy of 1201. Stopped by: Relief from the Uplands.

Places of note

• Oslo: His attack at Yule 1199-1200.
• Berget (Slottsfjellet), Tunsberg: His stronghold from 1200; besieged 1201-02.

Where the sources disagree

• snl.no dates his surrender to 1201, en.wikipedia to 25 January 1202; snl.no also says Sverre died 'just under two months' after it, which fits late January 1202.

Evidence: snl.no biography from Sverris saga and Böglunga sögur.

On the map: No ground on 1 January 1200: not drawn.

Primary sources for Bagler

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The saga of King Sverre of Norway, Karl Jónsson and a continuator (begun about 1185 under Sverre's own supervision, completed about 1210 to 1220). The king's own authorised saga. Read online
• The sagas of the Baglers (about 1210 to 1220, in a shorter and a longer version). Begins with Sverre's death in March 1202 and the reigns of Hákon Sverrisson, Guttorm and Inge Bårdsson against the Bagler kings Erling Steinvegg and Philippus, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online
• The Norwegian diplomatarium and the Norwegian regesta (documents of 1050 to 1590; Regesta vol. 1 covers 991 to 1263 and was published 1898). The Norwegian documents of the year are few and mostly papal: Innocent III's letters on Sverre's excommunication and the interdict, the correspondence of the exiled Archbishop Eirik and the bishops, and a handful of church grants. Read online