Town · The Bagler and King Inge · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Hamar

The bishop's market town on a point of Lake Mjøsa.

The see was split from Oslo in 1152 by the legate Nicholas Breakspear, and its first bishop, Arnold, began the cathedral, which is still building in 1200 (en.wikipedia). It is the market of Hedmark, near Åker, the old seat of power where the Uplands' assembly first met (snl.no Eidsivating). In 1196-99 the Bagler's main seat seems to have been here (snl.no Sigurd Jarlsson), and from mid-1200 to 1202 their main force sits on the Uplands; King Inge is killed on Helgøya, in the lake, in 1202.

Who holds it

Name
the bishop of Hamar (Ivar; Church map record), with the king's rights as in any market town
Title
town lord
Confidence
low

en.wikipedia Hamar; snl.no Sigurd Jarlsson, Eidsivating; no.wikipedia Baglerne

Lord in 1200

The bishop's town. Its bishop, Ivar, is counted among the Bagler bishops who come home from Denmark in 1202 (no.wikipedia Baglerne); whether he is already in Denmark on 1 January 1200 is not pinned. The countryside round it leans to the Bagler.

How things stand that morning

The Bagler's town by allegiance; no Birkebeiner garrison is recorded here that winter.

Charter

None. A market town (kaupang) round the bishop's seat.

Council

None in 1200.

Communities

Townsmen and the cathedral clergy.

Militia

Not recorded.

Walls and castle

No wall; the cathedral and the bishop's residence. The fortified bishop's castle (Hamarhus) is later.

Trade and crafts

The trade of Hedmark's grain country and of the lake; details for 1200 thin.

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.

  1. mid-1200 to 1202The Bagler main force sits on the Uplands (snl.no Inge Magnusson).Depends on: Sverre staying in the west. Stopped by: A Birkebeiner march inland.

Where the sources disagree

  • en.wikipedia names the founding year of the see as 1152; other lists give 1152-53.

Evidence: The Bagler seat at Hamar rests on one hedged sentence in snl.no (Sigurd Jarlsson).

On the map: Near land only.

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

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia: Hamar
  2. Store norske leksikon: Sigurd Jarlsson
  3. Store norske leksikon: Eidsivating
  4. Wikipedia (bokmål): Baglerne
  5. Store norske leksikon (Norsk biografisk leksikon): Inge Magnusson

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