Magnus III of Norway

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Magnus Barefoot (1073-1103), son of Olaf Kyrre, was king of Norway from 1093 until 1103 and King of the Isle of Man from 1099 until 1102. His nickname barfot or berrføtt means barefoot or bareleg and is commonly understood to come from his habit of wearing Gaelic-style clothing, leaving lower legs bare - this Scottish style is a precursor of later kilts. According to another theory, he got the nickname because he was in the habit of walking barefoot, in the Irish style.

The period of peace during the reign of Magnus' father Olaf III Kyrre came to an abrupt end when Magnus succeeded him in 1093. Magnus made war with Sweden and Denmark and sought to build a Norwegian empire around the Irish Sea. In 1098, he conquered the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. Magnus returned to Norway in 1099 but in 1102 set out again, this time to conquer Ireland. He captured Dublin and the surrounding area. In the following year, 1103, he attempted to capture the whole of Ireland, but he was caught in an ambush and died in battle near Downpatrick in what is now Northern Ireland.

Title page of the saga of Magnus Barefoot (Illustration by Gerhard Munthe)

Magnus was married to Margareta (the daughter of his former enemy Inge Stenkilsson, king of Sweden), in 1101 at Kungahälla. They did not have surviving children. His extant sons at his death were Olaf Magnusson, Øystein Magnusson and Sigurd Magnusson (later known as Sigurd Jorsalfar or Crusader) who all together succeeded him. After his death, Harald Gille and Sigurd Slembedjakn later came forward and both claimed to be his illegitimate sons (and thus heirs to the throne). Harald Gille became king Harald IV of Norway in 1103.

Magnus's death set the stage for a period of civil war that would last until 1240, with Magnus' illegitimate sons and their descendants fighting for the throne.