King Sverre of Norway and the break with Rome

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King Sverre was banned by the pope in 1194, and he broke all connections with Rome. Will this be represented in the game som way?

SVERRE SIGURDSSON, king of Norway (1177-1202) and one of the best-known figures in medieval Norwegian history. By expanding the power of the monarchy and limiting the privileges of the church, he provoked civil uprisings that were not quelled until 1217.

The son of Gunnhild, a Norwegian woman married to a Faroe Islands man, Sverrir was ordained priest at an unusually early age. After his mother told him that he was actually the son of the former Norwegian king Sigurd II, however, he left for Norway (1174) to claim the throne. By 1177 he had become leader of the Birchlegs, rivals of the incumbent ruler Magnus V. A skillful military leader, Sverrir was proclaimed king in the Trondheim region and soundly defeated the forces of Magnus in 1179. He became sole king of Norway in 1184 after his troops defeated and killed Magnus.

Sverrir made peace with the exiled archbishop Eystein Erlendsson, a supporter of Magnus V, after Eystein's return to Norway in 1183. Sverrir's assertion of royal power to elect bishops and his demand for a reduction in the archbishop's personal armed forces, however, alienated Eystein's successor, Erik Ivarsson, who refused to crown Sverrir and fled to Denmark with many of the nation's bishops in 1190. The remaining bishops crowned Sverrir in 1194 but were later excommunicated along with the king by Pope Innocent III. To the denunciations of the pope and the interdict under which he had been placed Sverrir responded with his "Speech Against the Bishop," the clearest argument of the time in favour of secular paramountcy over the church.

In 1196 the dissident bishop of Oslo, Nicholas Arnesson, joined forces with the exiled archbishop Erik Ivarsson and returned to Norway with a fleet, precipitating the Crosier War, a rebellion of the Crosiers, a group headed by religious and secular leaders opposed to Sverrir's ecclesiastical and administrative reforms. Nicholas gained control of much of eastern Norway, won the support of the labouring classes, and threatened to advance on the inland territory held by Sverrir before suffering serious reverses in 1199. By 1202 Sverrir had defeated the Crosier opposition, but civil war continued after his death. He was succeeded by his son Haakon III, who made peace with the church but died in 1204, only two years after assuming office.

from http://nygaard.50g.com/files/1373.htm

 

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It may be an event in the 1187 scenario. Should be anyway I dont see why not. I dont mean to harp on this point but remember children will be randomly generated in CK. So if you play from 1066 King Sverre in all likelyhood wont be born, at least in name.

So when we have specific events based on spicific historical charecters actions, unless they are in the game at the start of a scenario, I dont see how the event can occur.

 

[CCR_of_the_Code]

You can convert to Heresy I herd. I think.

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by CCR_of_the_Code
You can convert to Heresy I herd. I think.

Sverre wasn't excommunicated for heresy though... It was basically over the same as Henry IV - investiture.

 

[CCR_of_the_Code]

Was he Orthodox?
No
Was he Catholic?
No
What else could he be then? I think that Heretic would accurately describe it.

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by CCR_of_the_Code
Was he Orthodox?
No
Was he Catholic?
No
What else could he be then? I think that Heretic would accurately describe it.

He was Catholic. He was even ordained priest in the Catholic Church! What got him excommunicated was politics, not religion.

 

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Originally posted by Havard
He was Catholic. He was even ordained priest in the Catholic Church! What got him excommunicated was politics, not religion.

Maybe they should add "schismatic" as an option. Heresy is defined as "An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs, especially dissension from or denial of Roman Catholic dogma by a professed believer or baptized church member," whereas schism is defined as "formal breach of union within a Christian church." Or maybe "gadfly" is the proper term...

For example, I don't believe Henry VIII was even excommunicated, but Elizabeth I was. Again, it was more politics than dogma.

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by Thucydides
Maybe they should add "schismatic" as an option. Heresy is defined as "An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs, especially dissension from or denial of Roman Catholic dogma by a professed believer or baptized church member," whereas schism is defined as "formal breach of union within a Christian church."

Yes, but it means a breach based on religion...

Again, it was more politics than dogma.

Yes. And people were excommunicated over politics, not only over religion...