Erling Skakke

Erling Skakke (1115 – 18 June 1179), the son of Kyrpinga-Orm, was a Norwegian strongman and earl during the 12th century. He earned his name crusading with the Earl of Orkney in the Mediterranean from 1152 to 1155. Erling first sailed for the Holy Land, then Constantinople, and lastly visited Rome. During a battle with Arab warriors on Sicily a sword-wielding Arab cut Erling in the neck. This caused him from then on to tilt his head to one side ("skakke" means slanted). He was married to Kristina, the daughter of Sigurd Jorsalfar and they had a son, Magnus Erlingsson, whom he managed to have elected king of Norway in 1161 and crowned in 1163, at the age of seven.

When Sverre Sigurdsson became the leader of the Birkebeiner, Erling's position was compromised, and he fell at the battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros in 1179. King Sverre honoured his fallen opponent by giving a speech at his funeral in the church.

Erling was a talented man, but he was not known for noble qualities. He was ruthless, especially when it concerned his own position and that of his son. In 1164, he founded Halsnøy Abbey, a monastery of Augustinian Canons, at Halsnøy on the Hardangerfjord.