Norwegian Monarch. He reigned as King Magnus IV of Norway from 1130 until 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139, the latter part as a pretender with Sigurd Slembedjakn (also known as Sigurd Slembe). He was born circa 1115, the son of King Sigurd I Magnusson "The Crusader" and his concubine, Borghild Olafsdatter. When King Sigurd died in 1130, Magnus became king along with his uncle, Harald Gille, who had claimed to be an illegitimate son of King Magnus III "Barefoot" Olafsson. King Sigurd I had acknowledged this relationship on condition that Harald did not claim any right to the kingdom during his lifetime or that of his son Magnus. However, shortly after Sigurd's death, Harald called for a meeting of all the noblemen at Hauga and was he was chosen as king over half the country and King Magnus IV ruled over the other half. They managed to keep a shaky peace until August 9, 1134, when Magnus and his army defeated Harald at Farlev in Bohuslan and Harald fled to Denmark. Shortly afterward, Magnus disbanded his army against the advice of his councilors and wintered at Bergen. Harald then returned to Norway with a new army and, meeting little opposition, besieged Bergen and took it on January 7, 1135. He captured Magnus, had him blinded, castrated, and one leg cut off, and put him in prison at the Nidarholm Abbey on the island of Munkholmen in the Trondheimfjord where he spent some time as a monk. On December 14, 1136, Harald was murdered by Sigurd Slembe, another alleged illegitimate son of Magnus III and proclaimed himself king. To support his claim, he freed Magnus IV from Nidarholm Abbey and made him co-king. The two decided to split their armies in order to take control of Norway by force and Magnus was defeated by opposing forces at the Battle of Minne and he fled to Gotland and subsequently to Denmark, where he tried to obtain support for his cause. He managed to rejoin Sigurd Slembe's forces in Norway but they lacked populous support and existed more like bandits that kings. On November 12, 1139, they were finally defeated by opposing forces at the naval Battle of Holmengra near Hvaler (now part of Sweden) and Magnus was killed. At the time of his death, Norway was beginning to undergo a tumultuous period of internal civil wars that would last from about 1130 to 1240, that basically involved a struggle between the Bagler and the Birkebeiner political parties over unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions, and conflict between the Church and the monarchy.