Eyjarskeggjar

The Eyjarskeggjar (in modern Norwegian: Øyskjeggene) were a Norse rebel group during the Norwegian Civil War that supported the claim of Sigurd Magnusson to the throne.

In the spring of 1193, Harald Maddadsson, Jarl of Orkney approved the banding together of men from Orkney and Shetland to oppose the rule of King Sverre Sigurdsson. The name eyjarskeggjar means "island beards," reflecting their origin in the Northern Isles. The leaders of the Eyjarskeggjar were Hallkjell Jonsson, who was married to Ragnhild, daughter of Erling Skakke; Harald's brother-in-law Olav Jarlsmåg; and Olav's foster-son Sigurd, the teenaged son of King Magnus V. By summer, Sigurd's supporters had captured Viken, and in autumn, Sigurd's uncle, , joined the Eyjarskeggjar.