High Middle Ages · Europe · War

1103

Magnus Barefoot killed in Ulster

August 24, 1103

The Norwegian king who had ridden so many longships he earned his nickname from wearing Gaelic kilts was ambushed on an Irish shoreline while gathering provisions. His death ended a final flare of Viking imperial ambition in the Irish Sea. His three teenage sons divided Norway among themselves, inaugurating a generation of fractious co-rule that would keep Scandinavian fleets out of the British Isles for good.