Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne

The present study explores how the Norwegian usurper, King Sverre (1184-1202) exploited three princely burials to overthrow the ruling king and establish his dynasty. Both in 1179 and 1184, King Sverre took full advantage of his military victories to gain popular support for his claims to the throne...

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Main Author: David Brégaint
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Instituto de Estudos Medievais 2018-01-01
Series:Medievalista
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/medievalista/1591
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author David Brégaint
author_facet David Brégaint
author_sort David Brégaint
collection DOAJ
description The present study explores how the Norwegian usurper, King Sverre (1184-1202) exploited three princely burials to overthrow the ruling king and establish his dynasty. Both in 1179 and 1184, King Sverre took full advantage of his military victories to gain popular support for his claims to the throne, in transforming the burial of his most prominent enemies felt on the battlefield into a rostrum for his political propaganda, through speeches and ritual staging. Sverre’s own agony and funerals were also meticulously staged in order to defend his rule from accusations of excommunication and pave the way for his succession. The study provides insights on the challenges met by a usurper on his way to royal power and, in particular, on the concomitant relationship between military combat and the work of political persuasion.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Instituto de Estudos Medievais
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-02b9a64581e842aabbab1b59b6ead6bd2025-01-30T10:53:29ZdeuInstituto de Estudos MedievaisMedievalista1646-740X2018-01-012310.4000/medievalista.1591Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throneDavid BrégaintThe present study explores how the Norwegian usurper, King Sverre (1184-1202) exploited three princely burials to overthrow the ruling king and establish his dynasty. Both in 1179 and 1184, King Sverre took full advantage of his military victories to gain popular support for his claims to the throne, in transforming the burial of his most prominent enemies felt on the battlefield into a rostrum for his political propaganda, through speeches and ritual staging. Sverre’s own agony and funerals were also meticulously staged in order to defend his rule from accusations of excommunication and pave the way for his succession. The study provides insights on the challenges met by a usurper on his way to royal power and, in particular, on the concomitant relationship between military combat and the work of political persuasion.https://journals.openedition.org/medievalista/1591Usurperritualsburialspropagandaspeeches
spellingShingle David Brégaint
Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
Medievalista
Usurper
rituals
burials
propaganda
speeches
title Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
title_full Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
title_fullStr Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
title_full_unstemmed Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
title_short Staging deaths: King Sverre or a usurper’s path to the throne
title_sort staging deaths king sverre or a usurper s path to the throne
topic Usurper
rituals
burials
propaganda
speeches
url https://journals.openedition.org/medievalista/1591
work_keys_str_mv AT davidbregaint stagingdeathskingsverreorausurperspathtothethrone