Magnus the Lawmender

Magnus the Lawmender
Contemporary bust of Magnus from the Stavanger Cathedral, dated c. 1270s–80s.
King of Norway
Reign16 December 1263 – 9 May 1280
Coronation14 September 1261, Bergen
PredecessorHaakon IV
SuccessorEric II
Born1 May 1238
Tønsberg, Norway
Died9 May 1280 (aged 42)
Bergen, Norway
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1261)
IssueEric II
Haakon V
Names
Magnús Hákonarson
HouseSverre
FatherHaakon IV of Norway
MotherMargrete Skulesdatter

Magnus the Lawmender (1 or 3 May 1238 – 9 May 1280), also known as Magnus Haakonsson, was King of Norway from 1263 to 1280. One of his greatest achievements was the modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code. He was the first Norwegian monarch known to have used an ordinal number, counting himself as Magnus IV. In modern sources, he is also known as Magnus VI.