The bloodiest battle in Icelandic history, ending the power of the Ásbirningar clan during the Age of the Sturlungs.
Key Facts
- Date
- April 19, 1246
- Total casualties
- ~110
- Victor
- Þórður kakali Sighvatsson
- Defeated commander
- Brandur Kolbeinsson (killed)
- Memorial boulders
- More than 1100, each representing a combatant
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Rival Icelandic chieftain factions competed for dominance during the turbulent Sturlung Age. Þórður kakali Sighvatsson and Brandur Kolbeinsson, chieftain of the Ásbirningar clan, came into armed conflict at Haugsnes, a low peninsula south of Flugumýri in Skagafjörður, Northern Iceland.
On April 19, 1246, the forces of Þórður kakali Sighvatsson clashed with those of Brandur Kolbeinsson at Haugsnes. The battle resulted in approximately 110 casualties, making it the bloodiest engagement ever fought on Icelandic soil. Þórður emerged victorious, and Brandur Kolbeinsson was among those killed.
The defeat destroyed the power of the Ásbirningar family clan, removing them as a significant political force in Iceland. The battle's memory was later commemorated at the site by artist and farmer Sigurður Hansen of Kringlumýri, who arranged more than 1,100 boulders in battle order, with iron crosses marking those who fell.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Þórður kakali Sighvatsson.
Side B
1 belligerent
Brandur Kolbeinsson.