Battle of Haugsnes
The Battle of Haugsnes (Icelandic: Haugsnesbardagi) was fought at Haugsnes, a low peninsula south of Flugumýri in Skagafjörður, Northern Iceland. The battle took place on April 19, 1246 between the forces of Þórður kakali Sighvatsson and those of Brandur Kolbeinsson. Þórður was victorious. It was the bloodiest battle ever to be fought in Icelandic history, with about 110 casualties in total, amongst them Brandur Kolbeinsson, chieftain of the Ásbirningar family clan. Defeat in battle led to the end of power for the Ásbirningar.
| Battle of Haugsnes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Age of the Sturlungs | |||||||
The site of the battle. 1100 boulders have been arranged in battle order, each representing a combatant. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sturlungar | Ásbirningar | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Þórður Sighvatsson | Brandur Kolbeinsson † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~500 | ~600 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~40 | ~70 | ||||||
The artist and farmer Sigurður Hansen of Kringlumýri created a memorial for the battle at the site, consisting of more than 1100 boulders in battle order, each representing a combatant. Those who fell are marked with iron crosses.