Jon Kuvlung Jon Ingesson Kuvlung ( died 1188 ) was a pretender to the Royal Crown during the civil war era in Norway . He was a rival of the reigning King Sverre of Norway . Background . Jon Ingesson was claimed to be a son of former King Inge I of Norway , although the " Sverris saga " , the main source of information for this period of Norwegian history , claims this to have been false . Jon Ingesson was a young cleric when he was set up to the task of figurehead . He was then living as a monk at Hovedøya Abbey on the island of Hovedøya outside Oslo . The nickname Kuvlung derives from Old Norse word " kuvl " meaning monk cloak . Jon Kuvlung ruled in the region of Viken as rival king until killed by Birkebeiner s in Bergen in 1188 . Kuvlungs . During the autumn 1185 , former supporters of King Magnus V of Norway from Viken met with Jon Kuvlung . Jon Kuvlung was subsequently declared to be king at Haugating in Tønsberg . The leading man was Símon Kárason whose wife , Margrete Arnesdotter ( " Margrét Arnadóttir " ) , had been the half - sister of King Inge I of Norway and the granddaughter of dowager Queen Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter . Margrét Arnadóttir was additionally the full sister of Nikolás Arnason , Bishop of Oslo and a prominent opponent of King Sverre . Símon Kárason and Margrét Arnadóttir were also the parents of Philippus Simonsson , a future pretender to the throne of Norway . This group was in many ways the direct successor of the Heklung party which had previously challenged the rule of King Sverre . The Heklungs had a close connection with the Church . Although the Church did not openly support the Kuvlungs , it at least gave its silent approval . The Church never spoke up against Jon for leaving his monastery , while his opponent King Sverre was heavily criticised for abandoning his prior duties as a priest on the Faroes . The Kuvlungs soon gained control of eastern and western Norway which had been the old Heklung strongholds . During the Autumn of 1186 , the Kuvlungs attacked Nidaros . This offensive took King Sverre by surprise . He took refuge in the recently constructed stone castle Sverresborg . Unable to take the castle , the Kuvlungs were forced to retreat . In 1188 , King Sverre sailed south with a large fleet . They first met at Tønsberg , but neither side dared to offer battle . The Kuvlungs slipped away to Bergen . King Sverre attacked Bergen just before Christmas . Jon ' s boat became stuck on a rock when he was rowed out on the harbor to face the enemy . Here Jon Kuvlung was killed , ending the Kuvlung uprising . Historic context . Since 1130 there had been several interlocked civil wars of varying scale and intensity . The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws , social conditions and the struggle between Church and King . The rallying point regularly was a royal son , who was set up as the head figure of the party in question , to oppose the rule of king from the contesting party . In 1184 King Sverre I of Norway and his party the Birkebeiner s had defeated King Magnus V of Norway and the Heklungs at the Battle of Fimreite . In this battle King Magnus was killed and King Sverre had ruled as uncontested King of Norway for several years .