Battle of Kringen The Battle of Kringen ( ) involved an ambush by Norwegian peasant militia of Scottish mercenary soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War . The battle has since become a part of folklore in Norway , giving names to local places in the Otta region . A longstanding misconception was that George Sinclair , a nephew of the George Sinclair , 5th Earl of Caithness was the commander of the forces ; in fact , he was subordinate to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Ramsay . Background . The Scottish forces ( " Skottetoget " ) were partly recruited , partly pressed into service by Sir James Spens , apparently against the preferences of James VI , who favored the Danish side in the war . Two ships sailed from Dundee and Caithness in early August , met up on the Orkney Islands and sailed for Norway . Because sea routes had been blocked by Danish forces in the Kalmar War , the Scottish forces decided to follow a land route to Sweden that other Scottish and Dutch forces had successfully used . On 20 August the ships landed in Isjforden in Romsdal , though the pilot apparently put the forces on shore in rough terrain . The soldiers proceeded to march up Romsdal Valley and down the valley of Gudbrandsdalen . Having been warned of the incursion , and probably inflamed by a massacre of Norwegian conscripts at Nya Lödöse and the events of ( " Mönnichhoven - marsjen " ) earlier in July , the farmers and peasants of the Vågå , Lesja , Dovre , Fron , and Ringebu mobilized to meet the enemy . Legend has it that the sheriff of the area , Lars Gunnarson Hågå ( b . approx . 1570 , d . approx . 1650 ) , came into the church in Dovre with a battle axe , struck it on the floor and shouted " Let it be known - the enemy has come to our land ! " ( " Gjev ljod - fienden har kome til landet ! " ) . Order of battle . As the Scottish forces progressed southward , they were reportedly followed by Norwegian scouts . Scottish forces included two companies on foot , commanded by George Sinclair and Ramsay . In recent years it has been argued that the Scots were lightly armed but this is not probable and the bodies were looted afterwards for weapons and belongings . The Norwegians were armed with swords , spears , axes , a few muskets and some crossbows . According to folklore , the force of the Scottish troops was between 900 and 1 , 100 or more , but historians generally discount the estimate , placing the probable strength as low as 300 . The strength of the Norwegian militia troops is estimated to have been about 500 . Combat operations . There are few entirely credible accounts of the battle , but the oral history has two Norwegians on horseback following the Scottish troops , possibly on the other side of the valley . One was a woman by the name of Guri , known as Prillar - Guri to posterity ; the other was an unnamed man . The man rode his horse facing backward , providing a distraction for the marching troops . When the Scots reached the narrowest section of the valley - Kringen - Guri blew her horn , signaling the ambush . The chosen place of assault is fairly steep , and the river runs close to what would be considered the only passable road at the time . Thus , the Scots would be trapped between the river and the mountain side , which they could not possibly scale . According to folklore , the Norwegian troops let loose logs and rocks down the valley , crushing the marching soldiers , but this is not confirmed . It is known , however , that they shot at the soldiers with crossbows and muskets . Among the first to fall was George Sinclair , apparently shot by Berdon Sejelstad . It is his name that is most commonly associated with the battle . Sinclair was a nephew of the Earl of Caithness and a historical figure in the Clan Sinclair . Close combat ensued , the militiamen fighting with axes , scythes , and presumably other improvised weapons . Most of the Scots were killed during the battle . Some may have escaped , but others were captured . All but 14 were summarily executed at Kvam in what is now Nord - Fron , the survivors then sent to Christiania for imprisonment . Those killed were thrown into a mass grave at the local cemetery , north of the ( " Skottelåven " ) , in which captured soldiers had been held ; this was later called " Skottehaugen " ( Scottish barrow ) . Among the survivors were the officers Alexander Ramsay , Sir Henry Bruce , James Moneypenny , and James Scott . These were eventually repatriated . Aftermath and legacy . It is considered that this battle constituted a defense of Norwegian sovereignty , and it was historically interpreted that way when the patriotic movement arose about 160 years later . The peak where Prillar - Guri allegedly stood , bears her name to this day , and a local broadcasting antenna is symbolically set on the top . A number of places were named after the Scottish incursion , notably along the route . The barn was destroyed by artillery fire during the intense British - German hostilities at Kvam in 1940 . Captured Scottish weapons , including a pistol , a Lochaber axe , a broadsword and several basket hilt claymores , were put on display at the Gudbrandsdal War Museum at Kvam ( " Gudbrandsdal Krigsminnesamling i Kvam " ) to commemorate the battle . The display also includes a model of one of the Caithness Scots . There is some evidence that Scots settled in Norway , and farm names may confirm that . There is also a " Sinclair ' s Club " in Otta , and there are regular re - enactments of the battle . Sinclair ' s grave is now a local landmark though the Norwegians at the time sought to desecrate his memory by burying him outside the church walls . Part of the bunad design for this area — known as " rutaliv " — is reminiscent of the Sinclair red tartan . In literature and music . Norwegian poet Edvard Storm wrote a poem that tells the story of the battle , ( " Sinclair ' s Song " ) . Henrik Wergeland wrote an historical tragedy called " Sinklars død " ( " The Death of Sinclair " ) . The plotline concerns Sinclair and his lady , telling of the fatal choices that led to the tragic deaths at Kringen . The Norwegian folk - rock band Folque ' s song " Sinclairvise " makes use of Storm ' s poem . The Faroese metal group Týr included a version of this song on their 2008 album " Land " , called " Sinklars Vísa " . In 2009 , the Norwegian rock band released an instrumental song called " The Battle of Kringen " on their album titled " Bite the Bullet " . Sources . This article is based in part upon accounts first published in 1838 which had been gathered in Gudbrandsdalen by Hans Petter Schnitler Krag , pastor of the parish of Vågå .