Battle of Kringen

Who Fought

History & Significance

Battle of Kringen (Norwegian: Slaget ved 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 Ottadalen valley.

The Scottish mercenaries were partly recruited, partly pressed into service by Sir James Spens, apparently against the preferences of James VI, who favored the Danish-Norwegian 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 Dano-Norwegian forces in the Kalmar War, the Scots decided to follow a land route to Sweden that other Scottish and Dutch forces had successfully used. On 20 August the ships landed in Isfjorden in Romsdal, though the pilot apparently put the forces on shore in rough terrain. The soldiers proceeded to march up the valley of Romsdalen and down into the Gudbrandsdal.

Having been warned of the incursion, and probably inflamed by a massacre of Norwegian conscripts at Nya Lödöse and the events of Mönnichhoven's march (Mönnichhoven-marsjen) earlier in July, farmers and peasants from Vågå, Lesja, Lom, Dovre, Fron, and Ringebu mobilized to meet the enemy. Legend has it that the sheriff of the area, Lars Gunnarson Hågå (c. 1580 – c. 1645), came into the church in Dovre with a battle axe, struck it on the floor three times, and shouted "Let it be known - the enemy has come to our land!" (Gjev ljod - fienden har kome til landet!).

Ramsay had as captains George Sinclair, George Hay, and Sir Henry Bruce. As the Scottish forces progressed southward, they were reportedly followed by Norwegian scouts. The Scottish forces included two companies on foot, commanded by George Sinclair and Ramsay. In recent years, it has been argued that the Scots were generally unarmed. The Norwegians were armed with swords, spears, axes, scythes, 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 no more than 500.

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 Gudbrandsdal at 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.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Kringen lies on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Scheduled monument · ~2.5 mi

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Garvock, farmstead 825m SE of

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Dowries, cairn 495m SW of

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• Battle of Kringen · Wikipedia