Qualla: Battle of Kringen

Battle of Kringen: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0. Legend says the sheriff of Dovre walked into the parish church carrying a battle axe, struck it against the floor three times, and shouted: "Let it be known -- the enemy has come to our land!" Whether Lars Gunnarson Haga actually did this in August 1612 is uncertain. What is certain is that the farmers who answered the call -- from Vaga, Lesja, Lom, Dovre, Fron, and Ringebu -- marched into the Gudbrandsdal valley and destroyed a column of Scottish soldiers so thoroughly that the battle became the defining story of the region for the next four hundred years.

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Image: dconvertini | CC BY-SA 2.0

Battle of Kringen: Scotsmen on the Wrong Side of a War

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sondrekv, Public domain. The Kalmar War between Denmark-Norway and Sweden created the conditions for the disaster. Scottish mercenaries, partly recruited and partly pressed into service by Sir James Spens, were bound for the Swedish army. King James VI of Scotland actually favored the Danish-Norwegian si...

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Image: Sondrekv | Public domain

Battle of Kringen: The Narrowing Valley

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Georg Fredrik Nielsen Strømdal, Public domain. Oral history gives us two figures following the Scottish column on horseback, possibly on the opposite side of the valley. One was a woman named Guri -- Prillar-Guri to posterity -- and the other an unnamed man who rode his horse backward, distracting the marching troops. When th...

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Image: Georg Fredrik Nielsen Strømdal | Public domain

Battle of Kringen: No Quarter Given

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit A. Haavin, Public domain. Close combat followed. The Norwegian militia fought with swords, axes, scythes, and whatever else they had. Historians estimate the Scottish force numbered roughly 300 men -- far fewer than the 900 to 1,100 that folklore claims -- against perhaps 500 Norwegian militia. More than ...

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Image: A. Haavin | Public domain

Battle of Kringen: Four Centuries of Memory

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Helge Leander B. Jensen, CC BY-SA 4.0. The battle wove itself into the valley's identity so deeply that traces appear everywhere. A statue of Prillar-Guri stands in the town of Otta, and the peak where she allegedly blew her horn bears her name. Place names along the route recall the Scottish incursion. Sinclair's gra...

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Image: Helge Leander B. Jensen | CC BY-SA 4.0