Haakon IV of Norway dies at Kirkwall

1263

The Norwegian king who had brought Iceland and Greenland under his crown died of fever in Orkney after the indecisive Battle of Largs. His death accelerated Norwegian withdrawal from the Scottish islands. Within three years, the Treaty of Perth would cede the Hebrides and Man to Scotland. His reign had seen Norway's territory reach its greatest medieval extent, encompassing a North Atlantic empire from Bergen to the Arctic.