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On this day

23 October 1157

The battle of Grathe Heath was fought between the Danish armies of Valdemar the Great and his rival for the Danish throne, Svein Grath. Svein's army was defeated by Valdemar forces, but Svein even managed to escape. Shortly after the battle,... Read more ...

23 October 1157

The Danish civil wars came to an end
The battle of Grathe Heath was fought between the Danish armies of Valdemar the Great and his rival for the Danish throne, Svein Grath.

Svein's army was defeated by Valdemar forces, but Svein even managed to escape. Shortly after the battle, however, he was killed by a farmer while he hid in Grathemose. After this, Valdemar the Great became sole king of Denmark.

The battle also marked the end of the civil wars between Svein Grath, Knut 5. Magnusson and Valdemar the Great, all of whom fought for the Danish throne.

Valdemar stabilization of Denmark began immediately after the battle. He acted as a conciliatory victor, and forgave most of their previous opponents. Only Knut Magnusson murderers were executed, while a few of Svein's advisors were ostracized.

Archeologists have found a lot of weapons om the battle site, especially axes.


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Exploded View of a Flintlock Musket

Category: Miscellaneous
Published: 15 November 2008 by Øyvind Flatnes.
Views: 20922
Norsk Les artikkel på norsk

The smoothbore military flintlock musket was the standard infantry firearm for hundreds of years before the percussion muskets and breech-loading rifles took over from the mid-1850s. The Norwegian Army received muskets from Denmark during the union years, but after the union with Denmark fell apart and another union was established with Sweden in 1814, the Norwegians started their own firearms production at Kongsberg. A typical Norwegian-Danish musket looked like this:

Musket parts

  1. Butt
  2. Wrist
  3. Comb
  4. Heel
  5. Butt plate with screws
  6. Toe
  7. Trigger guard
  8. Flint lock
  9. Barrel breech
  10. Ramrod
  11. Front sling swivel with screw
  12. Thimble
  13. Thimble pins
  14. Entry thimble
  15. Muzzle
  16. Front sight
  17. Bayonet lug
  18. Ear for the sling swivel screw
  19. Double ear — pin ear — for securing the thimbles
  20. Single ear- pin ear - for securing the barrel to the stock
  21. Flash hole
  22. Rear sight notch
  23. Tang
  24. Breech plug
  25. Barrel
  26. Rear sling swivel with screw
  27. Ramrod stopper
  28. Trigger
  29. Trigger guard screws
  30. Trigger assembly
  31. Bayonet socket
  32. Elbow
  33. Bayonet lug slot
  34. Shoulder
  35. Triangular blade
  36. Front side plate screw
  37. Rear side plate screw
  38. Side plate
  39. Muzzle cap
  40. Tang screw
  41. Brake spring for the ramrod
  42. Back of the thimble
  43. Butt nose
  44. Barrel pin
  45. Butt nose
  46. Fore-stock
  47. Cheek piece
  48. Breech plug

Find out more!
You can learn more about the history and practical use of smooth-bore flintlock and percussion muskets in the brand new book From Musket to Metallic Cartridge: A Practical History of Black Powder Firearms.