During the latter part of the reign of Harald Gille's sons a combmaker in Bergen by the name of Unas married a girl by the name of Gunhild. Unas was probably a Faroe Islander by birth; his brother Roe became bishop of the Faroe Islands in 1157. Gunhild belonged to a distinguished family in western Norway. Shortly after their marriage Gunhild bore a son, who was named Sverre, and everybody supposed that Unas was his father. Sverre remained in Bergen until he was five years old, when he was sent over to the Faroe Islands, to be brought up by Unas's brother Roe. He was educated for the priesthood and was in time ordained as deacon. When he was twenty-four years old, his mother disclosed to him the fact that Unas, who had died a short time ago, was not his father, but that he was the son of King Sigurd Mund. From that day Sverre became very thoughtful. It appeared to him to be too great a task to make war on King Magnus and Earl Erling; but, on the other hand, it did not seem manful to sit quietly as a poor peasant's son when he was the son of a king. He therefore gave up his clerical position and embarked for Norway. Here he was informed that his kinsman, Eystein Meyla, had accepted the title of king from the Birchlegs; but he did not consider it wise to enter into any dealings with him. Without making himself known, he spent some time in different parts of Norway, investigating the sentiment of the people. He made the acquaintance of Earl Erling and King Magnus, and often talked with them and their court-men, who found the young clergyman from the Faroe Islands a pleasant and entertaining companion, and by his cunning he learned from them many things which they would not have talked about if they had known who he was, or what plans he was nourishing. The next winter he went to Sweden, first to Earl Birger and then to his sister Cecilia in Vermeland, where he met the remnants of the Birchleg band. The Birchlegs told him of the fall of Eystein Meyla and urged him to become their chief. Sverre for a long time declined, as the whole band consisted of only seventy men, who were all in great poverty, some of them wounded and without clothes, and all almost unarmed. All his objections, however, were of no avail, and they finally compelled him to become their chief.