The year before King Sigurd's death a young man named Harald Gille (or Gillekrist, _i.e._, dedicated to Christ) came to Norway from Ireland with his mother, and declared that he was a son of King Magnus Barefoot. It is known that Magnus Barefoot had had a mistress in Ireland, and composed a verse once, in which he said he loved his Irish girl above all others. When the young man and his mother came to King Sigurd and told their story, the king told Harald that he would not deny him the opportunity to prove his birth by submitting to the ordeal by fire, but on condition that, if he should prove his descent, he should not claim the kingdom in the lifetime of King Sigurd, or of his son Magnus, and to this Harald Gille bound himself by oath. Harald agreed to the ordeal fixed by Sigurd, and walked over nine glowing plowshares with bare feet, attended by two bishops. Three days after the iron trial his feet were examined, and were found unburned. This ordeal was considered a divine judgment, and King Sigurd acknowledged Harald as his brother. It became a source of danger to the country that Harald was acknowledged as a son of Magnus Barefoot; for at that time the law of royal inheritance was that every son of a king, the illegitimate as well as the legitimate, had a right to the kingdom. This encouraged many to proclaim themselves rightful heirs to the throne and to prove their rights by the ordeal of fire. The priests had the charge of such ordeals, and they probably had the result in their power. Sigurd's son, Magnus, conceived a great hatred of Harald, and in this he had the sympathy of many of the leading men. Immediately after the death of Sigurd, his son Magnus summoned a Thing at Oslo, and was there proclaimed king of all Norway, according to an oath which the people had formerly sworn to King Sigurd. Harald Gille was in Tunsberg when he heard of Sigurd's death. He broke his promise to the late king, summoned a Thing, and had his followers proclaim him king of half the country. Negotiations were opened with King Magnus, and, as the latter found he had fewer people, he was obliged to divide the kingdom with Harald.