He earned his reputation crusading with Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the Earl of Orkney in the Mediterranean from 1152 to 1155.
Erling Skakke managed to have elected his son, Magnus Erlingsson as the king of Norway in 1161 and crowned in 1163, at the age of eight.
In 1168 Olav and his men ventured south to the Oslofjord area, but were there defeated in battle at Stanger in Våler.
[5] When Sverre Sigurdsson became the leader of the Birkebeiner, Erling's position was compromised, and he fell at the Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros in 1179.
King Sverre honoured his fallen opponent by giving a speech at his funeral in the church.