Sverker II of Sweden

1. Sverker II of Sweden Reign 1195 – 1208

2. Sverker II of Sweden Sverker II or Sverker the Younger (Swedish: Sverker den yngre or Sverker Karlsson, born before 1167 – died 17 July 1210) was King of Sweden from 1195 or 1196 to 1208 when he was defeated in the Battle of Lena by Prince Eric. Sverker died in the 1210 Battle of Gestilren where his forces battled those of King Eric X. Benedicta Ebbesdotter of Hvide (c. 1165 or 1170 – c. 1199 or 1200) was Queen of Sweden as the first wife of king Sverker II. In Sweden she was often called Queen Bengta. In 1195 or 1196, her spouse became king of Sweden, and she became queen consort. The same year, her relative, the priest Andreas Sunesson, returned to Denmark from France and became the leading clerical politician in the archbishopric under Absalon, also a relative of Benedicta. It is probable that Queen Benedicta shared the strongly pro-clerical position of her husband, and supported the power aspirations of the Church and the archbishop Olov Lambatunga in Uppsala. Since Sverker's next queen Ingegerd gave birth to a son in 1201, it is assumed that Queen Benedicta died no later than in 1199 or 1200. The cause of her death is unknown, but is sometimes guessed that she succumbed in childbirth. However, a grave inscription from the so-called Sverker Chapel in Alvastra has been associated with her. It mentions "the servant of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Benedicta", with an expression of hope that "she may find rest from the horrible disease which struck her"

3. Sverker II of Sweden Sverker was a son of King Karl Sverkersson of Sweden and Queen Christine Stigsdatter of Hvide, a Danish noblewoman. Through his mother, he was a cousin's son of the Danish kings Canute VI and Valdemar Sejr. His parents' marriage has been dated to 1162 or more probably 1163. When his father Karl had been murdered in Visingsö in 1167, apparently by minions of the next king Canute I of Sweden, Sverker was taken to Denmark while a boy and grew up with his mother's clan of Hvide, leaders of Zealand. Sverker also allied himself with the Galen clan leaders in Skåne who were close to the Hvide, by marriage through lady Benedikte Ebbesdotter of Hvide. The Danish king supported him as claimant to Sweden, thus helping to destabilize the neighboring country. The troubled Danish-Swedish relations at this time can be seen from attempts by Canute I and his jarl Birger Brosa to support rebels against Valdemar I and Canute VI. When King Canute I of Sweden died in 1195 or 1196, his sons were young but not children. One of them had been appointed heir to the throne, but was passed over. Sverker was chosen as the next king of Sweden, surprisingly without quarrel. At some point he had returned to his native country, however being regarded quite Danish.

4. Sverker II of Sweden His uncontested election probably owed much to Jarl Birger Brosa whose daughter, Ingegerd Birgersdotter of Bjelbo, Sverker married soon after his first wife had died. In his own letters he emphasized his birth-right to kingship: "son of King Charles, King of the Swedes, possessor of the throne of the same kingdom according to hereditary right by the grace of God". Heraldic symbol of Princess Helen of Sweden (born about 1191, married to Sonny Folkesson), a daughter of King Sweartgar II of Sweden, the only known heraldic symbol of the Sweartgarian Dynasty Coin of King Sverker II

5. Reign King Sverker confirmed and enlarged privileges for the Swedish church and Valerius, the Archbishop of Uppsala. The privilege document of 1200 is the oldest known ecclesiastical privilege in Sweden. Skáldatal names two of Sverker's court skalds: Sumarliði skáld and Þorgeirr Danaskáld. In 1202 Earl Birger died and the late jarl's grandson, Sverker's one-year-old son John received the title of Jarl from his father. This was intended to strengthen him as heir of the crown, but led to much ridicule. Desultory warfare with the peoples east of the Baltic Sea continued during Sverker's reign. Birger Brosa undertook a sea-borne expedition that ended up in Wierland in eastern Estonia, either before or after Sverker's accession. A late and unreliable source indicates that troops from the Novgorod Republic attacked Finland in 1198 and ravaged Åbo where the Swedes already supposedly possessed an outpost. This may be an elaboration of another Russian attack in 1191, and Åbo did not yet exist as a settlement. A certain Dux John (Johannes) flourished in the early 13th century; The civil war era in Norway began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne.In the absence of formal laws governing claims to rule, men who had proper lineage and wanted to be king came forward and entered into peaceful, if still fraught, agreements to let one man be king, set up temporary lines of succession, take turns ruling, or share power simultaneously. King King Sverre Sverre crossing the mountains of Voss crossing the mountains of Voss

6. Sverker II of Sweden civil war Around 1203, Canute's four sons, who had lived in Swedish royal court, began to claim the throne and Sverker exiled them to Norway. His position as king became insecure from this point forward. The sons of Canute returned with troops in 1205, supported by the Norwegian party of Birkebeiner. Sverker, however, attacked and defeated them in the Battle of Älgarås in Tiveden, where three of the sons fell. The only survivor, Eric, returned with Norwegian support in 1208. Sverker sought assistance from his Danish kinsmen, and such was provided. Popular tradition speaks of 12,000 Danish auxiliary troops, which is likely a gross exaggeration. The forces were commanded by Ebbe Sunesen, the father of his late first wife and brother of Andreas Sunesen, Archbishop of Lund. Apart from the forces of the Sunesen brothers, King Valdemar Sejr contributed with troops, even including Bohemian soldiers. The opponents met in the Battle of Lena in Västergötland, where Sverker was heavily defeated. Ebbe and his brother Lars were slain by the enemy together with a considerable part of their army. Sverker's jarl Knut seems to have been killed as well. King Eric X of Sweden drove Sverker to exile to Denmark. Pope Innocentius III's attempt to have the crown returned to Sverker did not succeed. Sverker made a new military expedition, with Danish support, to Sweden, but was defeated and killed in the Battle of Gestilren in July 1210. The ancient sources state that "the Folkung [party] took his life". Responsible for the killing was his brother-in-law Folke Jarl, head of the Folkungs, who also succumbed in the battle. The site of the battle has engendered some discussion; while it is usually taken to have taken place in the parish of Varv in Västergötland, Gästre in Uppland has also been suggested.

7. Sverker II of Sweden In spite of his hapless fate, Sverker II receives several kind words in the short chronicle included in the Law of Västergötland: "The sixteenth [ruler] was King Sverker, a wise and good fellow; the kingdom fared well from him. But the Folkungs took his life; his own brother-in-law did that to him at Gestilren. He rests in Alvastra, and the best things are always spoken about him" Battle of Lena The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208, and probably took place near Kungslena, which is located in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prince Eric. Eric's forces imposed a crushing victory; however in July 1210, Sverker returned with a second army and was killed in the Battle of Gestilren. The defending Swedish force was, again according to later tradition, half of that of Sverker's forces, numbering between 7,000 and 10,000. It is often assumed that Erik's army was made up in part by Norwegian auxiliaries. This has been questioned by Norwegian historian P.A. Munch, who considered it unlikely that Eric's ally, Jarl Håkon Galen, would have had any troops to spare during the ongoing Norwegian civil wars.

8. Sverker's kinsman, King Valdemar Sverker's kinsman, King Valdemar the Victorious of Denmark provided Sverker with auxiliaries, including a Czech contingent from Valdemar's father-in-law, King Ottokar I of Bohemia. The bulk of the troops, however, were gathered by Sverker's in-laws, the powerful Sunesen brothers. The army was led by Ebbe Sunesen, brother of Archbishop Andreas Sunesen. Medieval traditions estimate the size of the force at 12,000 or 18,000, although these numbers might be vastly exaggerated Realms of Scandinavia in 1219

9. Sverker II of Sweden The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208, and probably took place near Kungslena, which is located in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish- backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prince Eric. Eric's forces imposed a crushing victory; however in July 1210, Sverker returned with a second army and was killed in the Battle of Gestilren. The invading army entered Västergötland in the middle of the winter. Frozen lakes and rivers may in fact have facilitated transportation of the troops. They met their adversary at Lena on 31 January 1208. No contemporary sources describe the battle in detail. We only know that the Danish troops suffered a crushing defeat, and that Ebbe Sunesen and his brother Laurentius were killed. The Icelandic Flateyarbók states that "Junker Eric slew Ebbe Sunesen", possibly implying a personal meeting on the battlefield. Knut Jarl of the House of Bjälbo was killed as well, probably on the Swedish side. Also killed in the melée was a Magnus, possibly Knut Jarl's uncle Magnus Minniskiöld, father of Birger Jarl. Perhaps the Swedes used the winter weather to their advantage, as the Danish knights were slow and vulnerable in heavy snow.

10. The House of Sverker were a powerful political force in medieval Sweden, contesting for royal power. Their origins were in Östergötland. After the extinction of the House of Stenkil and the ascension of Sverker I of Sweden in 1130, a civil war commenced. In the beginning, there were several pretenders, of whom Sverker I emerged as victorious, for a time. The antagonists in long run were finally the House of Sverker in Östergötland and the House of Eric in Västergötland and Uppland (Saint Eric was killed and buried in the latter province, others in the dynasty were buried in Varnhem Abbey in the former province as later also Birger Jarl was, a relative to the dynasty), which alternated on the throne for several generations, until in the 1220s the Eric dynasty got the upper hand, and the Sverker dynasty became extinct (at least in the male line). As usual in medieval succession rivalries, the outcome combined the blood of rival lines, as in 1250 Valdemar of the Folkungs (then a minor, his father Birger Jarl acting as regent) ascended the throne, having inherited the Eric dynasty claim from Valdemar's mother (who was sister of Eric XI of Sweden, the last Eric-dynast) and some of the Sverker dynasty claim from Birger's mother (who was daughter of a younger son of Sverker I).