The Battle of Älgarås took place at the royal estate of

Älgarås Älgarås () is a locality situated in Töreboda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 417 inhabitants in 2010. The battle of Älgarås, between the House of Sverker and House of Erik took place here in 1205, securing the crown for ...

in northernmost

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

in November 1205 between the

House of Sverker 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 ...

and the

House of Eric The House of Eric ( sv, Erikska ätten) was a medieval Swedish royal dynasty with several pretenders to the throne between 1150 and 1220, rivaling for kingship of Sweden with the House of Sverker. The first king from the House of Eric was Eric ...

who were fighting for the Swedish crown. The four sons of the former king Canute I fell out with King Sverker II in about 1204 and sought support among the

Birkebeiner The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; no, Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propagand ...

party in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The Birkebeiner leader Jarl Håkon Galen married their cousin in January 1205 and promoted their claim. The brothers, of whom only Eric Knutsson is known by name, returned to Sweden in the same year. To which extent they had Norwegian military backing is unclear. By the fall of 1205 the brothers were staying at the estate of Älgarås when the Sverker clan attacked. In the ensuing fight all the brothers were slain but Eric. The laconic sources make clear that it was a battle and not merely a mass execution. Eric managed to slip away, according to much later tradition carried from the place of the battle by the legendary Fale Bure. The estate was burnt down completely and abandoned, and it is no longer known exactly where it was located. An oral tradition says that it was "2000 paces from the church of Älgarås in the direction where the sun rises in September". While the House of Eric lost this battle, Eric made it to Norway where he stayed for the next 2-3 years. He came back from his exile in 1207-08 and became king of Sweden after he defeated Sverker in the

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 ...

. Sverker was later killed in the

Battle of Gestilren The Battle of Gestilren took place on July 17, 1210. The battle was fought between the exiled King of Sweden Sverker and the ruling King Eric X. Sverker had been beaten in the previous Battle of Lena, but returned with new forces. Sverker was how ...

in 1210.Harrison, Dick. ''Sveriges historia 600-1350''. Stockholm: Norstedts, 2009, p. 213.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Algaras 1205 in Europe

Conflicts in 1205 13th century in Sweden