Birger Brosa

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Birgir Brósa'' (died 9 January 1202) was

jarl Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...

of Sweden from 1174 to 1202.

Biography

He was a son of

Bengt Snivil Bengt Snivil (also known as ''Bengt Snivel'') from the House of Bjelbo was a Swedish magnate in mid-12th century. Some more or less romantic later literature has given him the title of jarl, although no proper historical source attests to such. ...

and a member of the powerful

House of Bjälbo The House of Bjelbo ( sv, Bjälboätten), also known as the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten''), was an Östergötland, Ostrogothian Swedish family that provided several medieval Swedish bishops, Jarl in Sweden, jarls and Monarchs of Sweden, k ...

. In the medieval texts he is either called the '' jarl of the Swedes'' or the ''jarl of the Swedes and the Geats''. Birger was appointed to the position of jarl during the reign of Knut Eriksson. He maintained the position during Knut's successor Sverker II until his death in 1202. Before 1170, Birger was married to Brigida Haraldsdotter, the daughter of Norwegian King

Harald Gille Harald Gille (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Gilli'' or ''Haraldr Gillikristr'', c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably from Middle Irish ''Gilla Críst'' "servant o ...

. She had formerly been married to the Danish pretender Magnus Henriksson, who had briefly ruled in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

1160–1161. Birger appears to have maintained peace in Sweden during the civil wars that ravaged

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

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 ...

. Many of the pretenders in these kingdoms sought refuge with Birger. Among them were 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 propaga ...

chieftains

Eystein Meyla Eystein Meyla (Øystein Øysteinsson Møyla) was elected a rival King of Norway during the Norwegian Civil War period. Biography Eystein was son of King Eysteinn Haraldsson. His nickname ''Møyla'' means maiden, girl, cute woman. His father was ki ...

and

Sverre Sigurdsson Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

who were kinsmen of Brigida Haraldsdotter. Birger's son Philippus was in the service of King Sverre and died as his jarl in 1200. Birger owned estates in Östergötland,

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...

and

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...

. He was a great donor to

Riseberga Abbey Riseberga Abbey (Swedish: Riseberga kloster), was a Cistercian nunnery in Sweden, in operation from circa 1180 until 1534. It was located near Fjugesta in Närke. It had the right to appoint the vicar of the Edsberg parish, which was under the j ...

, where his widow Brigida spent her last years after Birger's death. As soon as he was dead, a civil war broke out.''Sverre Sigurdsson'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>

Children

* Philippus Birgersson (d. 1200), Jarl of Norway in the service of King

Sverre of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson ( non, Sverrir Sigurðarson) (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party ...

and one of his most staunch supporters. *

Knut Birgersson, Riksjarl of Sweden Knut Birgersson (Old Norse: ''Knútr jarl Birgisson'', died 1208) was Riksjarl of Sweden. He was the eldest surviving son of Riksjarl Birger Brosa and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo also known as the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten'' ...

of Sweden. According to one source, Knut was married to king Knut Eriksson's daughter, named Sigrid in that source. He was killed in 1208 at 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 ...

(1208) or 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 h ...

(1210). *

Folke Birgersson Folke is a parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, approximately south-east of Sherborne. The parish has an area of and is made of the villages of Folke and Alweston, and the hamlet of Bishops Down. ...

of Sweden, killed 1210 at the

*Magnus Birgersson, Snorre names (in order) "Earl Philip, Earl Knut, Folke and Magnus" as the four sons of "Earl Birger Brose" & his wife. * Ingegerd Birgersdotter, married to King Sverker II and became the mother of King

John I of Sweden John I ( sv, Johan Sverkersson; c. 1201 – 10 March 1222) was the king of Sweden from 1216 until his death. Background John was the son of King Sverker II of Sweden of the House of Sverker and Queen Ingegerd of the Bjälbo dynasty. When he was ...

. * Kristina Birgersdotter * Margareta Birgersdotter

Portrayal in popular culture

Birger Brosa was portrayed by

Stellan Skarsgård Stellan Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2007), ''Melancholia'' (201 ...

in the Swedish 2007 film ''

Arn – The Knight Templar ''Arn: The Knight Templar'' ( sv, Arn: Tempelriddaren) is an epic film based on Jan Guillou's trilogy about the fictional Swedish Knight Templar Arn Magnusson. The film was released to cinemas in Sweden on 17 December 2007 and the sequel, '' Ar ...

'' and 2008 sequel '' Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brosa, Birger 12th-century births 1202 deaths Year of birth unknown Swedish politicians 13th-century Swedish people House of Bjelbo Swedish jarls