Erik Ringsson was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

king and the son of

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, according to the German ecclesiastic chronicler

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle ''Gesta ...

. He is said to have ruled together with his father and his brother Emund in about 936, and later presumably reigned in his own name.

Reign

The name of this king is only known from Adam's work

Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' (Medieval Latin for ''"Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg"'') is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (poss ...

from c. 1075. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen,

Unni Unni may refer to: People * Unni (Indian name) * Unni (Norwegian given name) * Unni (bishop) 9th century German bishop Indian Malayalam films * ''Unni'' (1989 film) * ''Unni'' (2007 film) * ''Unni Vanna Divasam ''Unni Vanna Divasam'' is a 1 ...

, was able to arrange church matters in

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

after the defeat of the Danes at the hands of King Henry the Fowler of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 934. From Denmark he proceeded to the Swedish trading port

Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of the European continent and ...

in 935 or 936. Referring to information from the Danish King Sweyn Estridsen, Adam states that the Swedes at this time were ruled by a certain Ring and his sons Erik and Emund. Adam finds it likely that Unni approached these heathen kings and obtained permission to propagate Christianity, which by this time was long forgotten in the region. After his mission was over, Unni prepared to return but fell ill and died in Birka in 936. Later on Adam mentions an

Emund Eriksson Emund Eriksson (?-c. 970), (English: Edmund), was a Swedish king whose historicity is only known from a single source, the Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum which was written by Adam of Bremen in c. 1075. Reign According to Adam of Breme ...

as ruling in Sweden at the height of

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. ...

's reign in Denmark (around the 970s). From his name he appears to have been a son of Erik Ringsson.

Place in the Swedish king list

The reign of Erik Ringsson has been tentatively dated in the 940s and 950s. He is not mentioned in any Norse sagas or king lists. 13th century sagas, such as Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

, mention a Björn Eriksson as ruling for a long time in the 10th century, being the father of the historical ruler

Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive reg ...

(c. 980-995).''Nordisk familjebok'', 2nd edition http://runeberg.org/nfbc/0322.html Referring to Erik Ringsson as King Eric IV or V is later inventions, counting backwards from

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Es ...

(1560–68). He and his brother Charles IX (1604–1611) adopted numerals according to a fictitious history of Sweden. The amount of Swedish monarchs named Eric before Eric XIV (at least seven) is unknown, going back into

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, and none of them used numerals. It would be speculative to try to affix a mathematically accurate one to this king.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eric Of Sweden Semi-legendary kings of Sweden 10th-century Swedish monarchs

Reign

Place in the Swedish king list

See also

References