The House of Eric ( sv, Erikska ätten) was a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire 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 ...
royal
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
with several pretenders to the throne between 1150 and 1220, rivaling for
kingship of Sweden with 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 ...
. The first king from the House of Eric was
Eric IX of Sweden, also known as Saint Eric, from whom it got its name. Almost all the subsequent kings of Sweden have been descendants of the House of Eric.
The House of Eric favored the
Varnhem Abbey
Varnhem Abbey ( sv, Varnhems kloster) in Varnhem, Västergötland, Sweden was founded around 1150 by monks of the Cistercian Order from Alvastra Abbey in Östergötland.
The Cistercian Order used the same floor plan for all its abbeys, whic ...
, and several of its members are interred there.
Foremother of the dynasty was Eric IX's wife Christina Björnsdotter, whom legend claims to have been the maternal granddaughter of King
Inge I of Sweden
Inge the Elder ( Swedish: ''Inge Stenkilsson''; Old Norse: ''Ingi Steinkelsson''; died c. 1105–1110) was a king of Sweden. In English literature he has also been called ''Ingold''. While scant sources do not allow us to paint a full picture of ...
, who abolished
paganism
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
.
The female first name
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
seems to have been favored within the Erik dynasty.
History
The ancestral estates of the klan appear to have been
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 ...
.
Two branches of the dynasty came into conflict in 1226.
Canute the Tall, allegedly the adult heir of Filip, younger son of Eric IX, deposed the underage
Eric XI
Eric "XI" the Lisp and Lame Swedish: ''Erik Eriksson'' or ''Erik läspe och halte''; Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Eiríksson'' (1216 – 2 February 1250) was king of Sweden in 1222–29 and 1234–50. Being the last ruler of the House of Eric, he stoo ...
, the Lisp and Lame (''läspe och halte''), who resumed the kingship in 1234. Conflict continued between the royal senior branch and Canute's two sons until the sons were executed in 1248 and 1251.
Eric XI was the last king of the
agnatic
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
line of this dynasty. He died in 1250 and apparently left no surviving children. Though some romantic genealogies, and later research influenced by them, have attributed one or two daughters to him, they were more likely daughters of his sister and Birger jarl. Eric XI's nephew, the then underage son of his sister Ingeborg, was elected king
Valdemar I of Sweden
Valdemar ( English: Waldemar; sv, Valdemar Birgersson; 1239 – 26 December 1302) was King of Sweden from 1250 to 1275.
Biography
Valdemar was the son of the Swedish princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter and Birger Jarl, from the House of Bjelbo ...
, under the regency of his father
Birger Jarl
Birger Jarl, also known as ''Birger Magnusson'' (21 October 1266), was a Swedish statesman, ''jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, w ...
.
Descent from this house was regarded as such
hard currency
In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...
in medieval and early modern power games that some aspirants (most notably
Charles VIII of Sweden
Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450).
Regnal name
Charles was the ...
) even fabricated a descent (see
Tofta, Adelsö) to show that they too were heirs of the House of Erik.
See also
*
List of Swedish monarchs
This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union.
History
The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work '' Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Ho ...
References
External links
*
Erican
{{Europe-royal-stub