Magnus II;
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 ...
: ''Magnus Henriksson'' (c. 1130 – 1161) was a Danish lord and
king of Sweden
The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...
between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a
usurper
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
.
Background
The mother of Magnus was
Ingrid Ragvaldsdotter
Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter (Old Norse: ''Ingiríðr Rögnvaldsdóttir'') (1100/1110 – after 1161 AD) was born a member of the Swedish royal family, became a member of Danish royalty by marriage and later was Queen consort of Norway as the spouse of ...
, a 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 hi ...
. His father was the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
lord
Henrik Skatelår, son of an illegitimate son of king
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson ( on, Sveinn Ástríðarson, da, Svend Estridsen; – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson ...
. After Henrik's death, Ingrid remarried thrice, with
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 ...
of
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 ...
, then Ottar Birting, and finally Arne from
Stårheim
Stårheim (or ''Torvika'') is a village in the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad in Vestland county, Norway. Stårheim is located in the central part of Stad Municipality on the north shore of the Nordfjorden (Sogn og Fjordane), Nordfjorden, abo ...
. Magnus therefore had kinship ties with the royalty of the three Nordic kingdoms. He was married to his stepsister
Bridget Haraldsdotter, a daughter of Harald Gille who had previously been married to the powerful jarl in
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 ...
, Karl Sunesson. Magnus is first mentioned in 1148 when he witnessed a document issued by King
Sweyn III of Denmark
Sweyn III GratheFor the significance of the epithet, see Tripartition ( da, Svend III Grathe) ( – 23 October 1157) was the King of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157 ...
.
Reign
![Magnus I of Sweden cenotaph 2009 Vreta Linköping (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Magnus_I_of_Sweden_cenotaph_2009_Vreta_Link%C3%B6ping_%281%29.jpg)
Magnus was a claimant to the throne of Sweden, which was much-contested at the time. In 1156 he allegedly bribed a trusted servant of King
Sverker I to assassinate him. A few years later, according to a legendary source, he allied with a certain chief in the country, possibly Sverker's son
Karl Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
. He then ambushed and killed
Eric IX of Sweden
Eric IX, (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Erik Jedvardsson; Erik den helige; Sankt Erik''; d. 18 May 1160) also called Eric the Holy, Saint Eric, and Eric the Lawgiver, was a Swedish king in the 12th century, 1156–1160. The ''Roman Martyrology'' ...
(later to be known as Eric the Saint) when he left the church at Östra Aros near
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 ...
on May 18, 1160. After this feat Magnus reigned as king over most of Sweden, but apparently not
Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
, which was ruled by Karl Sverkersson since c. 1158. He is, however, mentioned in the short chronicle of the
Westrogothic law, implying that he was recognized in Västergötland. Magnus appointed his brother Ragnvald as jarl and provided refuge to his uterine brother Orm when their brother King
Inge the Hunchback
Inge Haraldsson (Old Norse: ''Ingi Haraldsson''; 1135 – 3 February 1161) was king of Norway (being Inge I) from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era. He was never the s ...
was killed in Norway. Otherwise not much is known about his reign, except that he donated land to
Vreta Abbey
Vreta Abbey ( sv, Vreta kloster), in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the present-day m ...
.
Magnus merely reigned for a year. According to the 15th-century historian
Ericus Olai
Ericus Olai (ca. 1420-1486) was a Swedish theologian and historian. He served as a professor of theology at Uppsala University and dean at Uppsala Cathedral.
Ericus Olai was the author of the chronicle ''Chronica regni Gothorum'' and was an earl ...
, some retainers of Eric the Saint survived the assault in Östra Aros and fled to the north, to
Helsingland, where they propagated against the usurper-king. Dissatisfaction with the regicide among the Swedish peasantry soon led to a rising against Magnus. The near-contemporary
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...
, on the other hand, writes that "he fell in a battle that he fought against Sverker's son Karl, whom he also intended to deprive of his crown, after he had first deprived him of his father." Saxo regarded the violent death of Magnus as the divine revenge for the shameful assassination of Sverker. According to Swedish sources the battle took place in
Örebro
Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...
in 1161. After the fall of Magnus, Karl Sverkersson reigned as King
Charles VII of Sweden
Charles VII or Carl (Swedish: ''Karl Sverkersson''; c. 1130 – 12 April 1167) was ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who succeeded him as Canute I.
He ...
. His full brothers Knut and Buris served as jarls in the court of
Valdemar the Great of Denmark
Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...
. His uterine brother
Nikolas Arnesson Nicholas Arnesson (old Norse language, Old Norse: ''Nikolás Árnason'') (ca. 1150 – 7 November 1225) was a Norwegian bishop and nobleman during the Civil war era in Norway, Norwegian civil war era. He was a leader in the opposition against King S ...
was Bishop of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, and an opponent of
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 ...
, the son-in-law of Eric IX.
[Gillingstam, "Magnus Henriksson".] Queen Bridget later remarried with the powerful jarl
Birger Brosa
Birger Brosa Old Norse: ''Birgir Brósa'' (died 9 January 1202) was jarl of Sweden from 1174 to 1202.
Biography
He was a son of Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo. In the medieval texts he is either called the '' jarl o ...
(d. 1202) and became the ancestress of a branch of the
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, ki ...
, and the grandmother of
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 Birgersdotter of Bjelbo, Ingegerd of t ...
.
References
Literature
* Gillingstam, Hans, "Magnus Henriksson", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=10155
* Saxo Grammaticus, ''Danmarks krønike''. København: Asschenfeldt's, 1985 ().
* Tunberg, Sven, ''Sveriges historia till våra dagar. Andra delen: Äldre medeltiden''. Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, 1926.
* ''Yngre Västgötalagen'', http://project2.sol.lu.se/fornsvenska/
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus 02 of Sweden
1161 deaths
12th-century Swedish monarchs
House of Estridsen
House of Stenkil
Year of birth unknown
Burials at Vreta Abbey
Year of birth uncertain
Swedish military personnel killed in action
Monarchs killed in action