Battle of Lena
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The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208, and probably took place near Kungslena, which is located in the
Tidaholm Municipality Tidaholm Municipality (''Tidaholms kommun'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Tidaholm. The municipality is located on the banks of the river Tidan. In the early 1970s a nationw ...
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 ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed King
Sverker II of Sweden ''Sverker'' is a studio album by Neo-Medieval group Corvus Corax. Track listing # "Intro Gjallarhorni" - 0:58 # "Gjallarhorni" - 2:59 # "Sverker" - 4:31 # "Fiach Dubh" - 6:38 # "Trinkt vom Met" - 0:35 # "The drinking loving dancers" - 5:19 # ...
and Prince
Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
. Eric's forces won a crushing victory; however in July 1210, Sverker returned with a second army and was 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 ...
.


Background

The period 1150–1250 saw a strong rivalry 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
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 alternated on the Swedish throne. The main representative of the House of Eric, Eric Knutsson, returned from exile 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 ...
in 1207–08. There were marital connections between his family and the Norwegian ruling elite, but the sparse sources do not tell if he was backed by Norwegian troops. Sverker II was forced to flee to Denmark where he had been raised before becoming king. All this suggests that a large part of the Swedish nobility rejected Sverker's rule. Sverker's kinsman, King Valdemar the Victorious of
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 ...
provided Sverker with auxiliaries, including a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
contingent from Valdemar's father-in-law, King
Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, PÅ™emysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...
. The bulk of the troops, however, were gathered by Sverker's in-laws, the powerful Sunesen brothers. The army was led by Ebbe Sunesen, brother of Archbishop
Andreas Sunesen Anders Sunesen (also ''Andreas'', ''Suneson'', ''Sunesøn'', Latin: ''Andreas Sunonis'') (c. 1167 – 1228) was a Danish archbishop of Lund, Scania, from 21 March 1201, at the death of Absalon, to his own death in 1228. He is the author of ...
. Medieval traditions estimate the size of the force at 12,000 or 18,000, although these numbers might be vastly exaggerated. The defending Swedish force was, again according to later tradition, half of that of Sverker's forces, numbering between 7,000 and 10,000. It is often assumed that Erik's army was made up in part by Norwegian auxiliaries. This has been questioned by Norwegian historian P.A. Munch, who considered it unlikely that Eric's ally, Jarl HÃ¥kon Galen, would have had any troops to spare during the ongoing
Norwegian civil wars The civil war era in Norway ( no, borgerkrigstida or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne. In the absence of fo ...
.


Battle

The invading army entered
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 the middle of the winter. Frozen lakes and rivers may in fact have facilitated transportation of the troops. They met their adversary at Lena on 31 January 1208. No contemporary sources describe the battle in detail. We only know that the Danish troops suffered a crushing defeat, and that Ebbe Sunesen and his brother Laurentius were killed. The Icelandic Flateyarbók states that "Junker Eric slew Ebbe Sunesen", possibly implying a personal meeting on the battlefield. Knut Jarl 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, k ...
was killed as well, probably on the Swedish side. Also killed in the melée was a Magnus, possibly Knut Jarl's uncle
Magnus Minniskiöld Magnus Minniskiöld (also spelled Minnisköld or Minnesköld, circa 1175—1208?) was a medieval Swedish magnate from the House of Bjelbo. For posterity, he is best known as the father of the renowned statesman Birger Jarl, and the ancestor of the ...
, father of
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, whi ...
. Perhaps the Swedes used the winter weather to their advantage, as the Danish knights were slow and vulnerable in heavy snow. Later Swedish and Danish tradition, while not reliable, bears witness of the impression that the cataclysmic battle made on posterity. A Swedish verse depicted the event as a plain battle between Sweden and Denmark: "It happened in Lena / Two Danes ran for one (Swede) / And from the Swedish men / Received a bad spanking on their backs". A Danish folksong emphasizes the sorry internal Swedish conditions, as kinsmen fought each other: "It was ill to stand in the fighting / As the son let his father down". A song alleges that no more than 55 men escaped the bloodbath and made it back to Denmark: : The ladies stand on the high balcony, : They await their masters to arrive. : The horses return bloodied, : And the saddles are empty.


Odin

The Swedes won, according to legend, aided by
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. The Norwegian ''Saga of Inge BÃ¥rdsson'' relates that a horseman arrived to the farmstead of a smith at Nesje on 26 January, and stayed over night. The next morning the stranger baffled the smith through a display of supernatural powers, then said: "I have been to the north, and stayed in Norway for a long time, but I will now move over to Sweden." He then disclosed to the smith that he was Odin, spurred his horse, and jumped over a high fence out in the blue. Four days after this event, the Battle of Lena took place.


Aftermath

Among the few survivors was Sverker II who fled to
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 ...
. The Pope took interest in the cause of the fallen king and ordered Eric Knutsson to settle the matter and return kingship to Sverker. When Eric declined to meet these demands, Sverker returned from his Danish refuge with a new army. This second invasion ended with 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 July 1210. This time Sverker himself was killed, an event that secured the throne for King Eric.Philip Line, ''Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130–1290''. Leiden: Brill, 2007, , p. 108.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lena 13th century in Denmark 13th century in Sweden 1208 in Europe
Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in à ...
Conflicts in 1208
Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in à ...
Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in à ...