The Håtuna games (Swedish: Håtunaleken) were a 1306 conflict between

Birger, King of Sweden Birger Magnusson (1280 – 31 May 1321) was King of Sweden from 1290 to 1318. His reign was marked by unrest and civil strife; he was imprisoned by his brothers Erik and Valdemar following the " Håtuna games" in 1306, but when he tried to play t ...

(1280–1321) and his two brothers, the dukes Eric Magnusson (ca. 1281-1318) and

Valdemar Magnusson Valdemar Magnusson ( – 1318) was a Swedish prince, heir to the throne of Sweden, and the duke of Finland. Background Valdemar was born . He was the third son of Magnus III and Helvig of Holstein. He became Duke of Finland in 1302 at the co ...

(c. 1282–1318).

Background

When

Magnus Ladulås Magnus Ladulås (, ) or Magnus Birgersson ( 1240 – 18 December 1290) was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290. He was a son of Birger Jarl, and became a king after a rebellion against his brother Valdemar, King of Sweden ...

died in 1290, his eldest son

Birger Magnusson Birger Magnusson (1280 – 31 May 1321) was King of Sweden from 1290 to 1318. His reign was marked by unrest and civil strife; he was imprisoned by his brothers Erik Magnusson (duke), Erik and Valdemar Magnusson, Valdemar following the "Håtuna g ...

was only 10 years old. He had already been elected as successor as a four-year-old, and he (and the kingdom of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) now had a

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Torgils Knutsson. In 1304 his brothers signed a document that forbade them from conducting their own

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

and kept them out of the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

unless they had specifically been summoned. The bitterness over this agreement was probably the cause of the Håtuna games. When marshal Torgils Knutsson returned from the third and last crusade in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 1293, a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

had developed between the brothers, with Torgils supporting King

Birger Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, ''bjarga'', meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of ''Birger'' would soon evolve into ''Börje'', however, the prior for ...

. Duke Eric, as a leader of men and politician possibly better king material than Birger, tried to establish an independent kingdom around

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, which he had received as part of his marriage to the princess

Ingeborg of Norway Ingeborg of Norway (; ; ; 1301 – 17 June 1361) was a Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway (1319–1327) and Sweden (1319–1326) during the minority of her son, King ...

, and

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

at the boundary between Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. A

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out, but by 1306 emotions had cooled to the point where the dukes acknowledged the son of Birger, Magnus Birgersson, as the successor to the throne. The marshal, Torgils Knutsson, was captured in 1305 by the dukes and was executed in 1306 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

decapitation Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

The Håtuna games

On 29 September 1306 Duke Eric and Duke Valdemar arrived at King

's estate in Håtuna Parish by

Lake Mälaren A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

. They came from a wedding feast in

Bjälbo Bjälbo is a small village in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland, Sweden. The medieval House of Bjälbo had a church and a manor house at Bjälbo. Magnus Minnesköld was probably born here, and in around 1210 his son Birger Magnusson. Today ...

, and Birger received them as guests at a party that derailed towards the middle of the night. Birger and his wife

Martha of Denmark Martha of Denmark (after 1277 – 2 March or 3 October 1341) was Queen of Sweden by marriage to King Birger. She was the daughter of King Eric V of Denmark and sister of King Eric VI. She was given the name at birth, but in Sweden was calle ...

were captured by the dukes, and were imprisoned in the

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...

Nyköping Castle Nyköping Castle ( or ) is a medieval castle, located in Nyköping, from the Birger Jarl era, partly in ruins, mostly known for the Nyköping Banquet which took place here in 1317. Information plaque, Nyköpingshus Construction Construction o ...

. King Birger's son

Magnus Birgersson Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

was rescued by a courtier and sent to Denmark where he was taken up by king Eric VI.

Aftermath

Duke Eric took over power in Sweden. He was already sovereign in Halland and Bohuslän and, being married to princess Ingeborg, had aspirations to inherit the crown of Norway. But the closeness to Denmark became a threat, and King

Eric VI of Denmark Eric VI Menved (1274 – 13 November 1319) was King of Denmark (1286–1319). A son of King Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg, he became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered on 22 November by unknown assailants. On account of his ...

attacked Sweden, harassing

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. Vä ...

. Duke Eric's brother Valdemar wreaked revenge by plundering

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

with a force of German

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

. The Norwegian king allied himself with the Danish king; this forced a settlement that allowed Birger to leave Nyköping Castle after two years' imprisonment. For 10 years the brothers kept the peace with only smaller skirmishes. In 1317–1318, the Håtuna games had their final resolution at the gruesome

Nyköping Banquet The Nyköping Banquet () was King Birger of Sweden's Christmas celebration 11December 1317 at Nyköping Castle in Sweden. Among the guests were his two brothers Duke Valdemar and Duke Eric, who later that night were imprisoned and have been ...

and subsequent events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatuna Games 1306 in Europe Political history of Sweden Conflicts in 1306 14th century in Sweden