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 The House of Stenkil was a dynasty on the Swedish throne from c. 1060 to c. 1125. Stenkil probably originated from Västergötland. Line (of magnates and earls) before Stenkil, according to the Norse sagas: * Skagul Toste (took Danegeld in Engl ...

and the ascension of

Sverker I of Sweden Sverker I or Sverker the Elder (Old Swedish: ''Swærkir konongær gambli''), murdered 25 December 1156, was King of Sweden from about 1132 till his death. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with ...

in 1130, a civil war commenced. In the beginning, there were several pretenders, of whom Sverker I emerged as victorious, for a time. The antagonists in long run were finally the House of Sverker in Östergötland and the

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 ...

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 ...

and

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

(

Saint Eric Eric IX, ( 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'' of the Catholic ...

was killed and buried in the latter province, others in the dynasty were buried in

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, which ma ...

in the former province as later also

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 ...

was, a relative to the dynasty), which alternated on the throne for several generations, until in the 1220s the Eric dynasty got the upper hand, and the Sverker dynasty became extinct (at least in the male line). As usual in medieval succession rivalries, the outcome combined the blood of rival lines, as in 1250 Valdemar of the

Folkung In modern Swedish, Folkung has two meanings, which appear to be opposites: # The medieval "House of Bjelbo" in Sweden, which produced several Swedish statesmen and kings. # A group of people (singular ''Folkunge'', plural ''Folkungar''), who wer ...

s (then a minor, his father Birger Jarl acting as regent) ascended the throne, having inherited the Eric dynasty claim from Valdemar's mother (who was sister of

Eric XI of Sweden 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 stood ...

, the last Eric-dynast) and some of the Sverker dynasty claim from Birger's mother (who was daughter of a younger son of Sverker I).

References

External links

* Sverker {{Sweden-hist-stub

See also

References

External links