Herr Birger Persson (sometimes Petersson) of

Finsta Finsta () is a locality situated in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 244 inhabitants in 2010. Finsta is according to local tradition the birthplace of Saint Bridget, one of Sweden's best known saints and the founder of th ...

(??? - 3 April 1327) was a Swedish

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, privy councillor and Uppland's first

lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', ) is a unique Scandinavian legal offic ...

. He was a co-drafter of the

Law of Uppland Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

, and father of

Saint Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia ...

. He was also son of the knight Per Israelsson. Birger is portrayed with several

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

. According to the tombstone in

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral () is a cathedral located between the University Hall (Uppsala University), University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in t ...

, his shield showed two lowered wings, close together, without major gaps. But his seal in medieval letters shows two wings, the upper base of which is well separated, at large intervals, between a six-leafed rose, which hangs in a garland-like object.

References

Further reading