Bjørn Svendsen (c. 1062 – 1100

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

) was one of the many illegitimate sons of King

Sweyn II of Denmark Sweyn II ( – 28 April 1076), also known as Sweyn Estridsson (, ) and Sweyn Ulfsson, was King of Denmark from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through ...

. Unfortunately for him he was one of the younger ones of these sons which put him far down the list of inheriting the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

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 ...

. Bjørn was appointed to various positions of power throughout his older brothers' reigns, and he never caused any trouble being content with what he had. In 1099 at the age of about 37 he was appointed to the very powerful position of

Jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

of Nordalbingien. He made fortifications on the island where the town of

is situated. He was killed (with a

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

) while presiding a

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

the following year by a farmer or nobleman who was upset by the rule of Bjørn. His distant cousin Hakon Sunnivasson eventually avenged Bjørn's murder and became a trusted Jarl of Bjørn's brother King

Eric I of Denmark Eric I ( – 10 July 1103), also known as Eric the Good or Eric Evergood (), was King of Denmark following his brother Olaf I Hunger in 1095. He was a son of Sweyn II. His mother's identity remains unknown. He married Boedil Thurgotsdatter. ...

. Bjørn had no known children. Bjørn's great-great-grandfather was also named Bjørn.

References

{{Reflist 1060s births 1100 deaths Princes of Denmark Illegitimate children of Sweyn II 11th-century Danish people Sons of kings