Holmger Knutsson (1210s – 1248) was a Swedish nobleman and a claimant to the Swedish throne during the reign of King

Erik Eriksson Erik Eriksson (; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame (), was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shado ...

. His tomb cover showed two Coats of Arms: one is known to have been used by his father, the other is that of the

House of Bjälbo The House of Bjälbo, also known as the House of Folkung ( or ), was a Swedish family that produced several medieval bishops, jarls and kings of Sweden. It also provided three kings of Norway and one king of Denmark in the 14th century. Na ...

. It is could thus be considered likely that his mother came from that family, though it has also been claimed by Lagerqvist and others that she was

Helena Pedersdatter Strange Helena Pedersdotter Strange ( Danish: ''Helene''; in Sweden also called ''Queen Elin''; c. 1200–1255) of a Danish noble family later called Ulfeldt was a Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Canute II. Her father was the Danish knight Peder S ...

. Holmger Knutsson was the eldest son of King

Knut Långe Knut Långe ("the Tall"), also known as Canute II, was King of Sweden from 1229 until his death in 1234. He was the father of Holmger Knutsson, a later pretender for the Swedish throne. Both father and son were members of the House of Folkung. He ...

(Knut Holmgersson) 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 ...

. At his father's death in 1234, Holmger seems to have been on his way to be the new king, but he was side-tracked by ''

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 ...

Ulf Fase Ulf Fase (died 1247) was the jarl of Sweden from until his death in 1247. Biography Ulf Fase was probably the son of jarl Karl the Deaf (''Karl Döve'') and member the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten''). After jarl Karl had been killed d ...

and earlier King Erik Eriksson who had been exiled in

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 ...

since 1229. Holmger's whereabouts after that are not known, but it has been speculated that he held

Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost and the most densely populated of the No ...

north of

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. The name literally ...

for the next thirteen years. Together with ''

folkung In modern Swedish, Folkung has two meanings, which appear to be opposites: # The medieval " House of Bjälbo" in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

s,'' Holmger made an unsuccessful attempt for the crown in 1247. The

Battle of Sparrsätra The Battle of Sparrsätra was fought in 1247 between the forces of King Eric XI of Sweden and rebels led by Holmger Knutsson near Enköping in Sweden. It occurred during a poorly documented period in Swedish history; as a result, many details are ...

took place in Uppland north of

Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of S ...

between forces led by

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...

and rebels led by Holmger Knutsson. According to ''

Erikskrönikan ''Erik's Chronicle'' (Swedish: ''Erikskrönikan'') is the oldest surviving Swedish chronicle. It was written by an unknown author (or, less probably, several authors) between about 1320 and 1335. It is the oldest in a group of medieval rhymed chr ...

'', after defeat in the battle Holmger fled to Gästrikland but was captured, quickly brought to trial and beheaded in 1248. There seems to have been a widespread attempt to have Holmger established as a saint, but that was eventually suppressed. The later manuscripts show that a special chapel was built to consecrate Holmger Knutsson in

Björklinge Björklinge is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 3,269 inhabitants in 2010. The name, written as ''Birklinge'', was used for the parish as early as 1314, and Norsemen graves have been found in the area. Bjö ...

Norunda A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in northern Germanic countries and related colonies, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions. The equivalent term in Swedish is (in Uppland also ...

härad, in Uppland. He lies buried next to his father in Skokloster (Sko Abbey) Church in Håbo, near

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

. Holmger was married to Helena Filipsdotter. They had no known children.

Sources

*Adolfsson, Mats ''När borgarna brann - svenska uppror'' (Stockholm:

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with its head office in Stockholm. It is known for an extensive series of teaching materials, and its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan H ...

, 2007) * *Harrison, Dick ''Jarlens sekel - en berättelse om 1200-talets Sverige'' (Ordfront, Stockholm: 2002) * Lagerqvist, Lars O. ''Sverige och dess regenter under 1000 år'' (Bonniers, Stockholm: 1982) *Larsson, Mats G. ''Götarnas riken : Upptäcktsfärder till Sveriges enande'' (Bokförlaget Atlantis AB. 2002)

External links

*Video with English subtitles
Holmger Knutsson's tomb cover in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.

Dick Harrison Dick Walther Harrison (born 10 April 1966) is a Swedish historian. He is currently a Professor of History at Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldes ...

, history professor. {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmger Knutsson 1210s births 1248 deaths Swedish politicians Swedish princes Executed Swedish people Disinherited European royalty People executed by Sweden by decapitation Sons of kings