Sweyn Haakonsson (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Sveinn Hákonarson'', ) (died c. 1016) was an earl of the house of Hlaðir and co-ruler of Norway from 1000 to c. 1015. He was the son of earl

Hákon Sigurðarson Haakon Sigurdsson ( , ; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the '' de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful (), though the '' Ágrip'' and ''Historia Norwe ...

. He is first mentioned in connection with the

battle of Hjörungavágr A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, where the ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

'' says he commanded 60 ships. After the

battle of Svolder The Battle of Svolder (''Svold'' or ''Swold'') was a large naval battle during the Viking age, fought in September 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Sweden and Olaf's enemies ...

in the year 1000, Sveinn became co-ruler of Norway with his half-brother,

Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway (; 960s – 1020s), was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. ...

. After Eiríkr went to England in 1014, Sveinn was co-ruler with

Hákon Eiríksson Haakon Ericsson (Old Norse: ''Hákon Eiríksson''; ; died c. 1029–1030) was the last Earl of Lade and governor of Norway from 1012 to 1015 and again from 1028 to 1029 as a vassal under Danish King Knut the Great. Biography Håkon Eiriksson w ...

. In 1015, Óláfr Haraldsson arrived in Norway and claimed the throne. He defeated Sveinn and his allies in the

battle of Nesjar Battle of Nesjar (''Slaget ved Nesjar'') was a sea battle off the coast of Norway in 1016. It was a primary event in the reign of King Olav Haraldsson (later Saint Olav). Icelandic skald and court poet Sigvatr Þórðarson composed the poem ' ...

. Sveinn retreated to Sweden, intending to muster a force to retake Norway but he died of an illness before he could return. Sveinn married Hólmfríðr, who was either the daughter or sister of king Óláfr of Sweden. They had the daughter Sigríðr, who was married to Áslákr, son of

Erlingr Skjálgsson Erling Skjalgsson, på Sola (Sola, Rogaland, 975 – Boknafjorden, 21 December 1028, bur. Sola, Rogaland), "Rygekongen", Herse/Høvding i Rogaland, was a Norwegian political leader of the late 10th and early 11th centuries. He has been commonly ...

. Another daughter, Gunnhildr, was married to

Sveinn Úlfsson 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 hi ...

. Only one court-poet,

Bersi Skáldtorfuson Bersi Skáldtorfuson was an Icelandic skald, active around the year 1000 CE. He was a court poet to Earl Sveinn Hákonarson. During the Battle of Nesjar he was captured by King Óláfr Haraldsson's forces. Three of the four stanzas of his that ...

, is recorded as being in Sveinn's service and very little of his poetry has survived throughout history. The written sources mentioning Sveinn were all written over 150 years after his death. The Swedish historian Staffan Hellberg in 1972 claimed to be able to show that Sveinn was a fictitious person, and that he had never lived.Hellberg, Staffan (1972). ''Slaget vid Nesjar och "Sven jarl Håkonsson"''. Scripta Islandica, Uppsala 1972, pp. 21–30 (in Swedish). The debate about this formed part of the wider debate about the value of the 12th and 13th century sagas for 11th century history and earlier, and is an example of the saga skepticism, particularly widespread in Swedish academia. Hellberg's conclusions remain speculative.

Notes

References

*Finlay, Alison (editor and translator) (2004). ''Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway''. Brill Academic Publishers. * Hollander, Lee M. (editor and translator). (1991). ''Heimskringla : History of the Kings of Norway''. University of Texas Press. {{authority control 1010s deaths 10th-century Norwegian monarchs 11th-century Norwegian monarchs Regents of Norway Norwegian earls Norwegian military leaders Ladejarl dynasty Norwegian exiles Year of birth unknown