House of Stenkil

Template:Short description Template:House of Stenkil

The House of Stenkil is a modern name for the royal dynasty that ruled over Sweden from around 1060 to the 1120s.<ref name="Stenkilska">Template:Citation</ref> It has received its name from its first king, Stenkil, who according to the Westrogothic Law's king list originated from Västergötland<ref name="Viking ABC">Template:Citation</ref> and who was probably married into the old royal dynasty that died out around 1060. Stenkil died c. 1066 and our knowledge of the following two decades is very uncertain and sparse. Immediately after his death, civil wars are said to have broken out between two claimants to the throne, both named Erik, one of whom may possibly have been Stenkil's son. Sometimes Håkan the Red is also identified as Stenkil's son. What is certain is that Stenkil was the father of kings Halsten and Inge the Elder. Halsten was in turn the father of kings Philip and Inge the Younger. When the latter died, the Stenkil dynasty died out in the male line.

It is not unlikely that all kings during the 12th century were in one way or another related to the Stenkil dynasty. The connections that are known went through Inge the Elder's children (three daughters and one son named Margareta Fredkulla, Katarina, Christina, and Ragnvald). Margareta's son Magnus Nilsson laid claim to the Swedish throne in the 1120s and succeeded in being elected king by the Geats. Katarina became mother-in-law to Erik the Holy, who was the ancestor of the House of Erik. Ragnvald became maternal grandfather to the Danish prince Magnus Henriksson, who laid claim to Sweden's throne around 1160 and killed both Sverker the Elder and Erik the Holy. No close connection between the Stenkil dynasty and the Sverker dynasty is known, but Kristina Ingesdotter became great-grandmother to Karl Sverkersson's wife.

Parentage of Stenkil

The Hervarar saga (13th century) describes Stenkil as the son of Ragnvald the Old and Astrid Njalsdotter, the daughter of Njal Finnsson from Hålogaland in Norway and a cognatic descendant of Harald Fairhair. Later historians have identified the father of Stenkil as Ragnvald Ulfsson who was the earl of Ladoga and the grandson of the legendary Viking Skoglar Toste, but this presumed family-connection is not supported by any other sources and must therefore be regarded as very uncertain.<ref>Hans Gllingstam, "Stenkil", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon</ref> The Icelandic sagas mention a wife and two sons of Ragnvald Ulfsson but none are identified with Stenkil and his mother Astrid. The contemporary chronicler Adam of Bremen says Stenkil was the nephew (nepos) or stepson (privignus) of the former King Emund the Old,<ref>Adam av Bremen (1984), Historien om Hamburgstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, p. 140 (Book III, Chapter 15).</ref> while the Hervarar saga asserts that he was related to the previous dynasty by marriage to Emund's daughter.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Kings of the Stenkil Dynasty


Portrait	Name	Reign	Succession	Marriage(s)	Life details
	Stenkil Steinkell Ragnvaldsson	c. 1060 – 1066 (c. 6 years)	Possibly son-in-law of EmundTemplate:Efn	"Ingamoder" (?) (at least 2 children)	Died c. 1066 Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
	Eric and Eric Erik och Erik (historicity disputed)	c. 1066 (?) (briefly)	Recorded in only one sourceTemplate:Efn as two pretenders who fought each other after Stenkil's death.	Nothing recorded	Older tradition describes one of the Erics as a son of Stenkil ("Eric Stenkilsson"), though these assumptions cannot be substantiated by the historical record.Template:Sfn
	Halsten Halsten Stenkilsson	c. 1066 – 1068Template:Sfn (c. 2 years)	Son of Stenkil	Unknown queen (at least 2 children)	Few life details known. Deposed c. 1068. Possibly later returned to rule as co-ruler with his (likely younger) brother Inge I.<ref name="Ingenordisk">The article Inge in Nordisk familjebok (1910).</ref>Template:Sfn
File:Ingold the Elder grave drawing.jpg	Inge "the Elder" Inge den äldre	c. 1078 – 1112 (c. 34 years)	Son of Stenkil. Seized power, either from Anund or Håkan.	Helena (4 children)	Died c. 1112 Ended the period of anarchy begun after Stenkil's death. Maybe deposed c. 1081–1083 before regaining the throne.<ref name="Ingenordisk" />Template:Sfn
	Philip Filip Halstensson	c. 1100 – 1118Template:Sfn (c. 18 years)	Son of Halsten. Appears to have begun his reign as a co-ruler with Inge the Elder.	Ingegerd of Norway (childless)	Died 1118 Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
	Inge "the Younger" Inge (den yngre) Halstensson	c. 1118Template:Sfn – 1125Template:Sfn/1130Template:Sfn (c. 7–12 years)	Son of Halsten. Possibly initially co-ruler with Philip.	Ulvhild Håkansdotter (childless)	Died c. 1130Template:Sfn Likely the last male-line member of Stenkil's dynasty.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
	Ragnvald "Knaphövde"	1120s/1130s (?)Template:Sfn (briefly?)	No known connection to previous kings. Recorded in Västgötalagen as the successor of Inge II and predecessor of Sverker I.	Nothing recorded	Few life details knownTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn

Cognatic offshoots:


Portrait	Name	Reign	Succession	Marriage(s)	Life details
File:Knud-Lavard-og-Magnus-Nielsen,7-1-1131(Louis-Moe).jpg	Magnus I "the Strong" Magnus (den starke) Nilsson (status disputed)	c. 1125 – 1130Template:Sfn or c. 1130 – 1134Template:Sfn (c. 4–5 years)	Grandson of Inge the Elder.<ref>Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 55-6.</ref> Attested only as a pretender in the Gesta Danorum; perhaps never recognized as king.Template:Sfn	Richeza of Poland (2 children)	Died in 1134Template:Sfn Elected king but failed to establish his power; killed in 1134Template:Sfn at the Battle of Fotevik.
File:Magnus II of Sweden & Eric the Holy of Sweden battle drawing 1719.jpg	Magnus II Magnus Henriksson	18 May 1160 – 1161 (1 year)	Great-grandson of Inge I. Seized power after murdering Eric IX. Template:Efn	Bridget Haraldsdotter (childless)	Died in 1161 Killed in battle against Charles VII.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn