View source for Erik Eriksson

{{Short description|King of Sweden (r. 1222–1229; 1234–1250)}}
{{About|the king of Sweden|other people with the same or similar names|Eric Erickson (disambiguation){{!}}Eric Erickson}}
{{Infobox royalty|
| name         = Erik Eriksson
| image        = Eric Lisper-Halter of Sweden at Vinköl.jpg
| image_size   = 220
| caption      = Contemporary bust of King Erik
| reign        = 1222–1229
| coronation   = 
| full name    = 
| succession   = [[King of Sweden]]
| predecessor  = [[Johan Sverkersson]]
| successor    = [[Knut Långe]]
| reign1       = 1234–1250
| predecessor1 = [[Knut Långe]]
| successor1   = [[Valdemar Birgersson]]
| house        = [[House of Erik|Erik]]
| father       = [[Erik Knutsson]]
| mother       = [[Rikissa of Denmark]]
| spouse       = [[Catherine Sunesdotter]]
| issue        = 
| birth_date   = 1216
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1250|2|2|1216|df=y}}
| death_place  = Sweden
}}
[[Image:Eric the Lisper & Halter of Sweden grave detail 2009 (2).jpg|thumb|180px|Erik on his gravestone in [[Varnhem Abbey]].]]
[[File:Eric the Lisper & Halter of Sweden bust c 1234.jpg|thumb|Damaged 13th century bust assumed to be of Erik|left]]

'''Erik Eriksson''' ({{langx|non|Eiríkr Eiríksson}}; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as '''Erik XI{{efn-ua|Referring to Erik Eriksson as Erik XI is a later invention, counting backwards from [[Erik XIV]] (1560–68). He and his brother [[Charles IX of Sweden|Charles IX]] (1604–1611) adopted numerals according to a [[Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus|fictitious history of Sweden]]. The number of Swedish monarchs named [[Erik]] before Erik XIV (at least seven) is unknown, going back into [[prehistory]], and none of them used numerals.}}''' or with the epithet '''the Lisp and Lame'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcourt.se/royalcourt/themonarchytheroyalcourt/theswedishmonarchy/themonarchyinsweden/themonarchsofsweden.4.396160511584257f2180005932.html|title=Kings and Queens of Sweden — A thousand year succession|access-date=28 January 2010|publisher=Royal Court of Sweden|archive-date=10 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110043049/http://www.royalcourt.se/royalcourt/themonarchytheroyalcourt/theswedishmonarchy/themonarchyinsweden/themonarchsofsweden.4.396160511584257f2180005932.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ({{lang|sv|läspe och halte}}), was [[King of Sweden]] from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250.{{sfn|Larrea|2023|page=340}} Being the last ruler of the [[House of Erik]], he stood in the shadow of a succession of powerful [[Swedish jarls|jarls]], especially his brother-in-law [[Birger Jarl]], whose [[Bjelbo dynasty|descendants]] ruled as kings after his death.<ref>{{cite book | last=Demitz | first=Jacob Truedson | title=Centuries of Selfies: Portraits commissioned by Swedish kings and queens| publisher=Vulkan Förlag | publication-place=Stockholm; New York | date=2020 | isbn=978-91-89179-63-9 | others=Preface by [[Ulf Sundberg]]|title-link=Centuries of Selfies|pages= 21-22, 105-106, 141}}</ref>

==Background==
Erik was the son of King [[Erik Knutsson]] and [[Rikissa of Denmark]]. According to ''[[Erik's Chronicle]]'' ({{lang|sv|Erikskrönikan}}), written in the early 1320s, Erik is said to have been partly lame; "King Erik lisped somewhat when talking / and displayed a limp when walking".<ref name=translation>{{Cite book |last1=Carlquist |first1=Erik |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.919481 |title=The Chronicle of Duke Erik: A Verse Epic from Medieval Sweden |last2=Hogg |first2=Peter C. |date=2012 |publisher=Nordic Academic Press |isbn=978-91-85509-57-7 |pages=34–37}}</ref><ref>Pipping, ''Erikskrönikan'', pp. 4-5.</ref> For this reason, later historians referred to him as "Erik the Lisp and Lame" which was apparently not used in his own time. Erik was born after his father had already died (1216). The fifteen-year-old [[Johan Sverkersson]] from the rival [[House of Sverker]] was hailed king by the Swedish aristocracy,{{sfn|Line|2007|page=109}} while Queen Rikissa returned to her Danish homeland where her brother [[Valdemar Sejr]] ruled.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kungl. Vitterhets, historie och antikvitets akademiens handlingar: Historiska serien |date=1956 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8hAAAAAIAAJ |language=sv}}</ref>

Erik spent his early youth in [[Denmark]], while Valdemar championed his rights to the Swedish throne and tried to prevent the coronation of Johan. [[Pope Honorius III]] ordered three North German bishops to investigate the issue in 1219, however to no avail. Johan nevertheless died in 1222, whereby the House of Sverker became extinct in the male line.<ref>[https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=15399 Bolin, "Erik Eriksson"]</ref>{{sfn|Larrea|2023|page=281}}

==First reign==

With no dynastic rivals at hand, the six-year-old Erik was hailed as king, sometime between August 1222 and July 1223. Archbishop {{ill|Olof Basatömer|sv|Olof Basatömer}} supported his cause and appears to have crowned him in [[Strängnäs Cathedral]] on 31 July 1223. During the minority of the king, a council was formed, consisting of Bishop Bengt of [[Skara]], the king's foster father Erengisle Vig, Stenar, [[Knut Haakonsson|Knut Kristinesson]], and [[Knut Långe]] (Knut Holmgersson). The two last-mentioned were second cousins of King Erik.<ref>[http://www.historiska-personer.nu/min-s/p5532163a.html ''Knut "långe" Holmgersson'' (Historiska personer)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111113230/http://historiska-personer.nu/min-s/p5532163a.html |date=2007-11-11 }}</ref> In 1225, Erik and his realm were taken under the protection of the Pope. In the same year a brief conflict with [[Norway]] flared up, as King [[Håkon Håkonson]] made an incursion into [[Värmland]] in retaliation for support given to Håkon's Norwegian enemies.{{sfn|Line|2007|page=127}} The members of the royal council were termed {{lang|la|consiliarii}} ({{langx|sv|rådsherre}}), a term that now occurs for the first time in a Swedish context. However, the internal cohesion of the council was weak, and its members were considered notoriously unreliable. Knut Kristinesson went to [[Norway]] in 1226 in order to claim the crown of this country, and Bishop Bengt died in 1228.<ref>[https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=15399 Bolin, "Erik Eriksson"], sok.riksarkivet.se; accessed 31 January 2019.{{in lang|sv}}</ref>

In 1229, a feud broke out, as Knut the Tall and a party of nobles, the [[Folkung|Folkung Party]], rose against the young ruler. The causes are not known, but a wish by some nobles to restrain the power of the Church might have had a role.{{sfn|Line|2007|page=111}} Erik was overthrown after the [[Battle of Olustra]] in 1230.{{sfn|Larrea|2023|page=281}} The battle is believed to have taken place in Olustra (Ostra) in [[Södermanland]], although [[Alvastra]] in [[Östergötland]] has been mentioned as a possible site. After his loss, the young king fled to Denmark where his uncle [[Valdemar Sejr]] was still ruling. Knut Långe was crowned King of Sweden in 1231, but his time was short and he died in 1234, which prompted Erik to return to the throne.{{sfn|Line|2007|pages=110–113}}{{sfn|Larrea|2023|page=281}}

==Second reign==
According to a Danish source, Erik returned to Sweden already in 1232, when Knut was still king. The Swedish {{lang|sv|Erikskrönikan}} on the contrary asserts that he came back after King Knut's death, after a new round of fighting;<ref>Pipping, ''Erikskrönikan'', p. 3.</ref> however, this is not recorded in any other source.{{sfn|Line|2007|page=113}} At any rate Erik was once again accepted as king and ruled until his own death in 1250. At first, he reconciled with the Folkung Party. The Folkung [[Ulf Fase]], who had been Jarl of the realm under Knut Långe, continued to serve in that function under Erik. Ulf Fase was an able politician who managed to prevent feuding between the noble factions for many years. As a king, Erik is depicted in {{lang|sv|Erikskrönikan}} as good-natured but physically passive:

{{Blockquote|text=
He readily supported what was right and reasonable, and loved his own kindred. He was a hospitable host and gave the peasantry good peace. He understood serious matters well, but could not take part much in tournaments.<ref name=translation/><ref>Pipping, ''Erikskrönikan'', p. 5.</ref>
}}
[[File:Erik-eriksson-laspe.gif|thumb|17th-century drawing of King Erik's seal|180x180px]]
In fact, he was relatively insignificant and heavily dependent on stronger men in his entourage; first Ulf Fase and, after his death (1248), the latter's kinsman [[Birger Jarl|Birger Magnusson]] (better known as Birger Jarl; {{died in|1266}}). They were both scions of the large and influential [[Bjälbo family]] from [[Östergötland]], but entertained different political agendas. While Ulf pursued a policy of alliance with the Norwegian king, Birger strove to strengthen royal authority by allying closely with the Catholic Church. In about the late 1230s, King Erik's elder sister Ingeborg was married to Birger, in the latter's first marriage. Birger was purportedly the son of a female heiress of the Sverker dynasty, thus having royal blood.{{sfn|Line|2007|pages=101, 116}} It is possible that multiple jarls co-existed during his reign, as Birger Jarl is referred to as ''dux'' in 1247; however, whether this is a mistake, or if Ulf governed [[Svealand]] while Birger governed [[Östergötland]], is not known.{{sfn|Larrea|2023|page=286}}

==Eastward expansion==
[[File:Sweden 1250.png|thumb|The rough extent of Swedish rule at Erik's death.|left]]{{Further|Second Swedish Crusade}}
Sweden had a certain presence in [[Finland Proper (historical province)|southwest Finland]] by the early 13th century, although it is unclear to what extent this translated into political power. A bishopric existed in [[Nousiainen]] and later [[Turku]] ({{Langx|sv|Åbo}}), which stood under the papal legate of the Baltic region. The {{lang|sv|Erikskrönikan}} contains a graphic description of a [[Second Swedish Crusade|military expedition]] to [[Tavastia (historical province)|Tavastia]] ({{Langx|fi|Häme}}) further to the east that King Erik dispatched in an unspecified year, possibly in 1238–39 or 1249–50. The professed aim was to Christianize the pagan lands. A sizable fleet was assembled under the leadership of Birger and sailed over to Tavastia (a problematic statement since Tavastia is an inland region). According to the highly [[propagandist]] chronicle, the expedition was an unqualified success:

{{Blockquote|text=
They took their banners and went ashore. The Christians fared well there; they let their shields and their helmets shine throughout the country. They were eager to try their swords on the heathen Tavasts, as I expect they did. The Tavasts then ran away with gold and silver and large herds. The heathen lost, the Christians won. Whoever was willing to do as they wished and become Christian and be baptised, they allowed him to keep his property and his life, and peace to live without any strife or trouble. Any heathen who did not want this, they killed.<ref name=translation/><ref>Pipping, ''Erikskrönikan'', p. 8-9.</ref>
}}

The expedition led to the establishment of a permanent fortress, Tavasteborg, and the formal Christianization of the region. As the chronicle has it, "I think the Russian king feels its loss".<ref name=translation/><ref>Pipping, ''Erikskrönikan'', p. 10.</ref> The enterprise is not mentioned in other sources, and its circumstances are hotly debated among modern historians. It is possibly connected to a Swedish foray in the [[Novgorod Republic]] in 1240. A fleet of ships commanded by a certain Spiridon and accompanied by a few bishops went up the [[Neva River]], but were [[Battle of the Neva|attacked and routed]] by the Novgorodian prince [[Alexander Nevsky]]. Details of the battle are partly legendary, and its significance might have been exaggerated in Russian historiography. According to a 14th-century source, the Swedish leader was a Belgerd, corresponding to Birger, though this may be a later construction.{{sfn|Line|2007|pages=442–443}}<ref>Harrison, "Birger jarl och Aleksandr Nevskij".</ref>

==Renewed domestic feuding==
Internal fighting once again broke out in 1247, shortly before (or possibly after) Ulf Fase's death. [[Folkung|The Folkung Party]] warred with King Erik and Birger, but their peasant allies in [[Uppland]] lost the [[Battle of Sparrsätra]] and were punished by tightening royal taxation. The Folkung leader [[Holmger Knutsson]], a son of Knut Långe, fled to [[Gästrikland]] but was captured by Erik's men and beheaded.{{sfn|Line|2007|page=118}}

Shortly after the defeat of the uprising, Birger was appointed Jarl of the realm. As such he oversaw a clerical meeting in [[Skänninge]] in February 1248, summoned by the papal legate [[William of Sabina]]. On behalf of [[Pope Innocent IV]], he urged the Swedes to stick to canonic-juridical praxis as laid down by Rome. The authority of the bishops was strengthened and Sweden was increasingly incorporated in the Catholic Church.<ref>Harrison, ''Sveriges historia: medeltiden'', p. 134-6.</ref>

==Family and heirs==
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2019}}
[[File:Eric the Lisper & Halter of Sweden grave 2009.jpg|thumb|King Erik's tomb in Varnhem Abbey]]
Erik married Queen [[Catherine Sunesdotter|Catherine]] in 1243 or 1244. She was the daughter of Jarl Sune Folkesson of Bjälbo and an heiress of the House of Sverker. In that way the two long-competing royal houses were eventually united. Commonly, it is believed that Erik was childless since he was inherited by his sister, Birger Jarl's wife, but some sources suggest that he fathered Ingeborg, "filia regis Sueciae" who was married to [[John I, Duke of Saxony|John I of Saxe-Lauenburg]]. A later genealogy from the 16th century calls her "filia Erici Regis Suecorum". However, Ingeborg may actually have been a daughter of Birger Jarl.<ref>Gillingstam, Hans, "[Review of] S. Otto Brenner, Nachkommen Gorms des alten", ''Personhistorisk tidskrift'' 1967, p. 212-3.</ref>

Erik Eriksson died on 2 February 1250, and was buried in the monastery of [[Varnhem Abbey]] in [[Västergötland]]. With him the [[House of Erik]] became extinct in the male line, with the possible exception of Knut Långe's son Filip ({{died in|1251}}).{{efn-ua|Filip and his father Knut Långe were probably descendants of [[Saint Erik]], although the details are not quite certain; Line, ''Kingship and State Formation in Sweden'', p. 568.}} Under these circumstances the throne went to the offspring of Birger Jarl and Ingeborg, the more since Birger was now in full control over the realm. Their eldest but still under-age son [[Valdemar, King of Sweden|Valdemar]] was elected king in 1250 to succeed Erik, possibly by-passing the sons, to the extent there were such, of Ingeborg's elder sisters.{{efn-ua|Ingeborg had at least one, possibly more sisters, though their birth dates or birth order are not known. The sons of her documented sister Sophia (d. 1241) were dukes in [[Mecklenburg]] but made no known claims.}} Birger Jarl became the Regent, holding the true power in Sweden until his own death in 1266. ''[[Skáldatal]]'' reports that [[Óláfr Þórðarson]] was one of Erik's court [[skald]]s.

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Larrea |first1=Beñat Elortza |title=Polity Consolidation and Military Transformation in Medieval Scandinavia: A European Perspective, c.1035–1320 |date=13 March 2023 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-54349-2 |page=340 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Auv7EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Line |first1=Philip |title=Kingship and State Formation in Sweden: 1130 - 1290 |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15578-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=du4gbrqq-xQC |language=en}}

==Further reading==
* Bolin, Sture, "Erik Eriksson", [https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=15399 ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon''].
* Harrison, Dick, ''Sveriges historia: medeltiden'' (Stockholm: Liber, 2002).
* Harrison, Dick, ''Jarlens sekel - En berättelse om 1200-talets Sverige'' ( Stockholm: Ordfront, 2002). {{ISBN|91-7324-999-8}}
* Harrison, Dick, "Birger jarl och Aleksandr Nevskij", ''Svenska Dagbladet'' Blog, 1 May 2011 [http://blog.svd.se/historia/2011/05/01/birger-jarl-och-aleksandr-nevskij].
* Lagerqvist, Lars O.; Åberg, Nils, ''Litet lexikon över Sveriges regenter'' (Boda kyrkby: Vincent förlag, 2004). {{ISBN|91-87064-43-X}}
* Lindström, Henrik; Lindström, Fredrik, ''Svitjods undergång och Sveriges födelse'' (Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag, 2006). {{ISBN|91-0-010789-1}}.
* Line, Philip, ''Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130-1290'' (Leiden: Brill, 2007).
* Pipping, Rolf (ed.), ''Erikskrönikan'' (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wicksell, 1921).

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Erik]]||1216|2 February|1250|name=Erik Eriksson the lisp and the lame}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Johan Sverkersson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]|years=1222–1229}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Knut Långe]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Knut Långe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]|years=1234–1250}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Valdemar, King of Sweden|Valdemar]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Monarchs of Sweden}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1216 births]]
[[Category:1250 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century Swedish monarchs]]
[[Category:Monarchs deposed as children]]
[[Category:Medieval child monarchs]]
[[Category:Christians of the Second Swedish Crusade]]
[[Category:House of Erik]]
[[Category:Swedish royalty and nobility with disabilities]]
[[Category:People with speech disorders]]
[[Category:Burials at Varnhem Abbey]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic monarchs]]