Reign
When King John I died in 1222, the six-year-old Eric was hailed king, with a distant male cousin who was adult, first as leader of the regency council and then as co-regent with Knut Holmgersson. Knut was a member of the council which ruled Sweden. In 1229, after having been a minor king in seven years, Eric was overthrown after the battle of Olustra (slaget vid Olustra). The battle is believed to have taken place in Olustra 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 was King Valdemar II of Denmark. Knut Holmgersson was crowned King Canute II of Sweden in 1231 but his time in office was short and he died 1234.
After King Canute's death, Eric returned and ruled until his own death in 1250. Eric was married to Queen Catherine, daughter of (Jarl) Sune Folkason of Bjälbo and an heiress of the House of Sverker. Commonly, sources say that Eric was childless, but some sources claim that he had a couple of baby daughters who died. Eric was buried in the monastery of Varnhem Abbey in Västergötland.
In 1236, King Eric's (apparently youngest) sister Ingeborg had been married to Birger Magnusson, in Birger's first marriage. Birger Magnusson was the son of a female heiress of the Sverker dynasty and a member of the House of Bjelbo. Their under aged eldest son Valdemar was elected king 1250 to succeed Eric, possibly by-passing the sons,if such existed, of Ingeborg's elder sisters. Birger Magnusson became the Regent, holding the true power in Sweden until his own death in 1266.
Skáldatal reports that Óláfr Þórðarson was one of Eric's court skalds.
Read more about this topic: Eric XI Of Sweden
Famous quotes containing the word reign:
“I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;
From the center all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)
“Without poets, without artists, men would soon weary of nature’s monotony. The sublime idea men have of the universe would collapse with dizzying speed. The order which we find in nature, and which is only an effect of art, would at once vanish. Everything would break up in chaos. There would be no seasons, no civilization, no thought, no humanity; even life would give way, and the impotent void would reign everywhere.”
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)
“See how peaceful it is here. The sea is everything. An immense reservoir of nature where I roam at will.... Think of it. On the surface there is hunger and fear. Men still exercise unjust laws. They fight, tear one another to pieces. A mere few feet beneath the waves their reign ceases, their evil drowns. Here on the ocean floor is the only independence. Here I am free.”
—Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)