Eric the Victorious

Eric the Victorious
Eric praying to Odin before the Battle of Fýrisvellir, as envisioned by Twentieth century artist Jenny Nyström
King of Sweden
Reignc. 970 – c. 995[1]
SuccessorOlof Skötkonung
Bornc. 945
Diedc. 995
Burial
Old Uppsala
Consorts
IssueOlof Skötkonung and daughter of unknown name
HouseMunsö
Father
ReligionPagan, possibly briefly Christian

Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: Eiríkr inn sigrsæli, Modern Swedish: Erik Segersäll; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive regnal succession, who is attested in sources independent of each other, and consequently Sweden's list of rulers usually begins with him.[2][3] His son Olof Skötkonung, however, is considered the first ruler documented to definitely have been accepted both by the original Swedes around Lake Mälaren and by the Geats around Lake Vättern. Adam of Bremen reports a king named Emund Eriksson before Eric, but it is not known whether he was Eric's father.[4] The Norse sagas' accounts of a Björn Eriksson[5] are considered unreliable.

Some sources have referred to Eric the Victorious as either King Eric V or Eric VI, modern inventions by counting backwards from Eric XIV (1560–1568), who adopted his numeral according to a 16th-century work on the history of Sweden, Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus. Whether or not there were any Swedish monarchs named Eric before Eric the Victorious is disputed, with some historians claiming that there were several earlier Erics,[6] and others questioning the reliability of the primary sources used and the existence of these earlier monarchs.[7] The list of monarchs after him is also complicated and sketchy in some early periods, which makes the assignment of any numeral problematic (see Eric and Eric and Erik Årsäll) whether counting backward or forward.

  1. ^ Liljegren, Bengt (2004) "Rulers of Sweden". Lund: Historiska Media. (translated by Adam Williams) p.11 ISBN 91-8505763-0
  2. ^ Lindkvist, Thomas (2003), "Kings and provinces in Sweden", The Cambridge History of Scandinavia, p. 223, ISBN 0-521-47299-7
  3. ^ Listing Archived 2021-11-23 at the Wayback Machine the Royal Court of Sweden
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference riks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hervarar saga, Saga of Harald Fairhair and Styrbjörn's saga
  6. ^ Lagerqvist & Åberg in Kings and Rulers of Sweden ISBN 91-87064-35-9 pp. 8–9
  7. ^ Harrison, Dick (2009), Sveriges historia 600-1350, pp. 21, 121, ISBN 978-91-1-302377-9