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Swedish Royalty |
House of Erik |
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Saint Erik |
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Knut Eriksson |
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Erik Knutsson |
Erik Eriksson |
The House of Erik (Swedish: Erikska ätten) was a medieval Swedish royal dynasty with several pretenders to the throne between 1150 and 1220, rivaling for kingship of Sweden with the House of Sverker. The first king from the House of Erik was Erik Jedvardsson, later known as Saint Erik. Almost all the subsequent kings of Sweden have been descendants of the House of Erik.
The foremother of the dynasty was Saint Erik's wife Christina Björnsdotter, whom legend claims to have been the maternal granddaughter of Inge the Elder, the king who abolished paganism in Sweden.
The House of Erik favored the Varnhem Abbey, and several of its members are interred there.