Knut's sons

Who he is

Name

Erik Knutsson (born about 1180) and his three brothers, whose names the sources do not give

Title

sons of the late king

Since

their father's death (autumn 1195 or 8 April 1196)

Born

Erik about 1180, perhaps at the royal manor of Eriksberg (en.wikipedia); the brothers not pinned

Family

Grandsons of St Erik (Erik Jedvardsson, killed at Uppsala in 1160; fmg gives 1159). Their mother is unknown (sometimes taken to be Cecilia Johansdotter). Their aunt Margareta Eriksdotter is King Sverre's queen in Norway (married 1185). Their uncle Filip Eriksson witnesses a Nydala charter dated about 1200 as 'Philippus frater regis Kanuti' and has a son Holmger (fmg). A sister is reported married to the jarl's son Knut Birgersson (en.wikipedia on Birger Brosa).

Confidence

medium

en.wikipedia (Knut Eriksson; Eric X); fmg.ac Sweden.

Overlord

King Sverker II

What it holds

• the family manor of Eriksberg in Västergötland (traditionally in Gäsene hundred; not located here)
• patronage of Varnhem Abbey, where King Knut lies (Church map)
• a place at the king's court

How it was acquired

By inheritance from King Knut; their royal claim from their father and grandfather.

Allies and rivals

Sverre of Norway and Queen Margareta (their aunt); the Bjälbo house through the reported marriage; the Västgötar. Rival: Sverker.

How things stand that morning

At Sverker's court, not in arms.

Wealth

The Erik family's farms in Västergötland and perhaps in Uppland (not pinned).

Military

No following of their own is recorded before 1203.

Threats

• Sverker's suspicion once the jarl is gone

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1203-1205 (after this year)After Birger Brosa's death they claim the throne, are refused, flee to Norway for the winter of 1204-05 and come back with Birkebeiner help; three fall at Älgarås in Tiveden in November 1205 and Erik escapes to Norway.Depends on: Birger Brosa's death (9 January 1202) and Sverker's refusal Stopped by: a settlement giving them land or office; the jarl living longer
2. January 1208 (after this year)Erik returns with Norwegian help and the Folkung lords and beats Sverker at Lena in Västergötland; he is crowned in November 1210 and marries Rikissa of Denmark that year.Depends on: the above

Places of note

• Varnhem Abbey: Cistercian abbey near Skara where King Knut is buried (Church map); shown as the house's seat for want of the located Eriksberg

Where the sources disagree

• Some later writing names the brothers; en.wikipedia says the sources do not. Their ages are disputed (grown men in en.wikipedia, minors in 1196 in de.wikipedia).

Evidence: The sons are known from the king lists and the annals of 1205 and 1208; their estates are known only from Knut's death place and burial.

On the map: Not drawn: Eriksberg is not located with confidence, and the family's other farms are unknown. The marker stands at Varnhem.

Primary sources for Sweden

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
• Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
• The saga of King Sverre of Norway, Karl Jónsson and a continuator (begun about 1185 under Sverre's own supervision, completed about 1210 to 1220). The king's own authorised saga. Read online
• The sagas of the Baglers (about 1210 to 1220, in a shorter and a longer version). Begins with Sverre's death in March 1202 and the reigns of Hákon Sverrisson, Guttorm and Inge Bårdsson against the Bagler kings Erling Steinvegg and Philippus, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online
• The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
• The Danish diplomatarium: charters and letters concerning Denmark, with Danish translation (documents of 789 to 1448; the online edition is continuing). Twenty-seven documents are dated to 1200: Innocent III's letters of February and March 1200 to Philip Augustus and Queen Ingeborg and his order for the interdict on France, Otto IV's letter to the pope expecting King Knud VI to move into Saxony, the reports of the legate Octavian and the French bishops on the lifting of the interdict in September, the pope's letters to Knud VI asking him to send advocates for his sister, Knud VI's ordinance on manslaughter for Skåne of 28 December 1200, and private gifts to Roskilde and Næstved. Read online
• The Swedish diplomatarium and its main register, SDHK (documents of 817 to 1540). The register of every known Swedish medieval letter, with full texts for the early centuries. Read online
• The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online