Aros, 'the river mouth' (Västra Aros only from the mid-13th century), where the Svartån meets Mälaren: the seat of the bishop of Västmanland and Dalarna and the landing place for iron and copper from the mining country to the north-west.
The see existed by the 12th century: Bishop Henry of Sigtuna was moved here in 1134, and an earlier see at Munktorp is reported. In 1200 the bishop's church is the predecessor of the Gothic cathedral that Birger Jarl rebuilds (consecrated 1271). Not a chartered town: a church site and trading place. East of it at Badelunda stands Anundshög, Sweden's largest burial mound (about 500).
Who holds it
- Name
- not pinned (Church map)
- Title
- the bishop of Västerås (church and its land); the king's rights in the landing place not pinned
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia Västerås and Diocese of Västerås
Lord in 1200
The bishop of Västerås, whose name in 1200 is not pinned (Church map), holds the church and its land; the king's rights over the landing place are not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Quiet. The campaign notes record Innocent III's order that Archbishop Olof remove two bishops his predecessor had consecrated who were sons of priests; which sees they held is not pinned here.
Communities
The bishop and his clergy, traders and farmers.
Militia
The levy of the Västmanna land.
Walls and castle
None in 1200.
Trade and crafts
Iron and copper brought down from the Bergslagen and Dalarna; furs; Mälaren shipping.
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.
- 1271 (after this year)The rebuilt cathedral is consecrated.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The see is attested from the 12th century; its bishop in 1200 and the place's size are not known.
On the map: The tierra is the church site and its near land.
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
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.