Boleslaw of Sweden

Last updated

Boleslaw (Swedish: Burislev; died 1172/73) was a Swedish pretender for the throne, belonging to the House of Sverker. He acted in concert with his kinsman Kol against King Canute I of Sweden, then head of the House of Eric. The two pretenders, who were brothers, half-brothers, or uncle and nephew, may never have controlled much more than the Province of Östergötland, which was the base of the dynasty. Boleslaw is believed either to have been murdered by King Canute's men, or to have fled to Poland in or before 1173.

Contents

Background

Boleslaw was a descendant of the old King Sverker I of Sweden (d. 1156), but the exact pedigree is not clear. Sverker married, as his second wife, Richeza of Poland. From this marriage a son called Bulizlaus (Boleslaw, Burislev) was born, as apparent from a Danish administrative document. He was named for his maternal grandfather Bolesław III Wrymouth. Older Swedish historians, such as Natanael Beckman who wrote a biographical article in Svenskt biografiskt lexikon , therefore claimed that Boleslaw and Kol were sons of Sverker. [1]

However, according to a medieval genealogy, Boleslaw, Kol and a third brother called Ubbe the Strong were in fact the sons of King Sverker I's son John. [2] On the basis of this, Swedish historians such as Nils Ahnlund and Adolf Schück have claimed instead that there were two different Boleslaw, uncle and nephew; thus the contenders were indeed sired by John, who died a young man in c. 1152. [3] A medieval list of monastic donations indicates that a certain Ragnhild was the mother of Kol and probably Boleslaw, and consequently the wife of John. She is known to have survived him and presumably raised her children during the turbulent years following John's and Sverker I's deaths, before entering Vreta Abbey as a nun. [4]

Civil war

Boleslaw is mentioned in the regnal list appended to Västgötalagen together with Kol: "[King Canute I] won Sweden by sword and killed King Karl, King Kol and King Burislev, had many fights in Sweden and was victorious in all". [5] Otherwise, he appears in fewer medieval sources than his brother whose name occurs in several king-lists. [6] According to annotations by the 17th-century scholar Johannes Messenius, Kol fell in battle, but Boleslaw continued the struggle against Canute with some success. However, when he carelessly stayed at the mansion of Bjälbo he was assaulted by Canute's troops and killed. Still later traditions have it that Kol and then Boleslaw were killed in battle at Blodåkrarna (the Blood Fields) close to Bjälbo, in 1169. [7] Most probably, however, the struggle came to an end in 1172–73, since Canute reportedly reigned for 23 years after his victory. [8]

It has been speculated that Canute I married a sister of his antagonists Kol and Boleslaw whose name was Cecilia, and to whom he was betrothed in c. 1160. This hypothesis is based on an annal entry which mentions a Princess Cecilia, mother of Eric the Saint, as the sister of Kol and Ulf (Ubbe). Eric the Saint, it is argued, might be a mistake for Eric X of Sweden, the son of Canute I. [9] This hypothesis has been disputed, however. [10]

Though several sources affirm that Boleslaw actually was King of Sweden for a few years, the Swedish Royal Court does not recognize him as such in its official list of rulers.

Related Research Articles

Richeza of Poland, a member of the House of Piast, was twice Queen of Sweden and once Princess of Minsk through her three marriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Knutsson</span> King of Sweden from 1208 to 1216

Erik Knutsson, sometimes known as Eric X, was King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as Erik the Survivor, he was, at his accession to the throne, the only remaining son of King Knut Eriksson and his queen, whose name may have been Cecilia.

Sverker the Younger, also known as Sverker II or Sverker Karlsson, was King of Sweden from 1195 or 1196 to 1208 when he was defeated in the Battle of Lena by Erik Knutsson. Sverker died in the 1210 Battle of Gestilren where his forces battled those of King Erik Knutsson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knut Eriksson</span> King of Sweden from 1173 to 1195

Knut Eriksson, also known as Canute I, was King of Sweden from 1173 to 1195. He was a son of King Erik the Saint and Queen Christina, who was a granddaughter of the Swedish king Inge the Elder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Sverkersson</span> King of Sweden from 1161 to 1167

Karl Sverkersson or Charles VII was ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who succeeded him as king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sverker the Elder</span> 12th-century King of Sweden

Sverker the Elder, also known as Sverker I, was King of Sweden from about 1132 until his murder. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with the rival House of Erik over the next century.

Magnus the Strong, also known as Magnus Nilsson, was a Danish duke who ruled Gothenland in southern Sweden from the 1120s to c. 1132. It is disputed whether he was elected king by the Swedes, but he is nevertheless sometimes found in the modern list of Swedish monarchs as Magnus I. Snorri Sturlason gives him the epithet "Strong".

Magnus Minniskiöld was a medieval Swedish magnate from the House of Bjälbo. He is best known as the father of the renowned statesman Birger Jarl, and the ancestor of the later Swedish kings. He is sometimes believed to have perished in the Battle of Lena in 1208, though the evidence is not conclusive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kol of Sweden</span> Swedish prince

Kol was a Swedish prince who, together with his brother Burislev was a contender for the throne of Sweden from 1167 until his violent death a few years later. The struggle was a stage in the rivalry between the House of Sverker, to which Kol and Burislev belonged, and the House of Eric.

Magnus Henriksson, also known as Magnus II, was a Danish lord and King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a usurper.

Erik Årsäll was a semi-historical king of Sweden. His historicity has been called into question. He is dated by some to the end of the 11th century, by others to the 1120s, while more critical historians believe that he is a legendary name belonging to the 10th century. According to some, he was the son of the pagan Swedish king Blót-Sweyn, and, like his father before him, administered the blóts at the temple at Uppsala. However, Erik does not appear in any Swedish or Danish primary sources.

Svantepolk Knutsson was a Swedish knight and councilor. He became a wealthy feudal lord in Östergötland.

Helena or Elin, possibly also known as Maer, Mär or Mö, was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Inge the Elder, and a supposed sister of King Blot-Sweyn of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen of Sweden (13th century)</span> Swedish princess

Helen of Sweden was a Swedish princess and daughter of King Sverker II of Sweden. She was the mother of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was later Abbess of Vreta Abbey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedicta Hvide</span> Queen consort of Sweden

Benedicta Hvide also called Benedicta Ebbesdotter was Queen of Sweden as the first wife of king Sverker II. She belonged to the House of Hvide of Denmark and in Sweden was often called Queen Bengta.

IngegerdBirgersdotter was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King Sverker II.

Cecilia Johansdotter is the possible name of the wife of King Canute I of Sweden and mother of King Eric X of Sweden. Little is known about her except that she was of aristocratic origins and died sometime after 1193.

Helen, is the assumed name of a medieval Swedish princess and Danish queen, Queen consort of King Canute V of Denmark. The date of her birth is not known; her father was King Sverker I of Sweden and her mother has been assumed to be Sverker's first spouse, Queen Ulvhild.

Benedicta of Bjelbo was a Swedish noblewoman and a central figure in the incident known as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, wherein she, like her mother, Princess Helen of Sweden before her, and her daughter, Ingrid Svantepolksdotter after her, was abducted from Vreta Abbey by the man she later married. Her abduction was the subject of the folksong "Bridal Abduction of Young Lars" .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan (son of Sverker I)</span> Son of King Sverker the Elder

Johan Sverkersson, who died between 1150 and 1153, was the eldest son of King Sverker the Elder of Sweden and his queen Ulfhild Håkansdotter. He had a role in the outbreak of a war between Sweden and Denmark in the 1150s.

References

  1. ↑ Nathanael Beckman. "Burislev". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 10 Oct 2013.
  2. ↑ Hans Gillingstam. "Jon jarl". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 10 Oct 2013.
  3. ↑ in "Från Viby till Bjälbo, studier i Sveriges historia under 100-talets senare hälft", Fornvännen 1951 p. 199
  4. ↑ Nils Ahnlund, "Till frågan om den äldsta Erikskulten i Sverige", Historisk tidskrift 68, 1948, p. 318.
  5. ↑ Lindkvist, Thomas (2021). The Västgöta Laws. London: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-003-17437-0.
  6. ↑ Hans Gillingstam. "Kol". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 10 Oct 2013.
  7. ↑ Adolf Schück, "Från Viby till Bjälbo, studier i Sveriges historia under 100-talets senare hälft", Fornvännen 1951 p. 212.
  8. ↑ Mats G. Larsson, Götarnas riken: Upptäcktsfärder till Sveriges enande. Stockholm: Atlantis, 2002, p. 185.
  9. ↑ Ahnlund, Nils, "Vreta klosters äldsta donatorer", Historisk tidskrift 65, 1945, p. 345.
  10. ↑ Hans Gillingstam, "Knut Eriksson", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, Canute I of Sweden
Preceded byas King of Sweden King of Östergötland
1167–1173
with Kol of Sweden 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.