11th-century Danish king
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson
[a]
(
Old Norse
:
Sveinn Astriðarson
,
Danish
:
Svend Estridsen
;
c.
1019
? 28 April 1076)
[2]
[3]
was
King of Denmark
(being
Sweyn II
) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of
Ulf Thorgilsson
and
Estrid Svendsdatter
, and the grandson of
Sweyn Forkbeard
through his mother's line. He was married at least two times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings
Harald Hen
,
Canute the Saint
,
Oluf Hunger
,
Eric Evergood
, and
Niels
.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander.
[4]
His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
Biography
[
edit
]
Accession to the throne
[
edit
]
Sweyn was born in
England
,
[4]
as the son of
Ulf Thorgilsson
and
Estrid Svendsdatter
, the latter of whom was the daughter of King
Sweyn I Forkbeard
and sister of Kings
Harald II
and
Canute the Great
. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king
Anund Jacob of Sweden
for a time.
[4]
He pillaged the
Elbe-Weser
area in 1040, but was caught by the
Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
, who released him shortly thereafter.
[5]
Svend was made a
jarl
under Danish king
Harthacnut
(the two were
first cousins
),
[4]
and led a campaign for him against Norway, but was beaten by
Magnus I of Norway
.
[5]
When Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend the
jarl
of
Jutland
.
[6]
In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the
Battle of Lyrskov Heath
at
Hedeby
, near the present-day
border of Denmark and Germany
.
[5]
Sweyn won a great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in
Viborg
in Jutland.
[6]
He was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to
Sweden
. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in
Scania
.
[5]
The war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus' uncle
Harald Hardrada
returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald.
[4]
In 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided: Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark.
[6]
Upon hearing of Magnus' death Sweyn said, "Now so help me God, I shall never yield Denmark".
[7]
Feud with Harald Hardrada
[
edit
]
Harald, unwilling to relinquish Denmark, attacked Sweyn and fought a long war. Harald sacked
Hedeby
in 1050, and also sacked
Aarhus
.
[5]
Sweyn almost captured Harald in 1050, when Harald attacked the coast of Jutland and loaded his ships with goods and captives. Sweyn's flotilla caught up with the Norwegians and Harald ordered his men to throw out the captured goods, thinking the Danes would stop to get the goods. Sweyn ordered his men to leave the goods and go after Harald. Harald then ordered his men to throw the captives overboard. For them Sweyn was willing to let Harald slip away.
[7]
Sweyn came close to losing his life at the naval
Battle of Nisa
off the coast of
Halland
in 1062.
[4]
According to the sagas Harald urged Sweyn to meet him in a final and decisive battle at Elv in the spring of 1062.
[8]
When Sweyn and the Danish army did not show up, Harald sent home a large part of his army, only keeping the more professional warriors in his fleet. When Sweyn finally came to meet Harald, his fleet numbered 300 ships to Harald's 150.
[9]
The fleets met at night and the battle lasted until morning, when the Danes started to flee. In the sagas the Norwegian victory is largely credited to earl Haakon Ivarsson, who disengaged his ships from the Norwegian flanks and started attacking the weakened ships on the Danish flanks.
[10]
This might be the aiding Norwegian chieftain that Saxo Grammaticus refers to, as turning the tide in Norwegian favour.
[11]
Sweyn managed to escape the battle, reached land and stopped at the house of a peasant to ask for something to eat. "What was the terrible rumbling in the night?" she asked. "Didn't you know the two kings were fighting all night?" asked one of Sweyn's men. "Who won, then?" the woman asked. "Norwegians," came the reply. "It's a shame on us, for a king we already have. He limps and is timid." "No," King Sweyn explained, "Timid the king of the Danes is assuredly not,"
[
clarification needed
]
defended another of the king's men, "but luck isn't with him and he lacks a victory." The housecarl brought the men water and a towel to wash themselves. As the king was drying his hands, the woman tore the cloth from him, "You should be ashamed of yourself for using the whole towel for yourself," she scolded. "The day will come when I will have your permission to use the whole cloth," was the king's comment. Her husband gave the king a horse and Sweyn continued on his way to Zealand.
Some time later the peasant was called to Zealand and given lands there for his service to the king, but his wife had to remain behind in Halland.
[7]
Sweyn had a reputation for generosity and kindness that helped him on several occasions to win the trust of his people. Harald relinquished his claims to Denmark in 1064,
[4]
in exchange for Sweyn's recognition of Harald as
Harald III of Norway
.
[6]
Harald then sailed off to England to claim the
crown of England
, and was killed
there
.
Consolidation of power
[
edit
]
Sweyn's connection to the Danish kings was his mother Estrid Svendsdatter, and he took the
matronymic
surname Estridsson after her, emphasizing his link to the Danish royal house.
[5]
He also minted his own coins.
Sweyn sought to consolidate his power through links to the church as well as foreign powers, and actively sought the friendship of the popes.
[4]
He wanted his eldest son
Knud Magnus
crowned by the Pope, but Knud died on the journey to Rome. He also unsuccessfully pressed for
Harald Bluetooth
, the first Christian king of Denmark, to be
sanctified
. He was an ally of
Emperor Henry III
against Count
Baldwin V of Flanders
in 1049, and Sweyn assisted his son-in-law
Gottschalk
in the
Liutizi Civil War
of 1057.
[5]
After Harald Hardrada was killed, and
William the Conqueror
had conquered England, Sweyn turned his attention to England, once ruled by his uncle Canute the Great. He joined forces with
Edgar Atheling
, the last remaining heir of the
Anglo-Saxon
royal house, and
sent a force
to attack king William in 1069. However, after capturing
York
, Sweyn accepted a payment from William to desert Edgar, who then returned into exile in
Scotland
. Sweyn failed another attempt in 1074/1075.
[5]
Relationship with the church
[
edit
]
Sweyn feared that Archbishop
Adalbert of Hamburg
would fill the upper ranks of Denmark's churches with Germans, so he brought Anglo-Danes over from England to keep the Danish church independent. Under the influence of Sweyn,
[12]
Denmark was divided into eight dioceses around 1060.
[13]
He set the dioceses up by donating large tracts of land, with the
Diocese of Roskilde
being the most-favoured one, as he had a good relationship with
Bishop Vilhelm
.
[5]
When Archbishop Adalbert died in 1072, Sweyn was able to deal directly with the
Holy See
.
He brought scholars to Denmark to teach him and his people
Latin
so they could converse with the rest of Europe on equal terms.
Adam of Bremen
travelled to meet this learned king and came away with greater respect for the king's patience and wisdom. Sweyn encouraged the building of churches all over Denmark, and Adam of Bremen was astounded that there were 300 churches in
Scania
alone, more than in all the other countries of the north put together.
[
citation needed
]
Death
[
edit
]
King Sweyn died at the royal estate Søderup, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of
Abenra
at the
Little Belt
strait. The Danish chronicles inaccurately date his death to 1074, but it is known that he received and answered letters in 1075 and died in 1076.
[3]
[2]
The king's body was carried to
Roskilde Cathedral
where he was interred in a pillar of the choir next to the remains of
Bishop Vilhelm
(who was the actual person who died in 1074). Later he was called the "father of kings" because five of his fifteen sons became kings of Denmark.
[7]
He was the last Viking ruler of Denmark and an ancestor of all subsequent Danish kings.
[14]
The remains of other Danish kings are also entombed in Roskilde Cathedral. According to the saga, Sweyn's mother was entombed inside a pillar across from the chapel. However, analysis of mitochondrial DNA proved that this person was not the king's mother, as his
mtDNA
indicated Haplogroup H, HVR1 7028C.
[14]
Legacy
[
edit
]
One of the legacies of King Sweyn was a fundamental change in Danish society which had been based on whether a person was free or a bondsman. Sweyn is often considered to be Denmark's last Viking king as well as the first
medieval
one. A strengthened church in alliance with the land-owning noble families begin to pit their power against the royal family. The peasants were left to fend for themselves.
[15]
Sweyn built a strong foundation for royal power through cooperation with the church. He completed the final partition of Denmark into
dioceses
by corresponding directly with the
pope
, bypassing the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. During his reign hundreds of small wooden churches were built throughout the kingdom; many were rebuilt in stone in the 12th century.
[5]
Sweyn sought to create a Nordic Archbishopric under Danish rule, a feat which his son Eric I accomplished.
[12]
Sweyn seems to have been able to read and write, and was described as an especially educated monarch by his personal friend
Pope Gregory VII
.
[12]
He is the source of much of our current knowledge about Denmark and Sweden in the 9th and 10th centuries, having told the story of his ancestry to historian Adam of Bremen around 1070.
Family
[
edit
]
Sweyn's first marriage was to
Gyda of Sweden
, daughter of king Anund Jacob of Sweden. His second marriage, in 1050, was to
Gunnhildr Sveinsdottir
, the stepmother of Gyda. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen ordered that the union be dissolved,
[5]
which was effectuated by
Pope Leo IX
.
[12]
According to
Adam of Bremen
, Sweyn had a certain "Tora" at his court. Historian
Sture Bolin
argues that this "Tora" is actually
Tora Torbergsdatter
, the mother of king
Olaf III of Norway
, linking this to a passage about a king marrying the mother of a king named Olof.
[16]
He took one mistress after another during his life. Sweyn fathered at least 20 children, of whom only one was born in wedlock.
[4]
With Gunnhildr:
- Svend Svendsen
, who died young
[4]
With various concubines:
[4]
- Knud Magnus
- Harald III Hen of Denmark
(d. 1080)
- Canute IV the Saint of Denmark
(d. 1086)
- Olaf I Hunger of Denmark
(d. 1095)
- Eric I Evergood of Denmark
(d. 1103)
- Svend Tronkræver
(d. 1104)
- Ulf Svendsen
(Ubbe) (d. 1104)
- Benedict Svendsen
(d. 1086)
- Bjørn Svendsen
,
Duke of Nordalbingien
from 1099 (d. 1100)
[17]
- Niels of Denmark
(d. 1134)
- Sigrid Svendsdatter
(d. 1066), wife of prince
Gottschalk
- Ingerid
, wife of
Olav III of Norway
- Sweyn the Crusader
(d. 1097)
- Thorgils Svendsen
- Sigurd Svendsen
, died in war against the
Wends
[4]
- Guttorm Svendsen
- Ømund Svendsen
- Ragnhild Svendsdatter
, wife of
Svein Aslaksson
Previously alleged children
[
edit
]
- Gunhild (Helene), who's existence is only known from the
Gunhild Cross
, used to be considered a daughter of King Sweyn II
[4]
due to the inscription of the cross mentioning a great King Sweyn, but modern scholarship suggest she was a daughter of
Sweyn III Grathe
.
[18]
See also
[
edit
]
Media related to
Sweyn II of Denmark
at Wikimedia Commons
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
His first name is also spelled Swen, Swein, Svein and Sven, and his last name as Estridson, Estrithson or Estridsøn.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Monarkiet i Danmark ? Kongerækken
Archived
2009-11-18 at the
Wayback Machine
at
The Danish Monarchy
- ^
a
b
Steenstrup, Johannes C. H. R. (1903).
"Svend Estridsen"
. In Bricka, Carl Frederik (ed.).
Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
(in Danish). Vol. 17. Kjøbenhavn: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag (F. Hegel & Søn). p. 4
. Retrieved
2007-02-22
.
Sweyn died at the royal estate Søderup in [the
Duchy of
] Schleswig April 28, 1076 (the Danish annals have, certainly incorrect, 1074) and was buried in Roskilde Cathedral. [S. døde paa Kongsgaarden i Søderup i Slesvig 28. April 1076 (de danske Aarbøger have, sikkert urigtig, 1074) og blev begravet i Roskilde Domkirke.]
- ^
a
b
Ræder, J. G. F. (1871).
"Danmark under Svend Estridsen og hans Sønner (Copenhagen, pp. 202?203)"
.
archive.org
. Retrieved
2017-02-22
.
At Vilhelm er død før Kongen, meddeles af de ikke meget senere Skribenter Anonymus Roskild. (Lgb.I. S. 378) og Ætnothus (Lgb.III. S. 338). At fremdeles Svend Estridsen døde 1076 og ikke allerede 1074, er ligeledes hævet over enhver Tvivl; naar nu ikke destomindre en hel Række Kildeskrifter lader ham dø allerede 1074, saa synes dette at hænge sammen med det allerede tidlig opstaaede og hos Saxo opbevarede Sagn om, at Vilhelm døde faa Dage efter Kongen og af Sorg over hans Død. Det kan da tænkes , at man har draget Kongens Død tilbage til Bispens Dødsaar 1074, ligesom Nyere (t. Ex. Molbech, hist. Aarb. III S. 19) drage Bispens Dødsaar frem til 1076 for at faa Begges Dødsaar til at falde sammen." ... & ... "men derimod giver en ny Skrivelse, som Paven afsendte til Svend d. 17. April s. A. [1075], En det bestemte Indtryk, at der i Mellemtiden er foregaaet Noget, hvorved Svend har gjort sig Paven forbunden
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Bricka, Carl Frederik
,
Dansk Biografisk Lexikon
, vol. XVII [Svend Tveskjæg ? Tøxen], 1903,
pp.3?5
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
Stefan Pajung,
Artikel: Svend Estridsen ca. 1019-1074/76
, danmarkshistorien.dk,
Aarhus University
, January 19, 2010
- ^
a
b
c
d
Louise Kæmpe Henriksen,
Historiske Personer ? Svend Estridsen ? konge af Danmark 1047?74.
,
vikingeskibsmuseet.dk
- ^
a
b
c
d
Huitfeldt, Arild
. Danmarks Riges Krønike
- ^
http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/hardrade2.html
, p.61
- ^
http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/hardrade2.html
, p.63
- ^
http://mcllibrary.org/Heimskringla/hardrade2.html
, p.65
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-03-04
. Retrieved
2013-09-01
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
a
b
c
d
Svend 2. Estridsen
at Gyldendal Abne Encyklopædi
- ^
Diocese of Lund
,
Diocese of Odense
,
Diocese of Ribe
,
Diocese of Roskilde
,
Diocese of Schleswig
,
Diocese of Viborg
,
Diocese of Vestervig
, and
Diocese of Aarhus
.
- ^
a
b
iGenea ? DNA profiles and haplogroups of famous persons: Sven II Estridsen ? the last Viking King
, accessed July 2018.
- ^
Danmarks Historie II perbenny.dk
- ^
Sture Bolin, "Kring Master Adams text",
Scandia
4, 1932.
- ^
Kings and Queens of Denmark
at JMarcussen.dk
- ^
"Titel: Gunhild-korset"
(in Danish). National Museum of Denmark
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
Sweyn Estridson
Born:
c. 1019
Died:
April 28 1076
|
Regnal titles
|
Preceded by
|
King of Denmark
1047?1076
|
Succeeded by
|
|
---|
Leaders
| |
---|
Battles
| |
---|
Combatants
| |
---|
Associated people
| |
---|
Locations
| |
---|
Events
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
- Sturlason, Snorre.
Heimskringla ? The Norse King Sagas
.