Anund Jacob
Anund Jacob | |
---|---|
King of Sweden | |
Reign | 1022–1050 |
Predecessor | Olof Skötkonung |
Successor | Emund the Old |
Born | c. 25 July 1008 or 1010 |
Died | 1050 (aged 41–42) |
Consort | Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir |
Issue | Gyda, Queen of Denmark |
House | House of Munsö |
Father | Olof Skötkonung |
Mother | Estrid of the Obotrites |
Anund Jacob or James (
Accession
The main sources for Anund Jacob's reign are the near-contemporary ecclesiastic chronicle of Adam of Bremen and several Norse histories from the 12th and 13th centuries, in particular Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. Adam and Snorri both relate that Anund Jacob's father Olof Skötkonung (c. 995–1022) ran into trouble with his subjects towards the end of his reign.[2] According to Adam, the still pagan population of Svealand urged the fervently Christian ruler to withdraw to Västergötland. Snorri, on the other hand, asserts that King Olof's high-handed rule caused the Swedes to rise against him, whereby his young son Jacob was hailed as king. When the Swedish Thing was to elect him the ruler of Sweden, the people objected to his non-Scandinavian name. They then gave him the name of Anund.[3] Olof and Anund Jacob eventually came to an agreement: Olof was to retain his royal title for the rest of his life, but Anund Jacob would be co-ruler and govern part of the realm, and had to support the peasantry if Olof caused further trouble. In Snorri's chronology this happened in c. 1019. Three years later Olof died, leaving Anund Jacob as the sole ruler.[4]
Political agenda
Indigenous Swedish historiography has preserved very meager recollections of the pre-1250 rulers, but points out Anund Jacob as a heavy-handed master. The enumeration of kings appended to the
Anund Jacob continued the minting of coins in Sigtuna in Central Sweden; however, the issuing of coins was broken off later during his reign, and was only resumed by King Canute I in the late 12th century.[7] Snorri mentions Central Sweden, Västergötland and Småland among the regions ruled by Anund Jacob, but his ideas of Sweden might be influenced by conditions in the High Middle Ages.[8] A poem from the 1040s, describing a Norwegian battle against Danes and Swedish auxiliaries, suggests that at least some Geats stood under Anund Jacob: "Geatic shield and hauberk / did I bring home from the battle".[9]
According to Adam of Bremen, Christianity reached rather widely in the reign of Anund Jacob,
King Anund Jacob's political agenda included maintaining the balance of power in Scandinavia, which is why he supported the
The Battle of Helgeå
According to Snorri's account of the
The actual circumstances of the Battle of Helgeå are debated among historians due to conflicting sources. The near-contemporary
Thus, the results of the war are not clear in either of the sources. It is obvious, however, that the Swedish-Norwegian attack failed, since Cnut remained master of his realm and was able to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 1027. On his way back to Denmark he dictated a letter, saying that he intended to make peace with the peoples and nations which had tried to deprive him of his kingdom and life but had failed since God deprived them of their power.[20] In the following year Olaf II was driven from Norway and Cnut was hailed as overlord in his stead.[21] Cnut also claimed to be king over part of the Swedes in these years. Coins in the name of Cnut were minted in Svealand at about the same time. All this suggests that the peoples around Lake Mälaren may have ousted Anund Jacob for a while, and hailed Cnut.[22] The possibility of a brief Danish suzerainty in Central Sweden has engendered considerable debate; on one hand Cnut's coins might simply be copied from the Anglo-Danish coinage in a mechanical way, but on the other hand a number of numismatists have argued that the coins are too original in making to be considered copies.[23] Curiously, coins stating that the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung was King of England have also been found in Sigtuna. At any rate King Anund Jacob was in power again around 1030.
Supporting Magnus the Good
When expelled by Cnut, Olaf II of Norway went via Sweden to
Eastern politics
The Russian
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
Anund Jacob took tribute from the Baltic people called Semigallians or in the Yngvars saga the Baltic Seimgalir. The tribe had refused to pay taxes to Olof Skötkonung for some time so Olof sent Anund Jacob his son and Ingvar to reestablish the tax system. With three ships, they arrived to convince the Semigallian leaders to continue to pay taxes to the Swedes, as they were the tribes in the Baltic area that refused to pay such taxes. Most Semigallian chieftains and their king now accepted paying tributes to Sweden. Due to Ingvar's convincing persuasion, the Semigallians and Swedes reached an agreement.
Three tribal Semigallian chieftains, however, refused to pay the tributes and armed their troops to banish the Swedes. A war followed which the Swedes won after lethal battles. The Semigallian king provided Anumnd Jacob and Ingvar with soldiers to defeat the rebels, and the most rebellious Semigallian leader was captured and hanged. The two other chieftains escaped. The Vikings or Swedes took plenty of gold, silver and precious things from the Semigallian rebels after the war. Ingvar became the most powerful chief in Sweden after the king.
Olof Skötkonung received the tribute from the Semigallians after the war.
A major Swedish Viking expedition to the east led by Ingvar occurred around 1040 and is mentioned on a large number of rune stones from Central Sweden. Judging from the inscriptions the enterprise ended up in Serkland (the Muslim lands to the southeast of Russia), apparently under disastrous circumstances. A late Icelandic saga contains all sorts of fantastic details about the expedition.
Death and succession
Anund Jacob's reign has traditionally been dated from 1022 to approximately 1050, but there is uncertainty about the year he died. He was probably alive in 1049, since Adam places his death after the death of the Danish prince Bjørn, an earl in England, in that year; his half-brother and successor
Two
The
Önundr hét sonr Óláfs konungs sænska, er konungdóm tók eptir hann ok varð sóttdauðr. Á hans dögum fell Óláfr konungr inn helgi á Stiklastöðum. Eymundr hét annarr sonr Óláfs sænska, er konungdóm tók eptir bróður sinn.[34] |
King Olaf the Swede had a son called Önund who succeeded him. He died in his bed. In his day fell King Olaf the Saint at Stiklestad. Olaf the Swede had another son called Eymund, who came to the throne after his brother.[35] |
Notes and references
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), Nordiska kungasagor: Olav den heliges saga. Stockholm: Fabel", p. 107, 127 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 88 and 94)
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), Historien om Hamburgstiftet och dess biskopar. Stockholm: Proprius, p. 102–3 (Book II, Chapter 58).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), Nordiska kungasagor: Olav den heliges saga. Stockholm: Fabel, p. 127 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 94).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 158 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 114).
- ^ N. Beckman, "Anund Jakob", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 103 (Book II, Chapter 59).
- ^ Peter Sawyer (1991), När Sverige blev Sverige. Alingsås: Viktoria Bokförlag, p. 33.
- ^ Ove Moberg (1941), Olav den helige, Knut den store och Sverige. Lund: Gleerups, p. 205.
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1993), Nordiska kungasagor: Magnus den gode till Magnus Erlingsson. Stockholm: Fabel, p. 57 (Magnus the Good's Saga, Chapter 33).
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 111 (Book II, Chapter 73).
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 102 (Book II, Chapter 57).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 190, 198 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 132, 134).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 231–7 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 145–149).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 237–40 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 149–150).
- ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 120 (Olav the Saint's Saga, Chapter 93).
- ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks krønike
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1992), p. 240 "Olav the Saint's Saga", Chapter 150.
- ^ Bo Gräslund (1986), "Knut den store och Sveariket: Slaget vid Helgeå i ny belysning", Scandia" 52:2.[1]
- ^ Curt Weibull (1921), Sverige och dess nordiska grannmakter under tidigare medeltiden. Lund: Gleerup, p. 150.
- ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle [2].
- ^ N. Beckman, "Anund Jakob", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon
- ^ Bo Gräslund (1986), p. 213–6.
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 104 (Book II, Chapter 61).
- ^ Snorre Sturluson (1993), Nordiska kungasagor: Magnus den gode till Magnus Erlingsson. Stockholm: Fabel, p. 19–25 (Magnus the Good's Saga, Chapter 1–5).
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 113, 137–8 (Book II, Chapter 78, Book III; Chapter 12–13); Snorre Sturluson (1993), p. 48–62 (Magnus the Good's saga, Chapter 29–37); Per Sveaas Andersen (1977), Samlingen av Norge og kristningen av landet 800-1130. Bergen: Universitetsforlaget, p. 165.
- ^ A. Norrback, Nestorskrönikan. Stockholm: Norstedt & Söner, 1919, p. 90.
- ^ Uplysning uti konung Anund Jacobs Historia utur Ryska Handlingar in Kongl. Vitterhets Historie och Antiquitets Akademiens Handlingar, Stockholm 1802 p. 61
- ^ Ernst Kunik (1844), Die Berufung der schwedischen Rodsen durch die Finner und Slaven. St.-Petersburg: Kaiserlichen Academie der Wissenschaften [3]
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 138, 275.
- ^ Adam av Bremen (1984), p. 189 (Book III, Scholion 66).
- ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks krønike
- ^ Article by Marianne Gustafsson for Främmestad Village
- ^ Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, Guðni Jónsson's og Bjarni Vilhjálmsson's edition at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad». Archived 2007-05-08 at the National and University Library of Iceland
- ^ The Saga of Hervör and Heithrek, in Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese), by N. Kershaw.Cambridge at the University Press, 1921. Archived 2006-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Media related to Anwynd James (Anund Jakob) at Wikimedia Commons