Benedict, Duke of Halland
Duke Benedict of Halland and Finland (c. 1330 – c. 1360), aka Bengt Algotsson, was a medieval Swedish lord, and royal favourite.
He was born to a family who descended from
The rumors of improper relations between king Magnus IV of Sweden and Queen Blanche originate from the pamphlet Libellus Magno Erici, but have most likely no factual basis.
His coat of arms was a standing lion; thus, the family has in some later reconstructions been called Lejon. This may also mean they were kin with the
His paternal great-grandfather was Bengt Magnusson, justice of Östergötland.
His kinship with the royal family (he was at least a distant cousin of Magnus, fourth cousin counted from Danish kings) and with other noble families of the country is presumed as the reason for the young man's exceptionally rapid rise.
From 1352 he is known to have had a seat in the kingdom's Privy Council.
Duke Benedict was married to
In about 1353, the king created Benedict
Benedict was also appointed Viceroy of Scania, the newly acquired group of mostly Danish provinces.
Most probably, the chief reasons the king took these steps were to stop the spiritual and secular
However, Benedict repudiated his wife sometime in 1356, one of the reasons his noble relatives did not protect him. His wife's relatives became his enemies, and the duke was driven into exile. A civil war started at about the same time: leaders of Swedish nobility used the king's eldest son Eric as claimant and cited the favorite's exceptional privileges as an insult to the younger king. In 1356 a revolt started, nominally against Duke Benedict, but actually to weaken the king and his centralizing grip.
In 1357, Benedict was exiled and Scania as well as several other Swedish and Finnish provinces were given to the young king Eric. Duke Benedict's elder brother Lord Knut was exiled to Norway with his wife Märta Ulvsdotter, a daughter of
Benedict probably lived in Denmark. In c 1360, Benedict returned to Sweden, but according to tradition was besieged in