Charles VII of Sweden
| Charles VII | |
|---|---|
King of Sweden | |
| Reign | 1161–1167 |
| Predecessor | Magnus II |
| Successor | Canute I |
| Born | c. 1130 |
| Died | 12 April 1167 |
| Spouse | Christina Hvide |
| Issue | Sverker II |
| House | Sverker |
| Father | Sverker I |
Charles VII
He is the first historically known king of Sweden by the name of Charles, but use of the ordinal VII is widespread.[3]
Pretender to the throne
Charles was the son of
Magnus Henriksson had a brief reign after killing Eric, but was himself killed by Charles in 1161 in a battle in
Reign
The brief reign of Charles is important from a number of aspects. The early medieval Swedish kingdom resembled a network of shifting aristocratic alliances rather than a state, but during the second half of the 12th century it slowly began to converge with the Catholic-European state model. It was during his time that the Archbishop of Uppsala was established, although Sweden was still ecclesiastically subordinated to the Danish archbishop in Lund. After a request by the king, his jarl Ulf, and the Swedish bishops, the pope appointed Stefan, a former monk in Alvastra Abbey, as the first archbishop. Shortly afterwards, the people of Värend at the border to Denmark offered money to the king if he supported the installation of a particular bishop in Växjö. Charles is also known to have donated land and privileges to Vreta Abbey and Nydala Abbey. The donations suggest that his main interests lay in the provinces of Östergötland and Småland, while the provinces around Lake Mälaren may have been supervised by Ulf Jarl.[7] The first known non-epigraphic document was issued in his time, which also contains the earliest known royal seal.[8]
Swedish relations with the
Assassination
In the spring of 1167, King Charles was killed on the island of
Starting from Charles' death, his kinsmen (half-brothers or possibly nephews)
Family
Charles' wife was Christina Hvide, a Danish lady, daughter of Stig Hvitaleder, a Seelander magnate, and his wife who was sister of Valdemar I of Denmark.
Their sole historically attested child was Sverker Karlsson, a young boy when Charles died, and who later was elected King Sverker II of Sweden (1195–1208/10) after the death of Charles's rival king Canute I.[12]
References
Citations
- ^ Article Karl in Nordisk familjebok
- ISBN 978-0-203-41277-0
- ^ This was the first Swedish king by the name of Charles (Karl). Charles VII is a posthumous invention, counting backwards from Charles IX (1604–11) who adopted his numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden. Six others before Charles Sverkersson are unknown to any sources before Johannes Magnus's 16th-century book Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus, and are considered his invention. The first Swedish monarch of the name to actually use a regnal number was Charles II (later retrospectively renumbered VIII), on his queen's tombstone (1451) at Vadstena.
- ^ Sawyer, När Sverige blev Sverige, pp. 42–3.
- ^ Gillingstam, "Karl Sverkersson".
- ^ Sawyer, När Sverige blev Sverige, p. 43.
- ^ Sawyer, När Sverige blev Sverige, p. 43.
- ^ Gillingstam, "Karl Sverkersson".
- ^ Sundberg, Medeltidens svenska krig, pp. 43–5.
- ^ Larsson, Götarnas riken, p. 185.
- ^ Larsson, Götarnas riken, p. 85.
- ^ Lindström, p. 267
Sources
- Gillingstam, Hans, "Karl Sverkersson", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon
- Larsson, Mats G., Götarnas riken; Upptäcktsfärder till Sveriges enande. Stockholm: Atlantis, 2002.
- Lindström, Fredrik; Lindström, Henrik (2006). Svitjods undergång och Sveriges födelse (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers förlag. ISBN 978-91-0-010789-5.
- Sawyer, Peter, När Sverige blev Sverige. Alingsås: Viktoria Bokförlag, 1991.
- Sundberg, Ulf, Medeltidens svenska krig. Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg, 1999.
External links
Media related to Carl I of Sweden (Karl Sverkersson) at Wikimedia Commons
