Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson

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Model for a statue of Engelbrekt at Örebro
Engelbrekt Statue at Kornhamnstorg in Stockholm

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (1390s – 27 April/4 May 1436)

Church of Sweden Diocese of Stockholm were both named in his honor.[3][4]

Biography

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was the owner of a mine and ironworks in the historic mining region of Bergslagen. He was from the parish of Norberg (Norbergs socken) in Västmanland. His family originally came from Germany, having migrated to Sweden in the 1360s.[1] The family coat of arms shows three half-lilies formed into a triangle.[5]

Engelbrekt was dissatisfied by the numerous offences of the Danish local bailiffs and heavy taxation. In 1434 he started a

Dalecarlians besieged the bailiff's castle. The Riksråd fired Jösse and replaced him with Hans von Eberstein. However, Engelbrekt was not satisfied since Jösse had not been prosecuted for his admitted crimes. A host of dalecarlians and västmanlanders destroyed the castles of Borganäs and Köpingshus. At this point, many nobles joined the rebels. The rebellion grew into a massive force sweeping the country. The uprising took place against the background of the Kalmar Union.[6]

In 1435 Engelbrekt was appointed

Karl Knutsson Bonde, who in 1436 supplanted Engelbrekt as Rikshövitsman.[7] Jösse Eriksson returned to Sweden the same year, but was lynched by peasants in Motala after presenting him to the local thing who condemned him to death.[citation needed
]

On 4 May 1436 Engelbrekt was murdered at Engelbrektsholmen [sv], an islet in Lake Hjälmaren, by the aristocrat Måns Bengtsson (Natt och Dag) [sv], who lived in the nearby Göksholm Castle. Måns's father had been involved in a legal dispute with Engelbrekt regarding an illegal burning of a ship. The killing is considered by some historians to have been an assassination. Engelbrekt was buried in Örebro at Saint Nicholas Church.[citation needed]

Måns Bengtsson was a Swedish knight and chief judge in the traditional Swedish province of Närke. He was a member of the family Natt och Dag, a family from Östergötland which belongs to the Swedish noble class.[8][9]

Aftermath

Engelbrekt statue at Stockholm City Hall

Over the next few decades Engelbrekt became a national hero, depicted as a public protector and an opponent of the Kalmar Union. His rebellion came to be seen as the start of the Swedish national awakening, which would triumph in the following century with the victory of King Gustav Vasa (reigned 1523–1560). Engelbrekt himself had no such ideas, which must have been anachronistic at the time; however his rebellion gave peasants a voice in Swedish politics which they never lost afterwards. The Engelbrekt rebellion caused the unity of the Kalmar Union to erode, leading to the expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden. Although later Danish kings regained influence over Sweden, the rebellion had set a precedent for Swedish claims to sovereignty.[10]

Legacy

  • A statue of Engelbrekt is atop a pillar located outside of Stockholm City Hall.[citation needed]
  • Carl Georg Starbäck published the novel Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson in two parts in 1868–69.[12]
  • Gustaf Wilhelm Gumælius published the poem Engelbrekt in 1858.[13]
  • August Strindberg included Engelbrekt in the 1899 five-act play Saga of the Folkungs (Folkungasagan).[14]
  • Engelbrekt became the subject of Engelbrekt (1928), an opera by the Swedish composer Natanael Berg (1879–1957).[15]

References

  1. ^ a b NE (2023): Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (Nationalencyklopedin). (Link checked 13 May 2013.)
  2. ^ Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 4. Duplikator – Folkvandringen /499-500. 1881)
  3. ^ "Om Engelbrekts församling". .svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Engelbrektskyrkan" (PDF). svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Bergslagen". Stiftelsen Ekomuseum Bergslagen. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Bergslagen – Vår historia". Destination Bergslagen. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. ^ Karl Knutsson (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 13. Johan – Kikare /943–944. 1910)
  8. ^ Måns Bengtsson – Natt och Dag (Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 11. Militärkonventioner – Nådaval /861–862)
  9. ^ Natt och Dag (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 19. Mykenai – Norrpada / 563–564)
  10. ^ S. J. Boëthius, Uppsala University. "Om Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson och Betydelsen Af Hans Verk". Stockholm:Beijers Bokförlagsaktiebolag. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Carl Gustaf Qvarnström". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. ^ "C Georg Starbäck". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Gustaf Wilhelm Gumælius". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  14. . Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Natanael Berg (1879–1957)". Levande Musikarv. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

Other sources