Magnus the Strong

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Magnus the Strong
King of Götaland, or possibly Sweden
Reign1120s – c. 1132
Predecessor
Niels I of Denmark
MotherMargaret Fredkulla

Magnus the Strong (

Snorri Sturlason
gives him the epithet Magnus the Strong.

He was also briefly co-king of Denmark from 15 April 1134[4] and until his death.

Youth and appearance

Magnus was the son of King

Inge the Elder of Sweden. His elder brother Inge was killed in a riding accident, leaving Magnus as the sole heir to Niels.[5] He grew up to be a tall and strong young man, a head taller than anyone else. The chronicles give different opinions about his character, depending on their political preferences. The near-contemporary Roskilde Chronicle calls him merry and generous and a "lover of firmness in character". Saxo Grammaticus, on the other hand, says that he was well endowed by nature but still a violent brute.[6]

The road to kingship

When Margaret's first cousin King

Swedes
, another tribe to the north of the Geats.

The brief chronicle incorporated in the Westrogothic law does not mention Magnus, but does say that following the death of Inge, the Swedes had selected Ragnvald Knaphövde. Ragnvald showed disrespect towards the Geats by not giving hostages when riding his tour of installation.[7] In retaliation, Ragnvald was murdered by the Geatish population, an event sometimes dated to c. 1129. After this, the law-speaker of Västergötland, Karl of Edsvära, governed his province around this time and is occasionally known in the sources as jarl or even "king".[8]

Saxo does not mention Ragnvald by name, but mentions that the Swedes elected a king in response to the election of Magnus, and claims that he was killed by the Geats, and that "at his death, power was transferred to Magnus".[9] Magnus is not mentioned as king in any Swedish king-list, leaving a question-mark around his actual sphere of power.[10]

Reign

The few sources from this period indicate that Christianity was still not implemented everywhere. The bishop of

Thor's Hammers which he had robbed on a holy island. The still insufficiently Christianized Swedes henceforth saw him as a temple defiler who had robbed the gods.[12]

Around 1127, Magnus married

Rani to recognize Polish rule over the island.[13]

Civil war in Denmark

Magnus observes Canute Lavard's murdered body (Louis Moe, 1898)

In 1131, Magnus had his cousin and potential rival for the Danish throne, Canute Lavard, murdered.[1] After this deed he had to return to Gothenland, where he was still recognised as king. Though he was eventually backed by Niels, Magnus found himself in a civil war against Lavard's half-brother Eric Emune.[1] The civil war weakened Magnus's position in Sweden. The Swedes chose a landowner from Östergötland, Sverker I, to be their king.[14] According to Saxo's chronology of events this happened around 1132.[8]

Magnus and his father Niels eventually engaged the enemy in the

Scania on 4 June 1134. According to Saxo, Niels panicked and fled when Eric approached, but Magnus confronted his adversaries with a small troop of determined followers. "He preferred death to escape in order not to eclipse his old reputation for courage. Finally, when he had fought rashly and killed many enemies, he fell over the heap of corpses that had piled up around him."[15]
After the decisive defeat, Niels escaped with his ships but was killed later the same year.

Legacy

The grave monument of King Magnus was placed at Vreta in the 16th century but is a cenotaph. The location of his actual burial is not known.

After Magnus's death, his widow Richeza returned to the other side of the Baltic Sea where she married

Viking origins. She later returned to Sweden and thirdly married the man who defeated Magnus, King Sverker I
.

Magnus's son,

prince-archbishop of Bremen
, died in 1236 as the last direct male descendant of King Magnus.

References

  1. ^ a b c Bricka, Carl Frederik, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, vol. XI [Maar – Müllner], 1897, pp.45. Available online
  2. ISBN 91-87064-35-9
    pp. 3 & 15
  3. ^ Swedish Royal Court official list of monarchs
  4. ^ Reference (direct link not possible): Regesta Imperii. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz: "RI IV Lothar III. und ältere Staufer (1125–1197) – RI IV,1,1 – 1134 April 15, Halberstadt" (www.regesta-imperii.de/regesten/4-1-1-lothar-iii/nr/1134-04-15_1_0_4_1_1_392_392.html?tx_hisodat_sources[action]=show&tx_hisodat_sources[controller]=Sources&cHash=8719127f4b33fc041a031693357e7cd7#rinav)
  5. ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 55-6.
  6. ^ Gillingstam, "Magnus Nilsson".
  7. ^ Västgötalagen, http://project2.sol.lu.se/fornsvenska/01_Bitar/A.L5.D-Vidhem.html
  8. ^ a b Sawyer, När Sverige blev Sverige, pp. 38–39.
  9. ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 64.
  10. ^ Tunberg, Sveriges historia till våra dagar, II, p. 39.
  11. ^ Sawyer, När Sverige blev Sverige, pp. 39.
  12. ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 66.
  13. ^ Edmund Kosiarz, Wojny na Bałtyku X–XIX w., Gdańsk 1978, p. 38.
  14. ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 81.
  15. ^ Saxo Grammaticus, Danmarks kronike, II, p. 84.

Literature

Magnus Nielsen
Born: c. 1106 Died: 4 June 1134
Regnal titles
Preceded by King in Götaland
1120s–c. 1132 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Duke in Southern Jutland

titled there: Duke of Denmark
1130–1134 		Vacant
Title next held by
Valdemar I the Great
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