Sweyn Haakonsson
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Sweyn Haakonsson (
Hákon Eiríksson. In 1015,[2] Óláfr Haraldsson arrived in Norway and claimed the throne. He defeated Sveinn and his allies in the battle of Nesjar
. Sveinn retreated to Sweden, intending to muster a force to retake Norway but he died of an illness before he could return.
Sveinn married Hólmfríðr, who was either the daughter or sister of king
Sveinn Úlfsson
.
Only one court-poet, Bersi Skáldtorfuson, is recorded as being in Sveinn's service and very little of his poetry has come down to us.
The written sources mentioning Sveinn were all written over 150 years after his death. The Swedish historian Staffan Hellberg in 1972 claimed to be able to show that Sveinn was a fictitious person, and that he had never lived.[3] The debate about this formed part of the wider debate about the value of the 12th and 13th century sagas for 11th century history and earlier, and is an example of the saga skepticism, particularly widespread in Swedish academia. Hellberg's conclusions remain speculative.
Notes
References
- Finlay, Alison (editor and translator) (2004). Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-13172-8
- ISBN 0-292-73061-6