there were dynastic competitions mainly between the descendants of King Sverker I and
King Erik until the beginning of the thirteenth century. King Erik was shortly after his
death in 1160 during dynastic struggles promoted as a saint. The cult was mainly
supported by his dynasty and by Uppsala Cathedral, and St Erik never gained the
unquestioned role as a national patron that his Norwegian counterpart, St Olav, had.
After Erik’s death, Karl Sverkersson was recognised as king, but was murdered in
1167 by Knut, son of Erik. Knut Eriksson reigned for a long period. After his natural
death in 1195 or 1196 a son of Sverker, Karl Sverkersson, became king, but was defeated
in a battle at Lena in 1208 and fell two years later. After him the Eriks, represented by
Knut’s son, Erik Knutsson, ruled until his death in 1216. He was followed by Johan
Sverkersson, who, when he died in 1222 , was the last of his dynasty. He was followed by
the last of the descendants of Erik, Erik Eriksson. During a short period ( 1229 – 34 ),
Knut Långe of the Folkung fraction was in power, while King Erik Eriksson was in exile
in Denmark.
In spite of the inter-dynastic struggles kingship and kingdom became more
stabilised. In 1164 , when the archbishopric of Uppsala was founded, the king of Sweden
was addressed by the pope as king of the Svear and the Götar. It was the first time that
title was used. The making of a Swedish ecclesiastical province; and the breaking up
of the Danish archdiocese of Lund, also contributed to making Sweden definitely
recognised as one of the independent, European and Christian monarchies and as such
was recognised by the papacy. In the reign of Knut Eriksson we have the first traces of a
written royal administration. The earliest preserved royal charters are from his reign.
King Knut was the first known king who had more substantial control over both
Svealand and Götaland and thus created a further step in the emergence of a Sweden.
In the process of the emergence of Sweden there were great regional differences. The
tendencies towards Europeanisation of the institutions and organisations took place
earlier in Östergötland and Västergötland. Christianisation developed earlier in the
Götaland provinces, especially in Västergötland. An ecclesiastical organisation
developed earlier and stone churches were built earlier there. Skara in Västergötland
was the first bishop’s see in the eleventh century. Linköping in Östergötland was a see at
least at the beginning of the twelfth century. Sigtuna, the royal town on the shore of
Lake Mälaren, was the see of a bishop between the 1070 s and 1130 s, but evidently
vacant for certain periods. In his chronicle Adam of Bremen juxtaposes a pagan – or
supposed pagan Uppsala – to a Christian Sigtuna.
The early Christian monarchy was mostly based in the Götaland provinces. The
Sverker dynasty had its origins in Östergötland; the Erik dynasty seems to have had its
ancestral estates in Västergötland, while the often fractioning Folkungar had their base
in Uppland (Lönnroth 1959 : 13 – 29 ). The first monasteries were founded in Götaland.
Alvastra monastery was the sepulchral church of the Sverker kings, Varnhem monastery
of most of the Erik dynasty.
When taxes were introduced, mainly in the thirteenth century, they originated in
Götaland in the burdens of the peasantry to support the king during his itineraries. It
was there kingship was exercised through physical presence. A small castle on Visingsö,
the small island in Lake Vättern between Västergötland and Östergötland, was a
frequent royal residence in the twelfth century.
In the Svealand the permanent taxes were mainly replacements of the military obliga-
tion of the peasantry to provide ships, victuals and men to the royal naval organisation,
–– chapter 49 : The emergence of Sweden––