Battle of Gestilren

Battle of Gestilren
Battle of Gestilren memorial in Varv's parish, Västergötland
Date 17 July 1210 Location Gestilren, Sweden Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Denmark	Sweden
Commanders and leaders
Sverker II of Sweden   †	Eric X of Sweden
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Gestilren took place on July 17, 1210. ^[1] The battle was fought between the exiled King of Sweden Sverker and the ruling King Eric X. Sverker had been beaten in the previous Battle of Lena, but returned with new forces. Sverker was however killed in the battle. The exact strength of the armies is unknown.

Contents

• Background
• The battle
• The Gestilren problem
• References
• Further reading

Background

Sverker II had grown up in exile in Denmark and was accepted as king in 1195/96, to the detriment of the four sons of the previous King Canute I. He pursued a policy of strengthening the clerical estate, but ran into difficulties after twelve years of reign. The sole surviving son of Canute, Eric, was backed by the Birkebeiner party of Norway and ousted Sverker in 1207-08. Sverker sought assistance from King Valdemar the Victorious of Denmark and his powerful Danish in-laws. With a strong army he entered Västergötland in early 1208 but suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Lena. A very large part of the Danish army fell on the battlefield. Among the few survivors was Sverker himself who returned to Denmark. A later folksong emphasizes his determination and fatalism in the face of the disaster:

My father is slain through falsity and treachery,

And if I shall flee the land,

It will badly befall the Uppland peasantry,

And their followers at hand.

I will terminate my young life,

And my blood and spirit spill,

Before I renounce the royal name,

And to my enemies yield at will. ^[2]

Pope Innocent III, impressed by Sverker's pro-papal policy, ordered Eric to settle the conflict with Sverker, or else take serious consequences. However, his admonitions did not have the desired effect. A new expedition was therefore equipped in Denmark in order to recapture the Swedish throne.

The battle

In the summer of 1210, Sverker once again invaded the Swedish kingdom where Eric had meanwhile adopted royal titles. The army came to a place called Gestilren where it was confronted by Eric's troops on 17 July (alternatively, 16 August). The available details about the battle are utterly meagre. The short chronicle of the Westrogothic law says that "the Folkungs took his life; his own brother-in-law did it to him in Gestilren". ^[3] An annal entry informs us of "warfare in Gestilren, on the 16th of August; there fell King Sverker and Folke Jarl, and many Folkungs." ^[4] Thus the Swedish troops scored a victory in spite of great losses where one of their commanders, Folke Jarl, was slain. With the dramatic fall of Sverker, the war that had plagued Sweden for two and a half years came to an end, and peace was quickly concluded with Denmark. The banner that King Eric used in the battle was later bequeathed to Folke Jarl's nephew Eskil Magnusson, the lawspeaker of Västergötland, and bestowed on the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson in 1219. ^[5]

The battle was a victory for the Folkung party of local autonomies, who acted against the centralising forces of Catholic monarchy. Sverker's nemesis Folke Jarl was probably a son of the powerful Jarl Birger Brosa (d. 1202) and the uncle of Birger Jarl, whose descendants ruled Sweden after 1250. If so, he was indeed a brother-in-law of Sverker. In early-modern historiography the royal branch of the clan was also called "Folkungs" which seems to be incorrect. The name may originally have alluded to the supporters of Folke Jarl at Gestilren, but then became the denomination for a party or faction. The party frequently opposed royal rule until they were defeated at the Battle of Sparrsätra in 1247, finally disappearing in c. 1280. ^[6]

The Gestilren problem

The location where this battle took place is the subject of a very long and very heated discussion between Swedish historians. Traditionally, the location was believed to be Varvs socken, Västergötland  [ sv ] in Västergötland, where a monument ( 58°11′46″N13°49′38″E / 58.19611°N 13.82722°E / 58.19611; 13.82722 ) was erected in 1910 to commemorate the seven centuries since the battle. The main reason for the localization is a note in a 15th-century codex of the Westrogothic law, which says that the battle took place "in Gaestilsreen between Dala and Lena". ^[7] The information implies that the field of slaughter was close to the scene of the 1208 battle. Historian Erik Lönnroth has argued that fighting took place "in or close to the gorge between the Gerum Hill and the Varv Hill, since the only way to confront heavy, superior, feudal cavalry, was when it was impossible to surround you on the flanks, instead forming a stable spear formation against them". ^[8]

Others have argued that the battle took place in Östergötland, or that Gestilren should not be interpreted as a place name at all. ^[9] Recently,^{[ when? ]} archivist and historian Lars-Otto Berg has claimed that it was located at Gästre ( 59°45′N16°57′E / 59.750°N 16.950°E / 59.750; 16.950 ) in Uppland, Sweden, since he found the farm name "Gestilren" fifteen times in the local church records during the years 1580-1630. This is also close to the strongholds of the Folkung party. An annotation from the early 17th century records a local tradition suggesting a connection: "King Sverker's three farms - in Tillinge Hiersten, in Försth. Gestilren, in Biskull Landzberg - he was buried in Gestilren in the Sverker Hill". ^[10]

Related Research Articles

Birger Jarl, also known as Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman and regent, jarl, and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. His first marriage was to Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, which created his base of power. Birger led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed with the foundation of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, around 1250. Birger used the Latin title of dux sveorum et guttorum.

Erik Eriksson, sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame, was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shadow of a succession of powerful jarls, especially his brother-in-law Birger Jarl, whose descendants ruled as kings after his death.

Johan Sverkersson, also known as John I, was King of Sweden from 1216 until his death in 1222. He was the last king from the House of Sverker, leaving no heirs. During his reign, an expedition was launched from Sweden against the Estonians, with disastrous results.

Erik Knutsson, sometimes known as Eric X, was King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as Erik the Survivor, he was, at his accession to the throne, the only remaining son of King Knut Eriksson and his queen, whose name may have been Cecilia.

Sverker the Younger, also known as Sverker II or Sverker Karlsson, was King of Sweden from 1195 or 1196 to 1208 when he was defeated in the Battle of Lena by Erik Knutsson. Sverker died in the 1210 Battle of Gestilren where his forces battled those of King Erik Knutsson.

Knut Eriksson, also known as Canute I, was King of Sweden from 1173 to 1195. He was a son of King Erik the Saint and Queen Christina, who was a granddaughter of the Swedish king Inge the Elder.

Karl Sverkersson or Charles VII was ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who succeeded him as king.

Sverker the Elder, also known as Sverker I, was King of Sweden from about 1132 until his murder. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with the rival House of Erik over the next century.

The House of Sverker were a powerful political force in medieval Sweden, contesting for royal power. Their origins were in Östergötland. After the extinction of the House of Stenkil and the ascension of Sverker I of Sweden in 1130, a civil war commenced. In the beginning, there were several pretenders, of whom Sverker I emerged as victorious, for a time. The antagonists in long run were finally the House of Sverker in Östergötland and the House of Eric in Västergötland and Uppland, which alternated on the throne for several generations, until in the 1220s the Eric dynasty got the upper hand, and the Sverker dynasty became extinct.

The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208 and probably took place near Kungslena, in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prince Eric. Eric's forces won a crushing victory; however, in July 1210, Sverker returned with a second army and was killed in the Battle of Gestilren.

Birger Brosa was the jarl of Sweden from 1174 to 1202.

The Battle of Älgarås took place at the royal estate of Älgarås in northernmost Västergötland in November 1205 between the House of Sverker and the House of Eric who were fighting for the Swedish crown. The four sons of the former king Canute I fell out with King Sverker II in about 1204 and sought support among the Birkebeiner party in Norway. The Birkebeiner leader Jarl Håkon Galen married their cousin in January 1205 and promoted their claim. The brothers, of whom only Eric Knutsson is known by name, returned to Sweden in the same year. To which extent they had Norwegian military backing is unclear.

Magnus Minniskiöld was a medieval Swedish magnate from the House of Bjälbo. He is best known as the father of the renowned statesman Birger Jarl, and the ancestor of the later Swedish kings. He is sometimes believed to have perished in the Battle of Lena in 1208, though the evidence is not conclusive.

Christina of Denmark, was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Erik the Saint, and the mother of King Knut Eriksson.

Magnus Henriksson, also known as Magnus II, was a Danish lord and King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a usurper.

Holmger Knutsson was a Swedish nobleman and a claimant to the Swedish throne during the reign of King Erik Eriksson.

Rikissa of Denmark was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Erik Knutsson, and the mother of King Erik Eriksson.

The Treaty of Lödöse was a peace treaty between the Swedish king Eric XI and the Norwegian king Haakon IV. The treaty was negotiated between King Haakon and the Jarl of Sweden, Birger Magnusson, in the town of Lödöse, during the summer of 1249. The main purpose of the treaty was to prevent mutual hostility from escalating into war. Some factions of the Swedish nobility wanted to attack Norway in retribution for a raid by King Haakon, which had targeted Norwegian rebels in the Swedish province of Värmland 24 years earlier.

IngegerdBirgersdotter was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King Sverker II.

Bridget Haraldsdotter, also Brigida was Queen of Sweden as the spouse of King Magnus Henriksen.

References

Further reading

• Harrison, Dick, Sveriges historia; medeltiden. Stockholm: Liber, 2002.
• Sundberg, Ulf, Medeltidens svenska krig. Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg, 1999.
• Lindström, Henrik & Fredrik, Svitjods undergång och Sveriges födelse. Stockholm: Bonnier, 2006.