House of Eric
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The dynasty of Eric or House of Erik was one of the two noble families, dynasties, which were rivals for the kingship of Sweden between 1150 and 1220. The first king of this dynasty was Eric IX of Sweden whom the later world has dubbed Saint Erik. The other dynasty was the House of Sverker.
The dynasty of St Erik favored the Varnhem Abbey, and several of its members lay interred there.
Foremother of the dynasty was Eric IX's wife Christina Björnsdatter, whom legends claim to have been the maternal granddaughter of king Inge I of Sweden.
The female first name Catherine seems to have been favored within the Eric dynasty.
In 1226, two branches of the dynasty came into conflict: Canute the Tall, allegedly the adult heir of Filip, younger son of Eric IX, deposed the underage Eric XI, the Lisp and Lame (läspe och halte), who resumed the kingship only in 1234, and died in 1250. Conflict continued between the royal, senior branch and Canute's two sons until the latter were executed in 1248 and 1251.
Eric XI was the last king of the agnatic line of this dynasty and he died apparently without surviving children (though some romantic genealogies, and later research influenced by them, have attributed one or two daughters to him; those ladies were more likely daughters of his sister and Birger jarl).
Eric XI's nephew, the then underage son of his sister Ingeborg, was elected king Valdemar I of Sweden, under the regency of his father Birger Jarl.
Almost all the subsequent kings of Sweden have been descendants of the Erik dynasty. Descent from this house was regarded as such hard currency in medieval and early modern power games that some aspirants (most notably Charles VIII of Sweden) even fabricated a descent (see Tofta) to show that they too were heirs of the House of Erik.
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House of Eric
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| Preceded by House of Sverker |
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Sweden 1156 – 1160 1167 – 1196* 1208 – 1216 1222 – 1229 1234 – 1250 * From 1167-1173 not in the province of Östergötland.
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Succeeded by House of Bjelbo |
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