Sverker II of Sweden
Sverker II (also Sverker the Younger, Swedish Sverker den yngre Karlsson; * c. 1160; † 17 July 1210) was king of Sweden from 1196 to 1208. He fell in the battle of Gestilren.
Sverker's parents were King Karl Sverkersson and Kristina Stigsdotter Hvide. After his father was killed by Knut Eriksson on Visingsö in 1167, the minor Sverker was brought to Denmark, where he grew up with his mother's family. After Knut's death, Sverker was installed as king in 1196 thanks to the mediation of the jarl Birger Brosa. Knut's own children were still minors at this time. Sverker pursued a pro-church policy in order to gain the support of the church for the election of his son as king. His letter of privilege to the church and its archbishop Valerius is the oldest known church privilege in Sweden. The church was granted tax exemption for its lands and jurisdiction in special ecclesiastical courts. There is no evidence that Sverker was crowned, but there is some evidence that this was done on the occasion of the letter of privilege.
Sverker was married twice, to Benedikta Ebbesdotter, daughter of Ebbe Sunesen of the Hvide family and, like Sverker himself, related to Archbishop Absalon of Lund, and to Birger Brosa's daughter Ingegerd. It is not known the order of the marriages, but probably the first marriage was to Benedikta. With her Sverker had three daughters. One daughter was named Helena. She was married to the landowner Sune Folkesson in Östergötland, a grandson of Birger Brosa. From this marriage came the daughter Katarina, wife of King Erik Eriksson. Genealogists are not sure whether the other two daughters, Kristina and Margareta, were really Sverker's daughters. The only certainty is that they were married to North German princes. His son Johann Sverkersson from his second marriage to Ingegerd Birgersdotter (Bjälbo) became Swedish king in 1216.
Like his predecessor, Sverker also tried to secure the throne for his son. To this end, he made the one-year-old Johann a Jarl and enfeoffed him with large estates, which he administered himself. Johann was mocked as the "trouserless Jarl".
This led to the uprising of Knut Eriksson's sons. They were defeated at Älgerås in November 1205. Three of the king's sons fell, but the eldest, Erik Knutsson, managed to escape to Norway. Supported by the Folkung, he returned to Sweden three years later, where the battle of Lena (now Kungslena) took place against Sverker and his Danish auxiliaries. After his defeat, Sverker fled to his relatives in Denmark. One of Birger Brosa's sons became Jarl, but died soon after. He was succeeded by a man named Folk, who is said to have been Birga's brother and the father of the above-mentioned Sune Folkesson. Sverker and his followers who had fled with him, including Archbishop Valerius, meanwhile prepared to reconquer. In the summer of 1210, the battle of Gestilren took place. Sverker fell in battle, as did one of his fiercest opponents, Jarl Folke.
