Sven (Sweden)

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Sven of Sweden , Sacrifice Sven ( Swedish : Blot-Sven ), (* around 1050 , † around 1087 ) was King of the Svear from around 1084 until his death .

All information about Sven comes from legends or poetry, as there was no official historiography at that time.

According to some sources, Sven is said to have been a son of Haakon Röde . However, this is questioned by many commentators as it would mean Sven was married to his aunt. Other sources claim that Sven was the son of the chief Kol from Östergötland . Sven was probably born in the 1050s and, as already mentioned, is said to have been married to a daughter of Stenkil Ragnvaldsson .

Sven's predecessor Inge I was a deeply devout Christian. When he made it clear to the council members of Alt-Uppsala that he was not ready to sacrifice at the thing , he was threatened with the revocation of the rights of the king. When Inge stuck to his point of view, his brother-in-law Sven or Sverker stepped out and said that he would be willing to sacrifice if that would make him king. The council accepted this request and the new king was given the name sacrifice-Sven.

The actual sacrificial ceremony took place in Strängnäs and is also described in a church legend that was written a few hundred years later. The reason for this was the murder of St. Eskil that took place here . It is reported that oxen and sheep were sacrificed for the old gods and that there was a rich feast in honor of the gods and sacrificial Sven. Eskil placed himself unimpressed in the midst of the followers of the pagan faith and tried to get them on the right path with speeches. Those present got angry and stoned the monk.

Around 1087 Inge I came from Västergötland , where he was still accepted as ruler, with a large army to Alt-Uppsala and set fire to the victim-Sven's residence. Sven tried to escape, but Inge caught up with him and killed him. Nevertheless, Inge was still controversial as king in central Sweden for a year, as the Svear Sven's son Erik Årsäll was their ruler. After his death Inge I had the temple of Uppsala burned down and officially ended the time of the Norse faith in Sweden.

predecessor	Office	successor
Inge I.	King of Sweden	Inge I.