Torgils Knutsson

Statue of the city founder Torgils Knutsson in Vyborg

Torgils Knutsson († February 1306 in Stockholm ; also Tyrgils or Torkel Knutsson) was the Swedish imperial marshal and, after the death of King Magnus Ladulås, between 1290 and 1298 head of the guardianship government for the 10-year-old King Birger Magnusson . In 1303 he married Hedwig, the daughter of Count Otto III. from Ravensberg .

Torgils Knutsson led an expansive foreign policy. Under his leadership, parts of Karelia were conquered in the third Swedish crusade in 1293 , where the border fortress Vyborg was founded. An attempt to build a Swedish fortress at the mouth of the Neva , however, failed in 1300. Domestically, he tried to reduce the influence of the church.

Torgils Knutsson also supported the young king against the power claims of his brothers, which attracted their enmity. During a brief compromise between the king and his brothers, he was captured at Lena in December 1305 and executed in Stockholm in February 1306 . First buried in unconsecrated earth, his remains were later transferred to the Riddarholmskyrkan .

literature

Ernst Friedrich Mooyer: Contributions to the history of the former Benedictine Abbey Tegernsee and its connection with other monasteries . Bruns, 1843, p. 145 ( online in Google Book Search).

swell

^ Regest to the Annales Lubecenses, in: Engel, Gustav (ed.), Ravensberger Regesten, No. 901, Bielefeld a. a. 1985, p. 710.

personal data
SURNAME	Knutsson, Torgils
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Knutsson, Tyrgils; Knutsson, Torkel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swedish imperial marshal and regent
DATE OF BIRTH	13th Century
DATE OF DEATH	February 1306
Place of death	Stockholm

[1] Regest to the Annales Lubecenses, in: Engel, Gustav (ed.), Ravensberger Regesten, No. 901, Bielefeld a. a. 1985, p. 710.