Charles "VII" also Carl (actually Charles I), or Karl Sverkersson in Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

 (c. 1130 – 12 April 1167), was ruler of Gothenland

Götaland

Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...

, and then King of Sweden from circa 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated.

He was known as Karl Sverkersson during his reign and is the first historically known king of Sweden with the name Karl.

Life

Charles had rivalled Eric IX of Sweden

Eric IX of Sweden

Eric "IX" of Sweden, , also called Eric the Lawgiver, Erik the Saint, Eric the Holy and in Sweden Sankt Erik meaning Saint Eric was a Swedish king c.1155 – 1160...

 (whom later generations dubbed martyr and saint) and held some power in Gothenland ("jarlship") already during Eric's reign. It has been claimed that Eric's murder by minions of their rival Magnus Henricson was also backed by Charles.

After the fall of Magnus, Charles received general recognition in Sweden as king. It was also during his reign that the Archbishop of Uppsala

Archbishop of Uppsala

The Archbishop of Uppsala has been the primate in Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church.- Historical overview :...

 was established.

In the spring of 1167, King Charles was killed on the island of Visingsö

Visingsö

Visingsö is an island in the southern half of the lake Vättern in Sweden.Visingsö lies 30 km north of the city Jönköping and 6 km west of Gränna from which two car ferries connects the island...

 by supporters of Knut Eriksson

Canute I of Sweden

Canute I, Swedish: Knut Eriksson , was king over all of Sweden from 1173 to 1195...

, head of the rival Eric dynasty, who overtook the throne. Charles was buried in Alvastra monastery.

Starting from Charles' death, his kinsmen (probably his half-brothers) Burislev and Kol together opposed Canute's kingship and were rival kings, recognized in some Gothenlander parts of Sweden; but last of them was killed in 1173, after which Canute's government got recognized overall.

Family

Charles' wife was Kirsten Stigsdatter

Christine Stigsdatter of Hvide

Christina Hvide was a mediaeval Swedish Queen, queen consort of King Charles VII of Sweden and mother of King Sverker II of Sweden....

, a Danish lady, daughter of Stig Hvitaleder, a Seelander magnate, and his wife who was sister of Valdemar I of Denmark

Valdemar I of Denmark

Valdemar I of Denmark , also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182.-Biography:...

.

Their sole historically attested child was Sverker Karlsson, a young boy when Charles died, and who later became the chosen king Sverker II of Sweden

Sverker II of Sweden

Sverker II was King of Sweden from 1196 to 1208.-Biography:...

 (1195–1208/10) after the death of Charles' rival king Canute I.

Ordinal number

This was the first Swedish king by the name of Charles (Karl). Charles VII is a posthumous invention, counting backwards from Charles IX

Charles IX of Sweden

Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...

 (1604–1611) who adopted his numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden. Six others before Charles Sverkersson are unknown to any sources before Johannes Magnus

Johannes Magnus

Johannes Magnus was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and historian.-Life:Johannes Magnus was born in Linköping, son of the burgess Måns Pedersson and his wife Kristina...

's 16th century book Gothorvm sveonvmqve historia, and are considered his invention. The first Swedish monarch to actually use a regnal number was Charles II

Charles VIII of Sweden

Charles VIII of Sweden , Charles I of Norway, also Carl, , was king of Sweden and king of Norway ....

 (later retrospectively renumbered VIII), on his queen's tombstone (1451) at Vadstena

Vadstena Abbey

Vadstena Abbey was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order, situated on Lake Vättern, in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden. The abbey started as one of the farms donated by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it...

.