House of Munsö
Encyclopedia
The House of Munsö is one of the names of a protohistoric
Swedish dynasty. Its early members of the 8th or 9th century are legendary or semi-legendary
, while its later scions of the 10th to 11th centuries are historical.
It is also known as the House of Yngling, the House of Ivar Vidfamne
, the House of Uppsala
, or simply the Old Dynasty. Munsö
is the island where a barrow has been claimed to be the grave of Björn Ironside
, its legendary founder.
The saga
s, such as the Hervarar saga
, contain extensive information on this dynasty for as many as 10 generations, but although, some of the 9th century kings are held to be historical, modern Swedish historiography begins it with the late 10th c. king Eric the Victorious. The king Björn
, who was the father of Eric the Victorious, according to the sagas, is not accepted as historical by critical historians, unlike another 10th century king named Emund Eriksson
who appears in the work of Adam of Bremen
.
For easy reference on legendary, semi-legendary and historical members of the dynasty (including some generations before Björn Ironside), the following family tree is based on Hervarar saga
, and the uncertain identification of Styrbjörn the Strong
and Tyra as the parents of Thorgils Sprakalägg. The connection with the Danish dynasty which began with Sweyn Estridsson is consequently uncertain (the Swedish kings are in bold):
Full list of Swedish kings. The names in parentheses are kings who are not mentioned in Hervarar saga, but who are mentioned in other sources:
Protohistory
Protohistory refers to a period between prehistory and history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted its existence in their own writings...
Swedish dynasty. Its early members of the 8th or 9th century are legendary or semi-legendary
Semi-legendary kings of Sweden
The semi-legendary kings of Sweden are the long line of Swedish kings who preceded Eric the Victorious, according to sources such as the Norse Sagas, Beowulf, Rimbert, Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus, but who are of disputed historicity because many of them appear in more or less unreliable...
, while its later scions of the 10th to 11th centuries are historical.
It is also known as the House of Yngling, the House of Ivar Vidfamne
Ivar Vidfamne
Ivar Vidfamne was a Danish and Swedish king hailing from Scania. He may have died c. 700. According to the Heimskringla and the Hervarar saga, Ivar was also the king of Norway, Denmark, Saxony and parts of England.- Ivar in the Sagas :He began as king of Scania and conquered Sweden by defeating...
, the House of Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 16,231 inhabitants in 1991.As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political centre...
, or simply the Old Dynasty. Munsö
Munsö
Munsö is a village and a former island in Ekerö Municipality, Sweden. Because of post-glacial rebound, this island in Lake Mälaren is now connected to the island Ekerö.The village has a 12th-century round church....
is the island where a barrow has been claimed to be the grave of Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside
Björn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
, its legendary founder.
The saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
s, such as the Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas. It is a valuable saga for several different reasons beside its literary qualities. It contains traditions of wars between Goths and Huns, from the 4th century, and the last part is used as...
, contain extensive information on this dynasty for as many as 10 generations, but although, some of the 9th century kings are held to be historical, modern Swedish historiography begins it with the late 10th c. king Eric the Victorious. The king Björn
Björn (III) Eriksson
Björn was the father of Olof Björnsson and Eric the Victorious, and he was the grandfather of Styrbjörn the Strong, according to the Hervarar saga and Harald Fairhair's saga...
, who was the father of Eric the Victorious, according to the sagas, is not accepted as historical by critical historians, unlike another 10th century king named Emund Eriksson
Emund Eriksson
Emund Eriksson , , was a Swedish king of disputed historicity. According to Adam of Bremen, Emund was allied with Harold Bluetooth. Adam of Bremen only gives Eric the Victorious as successor to Emund, but he does not tell how they were related...
who appears in the work of Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
.
For easy reference on legendary, semi-legendary and historical members of the dynasty (including some generations before Björn Ironside), the following family tree is based on Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is a legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas. It is a valuable saga for several different reasons beside its literary qualities. It contains traditions of wars between Goths and Huns, from the 4th century, and the last part is used as...
, and the uncertain identification of Styrbjörn the Strong
Styrbjörn the Strong
Styrbjörn the Strong was, according to late Norse sagas, the son of the Swedish king Olof, and the nephew of Olof's co-ruler and successor Eric the Victorious, who defeated and killed Styrbjörn at the Battle of Fyrisvellir...
and Tyra as the parents of Thorgils Sprakalägg. The connection with the Danish dynasty which began with Sweyn Estridsson is consequently uncertain (the Swedish kings are in bold):
Sigurd RingSigurd RingSigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
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Ragnar LodbrokRagnar LodbrokRagnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
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IvarIvar the BonelessIvar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless , was a Viking leader and by reputation also a berserker. By the late 11th century he was known as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok, ruler of an area probably comprising parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden.-Invader:In the autumn of AD 865, with his...
Björn IronsideBjörn IronsideBjörn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
Sigurd UbbeUbbe RagnarssonUbbe, Ubba or Hubba Ragnarsson was a Norse leader during the Viking Age. Ubbe Ragnarsson was one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and, along with his brothers Halfdan and Ivar the Boneless, a leader of the Great Danish Army....
HalfdanHalfdan RagnarssonHalfdan Ragnarsson was a Viking chief and one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok with Aslaug. It has been suggested that Halfdan is the same person as Ragnar's son Hvitserk....
/HvitserkHvitserkHvitserk was one of the legendary sons of the 9th-century Norse king Ragnar Lodbrok and his wife Kraka, attested to by the Ragnarssona þáttr. Since he is not mentioned in any source that mentions Halfdan Ragnarsson, some scholars have suggested that they are the same individual.After having...
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Erik BjörnssonErik BjörnssonErik Björnsson was one of the sons of Björn Ironside and a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the early 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga. It says:...
RefilRefil* According to Hervarar saga, Refil was a son of the Swedish king Björn Ironside and the brother of its next king Erik Björnsson. He appears in Hervarar saga and in Nafnaþulur. According to these sources, Refil was a great warlord and a sea-king who would have lived in the early 9th century...
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| Erik RefilssonErik RefilssonErik Refilsson was a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the early 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga...
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Björn at Hauge Anund UppsaleAnund UppsaleAnund Uppsale or Anoundus, English exonym: Anwynd of Upsala, ruled Sweden together with his brother Björn at Haugi, according to Rimbert and Hervarar saga...
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Erik Anundsson
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Björn (III) ErikssonBjörn (III) ErikssonBjörn was the father of Olof Björnsson and Eric the Victorious, and he was the grandfather of Styrbjörn the Strong, according to the Hervarar saga and Harald Fairhair's saga...
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-------------------------------- Harold I of Denmark
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Eric the Victorious Olof (II) BjörnssonOlof (II) BjörnssonOlof Björnsson , was a semi-legendary Swedish king, who according to Hervarar saga and the Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa ruled together with his brother Eric the Victorious. He was the father of Styrbjörn Starke and Gyrid by his queen, Ingeborg Thrandsdotter, and he died of poison during a meal...
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Olof Skötkonung Styrbjörn the StrongStyrbjörn the StrongStyrbjörn the Strong was, according to late Norse sagas, the son of the Swedish king Olof, and the nephew of Olof's co-ruler and successor Eric the Victorious, who defeated and killed Styrbjörn at the Battle of Fyrisvellir...
(pretender) Tyra |
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Anund JacobAnund Jacob of SwedenAnund Jacob, Swedish: Anund Jakob was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have been born on July 25, in either 1008 or 1010 as Jakob. When the Swedish Thing was to elect him the co-ruler of Sweden, the people objected to his non-Scandinavian name...
Emund the OldEmund of SwedenEmund the Old or Edmund was king of Sweden 1050–1060....
Thorgils Sprakalägg Sweyn Forkbeard
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Anund Emundsson, heir | |
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Ulf JarlUlf JarlUlf was a Danish earl, in Scandinavia known as a jarl. As a Viking chieftain he participated in Cnut the Great's conquest of England as one of his most trusted men. He married Cnut's sister Estrid Svendsdatter and from c. 1024 he was his appointee as regent of Denmark, probably as the guardian of...
Estrid Svendsdatter
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Sweyn Estridson
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Danish kings
Full list of Swedish kings. The names in parentheses are kings who are not mentioned in Hervarar saga, but who are mentioned in other sources:
- Sigurd RingSigurd RingSigurd Hring was a Swedish and Danish king mentioned in many old Scandinavian legends. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Hring, but this saga is now lost...
- Ragnar LodbrokRagnar LodbrokRagnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
- Björn IronsideBjörn IronsideBjörn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
- Erik BjörnssonErik BjörnssonErik Björnsson was one of the sons of Björn Ironside and a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the early 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga. It says:...
perhaps co-ruling with RefilRefil* According to Hervarar saga, Refil was a son of the Swedish king Björn Ironside and the brother of its next king Erik Björnsson. He appears in Hervarar saga and in Nafnaþulur. According to these sources, Refil was a great warlord and a sea-king who would have lived in the early 9th century...
(early 9th century) - Erik RefilssonErik RefilssonErik Refilsson was a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the early 9th century. One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga...
(early 9th century) - Anund UppsaleAnund UppsaleAnund Uppsale or Anoundus, English exonym: Anwynd of Upsala, ruled Sweden together with his brother Björn at Haugi, according to Rimbert and Hervarar saga...
(early 9th century) - Björn at Hauge (c. 829 – c. 831)
- (OlofOlof (I) of SwedenOlof was king in Sweden when Catholic missionary St. Ansgar made his second voyage from Germany to the Swedish city of Birka in the year 854 A.D....
, mid 9th century) - Erik Anundsson (Erik Emundsson or Erik WeatherhatErik WeatherhatErik Weatherhat was a mythical king of Sweden.According to the Swedish Chronicle, the cognomen Weatherhat refers to the accommodating wind he enjoyed as pillaged the Baltic Sea region....
?, mid 9th century) - (RingRing of SwedenRing is mentioned by Adam of Bremen who relates that he was king of Sweden when archbishop Unni arrived in Birka 935 or 936 where Unni died. Adam of Bremen recounts that he had the sons Erik Ringsson and Emund. His father is unknown, but it may have been Erik Anundsson....
, c. 910– c. 940) - (Erik Ringsson, c. 940– c. 950)
- (Emund ErikssonEmund ErikssonEmund Eriksson , , was a Swedish king of disputed historicity. According to Adam of Bremen, Emund was allied with Harold Bluetooth. Adam of Bremen only gives Eric the Victorious as successor to Emund, but he does not tell how they were related...
, mid 10th century) - Björn (III) ErikssonBjörn (III) ErikssonBjörn was the father of Olof Björnsson and Eric the Victorious, and he was the grandfather of Styrbjörn the Strong, according to the Hervarar saga and Harald Fairhair's saga...
(second half of the 10th century) - Olof (II) BjörnssonOlof (II) BjörnssonOlof Björnsson , was a semi-legendary Swedish king, who according to Hervarar saga and the Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa ruled together with his brother Eric the Victorious. He was the father of Styrbjörn Starke and Gyrid by his queen, Ingeborg Thrandsdotter, and he died of poison during a meal...
(second half of the 10th century) - ?– 995 : Eric the VictoriousEric VI of SwedenEric the Victorious was the first Swedish king about whom anything definite is known...
(Erik Segersäll) - 995–1022 : Olof III of Sweden (Olof Skötkonung)
- 1022–1050 : Anund JacobAnund Jacob of SwedenAnund Jacob, Swedish: Anund Jakob was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have been born on July 25, in either 1008 or 1010 as Jakob. When the Swedish Thing was to elect him the co-ruler of Sweden, the people objected to his non-Scandinavian name...
(Anund Jakob) - 1050–1060 : Emund the OldEmund of SwedenEmund the Old or Edmund was king of Sweden 1050–1060....
(Emund den gamle)
See also
- Semi-legendary kings of SwedenSemi-legendary kings of SwedenThe semi-legendary kings of Sweden are the long line of Swedish kings who preceded Eric the Victorious, according to sources such as the Norse Sagas, Beowulf, Rimbert, Adam of Bremen and Saxo Grammaticus, but who are of disputed historicity because many of them appear in more or less unreliable...