John I of Sweden (c. 1201 – March 10, 1222) was a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 king elected in 1216.

Background

John was the son of King Sverker II of Sweden

Sverker II of Sweden

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

 of the House of Sverker

House of Sverker

After the extinction of the House of Stenkil and the ascension of Sverker I of Sweden in 1130, a civil war commenced. In the beginning, there were several pretenders, of whom Sverker I emerged as victorious, for a time...

 and Queen Ingegerd

Ingegerd Birgersdotter of Bjelbo

Ingegerd Birgersdotter of Bjelbo , , was a Swedish Queen Consort, second spouse of King Sverker II of Sweden....

 of the Bjälbo

House of Bjelbo

The House of Bjelbo , also known as the House of Folkung , was an Ostrogothian Swedish family that provided for several medieval Swedish bishops, jarls and kings.- Name and origin :...

 dynasty. King Sverker had been beaten in the Battle of Lena

Battle of Lena

The Battle of Lena occurred on January 31, 1208, and probably took place near Kungslena , which is located in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden....

 and later killed in the Battle of Gestilren

Battle of Gestilren

The Battle of Gestilren took place on July 17, 1210. The battle was fought between the exiled King of Sweden Sverker and the ruling King Eric. Sverker had been beaten in the previous Battle of Lena, but had returned with new forces. Sverker was killed in the battle...

 in 1210. His rival Erik Knutsson, from the House of Eric

House of Eric

The House of Eric was one of the two clans, which were rivals for the kingship of Sweden between 1150 and 1220. The first king from the clan of the Erics who had won the power struggle against the Sverkers was Eric IX of Sweden whom the later world has dubbed Saint Eric...

, became King Eric X of Sweden

Eric X of Sweden

Eric "X" of Sweden, Swedish: Erik Knutsson; Old Norse: Eiríkr Knútsson was the King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as Eric the Survivor when he became King, he was the only remaining son of King Canute I of Sweden and his queen of an undetermined name, who probably was Cecilia...

.

Reign

When King Eric died suddenly in fever in 1216, the teen-aged John was hailed king by the Swedish aristocracy against the will of the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. John was crowned in 1219 and remained king until his death on March 10, 1222. John died unmarried and childless. In 1222, the rival dynasty's young heir, Erik Eriksson ascended the throne at the age of 6 to reign as King Eric XI of Sweden

Eric XI of Sweden

Eric "XI" of Sweden, or Eric the Lisp and Lame Swedish: Erik Eriksson läspe och halte; Old Norse: Eiríkr Eiríksson was king of Sweden in 1222–1229 and 1234–1250.-Background:...

.

During the brief reign of King John, a Swedish presence was established in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

. John's cousin, Earl Karl Döve

Charles the Deaf

Charles the Deaf from the House of Bjelbo was the jarl of Sweden during 1216–1220. His father was magnate Bengt Snivil. He was the brother of Magnus Minnesköld and jarl Birger Brosa and father of jarl Ulf Fase...

 (the brother of Birger Brosa

Birger Brosa

Birger Brosa , jarl of Sweden 1174-1202, d. 9 January 1202 on Visingsö, was a son of Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo...

) and his chancellor, Bishop Karl Magnusson

Karl Magnusson (Bjälboätten)

Karl Magnusson from the House of Bjelbo was the Bishop of Linköping during 1216-1220. He died at the Battle of Lihula in Estonia.-Biography:...

 led an expedition to Saaremaa

Saaremaa

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

 in Estonia which ended in a defeat in the Battle of Lihula

Battle of Lihula

Battle of Lihula was fought between invading Swedes and Estonians for the control of a castle in Lihula, Estonia in 1220. The exact date remains uncertain, though some historians suggest that the battle took place on August 8...

 on August 8, 1220. Defeat in the Battle of Lihula left no Swedish presence and discouraged the Swedish expansion to Estonia for more than 300 years. The events were described in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia

The Livonian Chronicle of Henry is a document describing historic events in Livonia and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. Apart from the few references in the Primary Chronicle compiled in Kievan Rus' in the twelfth century, it is the oldest known written document about the history of these...

 and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle

Livonian Rhymed Chronicle

The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle was a chronicle written in Low German by an anonymous writer. It covers the period 1180 – 1290 and contains a wealth of detail about Livonia — modern Estonia and Latvia....

.