Sweyn Estridsen
Encyclopedia
Svein Knutsson c. 1016–1035, was the son of Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, Norway, and England, and his first wife Ælfgifu of Northampton, a Mercian
noblewoman. In 1017 Cnut married Emma of Normandy
, but there is no evidence that Ælfgifu was repudiated, and in 1030 Cnut sent her and Svein as regents to rule Norway. However, their rule was considered oppressive by the Norwegians, and they were expelled in 1034. They imposed new taxes and harsh laws that made them unpopular.
óforsynjukonungr ("unforeseen king"). In Norwegian
, his name is Svein Knutsson; in Danish
, Svend Knudsen. Many variations of the name are used, including Sven
and Sweyn, from the Anglo-Saxon Swegen. He was the second ruler of Norway by this name, after his grandfather Sweyn Forkbeard.
, Cnut's vassal ruler of Norway, was lost at sea and Olaf Haraldsson, who had been deposed as king of Norway by Cnut, tried to recapture the kingdom, but he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stiklestad
. Cnut then sent Svein and Ælfgifu to Norway, with Ælfgifu ruling as regent on behalf of her fourteen year old son. This came as a great disappointment to a number of Norwegians who had wished to take the place of the Earls of Lade (Ladejarls). Nobles like Einar Tambarskjelve and Kalv Arnesson were especially disappointed because they both believed that Cnut had promised they could take power.
The 1030s were difficult years in Europe. Danish policy in Norway changed - there was closer royal involvement and strict regulations in many areas. This created the basis of a popular resistance against the new regime which can be characterised as being of the same ilk as that which Saint Olav had earlier come up against. According to the Sagas, Ælfgifu's and Svein's tax-demands and new laws created resentment.
Snorri writes that "King Svein brought in new laws on many subjects. They were modelled on Danish laws but some were much stricter. No man was allowed to leave the country without the King's permission; if he did so his property would become the King's. A person who committed murder would lose the right to land and property. If an outlaw was due an inheritance, the King would take it. At Christmas every farmer had to give the king a measure (between 15 and 20 litres) of malt from every hearth and the thigh of a three year-old ox, this was called vinjartodde (land tax) in Old Norse, and also a bucket of butter."
According to the Heimskringla
, the Battle of Soknasund (Slaget i Soknasund) occurred during 1033 in Ryfylke
. Tryggve the Pretender
came with an army from England. He said he was the son of Olav Tryggvason and therefore claimed the kingdom as his own. When word reached Sveinn Alfífuson and Aelgifu that Tryggve's invasion was imminent, they summoned the landholders of Halogaland
and the Trondheim
district to join the royal army in resisting Tryggve. Svein Knutsson and his army, probably including elite Danish troops stood against them. Sveinn and his forces made their way south to Agder
, believing that Tryggve would attempt to slip through the Skagerrak
and join his supporters in Viken
. Tryggve, however, landed instead in Hordaland
, then sailed to Rogaland
to attack Sveinn's navy. The two fleets met off the island of Bokn
. Svein won the Battle of Soknasund and Tryggve Olavsson was killed. An account preserved in Morkinskinna relates that Tryggve was actually killed by a farmer after the battle.
Later that same winter Kalv Arnesson and Einar Tambarskjelve met and decided to travel to Gardarike to fetch Olav Haraldsson's son Magnus
. When Magnus came to Norway the people sided with him and against the Danes. Svein had to flee home to Denmark where he died a short time later. Thus the King
of Denmark had to give up his claim on Norway.
character in the first act of Macbeth
, where Shakespeare calls him Sweno. His army arrived in Fife and began massacring Scots. He besieged Macbeth in the castle of Bertha. Duncan, the Scottish king, sent food and drink to the Norwegians, but laced it with a potion that caused them to become sleepy. Macbeth then slaughtered Sweno's army, but Sweno himself escaped. Canute and the Danes arrived to avenge this defeat, but they agreed to a truce:
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
noblewoman. In 1017 Cnut married Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
, but there is no evidence that Ælfgifu was repudiated, and in 1030 Cnut sent her and Svein as regents to rule Norway. However, their rule was considered oppressive by the Norwegians, and they were expelled in 1034. They imposed new taxes and harsh laws that made them unpopular.
Names
Svein Knutsson is also mentioned as Sveinn Alfífuson (matronym) and under the epithetEpithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
óforsynjukonungr ("unforeseen king"). In Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, his name is Svein Knutsson; in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Svend Knudsen. Many variations of the name are used, including Sven
Sven
Sven is a Nordic first name which is used throughout Scandinavia, Estonia and Germany. The name itself is Old Norse for "Young man" or "Young warrior." The original spelling in Old Norse was sveinn...
and Sweyn, from the Anglo-Saxon Swegen. He was the second ruler of Norway by this name, after his grandfather Sweyn Forkbeard.
Biography
In 1029 Håkon EirikssonHåkon Eiriksson
Håkon Eiriksson was Earl of Lade and king of Norway as a vassal under Knut the Great.Håkon Eiriksson was from a dynasty of Norwegian rulers in the eastern part of Trondheim, bordering the Trondheimsfjord. He was the son of Eirik Håkonson, ruler of Norway and earl of Northumbria...
, Cnut's vassal ruler of Norway, was lost at sea and Olaf Haraldsson, who had been deposed as king of Norway by Cnut, tried to recapture the kingdom, but he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stiklestad
Battle of Stiklestad
The Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway was killed. He was later canonized...
. Cnut then sent Svein and Ælfgifu to Norway, with Ælfgifu ruling as regent on behalf of her fourteen year old son. This came as a great disappointment to a number of Norwegians who had wished to take the place of the Earls of Lade (Ladejarls). Nobles like Einar Tambarskjelve and Kalv Arnesson were especially disappointed because they both believed that Cnut had promised they could take power.
The 1030s were difficult years in Europe. Danish policy in Norway changed - there was closer royal involvement and strict regulations in many areas. This created the basis of a popular resistance against the new regime which can be characterised as being of the same ilk as that which Saint Olav had earlier come up against. According to the Sagas, Ælfgifu's and Svein's tax-demands and new laws created resentment.
Snorri writes that "King Svein brought in new laws on many subjects. They were modelled on Danish laws but some were much stricter. No man was allowed to leave the country without the King's permission; if he did so his property would become the King's. A person who committed murder would lose the right to land and property. If an outlaw was due an inheritance, the King would take it. At Christmas every farmer had to give the king a measure (between 15 and 20 litres) of malt from every hearth and the thigh of a three year-old ox, this was called vinjartodde (land tax) in Old Norse, and also a bucket of butter."
According to the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
, the Battle of Soknasund (Slaget i Soknasund) occurred during 1033 in Ryfylke
Ryfylke
Ryfylke is a traditional district in Norway, located northeast of Stavanger and east of Haugesund. In the east it borders Setesdal and Sirdal.Ryfylke comprises the contemporary municipalities of Sauda, Suldal, Finnøy, Hjelmeland, Forsand, Strand, Kvitsøy and Rennesøy...
. Tryggve the Pretender
Tryggve the Pretender
Tryggvi "the Pretender" was a Viking chieftain who lived in the early eleventh century, and came from "west across the sea"...
came with an army from England. He said he was the son of Olav Tryggvason and therefore claimed the kingdom as his own. When word reached Sveinn Alfífuson and Aelgifu that Tryggve's invasion was imminent, they summoned the landholders of Halogaland
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...
and the Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
district to join the royal army in resisting Tryggve. Svein Knutsson and his army, probably including elite Danish troops stood against them. Sveinn and his forces made their way south to Agder
Agder
Agder is a historical district of Norway in the southernmost region of Norway, corresponding to the two counties Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder. Today, the term Sørlandet is more commonly used.-Name:...
, believing that Tryggve would attempt to slip through the Skagerrak
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
and join his supporters in Viken
Viken
Viken was the historical name for the district in southeastern Norway, including the area surrounding the Oslofjord and Skagerrak, the strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark.-History:...
. Tryggve, however, landed instead in Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
, then sailed to Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
to attack Sveinn's navy. The two fleets met off the island of Bokn
Bokn
Bokn is a municipality in the Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. Bokn was separated from Skudenes in 1849....
. Svein won the Battle of Soknasund and Tryggve Olavsson was killed. An account preserved in Morkinskinna relates that Tryggve was actually killed by a farmer after the battle.
Later that same winter Kalv Arnesson and Einar Tambarskjelve met and decided to travel to Gardarike to fetch Olav Haraldsson's son Magnus
Magnus I of Norway
Magnus I , known as the Good or the Noble, was the King of Norway from 1035 to 1047 and the King of Denmark from 1042 to 1047. He was an illegitimate son of king Olaf II of Norway, but fled with his mother in 1028 when his father was dethroned. In 1035 he returned to Norway and was crowned king at...
. When Magnus came to Norway the people sided with him and against the Danes. Svein had to flee home to Denmark where he died a short time later. Thus the King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of Denmark had to give up his claim on Norway.
As a character in Shakespeare
Svein is a back-storyBack-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
character in the first act of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, where Shakespeare calls him Sweno. His army arrived in Fife and began massacring Scots. He besieged Macbeth in the castle of Bertha. Duncan, the Scottish king, sent food and drink to the Norwegians, but laced it with a potion that caused them to become sleepy. Macbeth then slaughtered Sweno's army, but Sweno himself escaped. Canute and the Danes arrived to avenge this defeat, but they agreed to a truce:
Sweno, the Norway's king, craves composition [treaty].
nor would we deign him burial of his men
till he disbursed at Saint Colme's-inch
ten thousand dollars to our general use.
Other sources
- Gade, Kari (trans.) (2000) Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157) (Cornell University Press) ISBN 978-0-8014-3694-9
- Hollander, Lee (trans.) (2002) Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway (University of Texas Press) ISBN 978-0292730618
- Jones, Gwyn (2001) A History of the Vikings (Oxford Univ. Press) ISBN 978-0-19-280134-0
- Sephton, John (trans.) (1895) The Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason (Kessinger Publishing, LLC) ISBN 978-1-116-79637-7