Ulf Jarl
Encyclopedia
Ulf 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 Cnut's young son Harthacnut. After Ulf joined Olaf II of Norway
and Anund Jacob of Sweden
in a coalition against Cnut, Cnut had him killed in Roskilde
. He was the father of Sweyn II of Denmark
, King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074.
, a scion of the Swedish royal house, by Tyra
, the daughter of king Harald Bluetooth
of Denmark. However, Thorgils' parentage may have been invented to glorify the royal dynasty founded by Ulf's son, Sweyn Estridson
.
Ulf joined Cnut the Great's expedition to England
. In c. 1015, he married Cnut's sister Estrid and was appointed the Jarl of Denmark, which he ruled when Cnut was absent. He was also the foster-father of Cnut's son Harthacnut.
When the Swedish king Anund Jakob
and the Norwegian king Olaf II
took advantage of Cnut's absence and attacked Denmark, Ulf convinced the freemen to elect Harthacnut king, since they were discontented at Cnut's absenteeism. This was a ruse on Ulf's part since his role as Harthacnut's guardian would make him the ruler of Denmark.
When Cnut learnt what had happened in 1026, he returned to Denmark and with Earl Ulf's help, defeated the Swedes and the Norwegians at the Battle of the Helgeå
. Ulf's assistance did not, however, cause Cnut to forgive Ulf for his coup. At a banquet in Roskilde
, the two brothers-in-law were playing chess
and started arguing with each other. The next day, the Christmas
of 1026, Cnut had one of his housecarl
s kill Earl Ulf in Trinity Church, the predecessor of Roskilde Cathedral
. However, accounts contradict each other.
Ulf was the father of Sweyn Estridson
, and thus the progenitor of the royal house that would rule Denmark from 1047 to 1375.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
, in Scandinavia known as a jarl
Jarl
Jarl or JARL may refer to:*Japan Amateur Radio League*Jarl, the word for Earl in Scandinavian languages**Jarl in Sweden**Jarl , in Norse Mythology, a son of the god RígPeople with the given name Jarl:...
. As a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
chieftain
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
he participated in Cnut the Great's conquest of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 Cnut's young son Harthacnut. After Ulf joined Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
and Anund Jacob of Sweden
Anund Jacob of Sweden
Anund 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...
in a coalition against Cnut, Cnut had him killed in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
. He was the father of Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson was the King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood and Niels...
, King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074.
Biography
Ulf Jarl was the son of Thorgils Sprakalägg, who is claimed to have been the son of Styrbjörn the StrongStyrbjörn 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...
, a scion of the Swedish royal house, by Tyra
Tyra
-People:*Tyra Banks, an African-American former model, and creator/host of the long-running model series America's Next Top Model*Tyra Banxxx, an American pornographic actress*Tyra Bolling, an American singer who often goes by the stage names "Tyra" or "Tyra B"...
, the daughter of king Harald Bluetooth
Harald I of Denmark
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. He died in 985 or 986 having ruled as King of Denmark from around 958 and King of Norway for a few years probably around 970...
of Denmark. However, Thorgils' parentage may have been invented to glorify the royal dynasty founded by Ulf's son, Sweyn Estridson
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson was the King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood and Niels...
.
Ulf joined Cnut the Great's expedition to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In c. 1015, he married Cnut's sister Estrid and was appointed the Jarl of Denmark, which he ruled when Cnut was absent. He was also the foster-father of Cnut's son Harthacnut.
When the Swedish king Anund Jakob
Anund Jacob of Sweden
Anund 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...
and the Norwegian king Olaf II
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
took advantage of Cnut's absence and attacked Denmark, Ulf convinced the freemen to elect Harthacnut king, since they were discontented at Cnut's absenteeism. This was a ruse on Ulf's part since his role as Harthacnut's guardian would make him the ruler of Denmark.
When Cnut learnt what had happened in 1026, he returned to Denmark and with Earl Ulf's help, defeated the Swedes and the Norwegians at the Battle of the Helgeå
Battle of the Helgeå
Battle of the Helgeå was a naval engagement which took place during 1026, between joint Danish and English forces and a combined Norwegian and Swedish force, at the estuary of a river called Helgeå in Sweden.King Olaf II of Norway and King Anund Jakob of Sweden took advantage of the commitment...
. Ulf's assistance did not, however, cause Cnut to forgive Ulf for his coup. At a banquet in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
, the two brothers-in-law were playing chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and started arguing with each other. The next day, the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
of 1026, Cnut had one of his housecarl
Housecarl
In medieval Scandinavia, housecarls and sometimes spelled huscarle or houscarl) were either non-servile manservants, or household troops in personal service of someone, equivalent to a bodyguard to Scandinavian lords and kings. This institution also existed in Anglo-Saxon England after its...
s kill Earl Ulf in Trinity Church, the predecessor of Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...
. However, accounts contradict each other.
Ulf was the father of Sweyn Estridson
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson was the King of Denmark from 1047 to 1074. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood and Niels...
, and thus the progenitor of the royal house that would rule Denmark from 1047 to 1375.