Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/401

 SWEDEN

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SWEDEN

other articl&s. Just as in the later Bronze Age, the bodies of the dead were sometimes burned, some- times buried; however, the latter custom had the greater prevalence. The Swedes had only a small share in the viking expeditions which, from the eiglith centurj' onward, were the terror of the peoples of Europe. Besides, in their expeditions they gained a firm foothold in Finland and also came into closer con- nexion with their neighbours the Russians. The first efforts of missionaries to convert the Swedes to Clu^is- tianity occurred in the ninth century. It was not until about the year 1000, when Olaf Skotkonung was baptized by the Anglo-Saxon missionary Siegfried, that Cliristianity was fairly established. Olaf 's family, of whose deeds little is known, died out with Emund the Old (1060). .\t that time the Kingdom of Sweden included only the present northern provinces, while Sk&ne, Blekingo, and Ilalland belonged to Denmark and remained united with this country for centuries. The vast forests were largely the cause of the indi- vidual development of the tribes, who were separated from one another by them, rendering a common ad- ministration for all much more difficult. As roads were lacking, the rivers and lakes were used to connect the different parts of the country. In regard to the government the election of the king customary in earlier times gave way to a settled succession to the throne. Naturally the machinery of government in the modern sense did not e.xist. Everything de- pended upon the initiative and force of the ruler, whose commands might, indeed, not be carried out at all or only in part by the great officials or jarls. The various provinces had each its own laws (lag), and the lagmen, or expounders of the law, exerted much influ- ence. The}' were often able to make their office hereditary. The provinces were divided into hun- dreds ihdrrads) at the head of each of which was a hofding, whose chief duty was to maintain peace and order. For a long time the father of the family still remained the master within his house. The people were divided into the Iiigher and lower freemen {odal- bonder and bonder) and the serfs (trdlar), and generally lived together on farms or in villages. The houses were built of wood or clay and were covered with shingles or straw. Even at this time, however, there were larger places with occasional stone buildings, as Skara, Linkoping, Orebro, Straengnaes, Vester&s, Up- sala, Sigtuna, and, at a Uttle later era, Stockhohn, which rose rapidly into prominence. The national character showed sharp contrasts: harshness and gen- tleness, loyalty and deceit, magnanimity and revenge- fulness. Xo observer doubts that the gradual im- provement in pubUc morals was due to the influence of the Church.

After the old ruUng family was extinct a chief named Stenkil was chosen king. He wiis connected with the former rulers Ijy his wife who was the daughter of Emund the Old, and was an ardent sup- porter of Christianity. During his reign the first dio- cese, Skara, was estabhshed in eastern Gotland. How- ever, as the actual Sweden (Uppsvear) still held to heathenism, rival rulers appeared, and for more than twenty years internal strife prevailed. Finally Inge, the second son of Stenkil, was able to defeat his oppo- nents and bring about a complete victory for Chris- tianity. With the death of a nephew, Inge the Younger, in 112.5, the family of Stenkil came to an end. The East Goth S\erker, who married Inge's widow, was able for a time to re-establish the unity that had been disturbed, but his son Charles could not maintain himself. On the other hand Erik, a Swede from the northern provinces, won universal recogni- tion. Erik undertook a crusade in Finland and after his return wa.'i killed in a battle fllfiO) with a Danish pretender Magnus Ilenrik.sson. In the following year Magnus was killed by the people. Sverker's .son Charles obtained the ascendency, but he had to give

way in 1167 to Knut Eriksson. During Knut's ad- ministration the first Swedish money was coined and Stockholm was fotmded. After Knut's death Sver- ker Karlsson, the son-in-law of Birger Brosa, Knut's chief councillor, obtained the throne (119.5), although Knut had left children. Birger owed this success to the clerg}', whom he favoured on all occasions. A war broke out between Knut's sons and Sverker after Bir- ger's death; Sverker was obliged to flee, and when he sought with Danish aid to regain the throne he suf- fered a decisive defeat in 120S near Falkoping. Two years later he also lost a battle near Gestitren, when he was killed. His successful rival Erik Knutsson, the first King of Sweden to be crowned, died in 1216. He was followed by John Sverkersson, at whose death in 1222 the family of Sverker became extinct. Erik, the posthumous son of Erik Knutsson, now came to the throne, but he proved an incompetent ruler and was for a time deposed. By the marriage of his sister Ingeborg with the vigorous Jarl Birger of the Folk- unger family he sought to gain Birger for his cause. In 1249 Birger won Finland, which never before had been conquered, for Erik. AA'hile Birger was in Fin- land Erik died, and the nobles of the kingdom elected Birger's son Waldemar. During Waldemar's min- ority his father carried on the administration with success and skill, maintained good relations with the adjoining countries, and sought to preserve peace at home by wise laws. His son Waldemar, who ruled from 1266, was very unlike his father and had, there- fore, to }-ield the administration to his more strenuous brother Magnus, later called LadulSs.

Magnus was the first to call himself "King of the Swedes and Goths". He continued the work of his father, was able to protect the common freemen {all- inogen) against the encroachments of the higher no- bility, and in 1285 was able to gain the valuable is- land of Gotland without a blow. When Magnus died in 1290 his heir Birger was a minor; the lord chamber- lain, Torgil Knutsson, carried on the government ex- cellently and without self-advantage. After Birger himself came to power Torgil continued to be his most trusted adviser. Finally the king's brothers were able to so arouse Birger's suspicions of Torgil that he seized and beheaded him without trial in 1306. Punish- ment for such a shameless act did not fail to follow. Left without his one true friend, Birger was made a prisoner by his intriguing brothers and lost his throne. The unfortunate quarrel between the brothers ended apparentl.v four years later with a settlement whereby Birger received a part of the country. However, he misused the power he had regained to obtain revenge, and allowed his two brothers to die of starx ation in prison. At this the indignant people drove him from the throne and elected Magnus (1319), the three-year- old -son of the late Duke Erik. Shortly before this Magnus had become heir to the throne of Norway by the death of his childless relative King Hakon. When in 1332 Magnus came to power he ha<l the opportu- nity for the first time to unite temporarily the Danish Provinces of Sk&ne and Blekinge with his kingdom. His reign was marked by many misfortunes; in par- ticular, the pneumonic plague carried off two-thirds of his subjects. Although the king did much for Swe- den by introducing common law and suppressing serf- dom, yet he was hardly able to maintain liimself in his own country, still le.ss in Norway, especially as he came into disagreement with the pope. He found himself obliged to recognize his son Hakon as King of Norway (1343) and to accept his son Erik as co-regent of Sweden (13.")6). After Erik's death he reigned jointly with Hakon over both countries. By Hakon's marriage with Margaret, the youthful daughter of King Waldemar of Denmark, the way was prepared for the future union of the three countries.

Discontent with the growing jwwer of the king led the Swedish nobles to revolt against Magnus and offer