Battle of Älgarås
Battle of Älgarås | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
House of Sverker | House of Eric | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Sverker II of Sweden | Eric X of Sweden |
The Battle of Älgarås took place at the royal estate of Älgarås in northernmost Västergötland in November 1205 between the House of Sverker and the House of Eric fighting for the Swedish crown.[1] The brothers Jon, Joar, Knut and Eric Knutsson were staying at the estate when the Sverker clan attacked. All the brothers were slain but Eric.
The estate was burnt down completely and abandoned, and it is no longer known exactly where it was located. An oral tradition says that it was "2000 paces from the church of Älgarås in the direction where the sun rises in September".
While House of Eric lost this battle, in 1208 Eric became king of Sweden after he defeated Sverker in the Battle of Lena. Sverker was later killed in the Battle of Gestilren in 1210.
References
- ↑ Harrison, Dick (2002). Jarlens sekel: en berättelse om 1200-talets Sverige (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ordfront förlag. pp. 109–110. ISBN 91-7324-999-8.