The third seal of the City of Stockholm, depicting the crowned head of Eric the Saint, attested for the first time in 1376.

Coat of Arms of Stockholm, depicting Eric the Saint of Sweden and based on the medieval seal.

Eric IX of Sweden (or Erik the Lawgiver or Erik the Saint. In Swedish he is simply known as Erik den helige or Sankt Erik which translates as Erik the Holy and Saint Erik respectively) (c. 1120 – May 18, 1160) was a Swedish king c.1150 – 1160. No historical records of Eric have survived, and all information about him is based on later legends that were aimed at having him established as a saint. Image File history File links en: The third seal of Stockholm - showing Eric IX of Sweden. ... Image File history File links en: The third seal of Stockholm - showing Eric IX of Sweden. ... Image File history File links Stockholm_coa. ... Image File history File links Stockholm_coa. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... Events Welcher of Malvern creates a system of measurement for the earth using degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude. ... Events Eric IX of Sweden is succeeded by Karl Sverkersson. ... Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy based on a parliamentary system. ... Events Åhus, Sweden gains city privileges City of Airdrie, Scotland founded King Sverker I of Sweden is deposed and succeeded by Eric IX of Sweden. ... Events Eric IX of Sweden is succeeded by Karl Sverkersson. ...

As later kings from the House of Eric were consistently buried to Varnhem Abbey near Skara in Västergötland, the family is considered to have Geatish roots like other medieval ruling houses in Sweden. Based on the information that his possible brother Joar was a son of Jedvard (Edward), modern sources call him also Eric Jedvardson, but this remains speculative. He was a rival king, from 1150, to Sverker the Elder who had ascended the throne c.1130 and was murdered 1156, after which Eric was recognized in most or all provinces. Eric's reign ended when he was murdered in Uppsala. He's said to have been murdered by Emund Ulvbane, an assassin who was hired by people working for the Sverker dynasty, in order for them to regain the control of the kingdom, or alternatively by Magnus Henriksson, another claimant, who is said in some sources to have succeeded him briefly as king. People from Sweden recognized a miracle after Eric's death, since a fountain was told to have sprung from the earth where the king's head fell after being chopped off. The house of St Eric was one of the two noble families, dynastiesk, which rivalled for the kingship of Sweden between 1150 and 1220. ... Varnhem Abbey ruins in foreground, with the reconstructed Abbey church in the background. ... Skara is a Municipality in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. ...   is one of the historical provinces of Sweden (landskap), situated in the southwest of Sweden. ... Sweden in the 12th century before the incorporation of Finland during the 13th century. ... Events Åhus, Sweden gains city privileges City of Airdrie, Scotland founded King Sverker I of Sweden is deposed and succeeded by Eric IX of Sweden. ... Sverker I Kolson or Sverker the Elder (died c. ... Events February 13 - Innocent II is elected pope An antipope schism occurs when Roger II of Sicily supports Anacletus II as pope instead of Innocent II. Innocent flees to France and Anacletus crowns Roger King. ... Events Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy fortifies Moscow, regarded as the date of the founding of the city Establishment of the Carmelite Order Hogen Rebellion in Japan January 20 - According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Köyliönjärvi... Uppsala (older spelling Upsala) is a city in central Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. ... Magnus Henriksson (died 1161?) was, according to some sources, briefly King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. ...

He would later be made a saint whose feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is 18 May, although he was never formally canonized by the Catholic Church. The relic casket of Eric is on display in Uppsala cathedral (Uppsala domkyrka). The casket contains bones of a male, with traces of injury to the neck. Eric is the patron saint of Stockholm and depicted in the city's coat of arms. In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ... The Cathedral of Uppsala. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ...

According to legends, Eric did much to consolidate Christianity in his realm and spread the faith into Finland. In an effort to conquer and convert them, he allegedly led the First Swedish Crusade against the native Finns and persuaded an English Bishop Henry of Uppsala to remain in Finland to evangelize the natives, later becoming a martyr there. The First Swedish Crusade is a legendary military expedition presumably in the 1150s that has traditionally been seen as the conquest of Finland by Sweden, with pagan Finns converted into Christianity. ... Bishop Henry and Lalli as depicted in Missale Aboense. ... Uppsala (older spelling Upsala) is a city in central Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. ...

Eric was responsible for codifying the laws of his kingdom, which became known as King Eric's Law (also the Code of Uppland). Additionally, he established a monastic chapter in Old Uppsala, which had come from the Danish abbey of Odense. Gamla Uppsala is an area rich in archaeological remains seen from the grave field whose larger mounds (left part) are close to the royal mounds. ... Odense is the third largest city in Denmark with 145,554 inhabitants (Odense city January 1, 2004) and the capital of the island of Funen. ...

In reaction to Eric's insistence that tithes be paid to support the Church as they were elsewhere in Europe, some Swedish nobles joined forces with Magnus, son of the king of Denmark. Eric was accosted near Uppsala at Ostra Aros as he was leaving church after hearing Mass on Ascension Day by the rebelling Swedish nobles. He was thrown to the ground from his horse, tortured, ridiculed, then beheaded.

The king was buried in the church of Old Uppsala, which he had rebuilt around the burial mounds of his pagan predecessors. In 1167, his body was enshrined; and his relics and regalia were translated to the present cathedral of Uppsala, built on the site of Eric's martyrdom, in 1273.

In an effort to consolidate his position, Eric's son Knud encouraged the cultus of his father as a martyr. Facts and fiction about his life were inseparably mixed together. The translation of Eric's relics extended the depth of his cultus. On his feast there were processions from the cathedral to Old Uppsala to petition for a good harvest.

Saint Eric is portrayed in art as a young king being murdered during Mass with the bishop Henry of Uppsala. In Uppsala cathedral there is a series of late medieval paintings depicting Eric and Henry of Uppsala.

Family

Married to Kristina from the House of Stenkil. The House of Stenkil was the first Geatish dynasty on the Swedish throne. ...

Children:

1. Canute I of Sweden, King of Sweden 1167-1196.
2. Filip
3. Katarina Eriksdotter, married to Nils Blake.
4. Margareta Eriksdotter, married in 1185 Sverre I of Norway,died in 1202.