Erik II of Sweden (c1120-1160)

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.

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.

He would later be made a saint whose feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is May 18, 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.

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.

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.

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 worship 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 religious following. 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.