Орта ғасырдағы Швеция тағы үшін шайқас

Medieval battle over the throne of Sweden

The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208 and probably took place near Kungslena, in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prince Eric. Eric's forces won a crushing victory; however, in July 1210, Sverker returned with a second army and was killed in the Battle of Gestilren.

The period 1150–1250 saw an intense rivalry between the House of Sverker and House of Eric, who alternated on the Swedish throne. The primary representative of the House of Eric, Eric Knutsson, returned from exile in Norway in 1207–08. There were marital connections between his family and the Norwegian ruling elite, but the sparse sources do not tell if Norwegian troops backed him. Sverker II fled to Denmark, where he had grown up before becoming king. All this suggests that many of the Swedish nobility rejected Sverker's rule. Sverker's relative, King Valdemar the Victorious of Denmark, provided Sverker with auxiliaries, including a Czech contingent from Valdemar's father in law, King Ottokar I of Bohemia. However, Sverker's in laws, the powerful Sunesen brothers, gathered the bulk of the troops. The army was led by Ebbe Sunesen, brother of Archbishop Andreas Sunesen. Medieval traditions estimate the size of the force at 12,000 or 18,000, although these numbers might be vastly exaggerated. According to later tradition, the defending Swedish force was again half that of Sverker's forces, numbering between 7,000 and 10,000. Erik's army may have been made up in part by Norwegian auxiliaries. Norwegian historian P. A. Munch has questioned this, considering it unlikely that Eric's ally, Jarl Håkon Galen, would have had any troops to spare during the ongoing Norwegian civil wars.

The Swedes won, according to legend, aided by Odin. The Norwegian Saga of Inge Bårdsson relates that a horseman arrived to the farmstead of a smith at Nesje on 26 January, and stayed overnight. The next morning the stranger baffled the smith through a display of supernatural powers, then said: "I have been to the north, and stayed in Norway for a long time, but I will now move over to Sweden." He then disclosed to the smith that he was Odin, spurred his horse, and jumped over a high fence out in the blue. The Battle of Lena occurred four days after this event.

Among the few survivors was Sverker II, who fled to Denmark. The Pope took an interest in the cause of the fallen king and ordered Eric Knutsson to settle the matter and return kingship to Sverker. When Eric declined to meet these demands, Sverker returned from his Danish refuge with a new army. This second invasion ended with the Battle of Gestilren in July 1210. This time, Sverker was killed, securing King Eric's throne.