| House of Bjälbo Bjälboätten House of Folkung | |
|---|---|
| Scandinavianroyal house | |
 Arms ofBirger Jarl | |
| Country |  Kingdom of Sweden Kingdom of Norway Kingdom of Denmark |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Founder | Folke the Fat[1] |
| Current head | None; extinct |
| Final ruler | Olaf II of Denmark |
| Titles | |
| Dissolution | between 1388 and 1396 |
| Swedish Royalty |
| House of Bjälbo |
|---|
 |
| Valdemar Birgersson |
| Magnus Ladulås |
| Birger Magnusson |
|
| Magnus Eriksson |
| Erik XII Magnusson |
| Haakon VI |
|
TheHouse of Bjälbo[a], also known as theHouse of Folkung[b] (Swedish:Bjälboätten orFolkungaätten), was aSwedish family that produced several medievalbishops,jarls andkings of Sweden.[2] It also provided threekings of Norway and one king ofDenmark in the 14th century.
The house has been known as the "House ofFolkung" since the 17th century, and this name is still commonly used in Swedish works of reference. The name "Folkung" does appear as early as in 12th century sources, but is then usually not applied to members of the family.
In an effort to avoid confusion with theFolkunge Party some modern historians have argued that "House of Bjälbo" would be a better name becauseBirger Jarl lived there and it is the family's oldest known manor.Bjälbo is located inÖstergötland, outside ofSkänninge in the present-daymunicipality of Mjölby. In any case the members of this dynasty never used a name to refer to themselves since family names were not widely adopted in Sweden until the 16th century, thus neither name is more "correct" for the dynasty, apart from the potential for confusion.[1]
The House of Bjälbo produced most of thejarls in Sweden in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries until the title was abolished in 1266. Different branches of the family were often rivals for the office of jarl. Most of the kings during that time were also fromÖstergötland.
Around 1100,Folke the Fat became the first known Bjälbo jarl, and probably the first jarl of all Sweden, under kingInge I of Sweden. He was married to a Ingegerd Knutsdotter of Denmark, daughter of kingCanute IV of Denmark. According to legends, he was the first of his family so elevated. Nothing is known of any of Folke's collateral relatives, though it is well-established that several of his sons' descendants were important lords.
Other notable jarls from the family wereBirger Brosa,Karl the Deaf,Ulf Fase, andBirger Jarl. In the early 13th century, some members of the family moved to Norway, and held the office of jarl there. Noteworthy is that regardless of the ruling royal family, Bjälbos continued to hold the position of the jarl in the kingdom.
Several members of the family were alsoBishops of Linköping at least in the 13th century. Diocese covered the area ofÖstergötland. Bishop of Linköping was often involved in the eastern activities.
EarlyDukes of Finland were from the House of Bjälbo and used the traditional coat of arms with a rampant lion. This developed later to the currentcoat of arms of Finland during the reign ofJohan as Grand Duke of Finland, the lion from which serves as the symbol of the state and in stylized forms various authorities.
Valdemar, a son of Birger Jarl, was elected as theKing of Sweden in 1250. Members of the House of Bjälbo had married into all rival royal dynasties in Sweden, eventually producing an heir related to them all. When the previous kingEric had died without an heir apparent, his sister's son, and also Birger's son, was the most suitable option to hold the royal office. Valdemar was deposed by his brotherMagnus in 1275, from which all later royal members descended.
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Members of the house reigned as kings Sweden until 1364. From 1319 to 1387,kings of Norway. The last king from the House of Bjälbo wasOlaf II, theKing of Denmark from 1376 to 1387; the last male member, descended from the deposed Valdemar, died a few years later. Almost all subsequent monarchs of Sweden, Norway and Denmark tracecognatic descent from the House of Bjälbo.
This article is fully or partially based on material fromNordisk familjebok (1908).
Media related toHouse of Bjälbo at Wikimedia CommonsHouse of Bjälbo | ||
| Preceded by | Ruling House of theKingdom of Sweden 1250–1364 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ruling House of theKingdom of Norway 1319–1387 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ruling House of theKingdom of Denmark 1376–1387 | |