The Golden Age: A Sweden AAR

[Velasco]

The Golden Age - A Sweden AAR​

~ A History of the Kings of Sweden ~​

I. King Halsten (1066-1117)
II. King Audun (1117-1124)
III. King Olav (1124-?)

 

[Velasco]

Prelogue:​

The death of King Eymund the Old in 1060 marked the end of the long rule of the House of Munso, the descendants and heirs of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok, who had been King of Denmark and Sweden. Eymund's only son, Anund Edmundsson, died before his father, and so Eymund was succeeded by the Jarl Stenkil, who had married his daughter. Stenkil supported the christianization of Sweden, but refused to fully abolish the old ways for fear of alienating his pagan subjects. He died in his bed, peacefully, about the time King Harald fell in England (1066).

The death of Stenkil ended a period of relative peace for Sweden, as his eldest son Halsten ascended to the throne.

The Reign of King Halsten I ​

The new King's power was greatly limited, and he only truly wielded any sort of royal power in certain parts of Sweden. The rest of the land was largely dominated by petty Kings and Chiefs, many of whom remained adamantly pagan and resistant to conversion to Christianity.

He worked to strengthen his position by cultivating the friendships of King Svend of Denmark and King Olaf of Norway; in 1067 Halsten's mother Ingamodher married King Svend's son Bjorn, and shortly thereafter he himself married King Olaf's sister Ragnhild (after the death of his first queen, Agata of Hungary). King Olaf was himself married to a daughter of Svend, thus completing the circle of marriages between the two kingdoms.

Halsten spent the first eleven years of his reign (1066-77) campaiging against rebellious vassals, and expanding his realm into Lappland, Jamtland, Narke, and Dal. Christian churches were built throughout the realm and even the most pagan of chiefs were forced to allow missionaries into their lands.

Having thus established his rule, and had it universally accepted that his eldest son should succeed him as King, Halsten spent three years (1080-83) campaigning in the east against the pagan tribes of Finland, expanding his rule into Satakunta, Tavasts, Savolaks, Viborg, Karelia (thus gaining access to the White Sea), Kajanaborg, Kemi and Kola. During Halsten's long absences Sweden was governed by his brother Inge, and even when Halsten was present he shared the throne with Inge.

Upon his triumphant return to Sweden, Halsten granted to his brother Inge the islands of Gotland and Aland, thus removing him from Sweden proper. He also responded to the clamour of many of his nobles, who disliked the great powers Halsten wielded through much of the land, and did away with considerable swathes of land (chiefly Uppland, Bergslagen, and Smaland). He appointed his bastard Stenkil as their ruler - naturally he continued to rule on his son's behalf until Stenkil's majority in 1088. Halsten also rewarded various loyal servants with his newly conquered lands, leaving him in direct control of Vastergotland and its surroundings, and Finland.

King Halsten, circa 1084


Queen Ragnhild, circa 1084​

In 1086, Halsten's eldest legitimate son and heir Audun was married to his cousin Thora, daughter of King Olaf of Norway and his queen Ingrid of Denmark. It seems the two had been living as husband and wife for some time already, as a child was quick to follow the marriage, which was a happy one.

Shortly afterward, Halsten's second son, the mad Asbjorn, was married by his father to Bodil of Viborg, the widow of Styrbjorn Stenbock, Duke of Norrland, and mother of his three year old successor, Duke Arnfast. Halsten hoped the marriage would serve to tie Arnfast's loyalty to the crown in future. The following year, King Halsten gave his own daughter Margareta in marriage to Bodil's father, Thrugut of Viborg.

Despite his mother's death in 1080, Halsten had maintained friendly relations with her second husband Bjorn. King Harald of Denmark had displaced Bjorn from his lands of Slesvig, leading Bjorn to take refuge briefly in Sweden; during his stay it was decided that his only son Christian (King Halsten's half brother) should marry the girl Rikissa, a daughter of Halsten. The marriage took place in 1088; shortly thereafter Bjorn, Christian and Rikissa left for Denmark, now torn by civil war.

Halsten was quick to press his advantage; Sweden was strong and at peace, whilst the King of Denmark faced war on all sides and could do little to protect his own capital, let alone the rest of his realm. In a quick campaign, Halsten took for himself Halland, and, in alliance with King Harald of Denmark, expelled the rebellious lord of Jylland from his throne. Shortly afterward, Halsten's daughter Ingegerd married Harald's brother and Chancellor, Knud Magnus. It was agreed that once Halsten died, Knud would be given possession of Jylland.

King Halsten had come to enjoy great fame as a warrior and conqueror, both abroad and in Sweden, where he held unprecedented power as monarch. In 1090 he embarked on a 'crusade' against the pagan tribes of northern Germany, which lasted until 1092. Although religion may well have played a part in this campaign, the war brought Halsten rich pickings - Lubeck, Mecklembrg, Werle, and Rostock. It was at Rostock that Queen Ragnhild gave birth to their last child, Marcus.

Sometime afterward, Halsten made war against the tribe of Kexholm, taking their lands and enforcing Swedish rule over them. He gave their lands to his brother Hakon, who had already been made ruler of the lands of Karelia.

Halsten, restless for prestige and bounty, then looked to the lands of the pagan Soumi, which bordered his own lands in Finland and those of his brother in Karelia. After two years of warfare, the Suomi were defeated, their High Chief taken prisoner to Sweden, and Swedish governors appointed throughout their lands. When he returned to Sweden, Halsten celebrated his success with the marriage of his son Dag to Margrete, daughter of Paul, Duke of Orkney. Halsten soon after sent Dag, at the head of a sizeable army, to make war on the chiefdom of Slupsk, who were already at war with the Emperor. Dag was successful, taking their lands for Sweden; the Emperor was pacified and a few yeas later took a Swedish woman as his consort.

By this time, the name of Halsten was known throughout Europe, where he was famous for his great piety and loyalty to the Roman Church. His influence was such that his kinsman, Stanislaw, was elected Pope; Stanislaw rewarded Halsten for his support by making Halsten's eldest son Audun the ruler of the powerful bishopric of Holland, Sticht, and Westfriesland. Audun's brother Dag was similarly made bishop of Csanad; the following year the mad Asbjorn was made Bishop of Munster in Saxony. Later, Halsten's brother Christian would be made Bishop of Nice (1103), his grandson Hans of Viborg would be made Bishop of Bergenshus (1105) and his bastard Bertil Bishop of Orbetello (1107). Hans' father Thrugut would later become Bishop of Munster (1110) and various other kinsmen of Halsten were likewise given important ecclesiastical offices, througout Christendom.

Desite his Christian faith, Halsten was not above making deals with the heathens, and in 1098 appointed Otso - the former High Chief of the Soumi whom he had taken prisoner and since befriended - the High Chief of all Finland.

It was perhaps in defence of his pious image that King Halsten had his queen, Ragnhild, beheaded in 1098, having learnt of her infidelity with Oluf, the son of King Harald of Denmark, who had been a guest at his court. Oluf narrowly espaced death himself, fleeing back to his own lands in Bornholm. Halsten took as his new queen the High Chief's Otso's sister, Sati, a pagan. A son, Rorek, was born to them in 1099, suggesting he may have already taken her as a concubine or mistress at the time of his first wife's infidelity.

Queen Sati​

In 1100, King Halsten undertook a visit to the northenmost parts of his kingdom, staying at the curt of Robert de Macon, a Frankish warrior whom he had appointed ruler of Lappland. There, his daugter Ingeborg was married to Robert's heir, Johan, a great warrior who had fought under Halsten at other times. Whilst in Lappland, Halsten fathered a bastard (his third). Ingeborg died in childbirth in 1101, and so her father removed himself back to his own court - during his absence his favourite child Marcus had died of illness.

In 1107, King Halsten's daughter Ingegerd, widow of Knud Magnus of Denmark (1060-1107) - the brother of King Harald of Denmark and Queen Ingrid of Norway, as well as Bjorn of Slesvig (husband of her grandmother Ingamoder) -married the adventurer Yves, a frankish count, brother of King Humbert of France.

In 1108, Halsten's nephew Marcus, Bishop of Aland, was elected Pope. The relationship, initally friendly, soured as Marcus seized the islands of Gotland and Aland, parts of Sweden he had inherited from his father Inge the Elder. For the next several years Halsten would attempt, unsuccesfully, to negotiate the return of Gotland and Aland to his realm by peaceful means.

In 1112, Halsten embarked on another great campaign on the European mainland. First, he marched against the High Chief of Prussia, taking Chelminskie and Marienburg (which was seized by the Teutonic Knights in 1113), then against the Pruthenians, Samogitia and Curonians. Thus, Sambia, Memel and Kurs were added to Sweden's holdings in the Baltic.

In 1115, King Halsten - aged seventy - next made war on his nephew, the Pope Marcus, with the intent of expelling his governors from Gotland and Aland. Both islands were taken by 1116, but the Pope refused to recognise Halsten's right to them and threatened to excommunicate him if he did not return them. Despite this, Marcus appointed Halsten's son Rorek (son of the pagan Sati) successor to the Bishopric of Munster, made vacant by the death of his brother-in-law Thrugut of Viborg; this would be Marcus' last act as Pope, as he would die of illness soon after in setember 1116. His successor, Richard of Exeter, was a prince of England.

Halsten would stop at nothing to achieve his so desired victory, assaulting Gotland and Aland once more, and sending a military force (swelled by Teutonic mercenaries) through Germany with the purpose of sacking Rome itself. Though the Pope's own army was defeated, his Italian subjects rallied to his cause and expelled the Swedes from Roma. Halsten was forced to make peace with Richard - his first military defeat in fifty years of rule - acknowledging papal governance of Gotland and Aland.

King Olaf of Norway - Halsten's enemy since the death of sister, Queen Ragnhild, in 1098 - was quick to take advantage and moved into Varmland. As Halsten prepared to march against the armies of Norway, he died in his own bed, surrounded by his family, on 15 February 1117. He was succeeded by his eldest son Audun.

King Halsten's will​

Halsten's realm, in brown


The new King, Audun​

His Descendants​

Halsten I (1045-1117), King of the Swedes

He married first Agata Arpad of Hungary (1018-1067). No issue.

He married secondly Ragnhild Maria Yngling of Norway (1051-1098).

• Margareta (106 m, Thrugut of Viborg, Bishop of Munster, and had issue.
  
• Audun (1070-) King of the Swedes
  
  
  1. Asta (1087-) married Torgeir Yngling, son of King Olaf of Norway.
  
  2. Ingjerd, the Elder (108 married, 1) Bo of Osraige and 2) Sverker of Vastergotland (bastard uncle)
  
  3. Gyrid (1089-) married 1) Asger of Osraige and 2) Ivanis, King of Croatia
  
  4. Ingjerd, the Younger (1091-) married Erik of Vastergotland, count of Kemi, son of Hakon of Karelia (brother of King Halsten).
  
  5. Thora (1095-1114) married Sigurd, Count of Finnveden
  
  6. Margrete (1096-) married Erik, count of Vastmanland, son of Stenkil of Uppland (bastard of King Halsten)
  
  7. Gunnhild (109 married Bo of Vastergotland, count of Kola, son of Hakon of Karelia (brother of King Halsten)
  
  Audun also sired two bastards, Trond (1106-) and Sigurd (1111-)​
  
  
• Asbjorn (1071-) Bishop of Liege, married Bodil of Viborg (1062-1114)
  
  
  1. Aleta (1091-) married Benedikt of Osraige
  
  2. Ulvhilde (1102-1112)​
• Rikissa (1072-) married Christian Estridson (uncle), Bishop of Nice, later Doge of Genoa. Had issue.
  
• Ingegerd (1074-) married 1) Knud Magnus Estridson, and 2) Yves Capet. Had issue.
  
• Dag (1076-) Bishop of Csanad, married Margrete of Orkney (1080-)
  
  
  1. Odon (1100-)
  
  2. St Johan (1101-1115)
  
  3. Magnus (1103-)
  
  4 and 5. Two daughters
  
  6. Son, died young​
• Ulvhilde (1078-died young)
  
• Ingeborg (1083-1101) married Johan de Macon, later Count of Lappland.
  
• Marcus (1091-1102)

He married thirdly Sati of Finland (106.

• Rorek (1099-) Bishop of Munster

He also had three bastards.

• Stenkil (1072-) Duke of Upland, Bergslagen, and Smaland, married three times and had issue. His children and grandchildren married into royal houses of Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
  
• Bertil (108 Bishop of Orbetello
  
• Sverker (1101-), married Ingjerd, daughter of his brother King Audun

 

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That`s a lot of conquests! Good luck with Norway. Maybe some map in next update?

 

[Velasco]

Map's up.

 

[Nikolai]

Good start. I like history book aars.

 

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Good luck keeping track of all the progeny a few generations down the line

Nice work on getting the Danish king out of Denmark.

 

[Velasco]

@ RGB: I found that the Vastergotland family was very fertile (I have played on and seen that even great grand-sons and daughters of Halsten usually had some six children) so keeping track of the family tree - especially with all the intermarrying was absolutely impossible.

@ Nikolai: Thanks, but..

The game keeps on crashing at around 1147, as I playing straight from a new installation I think that might be the problem. I will post the two updates that I was able to and then will download the newest patch (if i can figure out how to do it) and start a new aar.

Thanks to everyone who read this

 

[Velasco]

A New King: Audun I​

The new King had naturally never approved of his father's execution of his mother, and so he had little difficulty signing a white peace with his uncle, King Olaf of Norway, seven months after his ascension. The September peace left Norway and Sweden's borders unchanged; it was agreed that sometime in the future one of Audun's grandchildren (for he already had several) or one of his bastard sons, should he choose to make them his heirs, would marry one of Olaf's many descendants.

Yet no sooner had peace been signed with Norway, than King Niels of Denmark declared war upon Audun. He demanded the return of Halland, which by right was part of his kingdom, and also of Jylland, which had been promised by King Halsten as dowry for his daughter Ingegerd, who had married Knud Magnus, brother of King Harald of Denmark. Though Halsten, Knud Magnus, and King Harald were now all long dead, King Niels -as Knud Magnus' nephew - claimed the dowry as rightfully his (completing laying aside Ingegerd's children by Knud). With all the might of the Sweden his father had built, Audun swept down into Skane, taking the main fortress in October 1118. Though the Danes took Vastergotland in June, the Swedish armies were successful elsewhere, defeating the Danes in Jylland and taking Fyn; when peace was signed in July 1119, King Niels was forced to accept Swedish rule of the island of Fyn.

In 1119, King Audun appointed his bastard half brother Sverker - who had married his daughter Ingegerd the Elder the previous year - as the prince-bishop of Slupsk and Chelminskie, charging him to convert the pagan natives to the true faith.

In January 1120, Audun held a great assembly of his nobles in his capital at Vastergotland. There he welcomed the family of his brother Dag, the late Bishop of Csanad, who had died recently, and whose children were now come to seek refuge in their father's native Sweden. The chief topic on everyone's mind was the succession: Audun had two bastard sons, and seven legitimate daughters. Audun refused to take his bastards as his heirs, alledging that such was the way of his pagan ancestors; at the same time, the lords of Sweden refused to accept any of his daughters as Queen. Therefore, Audun issued a royal edict, altering the royal laws of succession laid down by his father: henceforth the royal succession would pass only in the legitimate, male line, to the exclusion of all female progeny and their heirs. His immediate heir was therefore his brother Asbjorn, the mad and tyrannical Bishop of Liege; however Asbhorn was nearly fifty and not expected to live long. Following him, were the princes Odon and Magnus, raised in Hungary, the sons of King Audun's brother Dag and brothers of St Johan of Csanad. These two were young, virile and well liked by the Swedish people.

Nevertheless, not all of King Audun's vassals liked his choice of successors. Otso, High Chief of Finland - brother of Halsten's widow Sati - had preferred his own nephew Rorek (the youngest child of the late King) to succeed Audun; he saw the elevation of Odon and Magnus as an affront to his sister (and by extension, himself, their entire clan and tribe). Rising up in full blown revolt, Otso was joined by Arnfast Stenbock, Duke of Norrland, and various other minor lords and chiefs.

Audun's reaction was swift, but no sooner had he called up his men than he was severely wounded in a skirmish, on way to board ships to Finland. Unwilling to surrender, he carried on to Finland, where he funded traitors in Otso's main fortress and took it by storm within days. Audun remembered well how his own father had fought for the first eleven years of his reign against rebellious vassals enforcing his own royal rule; Audun did not wish for history to repeat itself. As he moved into Nyland, he was taken prisoner by a clan friendly to Otso; his generals were forced to pay a huge ransom to secure his return. By October Audun's wounds had become infected and he contracted illness.

Queen Thora had been left behind in Sweden proper, as regent. She eagerly accepted the help offered by the Teutonic Knights, sending two hundred of them north into Norrland, only to meet with complete and utter defeat and annihilation. Nevertheless, the army of Arnfast Stenbock had been considerably cut down in size - Thora's spies estimated that some 400 or so men remained alive in Halsingland, under Arnfast's command. Before she could take any further action, the Queen died, on October 20th. Her death was shrouded in great secrecy and mysterious circumstances; some suspected poison, but if so the culprit was never found.

News of the Queen's death reached Audun quickly in Finland; though he had loved her, she had not provided him with the male heir she had promised him all those years ago. Within the month, Audun took another wife, Premislava, a niece of the Prince of Polotsk, whose lands bordered some of those held by Sweden on the Baltic Coast; Polotsk was a might principality whose friendship Audun very much desired and, though he may have been loathe to admit it, needed for the continued survival of Sweden's growing holdings on the eastern Baltic shore. The union was celebrated on November 17, in the newly captured fortress of Finland; four days before Audun had welcomed his nephew Odon, recently returned from Europe, and his new bride Dorottya Arpad, a princess of the Huns.

The new Queen accompanied the King throughout the campaign and was quicj to conceive. On November 9th 1121, nearly a year on the dot from her marriage, she gave birth to a healthy male heir, Olav; he was followed by a daughter Maria (in October 1122) and a male 'spare' Torrfinn (August 1123), to the great delight of her sickly husband, who was aging rapidly, due to his disease.

Nyland fell in March (1121), followed by Satakunta (September) Tavasts (January 1122) and Osterbotten (the following April). Audun did not stop to rest, but sailed west to Halsingland, winning a decisive battle in June and ousting Arnfast Stenbock from power in Norrland with great ease. Audun installed his nephew Odon was Duke of Norrland, before returning to his capital in Vastergotland, which he had not seen in two years.

Despite his wounds and aggravating illness, Audun did not stop to rest, but took up arms against Henrik Hvide, the independent ruler of Sjaelland, who was then at war with the chief of Angermanland, a nominal vassal of Sweden. During this campaign, Audun's sickness worsened to pneumonia, and he was forced to leave the fighting in the hands of his generals and return to Vastergotland.

There, he received 'in great pomp and ceremony' - according to a contemporary chronicle - his bastard son Trond, recently returned from Constantinople, and his new wife, Zoe Paleologus, the youngest daughter of the Emperor Nikephoros.

Before the war with Henrik Hvide, the petty king of Sjaelland, could be completed, Audun died of his illness, and was succeeded by his two year old son Olav. Pope Kuno - the most powerful pope to have ever graced the Petrine throne, ruling vast swathes of Italy and Germany, in addition to Gotland and Aland (which Audun had always claimed as his to the last) - had been a close friend of Audun when the latter had been Prince-bishop of Holland, Sticht and Westfriesland, and therefore he did not delay to name Audun the Roman Church's newest saint.

King Audun's Will​

 

[Velasco]

​

The Child King: Olav I, King of Sweden and Duke of Mecklemburg​

Like his father before him, the infant Olav inherited a throne at war. His mother, Premislava, was accepted as regent; in November she enforced a humiliating peace upon Henrik Hvide of Sjaelland, exiling him and his family from the island and taking it for Sweden. Trond, her illegitimate step son, was made Duke of Finland and sent to rule the lands thereof; thus removing a potential rival for the regency.

The Queen Dowager​

However, Premislava's regency proved to be shortlived. In December, she was forced by the nobles of Sweden to marry the late King's nephew, Magnus, who was in line for the throne following King Olav's infant brother Torrfinn and his own brother, Duke Odon of Norrland. Being that Odon was generally disliked for his Hungarian ways, it was hoped that, should the young King and his brother die in their infancy (as was common those days) the throne should pass to Magnus, which succession would be facilitated by his marriage with the Queen Dowager - namely, Premislava. Premislava would prove to be a fertile bride for Magnus, giving him a large family. At the time of the marriage, Magnus was made Duke of Sjaelland, and given rule of Jylland, Fyn, Sjaelland and Werle. The first child, Katarina, was born the following December.

The early years of King Olav's reign were thereafter fairly peaceful. His half-sister Gunnhild, Chancellor and acting regent, committed suicide in 1134, leading to a power vacuum in the Swedish court.

The Pope demanded the revocation of lay investure in 1135; the young King (then aged fourteen) adamantly refused, and was excommunicated. He would remain excomunicated for the rest of his life. The Kings of Sweden has unscrupously used lay investure for the furherment of their own relatives, something which the Pope found distasteful and sinful.

That same year, his uncle and brother-in-law Sverker was elected to the Papal throne, which had come to rival the thrones of France, England, Germany and Castille (which had united Navarra, Aragon, Spanish Galicia and Toulouse-Languedoc with the remnants of Barecelona) in size and importance. He was the second of his dynasty to sit on the papal throne, and not the first to benefit from the lay investure exercised by his kinsmen Kings of Sweden. Regardless, he was unwilling to back down, flatly refusing to lift his nephew's excommunication; further attempts by Papal nuncios in 1137 to revoke lay investure in the Swedish empire failed as before.

In 1136 King Olav - fash approaching majority - welcomed at his court his cousin Anna of Viborg, and her family. She was the daughter of the princess Margareta, one of the daughters of King Halsten, and the widow of Helie, the dispossesed Count of Narbonne. She brought with her her five sons - Richard, Errard, Yves, Frederic, and Gotfred - and one daughter - Catherine - who did not lack for suitors; at length a marriage was arranged for her with Count Adalgard of Lausitz, future Duke of Meissen. Anna would serve Olav as his Chancellor until her death in 1139.

King Olav, as an adult, circa 1137​

In november 1137 Olav's majority was declared and he was allowed to assume full sovereign powers over his sprawling kingdom. In December he was married to Katrine van Holland, daughter of Count Jan of Zeeland, who had an ancient claim to Sticht, Holland, and Westfriesland. Katrine had one brother, Lambert, a mad man, who was well into his thirties and unmarried. She thus stood to inherit her father's county, which was adjacent to those lands held by the swedish crown along the Dutch coast of the North Sea. More interestingly, Katrine's mother Agatha was the daughter of St Finn of Norway and his wife, the saxon princess Eadgyth. St Finn was the eldest son of King Olaf of Norway; he had predeceased his father, and when King Olaf finally died in 1121 he was succeeded by his nephew Gudleik of Trondelag, to the exclusion of his many sons and grandsons. As Agatha had only one brother - Arnkjell - who was himself childless and not expected to live long, being well into his fourties - Katrine van Holland was the direct heiress of King Olaf of Norway. King Olav had a natural interest in the Norwegian crown, which no doubt would make a delightful addition to his own domains; he was, after all, both a grandson and great-nephew of King Olaf himself.

Katrine van Holland, as Queen, circa 1137​

That same month, the King gave the hand of his pretty young cousin Margareta to another of his cousins, Sune of Viborg (brother of Anna of Viborg, the dowager of Narbonne). The King had considered marrying Margareta himself, as she was young and pretty, but had found Katrine to be a better match due to her royal claims to Norway and the promised inheritance of Zeeland. Margareta was the daughter of Bo (a son of Hakon of Karelia, brother of King Halsten) and of Gunnhild (Olav's half-sister and Chancellor who had committed suicide back in 1139).

Like his father and grandfather, Olav did not delay in taking to the battlefield; from 1138 to 1141 he warred against the tribes of Inger, Estonia, and Lettigalians, adding Vodi (July 1138), Narva (November 1138, lost May 1139 and taken back in December), Reval (May 1139), Livs (April 1140), Lettigalians (August) Zemigalians (February 1141) and Osel (April 1141) to the Swedish kingdom's holdings on the Baltic.

Olav's conquests, 1138-1141​

Like her predecessor had done with Audun, Queen Katrine accompanied Olav on all of his campaigns, even when she was with child. A daughter, Birgitta, was born in January 1139, followed by another, Eldrid, in March 1140. Thereafter, God closed up Katrine's womb and she was delivered of no more children. In October 1139, when King Olav was severely wounded in Narva, she nursed him back to health, although he was never fully to recover.

In 1141, before returning to Sweden, Olav divided the spoils between his supporters. A norwegian, Lodin Pik, who had served him well during the wars, was given rule of Vodi, whilst Richard and Errard de Narbonne were made Dukes of Livonia and Esthonia, respectively.

In July 1143, Olav ordered his men to invade the island of Rugen, however before much could be done the King of Bohemia ousted the native countess, Gyda, and installed one of his own sons as Count.

That same year, in October, Harald of Bornholm succeeded his father as King of Denmark. Harald of Bornholm had been given the hand of Maria, King Olav's sister, by their stepfather, Duke Magnus of Sjaelland (much against Olav's wishes) - nevertheless, this marriage served to better the relations between Denmark and Sweden.

In 1147, King Gudleik of Norway - Olav's cousin several times over - died, and the throne was taken by Ulf of Orkney, a jarl from the western islands of the Norwegian kingdom, who had no kinship either to King Gudleik or King Olaf. Citing his own descent from the Kings of Norway, and the right of inheritance of his wife Katrine, as the direct heiress of King Olaf, Olav summoned up over 6 000 men from his own demesne, and declared that he would remove the bastard Ulf from the throne. As his armies poured over into Akershus, Olav was slain in his bed by a household servant, likely on the orders of Ulf of Orkney.

____________________________________________________​

Following Olav's death, Sweden was ravaged by civil war between the brothers Odon of Norrland and Magnus of Sjaelland, who considered themselves the rightful heirs of Sweden, to the exclusion of Olav's two daughters. Magnus seized Mecklemburg and divided the Swedish possession on the east Baltic with his wife's cousin, the Prince of Polotsk; Odon retaliated by allying with Ulf of Orkney and invading Jutland and Sjaelland, where he was slain. The Swedish princes ruling in Finland and Karelia had little trouble asserting their independence from Sweden; within a few generations their principalities, tormented by constant warring between the christian and pagan lords, were overrun by their southern neighbours. Magnus of Sjaelland was eventually accepted as King of Sweden; he was forced to cede Varmland and Dal to Norway and Halland and Jylland back to Denmark to secure peace for his realm. He died within the year and was succeeded by his son, who made peace with Olav's widow Katrine (who had held on to pwer in some parts of the country) taking her eldest daughter as his queen.

The great Swedish kingdom built by Halsten, Audun and Olav did not outlive them, save in the memory of their people, through myths and old wives' tales, and in history books such as this. Within ten years of Olav's death, the Golden Age of Sweden was irreversibly over, and one can only wonder if he would have been able to recognise the thoroughly burnt, raped and pillaged kingdom of his successors as his own.

The End​

 

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Too bad about the crash.

But hey, this is like real sagas, right? A rise and yes, a fall.