The State

Ranges of Authority

An idea of mediaeval swedish state organization is given by Adam of Bremen  writing in the 2nd half of the 11th century, the time of the first five kings of the House of Stenkil. In his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, he provides a description of the temple of Uppsala. He records that a “very famous temple called Ubsola” exists in a town close to Sigtuna. Adam details that the temple is “adorned with gold” and that the people there worship statues of three specific gods that sit on a triple throne. Thor, whom Adam refers to as “the mightiest,” sits in the central throne, while Wodan (Odin) and Fricco (Freyr) are seated on the thrones to the sides of him. Adam provides information about the characteristics of the three gods, including that Fricco is depicted with an immense erect penis (like the roman god Priapus, and the egyptian god Bes), Wodan in armor ("as our people depict Mars," Adam notes) and that Thor has a mace, a detail which Adam compares to that of the Roman god Jupiter. Adam adds that, in addition, “they also worship gods who were once men, whom they reckon to be immortal because of their heroic acts [...].”

In Nordic iconography Odin, Thor and Freyr are represented as a rider on an eight legged horse called Sleipnir (Odin), as a man with a hammer representing a thunderbolt called Mjölnir (Thor), and a sitting man with a considerable erection (Freyr).

Odin

The Tjängvide image stone[1]

listed in Rundata as Gotland Runic Inscription G 110, (Viking Age)

In the upper register a longhaired rider with pointed beard riding an eight-legged horse. This rider is supposed to be Odin, his horse called Sleipnir.

Thor

The emblem of Thor we know from a runic stone and from pendants worn on necklaces.

The Stenkvista runestone

in Södermanland, with its Thor’s hammer.

Rundata Sö 111, Viking Age

The inscription reads (in latin script): * helki * auk * fraykai * auk * þorkautr * raistu * merki * siRun * at * þiuþmunt faþur * sin (Helgi and Freygeirr and Þorgautr raised the rune-decorated landmark in memory of Þjóðmundr, their father.)

Silver Thor’s hammer

from Pålstorp (Helsingborg, Skåne)

From: Oscar Montelius: Om lifvet i Sverige under hednatiden (1873) P. 107

Thor’s Hammer

Coll.  Statens Historiska Museum

Freyr

Freyr

Small figure from Rällinge, Sweden

Adam says that the three gods have a priest appointed to them each who offer up sacrifices to the deities from the people. If famine or plague occurs, a sacrifice is made to Thor; if there is war, a sacrifice is made to Wodan; if a marriage is to be held, a sacrifice is made to Fricco. Adam continues that "every nine years there is a communal festival of every province in Sweden held in Ubsola; and those already converted to Christianity have to buy themselves off from the ceremonies."

The supposed remains of the temple, situated in Gamla Uppsala (Old Upsala), consists of three mounds of equal height suggesting that there was no order of ranking between the three gods. This would mean that there was neither an order of ranking between the priests appointed to them.

Christian Ranges of Authority

With the conversion of the Swedes, which, after some unsuccesful attempts in the 9th and 10th centuries took about the 11th and 12th centuries, the square cross and the latin cross were introduced. These are the christian symbols of religious and administrative  authority. Early examples can be found on runic stones from Sweden.

Religious Authority

Adminstrative Authority

Runic stone with latin cross

From Tibble (Uppland)  N° U 611

Runic stone with square cross and beast

From Lingsberg (Uppland) N° U-240

The square cross is the key opening all legends on the seals of the Christian rulers of Sweden, making the seals representing administrative authority, the quality illustrated by the legend itself and the representation in the field.

An early example on coins is on a 13th century coin stamp from Nyköping.

In the sixties found a coin stamp imprint on a lead weights named Aro's near the old Town Hall Square in Nyköping. To minting despite the name attached to Nyköping is likely. A coin stamp imprint is a waste product, ie the result of tested rammer coins, and coins nobody was closely linked to the place where it took place, often under royal control. In this case attributed coin stamp imprint King Erik Knutsson's coinage (1208-‘16). Aros, meaning river mouth, are found in places like Western and Eastern Aros (Vasteras and Uppsala), but also in Skåne Ahus, Aarhus, Denmark, and Norway Nidaros. Nyköping is notoriously located at a river mouth. With this in mind, one can interpret the slightly younger Nvcopiemyntet as to Nykoping got a new name sometime between 1216 and 1234 perhaps to consolidate local status as market town.

Leaden coin stamp from Nyköping with the name ‘AROS’.

Knut Lange died and the adult Erik Eriksson (Läspe and Halte) was reinstated as king. He, however, died childless in 1250, and his wife Catherine donated at least parts of Nyköping to Gudhem monastery. Knut Lange's sons were executed by Birger Jarl, first Holmger Knutsson in 1248 and Philip in 1251. But was it Knut Långe, the usurper, or Erik Läspe and Halte, who gave the city its name?

The Cross of the Union of Kalmar

King Albrecht was deposed in 1389 and succeeded by Margaretha, the spouse of King Olaf II of Denmark and Norway, who had died in 1387. Together with her ascendandce on the throne of Sweden she ceded the royal title of Norway to her seven-year old nephew Erik of Pommerania. At his coming of age in 1397she also ceded the royal titles of Denmark and Sweden to him. In this way a persdonal union came into being between the three kingdoms which, after the place in which it was created was called the Union of Kalmar. Proved by her seal from the time she was Queen of Sweden and Denmark she bore in Sweden the ams with the crowns of King Albrechtbe it, of course without helmet and crest. In 1388 she introduced a square cross for supporter, already used by King Waldemar of Denmark, as a common symbol for the Union. [2] For the frist time it was on her seal from 1388 andlater on her seal of 1399. On both seals it is crowned, doubtlessly a symbol of her regency.

Probably it was intended to make the cross a symbol for the Union of Kalmar. On the seals of Erik of Pomerania it occurs as a charge of the arms or as a supporter. With the dissolution of the Union with the succession of King Charles VIII in 1448 the cross disappeared from the Swedish royal arms. When the Union was restored it reappeared.After 1523 when the personal union was broken off King Gustav I Vasa quartered his arms with a golden cross and this was confirmed by King John III in 1569 when the Swedish flag of a yellow cross on a blue cloth was adopted.

In later representations of the royal arms the cross was made patée, its ends but a little bit widened. It was only abandoned when a new Union was created in 1814 and replaced by a pall patée reversed but it soon was restored when the bearing of arms of the parts of the Union was revised in 1844. For the last time it was confirmed in 1982.

Armed Authority

Armed authority was in many parts of Europe usually symbolized by a christogram, the cypher of Christ consisting of the greek letters Chi and Rho making XP. After the XP cypher had become obsolete in northern Europe in the time of the Renovatio Imperii,  a version of the thunderbolt inspired by the roman thunderbolt and fleur the lis became the emblem symbolizing armed authority. Such an emblem occurs on the seal of king Knut Eriksson dated 1167 and on the seal of Birger Bengtsson, Jarl of Sweden, dated 1180-1202.

Seal of Knut Erisson 1167

Seal of Birger Bengtsson 1180-1202

Seal of Magnus II Eriksson, 1321

The king on his throne with crown, orb an lily-sceptre. In sinister chief the arms of Norway.

L.: SIGILLVM MAGNI DEI GRACIA SWEORVM GOTORVM ET NORVEGIE REGIS.

On the counterseal the arms of Bjelbo (Folkunge)

Ancient Badges of Rank

Like elsewhere in Europe the highest grades of warriorship were symbolized by beasts: the highest grade by an eagle or a bird of prey, the second grade by a griffin or a bull and the third grade by a lion.

Such badges of rank have been found in archeological excavations but also on stones and on other artefacts. Later, in Christian times, these badges appear on seals and on preserved armoury.

An important source documenting early Swedish badges of rank are the boat burials of Vendel and Valsgärde containing war equipment from the 7th century.

The boat burials in Vendel and Valsgärde.

A little north of Old Uppsala, close to the Vendel church, archaeologists have unearthed 14 boat graves from the 7th Century. The dead were accompanied by their domestic animals, kitchen utensils and war equipment. The boats were relatively small – between 7 and 10 metres. An equivalent graveyard was unearthed in Valsgärde, 30 kilometres further to the south by the river Fyrisän. Close to Vendel lies the great Mound of Ottar, dating from the 6th Century. Tradition says that this is the burial mound of Ottar Vendelcrow. A little further south one finds the Uppsala mounds, where Ottar’s father (Egil), grandfather (Aun) and son (Adils) are buried. The Saga author Snorre relates this in the Saga of the Ynglinge- clan:

So speaks Tjodolf the baird:

Ottar fell under eagle claws,

Bold, from Danish weapons;

The bird of War with bloody feet

Kicked him south of Vendel

In contrast to the ship burials in Norway, these graves were untouched by grave robbers. Thus rich founds were unearthed, in particular many exquisite examples of the Vendeltime war equipment and weapons, like helmets, shields and swords. The artefacts discovered in the grave had a quite varied origin; some were clearly locally produced, while other items were imported. Researchers have speculated as to who these men were. Some claim they must have belonged to the king’s navy or army, while others believe they were tradesmen, who had made their fortune in the trade with fur and iron. Anyhow, the area had an ideal position by the waterways, connecting it to the Island of Gotland and the lands by the Baltic Sea. Many points of resemblance between the Sutton Hoo find and the finds of Vendel and Valgärde, suggests there must have been some kind of contact between Sweden and England at the time.

Vendel Eagle, late 6th cent.

Copper alloy with silver overlay. 5.4 x 3.2 x 1 cm

(Metropolitan Museum of Art n°1991.308)

Warrior on horseback

Vendel helmet n° 1, 900AD ca

Warrior bearing a spear, a circular shield and a helmet crested with an eagle. He is accompanied by two other flying eagles.

Pair of eagle  harness mounts

Vallstenarum, Gotland.  Viking Age

Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm . Location: 18.

The eagles from these finds are of a common type also found in England and Germany

Runic stone from Norra Asarp (Västergotland)

Showing a square cross and a lion

The inscription reads: Guve raised this stone in memory of Olav his son, a very good dreng (boy). He was killed in Estland. Håvard cut the stone.

Jarls

An important position in the swedish state organisation was occupied by a “Jarl”. As described in the Icelandic sagas, such as Rígsthula, a Jarl was a sort of chieftain next in rank to the king in the function of Marshal or Duke of the King's Army. In Swedish history, Jarls are described as either local rulers or viceroys appointed by a king, ruling one of the historical Swedish provinces, such as Västergötland, Östergötland, or Svitjod. By the mid-10th century the title was used exclusively by a single person and the local leaders were gradually being referred to as dux or duke. Before the title was finally discontinued in the mid-13th century, Swedish jarls were powerful men, such as Birger Brosa, Ulf Fase, and Birger Jarl (actual surname "Magnusson"), often the true rulers of the Swedish kingdom combining about the offices of a marshal and a chancellor. (See also: Admiral of Sicily; alférez./ Castile).

This Jarl bore the title of “DUCIS SVEORUM”, that is “Duke of Sweden” (Svealand), a title incompatible with the royal title (so no “Regis & Ducis Sveorum” existed). The Jarl was responsible amongst other things for the levée of the fighting men for the Ledung, the annual campaign or raid overseas. After the christianisation of Sweden this Ledung was tolerated as a “crusade” by the church. These crusades were mainly directed to the east causing the expansion of Sweden there in the 12th and 13th century.

At the end of te 12th century the office of Jarl was monopolised by a single family in the same way kingship was. By Birger Magnusson, the Jarl of King Erik Eriksson (1234-'50) kingship was modernised imitating the western model, by combining the administrative and military tasks in kingship. He appointed three of his sons duke and the eldest his successor. Beginning with his reign the title of Jarl disappeared and was replaced by hertug which, however had no consequences for the title in latin because these hertuger were also called dux. Besides he tried to fight the particularism of the composing part of the realm by proclaiming general valid laws and decrees.

In so far the Jarl had been Head of State both offices of Head of State and King now became combined until in 1876 when the office of Prime Minister was created. Louis De Geer, the architect behind the new bicameral Riksdag of 1866 that replaced the centuries old Riksdag of the Estates, became the first officeholder in 1876.

No badge of office of a Jarl is known. Birger Brosa bore a shield with a fleur de lis, likely symbolizing armed authority. From the succeeding Jarls no badge is known. The last two Jarls bore a lion rampant, almost certainly being the badge of rank of a dux. The succeeding marshals bore a parti per bend sinister a lion rampant, probably meant to be a badge of office.

The following Jarls are known:

Folke the Fat, jarl around 1100

Jon Sverkersson, eldest son and heir of king Sverker I of Sweden (†1156)

Karl Sverkersson, next son of king Sverker I - jarl in Gothenland

Ragvald Henriksson, riksjarl during the brief reign of his brother Magnus (II) (1160-’61)

Ulf Jarl, Jarl in 1160s

Guttorm Jarl, in 1160s

Bengt Snivil, jarl in the mid-12th century - probably never jarl

Birger Brosa

Jarl, 1174-1202

Equestrian Seal of Jarl Birger Bengtsson, 1180-1202

National Archives, Stockholm

Knight on horseback armed with a sword.

Arms: Lily sceptre. L.: X SIGILLVM BIRGERI DVCIS SVEORV. (N°5)

Johan Sverkersson,

1202-120?

Jon Jarl

?-1206

Knut Birgersson,

120?-1208

Folke Birgersson

1208-1210,

Charles the Deaf (Karl Döve),

1210?-1220

Seal of Charles the Deaf  [3]

Of Charles the Deaf an undated equestrian seal is known, probably from before his ascendance to office in 1210 ca. He is armed with a sword and no heraldic charge is on his shield. The title of  Ducis is missing in his title.

L.: SIGILLVM  KAROLI  FILII  BENEDICTI

Ulf Fase

Jarl 1231-1248

Son of preceding

Birger Magnusson,

*-†1266

Jarl 1248-1266

Regent of Sweden 1251-1266

Birger Jarl fought the aristocratic Folkung Party, severely defeating it in 1248 and 1251. He supported the church and enhanced the power of the crown by issuing the first Swedish national laws ordering the maintenance of peace in the church, the home, the Ting (assembly), and for women.

Equestrian Seal of Birger Magnusson, 1257

Lion on shield and pennon

L.: X SIGILLVM BYRGERI SECVNDI DEI GRACIA DVCIS SVEORUM

Heraldic seal of Birger Magnusson, 1257

Strewn with flowers three bends sinister and a lion rampant over all

L.: X CLIPEVS BYRGERI SECVNDI DEI GRACIA DVCIS SWEORUM

Magnus I. Ladulås

*1240-†1290

Duke of Sweden 1266 ca.-1275

King 1275-1290

Birger Jarl’s policy was continued by his second son, Magnus Ladulås, who, after a revolt against his brother Valdemar was hailed as king. Magnus further strengthened his authority and reorganized the taxation system, replacing the obligation to take part in the ledung by fixed dues. By the Ordinance of Alsnö in 1280, those who performed military service were declared exempt from taxation; thus a privileged aristocracy was established, from which an army of knights could be rised. Collaboration between kimg and nobility was increased by the establishment of new offices of state, the drots, marsk and kansler, corresponding roughly to those of lord high steward, marshal or constable, and chancellor. The office of jarl was now suppressed. The state council, of some importance since c. 1220 was in about 1280 extended and given a permanent status.

Equestrian Seal, 1270

Arms and pennon: A lion. L.: SIGILLVM MAGNI DEI GRACIA (n° 22)

Heraldic Seal, 1270

Arms: Strewn with hearts three bends sinister a lion rampant over all. L.: ..PIS DVCIS SVEORUM  (n°  23)

Torgils Knutsson

†1306

Marshal 1282-1306

Regent 1290-1298

Marshal Torgils Knutsson bore his arms of office of  Marshal of Sweden: Per bend sinister Gules and Azure a lion rampant Or.

Seal of Torgils Knutsson

L.: SIGILLVM  THVRGILLI  KANVTI  FILII

Successor

Håkan Jonsson Läma 1310-1318

Successor

Arms of  Marshal Karl Ulfsson 1363-’71/ †1410

L.:  Chyrgillus msak. Armorial Bellenville, fol. 10r.

Called of Die Maerscalc  in Gelre Armorial fol 66v

Successors:

Sten Bengtsson 1374-1387

Karl Knutsson 1435-1438

Police

Arms

Sleeve Patch

More: http://www.fmsamling.se/polis-met.html

Security Service

Säkerhetspolisen

The Swedish Security Service is organised under the Ministry of Justice.

The origins of the Swedish Security Service is often linked to the establishment of a special police bureau (Polisbyrån) during the First World War in 1914, which reported directly to the General Staff, predecessor of the Office for the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. In 1932, operations were transferred to the newly-formed State Police (statspolisen). In 1938 the General Security Service was formed. In 1965, the Swedish police was nationalized, and all work was organised under the National Police Board in the Department of Security (Rikspolisstyrelsens säkerhetsavdelning, abbreviated RPS/SÄK)

The arms of the service were identical to the arms of the police but on 2 January 2015 a new coat of arms was adopted showing four leaves of oak charged with a torch.

The arms were designed by the herald of state Henrik Klackenberg

http://www.sakerhetspolisen.se/ovrigt/pressrum/aktuellt/aktuellt/2015-01-02-sakerhetspolisen-har-nytt-heraldiskt-vapen.html

Armed Forces

Försvarsmakten

Armed Forces

Headquarters

Army

Armén

Navy

Marinen

3rd NavalFleet

4th Naval Fleet

1st Submarine fleet

2nd Surface Naval Fleet

3rd Surface Naval Fleet

4th Mine Sweeper fleet

Vaxholm Amphibian Regiment

Älvsborgs Amphibian Regiment

South Coast Navy Base

                   East Coast Navy Base

Air Force

Flygvapnet

Emblem

Arms

Home Guard

                                                   Hemvaernet