SVERIGE
Part 5
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|||||
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 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. |
|||||
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) |
|||||
1202-120? |
|||||
?-1206 |
|||||
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 |
|||||
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 |
|||||
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 |
|||||
© Hubert de Vries 2015-04-24
[2] For the first
time on his seal of 1356. The occurrence of special coats of arms we also meet
with King Robert of Sicily (1309-’43) and Edward of Wales (1343-’76) who both had a coat of arms for peace
and for war. The danish cross, white on a red field
will be extensively dealt with in the capital about Denmark.
[3]
Tegnér, Göran: The
Oldest Equestrian Seals in Sweden: Karl Sverkersson; Birger Brosa and Karl the
Deaf. In: https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/2a%20rev%20order.pdf