Magnus Nilsson,
Mogens Nielsen, or
Magnus the Strong (c. 1106 – June 4 1134 in the battle of Fotevik), was a Scandinavian ruler and
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
duke who reigned c. 1125 – c. 1130 in southern parts of Sweden ("Gothenland").
His father was king
Niels I of DenmarkNiels of Denmark , was king of Denmark following his brother Eric I. He was presumably the youngest son of king Sweyn Estridson and married Margaret Fredkulla, princess of Sweden, with whom he had Magnus the Strong, and later Ulvhild Håkansdotter.Four of Niels' older brothers had ascended to the...
and mother
Margaret FredkullaMargaret Fredkulla Ingesdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Scandinavian queen, Princess of Sweden and Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, married to King Magnus III of Norway and King Niels of Denmark, and regent de facto of Denmark...
, the second or eldest daughter of
Inge I of SwedenInge Stenkilsson was a king of Sweden. He was the son of the former king Stenkil and died c. 1100.He shared the rule of the kingdom with his probably elder brother Halsten Stenkilsson, but little is known with certainty of Inge's reign...
.
Magnus was married with
RikissaRicheza of Poland , was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast and by her three marriages Queen consort of Sweden and Princess of Minsk....
, daughter of Boleslaw III of Poland.
He claimed the throne of Sweden, when his mother's first cousin
Inge IIInge the Younger was King of Sweden in the early 12th century and the son of king Halsten and he was probably Halsten's youngest son. According to unreliable traditions Inge would have ruled together with his brother Philip Halstensson after the death of their uncle Inge the Elder:Hallstein's sons...
died in 1125, as he was the eldest grandson of
Inge IInge Stenkilsson was a king of Sweden. He was the son of the former king Stenkil and died c. 1100.He shared the rule of the kingdom with his probably elder brother Halsten Stenkilsson, but little is known with certainty of Inge's reign...
.
Magnus Nilsson,
Mogens Nielsen, or
Magnus the Strong (c. 1106 – June 4 1134 in the battle of Fotevik), was a Scandinavian ruler and
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
duke who reigned c. 1125 – c. 1130 in southern parts of Sweden ("Gothenland").
His father was king
Niels I of DenmarkNiels of Denmark , was king of Denmark following his brother Eric I. He was presumably the youngest son of king Sweyn Estridson and married Margaret Fredkulla, princess of Sweden, with whom he had Magnus the Strong, and later Ulvhild Håkansdotter.Four of Niels' older brothers had ascended to the...
and mother
Margaret FredkullaMargaret Fredkulla Ingesdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Scandinavian queen, Princess of Sweden and Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, married to King Magnus III of Norway and King Niels of Denmark, and regent de facto of Denmark...
, the second or eldest daughter of
Inge I of SwedenInge Stenkilsson was a king of Sweden. He was the son of the former king Stenkil and died c. 1100.He shared the rule of the kingdom with his probably elder brother Halsten Stenkilsson, but little is known with certainty of Inge's reign...
.
Magnus was married with
RikissaRicheza of Poland , was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast and by her three marriages Queen consort of Sweden and Princess of Minsk....
, daughter of Boleslaw III of Poland.
He claimed the throne of Sweden, when his mother's first cousin
Inge IIInge the Younger was King of Sweden in the early 12th century and the son of king Halsten and he was probably Halsten's youngest son. According to unreliable traditions Inge would have ruled together with his brother Philip Halstensson after the death of their uncle Inge the Elder:Hallstein's sons...
died in 1125, as he was the eldest grandson of
Inge IInge Stenkilsson was a king of Sweden. He was the son of the former king Stenkil and died c. 1100.He shared the rule of the kingdom with his probably elder brother Halsten Stenkilsson, but little is known with certainty of Inge's reign...
. The Geats (Götes) accepted him king, but the
SwedesThe Swedes were an ancient North Germanic tribe in Scandinavia...
vetoed him (even according to the Westrogothic law, it was the Swedes who had the right to elect and depose a king). According to
Saxo GrammaticusSaxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :...
was the legally elected king
Ragnvald KnaphövdeRagnvald Knaphövde was a King of Sweden whose reign is estimated to the mid-1120s or c. 1130. His cognomen Knaphövde is explained as referring to a drinking vessel, the size of a man's head or meaning "round head" and referring to his being foolish....
murdered by Magnus' supporters who then won the realm ("imperium"). Magnus is however not mentioned as king in the law of
Västergötland' is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
or any other list of regents and he was probably ousted from Sweden, by
Sverker I of SwedenSverker I Kolson or Sverker the Elder was a king of Sweden c. 1130–1156.-Biography:Sverker was a mighty landowner from Östergötland...
.
In 1130 Magnus I of Gothenland backed Boleslaw III of Poland in conquering
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
. Polish forces delivered by Danish fleet compelled
RanisThe Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
to recognize Polish rule over the island.
Later he took part in the
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
civil wars, trying to help his father king Niels and to establish himself as heir and future king there, and he died in 1134 during the battle of Fotevik in Scania where his father was decisively defeated. His father died later the same year.
Magnus' widow Rikissa returned to east where she was married to Valadar of Miensk, a Rurikid ruler of Viking origins. Rikissa later returned to Sweden and married thirdly king Sverker I, Magnus' rival and defeater.
Magnus' son,
Canute VCanute V of Denmark Canute V of Denmark Canute V of Denmark was a King of Denmark and a co-regent with Sweyn III and Valdemar I between 1146 and 1157.Canute was the son of King Niels' son Magnus, who had slain Canute Lavard, the uncle of Sweyn III...
contested the Danish throne with his cousin, Svend III.
His legitimate descent went extinct with the murder of Canute V in 1157. Canute's elder son, born by his wife Ingegärd of Sweden, Saint Niels died in 1180, while his illegitimate posthumous son
ValdemarValdemar Knudsen was a prince of Denmark. His mother gave birth to him as the posthumous illigitimate son of Canute V of Denmark...
, bishop of Schleswig and Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, died in 1236, after which there are no records of any surviving descent from king Magnus.