Birger Brosa
Birger Brosa (
Brosa means "smiling"), earl of Sweden
1174-
1202, d.
9 January 1202 on
Visingsö, was a son of
Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful
Folkung party. In the medieval texts he is either called the
earl of the Swedes or the
earl of the Swedes and the Geats.
He appears to have administered the whole Swedish kingdom and he was appointed earl during the reign of
Knut Eriksson and he maintained the position during Knut's successor
Sverker II until his death in
1202.
Before
1170, Birger was married to
Brigit Haraldsdotter, the daughter of the Norwegian king
Harald Gille, and who had formerly been married to the Danish impostor
Magnus Henriksson, who ruled in
Uppsala 1160-
1161.
Birger appears to have maintained peace in Sweden during the civil wars that ravaged
Denmark and
Norway. Many of the pretenders in these kingdoms sought refuge with Birger, and among them the
Birkebeiner chieftains
Eystein Meyla and
Sverre Sigurdsson who were Birgit's kinsmen.
Birger owned estates in
Ostrogothia,
Nerike,
Vermland and
Södermanland. He was a great donor to the convent of
Riseberga in
Nerike, where Birgitta spent her last years after Birger's death.
As soon as he was dead civil war broke out. The bloody rebellion against king
Valdemar in
1251 was in a large part incited by Birger's descendants.
*
Folke jarl, Folke Birgersson,
Jarl in Sweden*
Filip Birgersson (d. 1200) was one of Sverre's most staunch supporters and his earl.
*
Knut Birgersson,
earl of Sweden. He was married to king
Knut Eriksson's daughter Sigrid, and died in
1210 at the
Battle of Gestilren.
*
Ingegerd Birgersdotter was marrid to
Sverker II and the mother of king
Johan Sverkersson.
*
Kristina Birgersdotter*
Margareta Birgersdotter
