Magnus I "the Strong" of Sweden (1107-4 June 1134) was King of Sweden from 6 June 1126 to 4 June 1134, succeeding Ragnvald Knaphovde and preceding Sverker I of Sweden.
Biography[]
Magnus was born in 1107, the son of King Niels of Denmark and Margaret Fredkulla (the daughter of King Inge the Elder of Sweden). When Margaret's cousin Inge the Younger died in 1125, the Geats named Magnus king, breaching the tradition that the Swedes nominated their own kings. The Geats murdered the Swedish candidate, Ragnvald Knaphovde, in 1126, leading to Magnus becoming the new King of Sweden. Magnus struggled with enforcing Christianity as the state religion, with the pagans forcing the Bishop of Uppsala to flee the country in 1130. Magnus gained the reputation of a temple defiler when he launched a Viking expedition to steal a few heavy Thor's Hammers from a holy island. In 1131, hoping to claim the Danish throne as well, Magnus had his cousin Canute Lavard murdered, leading to a civil war with Lavard's half-brother Eric Emune. On 4 June 1134, Eric killed Magnus at the Battle of Fotevik in Scania.