Magnus Birgersson

Magnus Birgersson (September 1300 1 June 1320)

Magnus' position as the heir to the throne was confirmed when he was just a child. According to Ericus Olai, King Birger's brothers, Dukes Erik and Valdemar, together with bishops and councilors, sealed a letter on 24 June 1303 confirming Magnus' selection as the future king. In the summer of 1304, he was elected heir to the throne by Swedish prelates, nobles and peasants at a meeting in Fagerdala. They formally approved Magnus as the heir in a letter from Herrevad Abbey on September 14, 1305. During the Banquet, Magnus was away in Denmark.

The dukes' deaths caused an uproar and King Birger was faced with a rebellion which he tried to control with Erik Menved's support. According to Erikskrönikan, Magnus arrived from Denmark in early 1318 with 600 Danish cavalrymen which joined Birger's forces in Östergötland. Birger and Märta fled to Gotland, while Magnus was left behind to command Stegeborg Castle, which was sieged by the dukes' supporters. When Stegeborg was forced to capitulate, Magnus was handed to his father's enemies and was imprisoned in Stockholm. In the truce of Roskilde in Autumn 1318, it was agreed that he would not be harmed physically. Erikskrönikan emphasizes that he was treated well in captivity and did not starve, in contrast to King Birger's treatment of the dukes.

In 1319, Birger was deposed and Duke Erik's three-year old son Magnus Eriksson was elected King of Sweden. He also inherited the Norwegian throne after King Haakon's death the same year. Magnus Birgersson was now seen as a potential rival to the throne of Sweden and a threat to Magnus Eriksson's legitimacy. As a result, he was executed by beheading on Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm in 1320. Erikskrönikan, which is biased against Birger, holds Magnus Birgersson innocent to his father's misdeeds and treats him with sympathy, emphasizing that his body was treated with respect after the execution. He was buried in the tomb of his grandfather, King Magnus Ladulås, in Riddarholmen Church.