Eric IX
Eric IX
(according to some historians VIII), surnamed the Saint, a king of Sweden. He was the son of Jedward, a "good and rich yeoman," as he is called in an old Swedish chronicle, and of Cecilia, the sister of king Eric Arsal. Having become king of Sweden, his chief endeavor was the Christianization of Sweden. He conquered southern Finland, and compelled the inhabitants to adopt the Christian religion. He also united Norway with Sweden. In the war against the Danish prince Magnus, he fell in a battle near the town of Upsala, May 18, 1160. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biogr. Gener. 16:243.
