The legend about the death of the 12th century Swedish king Eric the Saint from numerous blows and beheading may turn out to be true, according to Swedish scientists studying his tomb.
Swedish scientists do not exclude that the legend about the death of the Swedish king of the XII century Eric the Saint from numerous blows and beheading is quite plausible. This is reported by Swedish TV SVT with reference to the analysis of scientists, presented on Wednesday in Uppsala.
The tomb of the king was opened in April 2014, and, according to scientists, they are confident that the tomb contains the remains of the ancient Swedish king Eric, who was born, according to the assumptions of historians, in the 20s of the XII century and died in May 1160.
“We in the group are 90% sure that this is Eric. And we will continue to work on that basis,”said Osteology Professor Sabine Steen, quoted by SVT.
Analysis of the skeleton showed that the man had many wounds healed at the time of death.
“In addition, at the time of his death, he received 11 new wounds. He had to endure a lot of violence, probably he was hit hard while he was already lying. The last fatal wound received from a blow to the throat. He was beheaded,”said the professor.
According to her, the skeleton, which was in the tomb under the name of Eric, belongs to a man 170 centimeters tall, who, presumably, died at the age of 35-40 years. DNA analysis of the skeleton is not ready yet, scientists hope to reveal more about its history by the end of the year.
According to Swedish historians, Eric was recognized as king in the Swedish province of Westerötland in 1158. Eric's name is mentioned in the Icelandic chronicles as the son of a man named Yedward. King Eric died around 1160. According to legend, he was killed by order of the Danish prince Magnus Henriksson.
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As king, Eric played a minor role in the history of the country, but became a great symbol for the church as a ruler who did much to consolidate Christianity in the country. The name of Saint Eric is mentioned in old Swedish liturgical calendars. His image is present on the coat of arms of Stockholm.
Lyudmila Bozhko