The tragic death of the king was canonized in Sweden

In the final battle, Sweden's King Erik was surrounded by enemies and fell down with dozens of cuts on his body, then beheaded while dying.

According to Eurek Alert, a joint research project led by Uppsala University in Sweden, the head of the school revealed the details of the health, shape, habitat and death of St. Erik.(Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.)

Contemporary notes do not mention Erik Jedvardsson , the king of Sweden is canonized. The only text of his life is the legend of the god, preserved in the form of a manuscript in 1290. According to this document, Erik was chosen to succeed the throne. He ruled justice, had many contributions to the country, led the crusade against Finland, and supported the Christian church. He was executed in the 10th year of reign in a Danish throne overthrow and his body was placed in a trunk containing relics from 1257.

(Photo: Adel Shalabi.)

The researchers conducted a thorough analysis of the skeleton in the ark containing the relic in 1946. On April 23, 2014, the ark containing the relic was opened again during the ceremony at Uppsala church . Through the new analytical method, the multidisciplinary team examined St. Erik's remains to learn more about the medieval king.

According to Sabine Sten, professor of bone archeology at Uppsala University and project leader, interdisciplinary research collaboration in St. Erik's analysis of the remains will provide extensive information about health status (orthopedic and radiography), genealogy (DNA analysis), diet (isotopic analysis) and circumstances of death (forensics).

(Photo: Anders Tukler.)

The relic contains 23 bones of the same body. They come with an unrelated tibia. The amount of radioactive carbon found in the bone indicates the time the person died was 1160. Bone analysis showed that the remains belonged to a man of 35-40 years and 171 cm tall.

Examining the bones by computerized tomography at Uppsala University Hospital found no obvious signs of disease. Bone density measurements at the same hospital also demonstrate that Erik has no osteoporosis. In contrast, his bone density is about 25% higher than that of an average young man today. King Erik has adequate nutrition, healthy body and active activity.

(Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.)

The analysis of isotopes revealed King Erik's diet consisted mainly of freshwater fish, indicating that the king strictly adhered to the church's vegetarian regulations. Stable isotopes also indicate that he did not spend the last 10 years of his life in Uppsala but in the southern province of Västergötland. However, the conclusions are quite preliminary and need more research.

Photo: (Mikael Wallerstedt.)

The team also took DNA samples while opening the ark containing the relics. They hope DNA samples can answer genealogy questions.DNA analysis is still incomplete and needs to be extended for another year. The skull in the concave box with one or two wounds caused by weapons. The team speculated that they could be traces of Erik's crusade against Finland.

Uppsala Church in Sweden, where King Erik died in the battle outside.(Photo: Alamy.)

According to legend, in the final battle, the enemy encircled and slashed continuously on the king when he fell. Then they mocked and slashed his head. At least 9 cuts on the bones are related to Erik's death, of which seven are on the thigh. The researchers did not find any wounds in the bone or arm bone, possibly because the king wore a long spear. Both pieces of the tibia bone had cuts from the foot, indicating that the victim died in a prone position.

The Uppsala church wall painting depicts King Erik wearing a blue robe.(Photo: Anders Damberg.)

A neck of Erik's neck was cut through. According to the research team, this cannot happen without removing the armor or in battle. Most likely the slash is done during the middle of the battle and the execution.