In
Sweden, members of medieval royal families, such as the
House of Stenkil and
House of Bjelbo, held the title of
jarl before their ascension to the throne. Since the early 12th century, there usually was only one holder of the title at a time, second only to the
King of Sweden.
For special occasions, regional jarls outside of Sweden could be nominated as well. An example of this is
Jon jarl, who allegedly conducted pirate operations against
Novgorod in the east. When the House of Bjelbo succeeded in becoming the royal family in 1250, the title was subsumed into that of
duke and the powers were merged into the kingship soon after
Birger jarl's death in 1266.
History
According to
Procopius, the
heruli, after having raided the European continent for several generations, returned to Scandinavia in 512 AD as a result of military defeats. As their old territory was now occupied by the Danes, they settled next to the
Geats in present-day Sweden. While the
Proto-Norse word for this mysterious tribe,
erilar, is
etymologically near "jarl" and "earl", and it has often been suggested they introduced the
runes in Scandinavia, no elaborate theory exist to explain how the word came to be used as a title. Arguably, their knowledge in interpreting runes also meant they were gifted in martial arts and, as they gradually integrated,
eril or
jarl instead came to signify the rank of a leader.
[Lindström, p 113-115] As described in the Icelandic sagas, such as
Rígsthula, a jarl was a sort of chieftain next in rank to the king. Under any circumstance, when jarls are finally mentioned in medieval documents, it clearly was a title signifying a leader ranked directly under the king.
In Swedish history Jarls are described as either local rulers or
viceroys appointed by a king, ruling one of the
historical Swedish provinces, such as
Västergötland,
Östergötland, or
Svitjod. In Norway, the jarls apparently kept this role and the kings attempted to introduce one in each
Fylke before the title was used exclusively on the
Orkney Islands in the 14th century. In Sweden, however, by the mid-10th century the title was used exclusively by a single person and the local leaders were gradually being referred to as
dux or
duke. Before the title was finally discontinued in the mid 13th century, Swedish jarls were powerful men, such as
Birger Brosa,
Ulf Fase, and
Birger Jarl, often the true rulers of the Swedish kingdom.
Jarls of Sweden
From diverse families:
- jarl Ragvald Henriksson, riksjarl during the brief reign of his brother Magnus (II)
From the House of Bjelbo:- Birger Brosa, 1174-1202
[Lindström, p 267, "Jarls from the late 12th century to 1266"]
- Ulf Fase, 1220?-? and 1231-1240, died 1248
Regional jarls
Jarls of Västergötland
From the House of Stenkil:- Totil, fictional Jarl i Kind.
- Kettil unchristian, fictional Jarl i Kind.
From the House of Munsö.
Others, unclear position
