Battle of Fýrisvellir

After the battle of Fýrisvellir, by Mårten Eskil Winge (1888).

Date	c. 984
Location	Uppsala, Sweden
Result	Swedish victory

Belligerents

The Swedish leidang

Jomsvikings

Commanders and leaders

Eric the Victorious

Styrbjörn the Strong

Strength

Thousands

Unknown

The Battle of Fýrisvellir was a battle for the throne of Sweden which was fought in the 980s on the plain called Fýrisvellir, where modern Uppsala is situated, between King Eric the Victorious and his nephew Styrbjörn the Strong. It is mentioned in a number of medieval sources, such as Eyrbyggja saga, Knýtlinga saga, Hervarar saga and Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (Book 10), but the most detailed account is found in the short story Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa.

Styrbjörn had made himself the ruler of the Jomsvikings but wanted to amass an even greater force in order to take the crown of Sweden, which the Swedish Thing had denied him on his father's death, a death of poisoning of which he suspected his uncle Eric.

Styrbjörn's method was to pillage far and wide in the newly created kingdom of Denmark until its king Harald Bluetooth asked for a settlement. Harald gave Styrbjörn his daughter Tyra as his wife and Styrbjörn went away, but he then returned to Denmark with 1000 longships. He forced the Danes to give him 200 ships and whoever among them he saw fit to take with him, including the king himself. He then set sail for Sweden with his armada of longships.

When Eric the Victorious learned that the navy had entered Mälaren, he sent the fiery cross in all directions and amassed the leidang at Uppsala. Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker, a friend of Eric, advised him to put stakes in the waterway which led to Uppsala. When Styrbjörn's navy arrived and saw that they could not sail further, Styrbjörn vowed never to leave Sweden, but to win or die. In order to encourage his men to fight to the death, he set the ships on fire. King Harald Bluetooth, however, did not want to take part in this and left with the Danish navy.

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