Battle of Lena

Date	31 January 1208
Location	Kungslena, Sweden
Result	Swedish victory

Belligerents

Denmark

Sweden

Commanders and leaders

Sverker II of Sweden

Eric X of Sweden

Strength

12,000 - 18,000 soldiers and knights

7,000 - 10,000 armed peasants

Casualties and losses

Almost the whole army was destroyed

Light

The Battle of Lena occurred on January 31, 1208, and probably took place near Kungslena (58°14′N 13°50′E / 58.233°N 13.833°E / 58.233; 13.833), which is located in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed former Swedish King Sverker II of Sweden and Prince Eric, resulting in the complete victory of the latter.

The period 1150-1250 saw a strong rivalry between the House of Sverker and House of Eric who alternated on the Swedish throne. The main representative of the House of Eric, Eric Knutsson, returned from exile in Norway in 1207-08. There were marital connections between his family and the Norwegian ruling elite, but the sparse sources do not tell if he was backed by Norwegian troops. Sverker II was forced to flee to Denmark where he had been raised before becoming king. All this suggests that a large part of the Swedish nobility rejected Sverker's rule.

His kinsman, the Danish King Valdemar the Victorious provided Sverker with auxiliaries, including a Czech contingent from Valdemar's father-in-law, the King of Bohemia. The bulk of the troops, however, were gathered by Sverker's in-laws, the powerful Sunesen brothers. The army was led by Ebbe Sunesen, brother of Archbishop Andreas Sunesen. Medieval traditions estimate the size of the force at 12,000 or 18,000, although these numbers might be vastly exaggerated. The defending Swedish force was, again according to later tradition, half of that of Sverker's forces, numbering between 7,000 and 10,000. It is often assumed that the Swedes were additionally backed up by a small number of Norwegian auxiliaries. However, it is hardly likely that Eric's ally Jarl Håkon Galen had troops to spare considering the internal troubles in Norway.

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Wikipedia