Anund Jacob
The main sources for Anund Jacob's reign are the near-contemporary ecclesiastic chronicle of Adam of Bremen and several Norse histories from the 12th and 13th centuries, in particular Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla.Adam and Snorri both relate that Anund Jacob's father Olof Skötkonung (c. 995–1022) ran into trouble with his subjects towards the end of his reign.[4] Indigenous Swedish historiography has preserved very meager recollections of the pre-1250 rulers, but points out Anund Jacob as a heavy-handed master.[9] According to Adam of Bremen, Christianity reached rather widely in the reign of Anund Jacob,[10] with missionary work led by Bishop Thurgot of Skara in Västergötland until 1030 when he was nominally succeeded by Gottskalk.According to Snorri, Cnut tried to neutralize Anund Jacob, when a dispute flared up with Olaf around 1025, by sending him rich presents and offers of friendship.While the late Norse accounts are highly unreliable, some details of the war are mentioned in contemporary scaldic verses and confirm Anund Jacob's intervention.[13] According to Snorri's account of the Battle of Helgeå, the Swedish and Norwegian fleets arrived at the estuary of Helge å on the east coast of Scania.[17] A contemporary scaldic verse by Sigvat Thordarson partly conforms with Snorri by stating that Cnut beat back or stopped the Swedish attack (Svíum hnekkðir Þu) and defended his realm against two kings.[24] Olaf's plan seems to have been to bypass the Danish fleet typically stationed close to Öresund and try to seize the then Norwegian capital of Nidaros directly by entering through Jämtland.Snorri Sturluson reports that Anund Jacob provided Olaf with pathfinders that guided him through the treacherous terrain of Dalarna to reach the then Norwegian province of Härjedalen.Five years later his son Magnus came over to Sigtuna in Sweden from Rus and met with his stepmother Astrid Olofsdotter, Anund Jacob's sister.According to Snorri's account, supported by a number of contemporary scaldic verses, Astrid advocated Magnus's cause at a thing in Hangrar.As related by both Snorri and Adam of Bremen, Sweyn made repeated attempts to establish his authority in Denmark, only to be defeated by King Magnus on each occasion.The Russian Nestor Chronicle relates that the "Varyag prince" Yakun, dressed in a golden cloak, led an eastbound Swedish expedition to the other side of the Baltic Sea in 1024.A major Swedish Viking expedition to the east led by Ingvar occurred around 1040 and is mentioned on a large number of rune stones from Central Sweden.[31] Adam does not suggest that they had any children, but a later chronicler Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200) says that Sweyn Estridsen's spouse Gyda was a daughter of the Swedish king, by implication Anund Jacob.The Hervarar saga from the 13th century concludes with a chronicle of the Swedish kings which briefly epitomizes Anund Jacob's reign: Önundr hét sonr Óláfs konungs sænska, er konungdóm tók eptir hann ok varð sóttdauðr.
King of SwedenOlof SkötkonungEmund the OldGunnhildr SveinsdóttirGyda, Queen of DenmarkHouse of MunsöEstrid of the ObotritesChalcedonian ChristianityOld NorseSwedishEstridYaroslav the WiseKievan RusViking AgeMiddle AgesAdam of BremenSnorri SturlusonHeimskringlaSvealandVästergötlandSwedenScandinavianWestrogothic lawepithetSigtunaCanute ISmålandHigh Middle AgesArchbishopric of Hamburg-BremenGermanySigfridGötalandNorwegianOlaf II (Olav the Saint)Magnus IDenmarkEnglandCnut the GreatAstridKungahällaSjaellandScaniaBattle of HelgeåHelge åAnglo-Saxon Chronicleholy riverRagnvald UlfssonUlf JarlSigvat ThordarsonMälarenMagnusÖresundJämtlandDalarnaHärjedalenBattle of StiklestadAstrid OlofsdotterHälsinglandHarthacnutSweyn EstridsenHarald HardradaNestor ChronicleBaltic SeaYaroslav I the WiseMstislav of ChernigovSwedish AcademySemigalliansSerklandGunhildSaxo GrammaticusBirger NermanWest GothlandskaldsSighvatr ÞórðarsonÓttarr svartiHervarar sagaOlaf the SwedeOlaf the SaintStiklestadEymundWayback MachineFrämmestadNational and University Library of IcelandMonarchs of SwedenMunsöEric "VII"StenkilEric and EricHalstenAnund GårdskeHåkan the RedInge the ElderBlot-SweynPhilipInge the YoungerRagnvald KnaphövdeHouse of EstridsenSverkerSverker the ElderEric "IX" the HolyMagnus IICharles VIIBoleslawKnut ErikssonSverker the YoungerEric "X"John IEric "XI"Knut LångeBjälboValdemarMagnus IIIBirgerMagnus IVEric "XII"HaakonMecklenburgAlbertKalmar UnionMargaretEric XIIIHouse of GriffinsCharles (VIII)Christopher of BavariaHouse of WittelsbachBengt Jönsson (Oxenstierna)