Birger Brosa

Birger Brosa ( Swede. Birger Brosa , other Scand. Birgir Brósa ; d. January 9, 1202 , Wingsingsø ) - a medieval Swedish jarl (1174-1202), who lived in the XII century. He was the son of Bengt Snivel , came from the powerful House of Belbu . The nickname "Throwing" means "smiling," but it appears in Western Scandinavian sources at the turn of the XIII and XIV centuries. In earlier medieval texts, it is called either the Swede Jarl or the Swedes and Getae Jarl.

Birger Brosa
Swede. Birger brosa
High Jarl of Sweden 1174 - 1202
Successor	Johan I
Birth
Death
Kind	Folkungs
Father
Spouse
Children	, , and

Birger was appointed jarl during the reign of Knut Ericsson . He retained his title during the reign of the successor of Knut Sverker II until his death in 1202.

Not later than 1170, Birger married Brigitte Haraldsdotter , daughter of the Norwegian king Harald Gilly . Previously, she was married to Danish pretender to the throne, Magnus Henriksen , who briefly ruled in Uppsala in 1160–1161. ^[one]

According to the Livonian Chronicle of Herman Wartberg, Birger Brosa wanted to make a crusade to Livonia around 1195, but his ship was sent to Estonia . After plundering the country for three days, Estonians agreed to pay tribute and convert to Christianity. After collecting the tribute, Birger returned to Sweden. ^[2]

Apparently, Birger maintained peace in Sweden during the civil wars that ravaged Denmark and Norway. Many of the claimants to the throne of these kingdoms sought refuge with Birger. Among them were the leaders of the birkebeyner Eystein Moyle and Sverrir Sigurdsson , who were relatives of Brigitte Haraldsdotter. Birger's son Philip was in the service of King Sverrira and died, having the title of Count, in 1200. Birger owned estates in Östergötland , Nerk , Vermland and Södermanland . He was the great patron of the Rizeberg monastery in Nerk, where Brigitte spent her last years after Birger's death. As soon as he died, a civil war broke out. ^[3]