The saint's legend speaks of a king who died a dramatic death in battle outside the church in Uppsala, Sweden, where he had just celebrated mass.
Now, researchers have revealed the stories of the man known as Eric the Lawgiver, Erik the Saint, and Eric the Holy may be true - and revealed graphic details of his torture and death.
The joint research project headed by Uppsala University was given access to the reliquary where the remains of King Erik XI have rested since 1257 to analyse the bones.
The saint's legend speaks of a king who died a dramatic death in battle outside the church in Uppsala, Sweden, where he had just celebrated mass.
THE LEGEND OF KING ERIK
No contemporary sources mention Erik Jedvardsson, the Swedish king who was later sainted.
The only account of his life is the saint's legend, in its preserved form written in the 1290's.
The preserved legend says that Erik was chosen to be king, ruled fairly, was a devoted Christian, led a crusade against Finland, and supported the Church.
He was killed in 1160, in his tenth year of rule, by a Danish claimant to the throne.
His remains have rested in a reliquary since 1257.
The only account of his life is the saint's legend, in its preserved form written in the 1290's, as no contemporary sources mention Erik Jedvardsson, the Swedish king who was later sainted.
Such legends are often unreliable.
The Erik legend is, however, based on an older legend which has been lost, and this longer legend may have been much older.
The preserved legend says that Erik was chosen to be king, ruled fairly, was a devoted Christian, led a crusade against Finland, and supported the Church.
He was killed in 1160, in his tenth year of rule, by a Danish claimant to the throne.
His remains have rested in a reliquary since 1257.
A thorough analysis of the skeleton in the reliquary was conducted in 1946, but the availability of new methods of analysis motivated a new examination in 2014.
On 23 April 2014, the reliquary was opened at a ceremony in Uppsala Cathedral.
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Share 123 sharesAfter this, researchers from several scientific disciplines set to work running tests on the remains in an attempt to learn more about the medieval king.
Now, the first results of these examinations are made public.
A thorough analysis of the skeleton in the reliquary was conducted in 1946, but the availability of new methods of analysis motivated a new examination in 2014.
The reliquary contains 23 bones, seemingly from the same individual. They are also accompanied by an unrelated shinbone.
'The interdisciplinary research collaboration on the analysis of the skeletal remains of Saint Erik provides extensive information about his health condition (orthopaedists and radiologists), genealogy (aDNA analysis), diet (isotopanalys), and his death (forensic medicine)', says project leader Sabine Sten, professor of osteoarchaeology at Uppsala University.
The reliquary contains 23 bones, seemingly from the same individual.
They are also accompanied by an unrelated shinbone.
The radiocarbon values measured in the bones are consistent with a death in 1160.
The osteological analysis shows that the bones belong to a man, 35-40 years old and 171 cm tall.
Examinations of the bones using computer tomography at the University Hospital in Uppsala found no discernible medical conditions.
DXA- and pQCT measurements conducted at the same hospital found that Erik did not suffer from osteoporosis, or brittleness of the bones.
Quite the opposite, as he had a bone density about 25 percent above that of the average young adult of today.
King Erik was well-nourished, powerfully built and lived a physically active life.
The isotope analysis points to a diet rich in freshwater fish, which indicates that the king obeyed the church rules on fasts, i.e. days or period when the consumption of meat was forbidden.
Stable isotopes also imply that he did not spend his last decade in the expected Uppsala area but rather in the province of Västergötland further south.
HOW THE KING DIED
A shin bone with cuts from battle. The saint's legend says that in the king's final battle, the enemy swarmed him, and when he fell to the ground they gave him wound after wound until he lay half dead.
The legends say that Erik led a crusade against Finland, which is thought to be a possible explanation of the injuries.
The saint's legend says that in the king's final battle, the enemy swarmed him, and when he fell to the ground they gave him wound after wound until he lay half dead.
They then taunted him and finally cut off his head.
The remaining bones have at least nine cuts inflicted in connection with death, seven of them on the legs.
No wounds have been found on the ribs or the remaining arm bone, which probably means that the king wore a hauberk but had less protected legs.
Both shin bones have cuts inflicted from the direction of the feet, indicating that the victim lay on his front.
A neck vertebra has been cut through, which could not have been done without removing the hauberk, i.e. not during battle.
This confirms that there was an interlude, as described by the taunting in the legend, between battle and decapitation.
At no point do the documented wounds gainsay the account of the fight given by the much later legend.
These conclusions should however be considered very preliminary, as there are as of yet very few other studies to compare the isotope values to.
The opening of the reliquary also saw DNA samples taken.
It is hoped that these will produce results that will shed new light on questions of genealogy.
This analysis has not yet been completed, and is expected to take another year.
The researchers can, however, reveal that the samples have yielded DNA information.
Project leader Sabine Sten, professor of osteoarchaeology at Uppsala University, with the tremains
THE MYTHS AND MYSTERY OF SAINT ERIK IX OF SWEDEN
King Erik IX reigned from 1155 until his death on 18 May 1160. He was later named the patron saint of Sweden.
Erik's feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is 18 May, although he was never formally canonized by the Pope.
Many reports claim the king, also known as Erik Jedvardsson, was murdered by Emund Ulvbane - an assassin hired by people working for the Sverker dynasty, in order for them to regain the control of the kingdom.
Other claims incriminate Magnus Henriksson, another claimant to the throne, who is said in some sources to have succeeded Erik briefly as king.
It is also thought that there was resentment towards Erik's insistence that tithes be paid to support the Church as they were elsewhere in Europe.
Some sources suggest Erik's father may have been English, and churches in the region did have contacts with England at that time.
Popular folklore claims a miracle occurred at Erik's death - that a fountain sprang from the earth where the king's head fell after he was beheaded.
According to the legend, King Erik the Saint was slain while he attended the mass at the ecclesia Sancte trinitatis 'Trinity church' at Mons Domini, in Uppsala.
However, the current Trinity church in Uppsala was founded in the late 13th century so could not be the church where Erik was slain.
Scholars have discussed different locations of the older Trinity church, but the presence of pre-cathedral graves in the vicinity of the cathedral might suggest that the original Trinity church was located at the same spot as the cathedral.
It is thought Uppsala Cathedral was built on the murder site deliberately to house Erik's remains.
The cranium in the reliquary is dented by one or two healed wounds that may have been due to weapons.
The legends say that Erik led a crusade against Finland, which is thought to be a possible explanation of the injuries.
The saint's legend says that in the king's final battle, the enemy swarmed him, and when he fell to the ground they gave him wound after wound until he lay half dead.
They then taunted him and finally cut off his head.
The saint's legend speaks of a king who died a dramatic death in battle outside the church in Uppsala, Sweden, where he had just celebrated mass.
The remaining bones have at least nine cuts inflicted in connection with death, seven of them on the legs.
No wounds have been found on the ribs or the remaining arm bone, which probably means that the king wore a hauberk but had less protected legs.
Both shin bones have cuts inflicted from the direction of the feet, indicating that the victim lay on his front.
A neck vertebra has been cut through, which could not have been done without removing the hauberk, i.e. not during battle.
This confirms that there was an interlude, as described by the taunting in the legend, between battle and decapitation.
At no point do the documented wounds gain say the account of the fight given by the much later legend.
A WELL NOURISHED, POWERFUL KING
The reliquary contains 23 bones, seemingly from the same individual.
The osteological analysis shows that the bones belong to a man, 35-40 years old and 171 cm tall.
King Erik was well-nourished, powerfully built and lived a physically active life.
The isotope analysis points to a diet rich in freshwater fish, which indicates that the king obeyed the church rules on fasts, i.e. days or period when the consumption of meat was forbidden.
Stable isotopes also imply that he did not spend his last decade in the expected Uppsala area but rather in the province of Västergötland further south.
This is a mural painting in Uppsala Cathedral showing Erik (in green robes).
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