Riddare från Sverkerätten

I thought it would be only fitting to include some opposition to the Erikar knights I painted previously.
So here we have some Knights from the House of Sverker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Sverker

The information about heraldry and colours is even less known about any one associated with one of Sverkers men.
But to be fair, uniforms and heraldry was not in place in those times as we know it today. This makes my knights here wrong on many levels but I couldnt resist painting some up in more or less same colours.

What we have in the way of symbols is mostly seals, small fragments and some drawings of coins and such. But for a armchair history interested person as me this will do.

The "House of Sverker" got its name in more modern time and was not known by that name by contemporary sources.
The founding father of the house was Sverker I of Sweden and from him is the name taken. He was king of Sweden from about 1132 until his assassination in 1156.



For these knights I went with a Lindworm or Wyvern with lots of red/blue/white.





The Lindworm in a star is known from heraldric symbol of Helena Sverkersdotter the daughter of Sverker the Younger (also known as Sverker II of Sweden)

She was married to Sune Folkesson and I think that the symbol above is their combined arm.
Sune Folkessons father was Folke Jarl Birgersson (died at the Battle of Gistilren)
(As a side note I have previously painted up some infantry belonging to Folke Jarl Birgersson http://kampgruppe-engel.blogspot.com/2013/10/medieval-infantry-of-folke-jarl.html )



Folke Jarls heraldric arms is a red star on a white background.

This makes me think that the red star comes from Folke Jarl Birgersson and the lindworm comes from the her father Sverker the Younger.

But I went with a lindworm on a red cross with white trimming against a blue background for the House of Sverker. Even through I think It is wrong.

But Im no real historian so all of this could be completely wrong.
All I know is that this is at least a lot better then how they presented the House of Sverker in the movie about the fictional character Arn that takes place at this time in history... :P
And real history is much more interesting then the fictional movie and book, a lot more complicated with marriages and who is friend with who and so on...

And for the those Swedish speaking, here is a podcast episode from Historie podden about Erikar and Sverkrar. https://www.acast.com/historiepodden/210-erikar-och-sverkrar



And while am at it, here under is some pictures for shield designs that I used for inspiration.