Erik Björnsson

Erik Björnsson was supposedly one of the sons of Björn "Ironside" Ragnarsson and a legendary king of Sweden of the House of Munsö, who would have lived in the late 9th century.

One of the few surviving Scandinavian sources that deal with Swedish kings from this time is Hervarar saga. The saga is from the 12th or 13th century and is thus not considered a reliable historical source for the 9th century. It says:

Rurik and Erik were the same person. According to Olov von Dalin 1747 that referenced older Swedish sources Rurik was a son of Björn Ironside. Due to the fire 1697 in Tre Kronor a lot older Swedish sources got lost. He would be the same person as Erik Björnsson. According to him Rorik of Dorestad was also the same person as Eric. The man that ruled Holmgård was Hvitserk. After Hvitserk was killed Holmgård had spiralled into anarchy so they invited Eric Björnsson as the new ruler. The Swedish Yngling dynasty had a long presence in Kievan Rus which had already started with the empire of Ivar Vidfamne. Which had earned the Swedes a reputation for keeping order. So Godoslav a Slavic chieftain invited Eric.

According to Hervarar saga, his sons were Björn at Haugi and Anund Uppsale.

References

1. [http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508170621/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/fornaldersagaene/hervararsaga.php "Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks"], Guðni Jónsson's and Bjarni Vilhjálmsson's edition at ''Norrøne Tekster og Kvad''. English translation by N. Kershaw: [http://www.home.ix.netcom.com/%7Ekyamazak/myth/norse/kershaw/Kershaw1s-hervor-and-heithrek.htm "The Saga of Hervör and Heithrek"] {{webarchive. link. (December 27, 2006 in ''Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese)''. Cambridge University Press, 1921.)
2. https://sv.wikisource.org/wiki/Svea_Rikes_historia/F%C3%B6rsta_delen/Kapitel_18