Benedict, Duke of Finland

For the 14th century Duke of Finland, see Benedict, Duke of Halland.

For the 62nd Pope also known as Pope Benedict I, see Pope Benedict I.

Duke of Finland

Benedict

Duke of Finland
Bishop of Linköping
Born| 1254
Died| 25 May 1291 (aged 36-37)
Father| Birger Jarl
Mother| Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden
Religion| Roman Catholicism

Bishop Benedict, Duke of Finland (Swedish: Bengt Birgersson; Finnish: Bengt Birgerinpoika; 1254 – 25 May 1291) was a Swedish prelate bishop and duke.[1]

## Early life[edit]

Bengt Birgersson was a member of the House of Bjelbo (Folkungaätten).[2] He was the youngest son of Birger Magnusson (Birger Jarl), de facto ruler of Sweden from 1250 to 1266. His mother was Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, daughter of Eric X of Sweden and sister of King Eric XI of Sweden.[3] [4][5][6] Two of his brothers, Valdemar and Magnus III, later became kings of Sweden. [7][8]

## Career[edit]

He pursued an ecclesiastical career. While he was Archdeacon of Linköping Cathedral, he became chancellor to his brother, King Magnus. In 1284, some time after the death of his next-elder brother Eric of Småland, and during the reign of Magnus, he was made Duke of Finland. He was the first known holder of that title and appanage. In 1286 he was elected Bishop of Linköping. Linköping's chronicle of bishops from 1523 tells of him: "Scriptores rerum suecicarum medii ævi". There exist at least two of his wills, from 1287 and 1289. He died from the plague.

## Ancestry[edit]

Ancestors of Benedict, Duke of Finland

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 16\. Folke the fat

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| 8\. Bengt Snivil|

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| 17\. Ingegerd Knudsdotter of Denmark

| 4\. Magnus Minniskiöld|

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|  |

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| 2\. Birger Jarl|

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| 20\. Sverker I of Sweden

| 10\. Sune Sik|

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| 21\. Richeza of Poland

| 5\. Ingrid Ylva|

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|  |

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| 1\. Benedict, Duke of Finland|
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| 24\. Eric IX of Sweden

| 12\. Canute I of Sweden|

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| 25\. Christina Björnsdotter

| 6\. Eric X of Sweden|

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| 13\. Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden|

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| 3\. Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden|

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| 28\. Canute Lavard

| 14\. Valdemar I of Denmark|

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| 29\. Ingeborg of Kiev

| 7\. Richeza of Denmark|

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| 30\. Volodar, Prince of Minsk and Hrodno

| 15\. Sofia of Minsk|

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| 31\. Richeza of Poland (= 21)

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Preceded by

Birger Jarl
(Regent of Sweden, conqueror of much of Finland)

|  Duke of Osterlandia
(Bishop of Linköping)
1284 - 1291 | Succeeded by

Valdemar, Duke of Finland
(Duke of Oland)

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## References[edit]

1. ^ "Bengt, biskop i Linköping 1286–91". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
2. ^ "Folkungaätten". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
3. ^ Lagerqvist & Åberg in Kings and Rulers of Sweden ISBN 91-87064-35-9 p. 19
4. ^ Sten Engström. "Birger Magnusson". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
5. ^ Sture Bolin. "Erik Knutsson". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
6. ^ Sture Bolin. "Erik Eriksson". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
7. ^ "Valdemar Birgersson, kung av Sverige". KulturNav. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
8. ^ Ulf Sundberg (1999). "Magnus Birgersson "Ladulås"". pennanochsvardet.se. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2019.