Identifier: ridpathsuniversa05ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's Universal history : an account of the origin, primitive condition and ethnic development of the great races of mankind, and of the principal events in the evolution and progress of the civilized life among men and nations, from recent and authentic sources with a preliminary inquiry on the time, place and manner of the beginning
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history
Publisher: Cincinnati : Jones
Contributing Library: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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coasts of Sweden had suf-fered extremely from the marine robber-ies and invasions of the Finnish warriors,who knew no law but rapine. The tmionof Finland with vSweden was a measurebeset with troubles, prejudices, dangers;but Eric was successful in the complica-tion, drawing the Finns into a unionwith the vSwedes, and doing thereafteras much as he might to have them con-verted to Christianity. Along the south line, which divided theSwedes from the Goths, there was, fromthe middle of the twelfth to the middleof the thirteenth century, struggle of thealmost constant warfare, S^L^swerleach people choosing its ^rs.own king. It was an ethnic controversy.The Gota had a loyalty for the descend-ants of Swerker, while the Swedes pre-ferred the House of Eric. The latterwere known as the yeomen kings, for thereason that Eric had himself originallybelonged to the bondar. This gave himthe great popularity which was trans-mitted by tradition. He was the bondarking, therefore close to the people. The
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THE NORSE.—SWEDES. 83 kings who were members of the Swerker■dynasty continued to reign until 1222,while the rival House of Eric was pre-served until the death of Eric the Halt,in 1250. Then it was that the crown ofthe country was given to Waldemar,whose mother was a sister to King Eric. We may now see illustrated on awide scale a general fact in the civilKingship and history of the TeutonicSolgTheTer nations. This is the pref-tonic races. ercnce of the race for a powerful executive, generally in theform and under the name of king,with the reservation, under the unitythus afforded, of local self-governmentto the various parts. Such a principlemay be said to be a summary of theconstitutional history of the Teutonicnations. In the choice of this great ex-ecutive head by the two principles towhich we have just referred, namely,heredity and election, there has beenmuch diversity, but on the whole thehereditary principle has prevailed, andthe elective system as applied to kings ofthis r

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