Olof Skotkonung (980-7 January 1022) was King of Sweden from 995 to 1022, succeeding Eric the Victorious and preceding Anund Jacob.
Biography[]
Olof Skotkonung was born in 980, the son of Eric the Victorious and Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father as King of Sweden on his death in 995, and, early in his reign, he led a Viking expedition against the Wends of Mecklenburg. In 1000, he married Estrid of the Obotrites as a peace offering from the Slavs. Despite these early successes, he lost his father's new conquests to the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard, as he preferred sports over war. Also in 1000, he joined forces with Sweyn against the Norwegian king Olav Tryggvason and defeated Olav at the Battle of Svold. In 1015, war erupted between Sweden and Norway, and the war was a disaster for Sweden. Olof later converted to Catholicism, leading to the transition from the Viking Age to the Middle Ages in Scandinavia; the Swedes had been the last Norse people to adopt Christianity. He died in 1022.