According to the partial account of Saxo Grammaticus, "the Swedes, when they heard that Magnus was busy with war in Denmark, took one of their fellow countrymen, a man of modest ancestry by the name of Sverker, as their king; not because they appreciated him in particular, but since they would not stand under the rule of a foreigner.

[6] Sverker was acknowledged in the Mälaren provinces by 1135, when he received the Danish pretender Oluf Haraldsen, whom he supported in his quest for power in Skåne.

According to the hostile account of Saxo Grammaticus, "Niels [of Denmark] married Ulvhild from Norway ... Sverker sent envoys to her and asked for her love.

[9] The outrageous behaviour of Sverker may be explained by the background of Ulvhild; she had previously been married to Inge II of Sweden, the last of the House of Stenkil, and therefore represented the influence and properties of the extinct dynasty.

[11] The marriage gave him control over Richeza's daughter Sophia of Minsk, who was engaged with the future king Valdemar the Great of Denmark in 1154, and married him after Sverker's death.

The Cistercians were called in on the initiative of Queen Ulvhild and founded a number of abbeys: Alvastra in Östergötland, Varnhem in Västergötland, and Nydala in Småland.

According to a Russian chronicle, the newly founded Republic of Novgorod had its first confrontation with Sweden at this time, breaking a century-long peace that had been guaranteed by marriages between the ruling families.

The Swedish "knyaz" (Russian for ruling prince) and bishop arrived in the Finnish Gulf with 60 boats in 1142, and made an abortive attack on a fleet of traders.

Moreover, Sverker's son Johan abducted two noblewomen in Halland in Denmark "in order to satisfy his lust", although his father and the people forced him to eventually return the ladies.

Nicholas Breakspear tried in vain to dissuade King Sweyn from invading Sweden, since "the land was difficult for waging warfare and the people were poor, so there was no advantage to seek there.

"[16] However, Sweyn believed it was the right moment to strike, since Prince John had been slain by the peasantry at a Thing and, as a result, a conflict arose between them and Sverker.

According to the probably exaggerated account of Saxo, "Sverker received them so friendly, that he, hoping for a future son-in-law, offered to make them his heirs while passing over his own children, either because of the incompetence of his sons or the high birth of the distinguished wooer.

[21] The short chronicle of the Västgöta Law says that Sverker was murdered in his own coach at the Alebäck bridge near Alvastra priory, going to the early religious service on Christmas Day, 1156.