King of Sweden (c. 1153-1160), patron saint of Uppsala and later of Sweden.
According to late sources, King Erik is supposed to have led a crusade to Finland (the so-called First Swedish Crusade) in 1155 or 1157 together with Henry, who became the first bishop of Finland but was soon martyred there. The result of this crusade was the forced conversion of the Finns of southwestern Finland. The sources for this crusade are the Legend of Erik and the vita (life) of Bishop Henry, both from the end of the thirteenth century. They may perhaps be considered as ideological constructions intended to support renewed Swedish crusading initiatives and a Dominican mission in Finland. Yet crusades were common among the neighboring countries of Sweden in the mid-twelfth century, and so the tradition of Erik’s crusade cannot be dismissed as a fabrication with certainty. In the later Middle Ages, Erik became an important patron saint and a figurehead for Swedish rebellions against the Kalmar Union (1397-1524) with Denmark and Norway.