Styrbjörn the Strong
Styrbjörn the Strong ( Styrbjörn Sterki hen; * 960, † 984 ), according to the Icelandic sagas, was the son of the Swedish king Olof Björnsson II. After his father's death he and his brother co-regent Erik Segersäll denied the claim to the Swedish throne and proclaimed it for his unborn son Olof Skötkonung.
Historical sources
The first historical mention is Styrbjörn in a contemporary Lausavisa:
One can assume that there were major sagas Styrbjörn once. Most of the surviving material is found, however, in the short history Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa and in parts of the Eyrbyggja Saga and the Saga Hervarar. It is also mentioned his name beyond in the Heimskringla and the Yngvars saga víðförla in which Ingvar the Far -Travelled with his relatives Styrbjörn is compared.
In the modern literature he appears as a hero in Eric Rucker Eddisons book Styrbjörn the Strong (1926) and is also in Frans G. Bengtsson's The Adventures of Rode Orm (1941 ) mentioned as a heroic protagonist.
Summary
The following summary is based on the Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa.
Youth
Styrbjörn pouted long time, as the co-regency over Sweden he was denied by his uncle Erik VIII after his father's death.
When he was 16 years old, the Ting decided that he was too unruly to ascend the throne of Sweden. Erik decided his own unborn child to pass the throne on the condition that it would be a boy. To compensate for his uncle were 60 well-equipped longships whereupon the frustrated Styrbjörn his sister Gyrid snapped and disappeared.