Erik Årsäll

Erik Årsäll (Old Norse: Eiríkr hinn ársæli) was a semi-historical king of Sweden. His historicity has been called into question. He is dated by some to the end of the 11th century, by others to the 1120s, while more critical historians believe that he is a legendary name belonging to the 10th century. According to some, he was the son of the pagan Swedish king Blót-Sweyn, and, like his father before him, administered the blóts at the temple at Uppsala. However, Erik does not appear in any Swedish or Danish primary sources.

His epithet indicates that the harvests during his reign were good.

Snorre Sturluson's account

The 13th-century historian Snorri Sturluson wrote in the Heimskringla that Blót-Sweyn and Erik had renounced Christianity and still ruled a largely pagan Sweden:

At that time there were many people all around in the Swedish dominions who were heathens, and many were bad Christians; for there were some of the kings who renounced Christianity, and continued heathen sacrifices, as Blotsvein, and afterwards Eirik Arsale, had done.

If Erik succeeded Blót-Sweyn he would have been the contemporary of Inge the Elder, and this suggests that Erik could have been the last high priest (goði) of the Temple at Uppsala, and that he was killed or deposed by Inge the Elder. There is nothing in the sources that directly substantiates this, however. The 15th-century Prosaic Chronicle says that he was briefly attracted by the Christian religion but soon rejected it out of fear for a pagan reaction; he was nevertheless slain at Uppsala by his own men.