he was very
angry, and hastened home with all speed, bringing with him the greater
part of his army. He was highly displeased that he had not himself been
named king, as had been promised, instead of a boy, even if the boy was
his son. Calling together those who had made the choice of Valdemar, he
hotly asked them:

"Who among you was so bold as to order an election during my absence,
though you knew that King Erik named me Jarl and chose me for his heir?
And why did you choose a child for your king?"

Iwar answered that it was he that ordered the election and said:

[Illustration: From stereograph, copyright by Underwood and Underwood,
N.Y. VILLAGE LIFE AND HOMES IN SWEDEN.]

"Though you are indeed most worthy to wear the crown, you are advanced in
years and cannot live to rule us as long as your son."

This answer brought another angry outbreak from Birger and Iwar again
said:

"If you do not like this, do with your son what you please. There is no
fear but we shall be able to find another king."

For a time Birger sat in moody silence, and then asked:

"Who then would you take for your king?"

"I also can shake out a king from under my cloak," was Iwar's haughty
answer.

This threw the Jarl into a dilemma. The faces of the people present
showed their approval of what Iwar had said, and at length, fearing that
if he resisted their action the crown might be lost both to himself and
his son, he gave in to their decision.

To give dignity to the occasion, he took steps to have his son crowned
with much magnificence, and shortly after sent his daughter Rikissa with
great pomp and a rich dower to the frontier of Norway, where she was met
by the king of that country and was married with stately ceremony to his
son. The next year Birger's mother died, and as there was a prophecy that
her family would remain in power as long as her head was up, he had her
buried upright, being walled up in a pillar in Bjelbo Church so that her
head should never droop.

Birger Jarl belonged to a great family called the Folkungers, who long
held all the power in Sweden, and many of whom had been aspirants for the
throne. These were so angry at being deprived of what they had hoped for
that they determined to take the throne by force, and their leaders went
to Denmark and Germany, where they collected a large army. When they
landed in Sweden many of the people of that country joined them, and
though Birger had also a large force h