Bakgrund/Background
Svenska
Eriksgata kallades den resa som nyvalda medeltida svenska kungar måste genomföra genom de olika landskapen för att bekräftas av landskapens lagmän. Den utgick medsols från valplatsen vid Mora Sten i Uppland. Därifrån gick gatan genom Södermanland och till Vätterns östra strand i Östergötland, runda södra delen av Vättern i Småland, resa norrut genom Västergötland och via Närke och Västmanland åter till Uppland.
Syftet med resan var att bekräfta kungens överhöghet och legitimitet i de viktigaste provinserna i dåtidens Sverige. Valet av kungen vid Mora Sten i Uppland var begränsat till upplänningar eller svear, och därför uppstod ett behov av att bekräfta kungavalet i de andra regionerna.
Även efter valkungadömets avskaffande genomfördes eriksgator av bland andra Karl XI, Fredrik I, Adolf Fredrik och Gustav III. I modern tid har begreppet använts för kungliga rundresor i landet som Gustaf VI Adolf och Carl XVI Gustaf har gjort. Det finns mer att läsa om Eriksgatan i Östergötland om du besöker här
English
Eriksgata is the name of the traditional journey of the newly elected medieval Swedish kings through the important provinces to have their election confirmed by the local assemblies. The actual election took place at the Stone of Mora in Uppland and participation was originally restricted to the people in Uppland or Svealand, hence the need for having the election confirmed by the other regions. The Eriksgata gradually lost its influence when representatives from almost all parts of Sweden participated in the election at the stone of Mora from the 14th century. After 1544 the Swedish king was no longer elected and instead inherited his throne. This meant that the Eriksgata thereafter had only symbolic importance. The last king to travel the Eriksgata according to the old law was Charles IX (1604-1611). Later kings have made visits to Swedish provinces and called them an "Eriksgata", but those visits have no resemblance to the old medieval tradition.
The earliest reference of an Eriksgata is probably from Saxo Grammaticus who c. 1200 wrote about the struggle for the Swedish crown in the 1120s in his Gesta Danorum. But the tradition is probably much older than that.
The Eriksgata journey was not without risks since there is at least one example of a king being killed during his Eriksgata. This is the incident from the 1120s recorded by Saxo Grammaticus and also in an appendix to the Västgöta law. According to these sources, the newly elected king Ragnvald Knaphövde carelessly decided not to take along the customary hostages from prominent local families while travelling through Västergötland, even though a rival candidate for the throne had gained support in the province. According to Västgötalagen Ragnvald's decision was taken as an insult to the people of Västergötland, since it showed that he did not fear them, and they killed him in Karlepitt (an unknown location in Västergötland). You can find out more about the Royal route in Östergötland if you visit here
Götavirke vid Västra Husby (The Göta Wall in Västra Husby)
Svenska
Försvarsvallen Götavirket i Västra Husby ingår i ett system av X eller Y fornborgar, placerade som avspärrning av Östergötlands inre bygder mot angripare från kusten. Det är en långvall, Z,W km lång. Två parallella stensträngar har fyllts med jord och lera kompletterad med en vallgrav. Vallen kan inte dateras med säkerhet, 800- 1000-talet är en uppskattning, men området har haft strategisk betydelse långt tidigare.
English
The Royal Route from Söderköping to Linköping ran parallel with the Götavirke defence wall, to Dömestad, where the route probably turned off towards Hylinge.
The central part of Östergötland is well protected by large forests in the north and south, Lake Vättern to the west and the defence wall to the east. But the area east of the wall was exposed, and the presence of hillforts there, shows that the inhabitants were victims of recurrent aggression from seaborne invaders. The Götavirke is part of a system including X or Y hillforts strategically located along the Västra Husby Valley, connected to the wall and leading to the Svinsätter Hillfort. Apparently there was some sort of coordinating authority in the central area west of the wall, around Linköping, with the power to manage this grand fortification project.
The Götavirke is a “long wall” (Z.W km). Two parallel stone enclosures were filled with soil and clay and supplemented by a moat.
There are similar structures in other realms, for example in the Roman Empire. In some places near the wall, there are grave-fields and settlement layers. The date of construction has been estimated at around 800 AD, but opinions vary considerably, with a difference of as much as 1 000 years. Earlier estimations suggested the Roman Iron Age or even the Bronze Age. The area without doubt was of great strategic importance from the earliest times.
From Västra Husby the old main road through Östergötland – the Royal Route – continued to Skärkind.
Final
N 58° 28.W(Y-X)(Y+1)
E 016° 10.(Y-Z)(X+W)(W-Y)