Martha Eriksdotter

Martha Eriksdotter (Märta Bonde) was the alleged daughter of Erik X, King of Sweden,^[1] flourishing in the first half of the 13th century. However, knowledge about her is derived from a genealogy added to a 15th-century copy of the Erikskrönikan. This genealogy may have been part of the ambition of Charles VIII of Sweden (d. 1470) to prove his right to the throne by presenting a more impressive family background.^[2] The existence of Martha Eriksdotter and her marriage have therefore been doubted by some modern Swedish historians, who think she was just made up by Charles or his chancellery. Nevertheless, a few historians have maintained that her position cannot be entirely explained as a forgery.^[3]

According to the genealogy she was married to Nils Sixtensson Sparre, a Marshal in Sweden.^[4] Martha’s paternity and her marriage are recorded in the book Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor by PG Berg and Wilhelmina Stålberg, Page 274. The title of the book in English is: Notes on Swedish women. (A biographical dictionary from 1864, covering only Swedish women.)

In Swedish the page reads:

Märtha, dotter af Erik X, som blef gift med Nils Sixtensson till Tofta, och, genom detta äktenskap, stammoder för Sparre- och Oxenstjerna-slägterna.^[5]

English translation:

"Martha, daughter of Erik X, who was married to Nils Sixtensson of Tofta, and, through this marriage a progenitress strain for the Sparre and Oxenstjerna families."

Allegedly, they had 2 children together,

• Sixten Nilsson Sparre
• Abjorn Nilsson Sparre

• Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor