notoriously unreliable. Knut Kristinesson went to Norway in 1226 in order to claim the crown of this country, and Bishop Bengt died in 1228. In the next year 1229, a feud broke out, as Knut the Tall and a party of nobles, the Folkung Party, rose against the young ruler. The causes are not known, but a wish by some nobles to restrain the power of the Church might have had a role. Eric was overthrown after the battle of Olustra (slaget vid Olustra). The battle is believed to have taken place in Olustra (Ostra) in Södermanland, although Alvastra in Östergötland has been mentioned as a possible site. After his loss, the young king fled to Denmark where his uncle Valdemar Sejr was still ruling. Knut the Tall was crowned King Canute II of Sweden in 1231, but his time was short and he died in 1234. Second reign According to a Danish source, Eric returned to Sweden already in 1232, when Canute was still king. The Swedish Erikskrönikan on the contrary asserts that he came back after King Canute's death, after a new round of fighting. At any rate Eric was once again accepted as king and ruled until his own death in 1250. At first, he reconciled with the Folkung Party. The Folkung Ulf Fase, who had been Jarl of the realm under Canute II, continued to serve in that function under Eric. Ulf Fase was an able politician who managed to prevent feuding between the noble factions for many years. As a king, Eric is depicted in Erikskrönikan as good-natured but physically passive: He liked to strengthen reason and right, and was pleased to care for his own kin. He maintained domestic honour and noble custom, and gave the peasant good peace, He well understood serious matters, but would not care much for tournaments. In fact he was relatively insignificant and heavily dependent on stronger men in his entourage; first Ulf Fase and, after his death (1248), the latter's kinsman Birger Magnusson (Birger Jarl) (d. 1266). They were both scions of the large and influential Bjälbo family from Östergötland, but entertained different political agendas. While Ulf pursued a policy of alliance with the Norwegian king, Birger strove to strengthen royal authority by allying closely with the Catholic Church. In about the late 1230s, King Eric's elder sister Ingeborg was married to Birger, in the latter's first marriage.