Swede, and their backs were badly spanked by the Swedish men." A Danish folksong describes how "the horses of the lords return bloodied, and the saddles are empty". Consolidation of power Now Eric took the name of King of Sweden. Birger Brosa's son Knut had been appointed jarl at some stage but appears to have died in the Battle of Lena. Eric appointed Folke Jarl, probably another son of Birger Brosa, in his stead. This person was the originator of the Folkung party which played a political role in 13th-century Sweden and is frequently confused with the royal family that reigned after 1250. Sverker and the archbishop Valerius fled to Denmark after the defeat and applied for the intervention of Pope Innocent III. Innocent ordered the bishops of Skara, Linköping and a third see to persuade Eric to come to terms with Sverker and return the royal prerogatives. In case of refusal, Eric would be censured by the Church. This did not have the desired effect, and in 1210 Sverker invaded Sweden in an attempt to reconquer the throne. However, he was defeated in the Battle of Gestilren in July 1210. This time Sverker was killed at the hands of Folke Jarl and his party; however, Folke was also slain together with many Folkungs. The location of the battle has been a matter of debate (Varv in Västergötland, Göstring Hundred in Östergötland, Gästre in Uppland). The banner under which King Eric's troops fought, was preserved by his kinsman the lawspeaker Eskil Magnusson of the Bjelbo family in Skara, who in 1219 gave it as honorary to his visiting Icelandic colleague Snorre Sturlasson. Reign The achievement of Eric was remarkable: without support by the Church, he was able to foment a network of followers in short time and defeat troops from Denmark, the major Scandinavian power at the time. After his victory, King Eric nevertheless quickly reconciled with the Danish king as well as the Catholic Church. In the same year 1210 he married princess Richeza of Denmark, daughter of the late Valdemar I of Denmark, and sister of Valdemar Sejr. This was to make up relations with Denmark, which had traditionally supported the Sverker dynasty, against the Norwegian-supported dynasty of Eric. In November 1210 he was the first (known) Swedish king who was crowned, by his former enemy Archbishop Valerius. Not much is known about Eric's reign; written documents are