Valerius (archbishop of Uppsala)

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Valerius was the Swedish Archbishop 1207-1219. He was the fifth archbishop after the establishment of the see in 1164.

At the establishment of the see, the Pope did not have enough faith in Swedish christianity and therefore made the city Lund in Denmark primate over Uppsala. When Valerius was elected in Uppsala, this archbishop objected on the grounds that he had a clerical ancestry, and priests and other clergymen were not allowed to marry. In Sweden, the practice of priests marrying continued far into the Middle Ages because of the low population numbers.

The Pope allowed a dispensation for Valerius on the grounds that there was no other suitable candidate and because Valierus was known as a learned man with good customs and virtues.

Valerius joined side with the king Sverker II of Sweden, who belonged to the House of Sverker. The House of Sverker was one of the antagonists in a civil war that had been going on and off since 1130. In 1208 the opposing side, the House of Eric, sieged the capital Stockholm, and the king fled the country, taking Valierus with him. They fled to Denmark.

Sverker gathered a small army and tried to conquer Sweden, but was killed. Valerius bowed down and accepted the opposing king Eric X. As a result he was allowed to return to Uppsala, where he crowned Eric X in 1210. The Pope Innocent III sent a letter to Valerius where he proclaimed the procedure to be unauthorized and unlawful, but it seems to have had little impact.

Valerius also crowned the succeeding king John in 1219. He died later that year and was buried in the church in Old Uppsala.