Talk:Björn (III) Eriksson

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[edit] Numbering mythical kings

Although it may seem convenient to number all these mythical kings, there is no general agreement, and confusion arises. All these bearers of names like Björn have different nicknames and different family relationships in different sources, and cannot be seamlessly harmonized. The article labels this Björn as Björn III. However, in Linköping Cathedral there is a stone tablet saying that the church was founded 813 by king Björn III. The tablet was put there by Messenius. My guess he that he counted Jordanes' Berig as Björn I, a symptom of Swedish Gothicismus. But at least such a number on a monument is a reference. The numbering system here (with Björn (III) Eriksson) looks like original research to me.

I am duplicating here what I wrote at Talk:Björn at Haugi#Numbering mythical kings. Note that the present king's designation as Charles XVI has its basis in the same established way of counting. /Pieter Kuiper 10:17, 12 October 2007 (UTC)