Sveinn II of Hordaland (The Kalmar Union)

Sveinn II, was the last Ladish King of Hordaland before its native Fairhair dynasty reasserted itself.

Sveinn was the grandson of Haakon II who had been Denmark's first regent over Hordaland from 970-1000. He had gone into exile in Svealand when Olaf I had successfully ousted the Ladish rulers in 1015. At some point he had gone to Denmark and, allied to Cnut the Great had been part of the movement which removed Olaf I from the throne. With many of his relations now installed in various parts of Cnut's empire Sveinn was reinstated with the Earldom of Lade. The regency over Hordaland was possibly offered to Harald III who had ruled over it prior to Olaf's invasion however he was kept from taking up the role thanks to new responsibilities in Britannia.

Sveinn would therefore be chosen to govern Hordaland instead. His rule over the kingdom was turbulent and he quarreled constantly with his nobles. He managed to rally enough secure support to foil an invasion by Olaf I in 1030 and kill him at the Battle of Stiklestad. Yet when Olaf's son Magnus came to Hordaland seeking to avenge his father in 1034 there were plenty of disaffected nobles who flocked to Magnus's side.

Magnus was magnanimous in victory however. Still threatened by the Danish presence in Viken he would come to peace with Sveinn, leaving Lade untouched as an entity and bestowing various rights of taxation on him. This would increasingly leave it as a separate country and while Sveinn campaigned in Viken for his technical overlord much of his efforts (and those of his heirs) were now geared to forge a different path from those lands to the south.