The House of Erik () was a medieval Swedish royal dynasty with several pretenders to the throne between 1150 and 1220, rivaling for kingship of Sweden with the House of Sverker. The first king from the House of Erik was Erik Jedvardsson, later known as Saint Erik. Almost all the subsequent kings of Sweden have been descendants of the House of Erik.
The foremother of the dynasty was Saint Erik's wife Christina Björnsdotter, whom legend claims to have been the maternal granddaughter of Inge the Elder, the king who abolished paganism in Sweden.
The House of Erik favored the Varnhem Abbey, and several of its members are interred there.
History
The ancestral estates of the House of Erik appear to have been Västergötland. The forefather of the house was Erik Jedvardsson, who was elected king after the assassination of King Sverker the Elder in 1156. Erik himself was killed in 1160 by the Danish lord Magnus Henriksen while attending a mass. Magnus ruled part of Sweden briefly, but was soon slain by Karl Sverkersson, who took the throne.
In 1167, the House of Erik returned to power when Knut Eriksson, son of Erik Jedvardsson, killed King Karl. The struggle against the House of Sverker continued until 1172–73, when Knut finally secured his hold on the kingdom. To strengthen his claim to the throne, Knut and Uppsala Cathedral promoted the sainthood of his father, Erik. Knut ruled until his natural death in 1195 or 1196.