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| Erik XIV | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byDomenicus Verwilt, 1561 | |
| King of Sweden | |
| Reign | 29 September 1560 – January 1569 |
| Coronation | 29 June 1561 |
| Predecessor | Gustav I |
| Successor | John III |
| Born | 13 December 1533 Tre Kronor Castle,Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | 26 February 1577 (aged 43) Örbyhus Castle,Örbyhus, Sweden |
| Burial | 1 April 1577 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue more... | Virginia Eriksdotter Constantia, "Queen of Tividen" Princess Sigrid Prince Gustav |
| House | Vasa |
| Father | Gustav I of Sweden |
| Mother | Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg |
| Religion | Lutheran |
| Signature |  |
Erik XIV orEric XIV (13 December 1533 – 26 February 1577) becameKing of Sweden following the death of his father,Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brotherJohn III. He was formally deposed by theRiksdag on 26 January 1569.[1] Erik was also ruler ofEstonia, after itplaced itself under Swedish protection in 1561.
While Erik has been regarded as intelligent and artistically skilled, as well as politically ambitious, early in his reign he showed signs of mental instability, a condition that eventually led toinsanity. Some scholars claim that his illness began early during his reign, while others believe that it first manifested with theSture murders.
Erik, having been imprisoned and deposed, was most likely murdered. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that he probably died ofarsenic poisoning.[2]
Erik XIV was born atTre Kronor Castle, the morning of 13 December 1533. His mother,Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, died before he reached the age of two. In 1536, his father,Gustav I (Gustav Vasa), marriedMargaret Leijonhufvud, a Swedish noblewoman.
Erik's first teacher was the learned GermanGeorg Norman, whose services were shortly thereafter needed elsewhere within the Swedish state. He was replaced by FrenchCalvinistDionysius Beurraeus (1500–67). Dionysius taught both Erik and his half-brotherJohn, and seems to have been appreciated by both. Erik was very successful in foreign languages and mathematics. He was also an informed historian, a good writer and familiar withastrology.
When Erik started to appear in public, he was referred to as "chosen king" (Swedish:utvald konung) and after the meeting of parliament in Stockholm in 1560, he received the title of "hereditary king" (Swedish:arvkonung).[3]In 1557, Erik was assigned the fiefdoms of Kalmar, Kronoberg and Öland. He took up residence in the city ofKalmar.
Against his father's wishes, Erik entered into marriage negotiations with the futureElizabeth I of England and pursued her for several years. Tensions between Erik and his father grew. Erik also made unsuccessful marriage proposals to, among others,Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587),Renata of Lorraine (1544–1602),Anna of Saxony (1544–1577) andChristine of Hesse (1543–1604).
Erik learned of his father's death as he was on the point of embarking for England to press his suit for the hand of Queen Elizabeth I. Back in Stockholm he summoned aRiksdag, which met atArboga on 15 April 1561. There he adopted the royal propositions known as the "Arboga articles", considerably curtailing the authority of the royal dukes, his half-brothers John andCharles, in their respective provinces.[4] He was crowned as Erik XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Erik. He and his brother Charles adopted regnal numbers according toJohannes Magnus's partly fictitioushistory of Sweden. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Erik, as well as pretenders about whom very little is known.[5]
From the start of his reign, Erik was in opposition to theSwedish nobility. He chose as a close adviserJöran Persson (1530–68), who had narrowly escaped execution under Erik's father. Persson was also opposed to the nobility and a determined opponent of Erik's half-brother, later John III of Sweden (1537–92). John was theDuke of Finland and was married to a Polish princess, against Erik's wishes, which made him friendly with Poland. John pursued an expansionist policy in Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), in breach of the Arboga articles, which led to contention between the brothers. In 1563, John was seized by an army sent to Finland, and tried forhigh treason by Erik's order.[4]
Unlike his father, who had been satisfied with ruling an independent state, Erik tried to expand his influence in theBaltic region and inEstonia, beginning the process that resulted in Sweden becoming a great power in the 17th century. This expansionism resulted in a clash with his cousin,Frederick II of Denmark-Norway (1534–88). Most of Erik XIV's reign was then dominated by theLivonian War and theScandinavian Seven Years' War againstDenmark-Norway (1563–70), during which he successfully repelled most Danish-Norwegian attempts at conquest, but was unable to keep his own acquisitions.
From 1563 onwards, his insanity became pronounced; his rule became even more arbitrary and marked by violence. His suspicion of the nobility led him to suspicions of theSture family, then headed bySvante Stensson Sture, the brother-in-law of Erik's father. King Erik first acted against the family in 1566, accusing Svante's sonNils of treason, but commuted the sentence and instead sent Nils toLorraine, supposedly to arrange a marriage with PrincessRenata of Lorraine. However, Erik had determined to marry his mistressKarin Månsdotter and in 1567, on Nils's return and suspicious of high treason, he killed several members of the family in the so-calledSture Murders, Erik himself stabbingNils Svantesson Sture.[4] The king probably thought of the killing as an execution rather than murder.[6]
After the Sture murders, Duke John was imprisoned and Erik's conflict with the nobility came to its climax. Early in 1568, Erik seemed to recover his reason, and attempted to reconcile with his brother on the condition that the latter recognize Erik's marriage withKarin Månsdotter. This marriage was solemnized in July, Karin was crowned queen, and their infant sonGustav pronounced prince-royal.[7] However, in the fall of 1568, asserting Erik's insanity,the dukes and the nobles rebelled, and after some resistance, Erik was imprisoned by John, who took power on 30 September.Jöran Persson was assigned much of the blame for the actions directed against the nobility during Erik XIV's reign and was executed shortly after John III had incarcerated Erik, who was legally dethroned in January 1569 by theRiksdag.[8][9]
For the next eight years the ex-king was a source of anxiety to the new government. Three rebellions – the1569 Plot, theMornay Plot and the1576 Plot – with the object of releasing and reinstating him, had to be suppressed, and Erik was held as a prisoner in many different castles in both Sweden and Finland.[7] He died in prison inÖrbyhus Castle. According to a tradition starting withJohannes Messenius, his final meal was a poisoned bowl ofpea soup. A document signed by his brother, John III, and a nobleman, Bengt Bengtsson Gylta (1514–74), gave Erik's guards in his last prison authorization to poison him if anyone tried to release him. His body was laterexhumed and modern forensic analysis revealed evidence of lethalarsenic poisoning.
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Erik XIV had several relationships before his marriage.
WithAgda Persdotter:
WithKarin Jacobsdotter:
Erik XIV marriedKarin Månsdotter (1550–1612) on 4 July 1568; their children were:
The life of Erik XIV is the subject of an 1899play by Swedish playwrightAugust Strindberg (1849–1912), which was later adapted into a film,Karin Månsdotter. The love story of Erik XIV and Karin Månsdotter is the subject of a 1942 historical novelKarin Månsdotter [fi] byMika Waltari.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Eric XIV.". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 738–739.
Erik XIV Born: 13 December 1533 Died: 26 February 1577 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Sweden 1560–1569 | Succeeded by |
