| Erik | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Denmark andSweden (more...) | |
| Reign | 1396 (de jure) or 28 October 1412 (de facto) – 24 September 1439 |
| Coronation | 17 June 1397, Storkyrkan,Kalmar, Sweden |
| Predecessor | Margaret I |
| Successor | Christopher III |
| Regent and co-sovereign | Margaret I (until 1412) |
| King of Norway | |
| Reign | 8 September 1389 – 4 June 1442 |
| Coronation | 1392,Oslo Cathedral |
| Predecessor | Margaret |
| Successor | Christopher |
| Regent and co-sovereign | Margaret (until 1412) |
| Regent | Sigurd Jonsson (1439–1442) |
| Ruler of Gotland | |
| Reign | 8 September 1439 – 4 June 1449 |
| Duke of Pomerania | |
| Reign | 1449 – 1459 |
| Predecessor | Bogislav IX |
| Successor | Sophie I |
| Regent | Maria of Masovia (1446–1449) |
| Born | 1381 or 1382 Darłowo Castle,Pomerania |
| Died | 24 September 1459 (aged 76–78) Darłowo Castle, Pomerania |
| Burial | St. Mary's Church, Darłowo, Poland |
| Spouses | Cecilia (morganatic) |
| House | Griffin (by birth) Estridsen (by adoption) |
| Father | Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania |
| Mother | Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Erik of Pomerania[a] (c. 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over theKalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-auntMargaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known asErik III asKing of Norway (1389–1442),Erik VII asKing of Denmark (1396–1439) and has been calledErik XIII[b] asKing of Sweden (1396–1434, 1436–39). Erik was ultimately deposed from all three kingdoms of the union, but in 1449 he inherited one of the partitions of theDuchy of Pomerania and ruled it as duke until his death in 1459.[1] Hisepithetof Pomerania was apejorative intended to insinuate that he did not belong inScandinavia.[2]
Erik was born in either 1381 or 1382 inDarłowo (formerly Rügenwalde), Pomerania, Poland. Named Bogusław (Bogislaw) at birth, he was the son ofWartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania, andMaria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Bogislaw's great-auntMargaret I, who ruled the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, wanted her realm to be unified and peaceful, and so made provisions in the event of her death. She chose Bogislaw as her heir and successor.
In 1389, Bogislaw was brought to Denmark to be raised by Queen Margaret. His name was changed to the more Nordic-soundingErik. On 8 September 1389, he was hailed as King of Norway at theTing inTrondheim. He may have been crowned King of Norway inOslo in 1392, but this is disputed.
Erik's father Wartislaw died between November 1394 and 23 February 1395.[3] When Wartislaw died, his thrones were all attained by Erik as the heir.[4]
In 1396, Erik was proclaimed as king in Denmark and then in Sweden. On 17 June 1397, he was crowned king of the three Nordic countries in the cathedral ofKalmar. At the same time, a union treaty was drafted, declaring the establishment of what has become known as theKalmar Union. Queen Margaret, however, remained thede facto ruler of the three kingdoms until her death in 1412.[5][6][7]
In 1402, Queen Margaret entered into negotiations with KingHenry IV of England about the possibility of an alliance between theKingdom of England and the Nordic union. The proposal was for a double wedding, whereby, King Erik would marry King Henry's second daughter,Philippa of England, and Henry IV's heirHenry, Prince of Wales, would marry Erik's sister,Catherine of Pomerania (c. 1390–1426).[8][9]
The double wedding did not come off, but Erik's wedding to Philippa of England was successfully negotiated. On 26 October 1406, he married the 12-year-old Philippa inLund. The wedding was accompanied by a purely defensive alliance with England. After Philippa's death later in 1430, Erik replaced her with her former lady-in-waiting,Cecilia, who became his royal mistress and later hismorganatic spouse. The relationship was a public scandal and is mentioned in the royal council's official complaints about the King.[10][11]
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During the early period of his reign, King Erik madeCopenhagen a royal possession in 1417, thereby assuring its status as the capital of Denmark. He also usurped the rights ofCopenhagen Castle from theBishop of Roskilde, and from then on, the castle was occupied by him.[13]
From contemporary sources, Erik appears as intelligent, visionary, energetic, and a firm character. That he was also a charming and well-spoken man of the world was shown by his great European tour of the 1420s. Negatively, he seems to have had a hot temper, a lack of diplomatic sense, and an obstinacy that bordered on mulishness. Erik was described by the futurePope Pius II as having "a beautiful body, reddish yellow hair, a ruddy face, and a long narrow neck … alone, without assistance, and without touching the stirrups, he jumped upon a horse, and all women were drawn to him, especially the Empress, in a feeling of longing for love".[14]
From 1423 until May 1425, Erik went on apilgrimage toJerusalem. After arriving there, he was dubbedKnight of the Holy Sepulchre by theFranciscanCustos of the Holy Land, and subsequently himself dubbed his pilgrim fellows, among them,Ivan Anz Frankopan. During his absence, Queen Philippa served as regent of the three kingdoms fromCopenhagen.[15]
Almost the whole of Erik's sole rule was affected by his long-standing conflict with theCounts of Schauenburg and Holstein. He tried to regainSouth Jutland (Schleswig) which Queen Margaret had been winning, but he chose a policy of warfare instead of negotiations. The result was a devastating war that not only ended without conquests, but also led to the loss of the South Jutlandic areas that he had already obtained. During this war, he showed much energy and steadiness, but also a remarkable lack of adroitness. In 1424, a verdict of theHoly Roman Empire bySigismund, King of Germany, recognising Erik as the legal ruler of South Jutland, was ignored by the Holsteiners. The long war was a strain on the Danish economy as well as on the unity of the north.[16]
Perhaps Erik's most far-ranging act was the introduction of theSound Dues (Øresundtolden) in 1429,[17] which was to last until 1857. It consisted of the payment of sound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave theBaltic Sea passing through theSound. To help enforce his demands, Erik builtKrogen, a powerful fortress at the narrowest point in the Sound, in the early 1400s.[18] This resulted in the control of all navigation through the Sound, and thus secured a large stable income for his kingdom that made it relatively rich,[17] and which made the town ofElsinore flower. It showed his interest in Danish trade and naval power, but also permanently challenged the other Baltic powers, especially theHanseatic cities against which he also fought. From 1426 to 1435, he was atwar with the German Hanseatic League and Holstein. When the Hanseats and Holsteinersattacked Copenhagen in 1428, King Erik was absent from the city atSorø Abbey and did not return, so Queen Philippa managed the defense of the capital.[19]
During the 1430s, the King's policy fell apart. In 1434, the farmers and mine workers of Sweden began a national and social rebellion which was soon used by the Swedish nobility in order to weaken the power of the King. TheEngelbrekt rebellion (1434–1436) was led by Swedish noblemanEngelbrekt Engelbrektsson (c. 1390 – 4 May 1436). The Swedes had been affected by the war with theHanseatic League (1426–35) which affected trade and disturbed Swedish exports with Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Pomerania. The rebellion caused erosion within the unity of the Kalmar Union, leading to the temporary expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden. In Norway, a subsequent rebellion in 1436 was led byAmund Sigurdsson Bolt (1400–1465). It resulted in a siege ofOslo andAkershus Castle but ended in a ceasefire. In 1438 a new rebellion led byHallvard Graatop errupted, inEastern Norway, but this rebellion was also put down.[20][21]
Erik had to yield to the demands of both the Holsteiners and theHanseatic League. In April 1435, he signed the peace of Vordingborg with the Hanseatic League and Holstein. Under the terms of the peace agreement, Hanseatic cities were excepted from the Sound Dues and theDuchy of Schleswig was ceded to the count of Holstein.
When the Danish nobility subsequently opposed his rule and refused to ratify his choice ofBogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania as the next king of Denmark, Erik left Denmark in response and took up permanent residence atVisborg Castle inGotland, which led to his deposition throughcoup d'état by the National Councils of Denmark and Sweden in 1439.[22]
In 1440, Erik was succeeded by his nephewChristopher of Bavaria, who was chosen for the thrones of both Denmark and Sweden. Initially the NorwegianRiksråd remained loyal to Erik and wanted him to remain king of Norway. In September 1439, Erik had givenSigurd Jonsson the title ofdrottsete, under which he was to rule Norway in the King's name. But with the King isolated in Gotland, the Norwegian nobility also felt compelled to depose Erik through a coup d'état in 1440, and he was formally deposed in 1442, when Sigurd Jonsson stepped down asdrottsete, and Christopher was elected king.[23]
At the death of King Christopher in 1448, the next monarch was Erik's kinsman,Christian of Oldenburg (the son of Erik's earlier rival, CountTheodoric of Oldenburg), who succeeded to the throne of Denmark, whileKarl Knutsson Bonde succeeded to the throne of Sweden. A rivalry ensued between Karl and Christian for the throne of Norway. In 1450, Karl was forced to relinquish the throne of Norway in favour of King Christian.[24][25]
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For ten years, Erik lived inGotland where hefought against themerchant trade in the Baltic. From 1449 to 1459, Erik succeeded Bogislaw IX as Duke of Pomerania and ruled Pomerania-Rügenwalde, a small partition of the Duchy ofPomerania-Stolp (Polish: Księstwo Słupskie),[26] as "Erik I". He died in 1459 atDarłowo Castle(German:Schloss Rügenwalde), and was buried in the Church of St. Mary's atDarłowo in Pomerania.[27]
The Burgermeister of Kiel to KingChristian III of Denmark wrote that Erik encouraged a joint expedition byDidrik Pining andHans Pothorst to investigate theNorthwest Passage. Their voyage after Erik's death is alleged to have reachedGreenland and engaged in combat with theInuit.[28]
Erik's full title was: "King of Denmark,Sweden andNorway, theWends and theGoths,Duke of Pomerania".[29]
Erik of Pomerania Born: 1381 or 1382 Died: 3 May 1459 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Norway 1389–1442 withMargaret I (1389–1412) | Succeeded by |
| King of Denmark 1396–1439 withMargaret I (1396–1412) | ||
| King of Sweden 1396–1434 withMargaret I (1396–1412) | Vacant | |
| Vacant | King of Sweden 1435–1436 | Vacant Regency ofKarl Knutsson |
| Vacant Regency ofKarl Knutsson | King of Sweden 1436–1439 | Vacant Regency ofKarl Knutsson Title next held by Christopher |
| Preceded by | Duke of Pomerania-Stolp 1446–1459 | Succeeded by |
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