For I am the master of all things! - A more succesful Eric of Pomerania

This is a timeline about Eric VII of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, better known as Eric of Pomerania.

Often considered the man who ruined the Kalmar Union which his adopted mother created, Eric is generally seen as a very unsuccesful King, but he is also a very important one. Some historians consider him to be the first Scandianvian King who pursued a Dominium Maris Baltici which would be an ambition of both Danish-Norwegian and Swedish monarchs for centuries to come, he also instituted the Øresund toll which would be an invaluable source of income for the Danish state over the next four centuries.

To quote Swedish historian Gottfried Carlsson from 1941: "Whatever you may accuse Eric of Pomerania of, insignificant he was not." Eric is long overdue for a TL that explores how he could've been more succesful, and what the consequences of this might've been.

I plan to write this timeline in a less narrative way than I have my two previous ones, since the time it took me writing chapters for them was a big part I fell off both of them, and I found the format to be limiting in some ways.

Now for our PoD...
 
PoD: Changing Eric
PoD: Changing Eric

Eric’s reign was long and complex, therefore it’s hard to pick one single event to change that would have a significantly large enough impact on it. Therefore, for my PoD I will change Eric’s personality in two significant ways, which will change the way he approaches many different situations during his reign.

What I’m going with specifically is Eric’s biological father, Wartislaw VII of Pomerania-Stolp, surviving his assassination in 1395. Fearing for his life, Wartislaw goes into exile – which he already had done once a few years prior, this time to his son’s court. Margaret would likely not be keen on having a living reminder of Eric being adopted around, so Wartislaw likely lives a semi-incognito existence at court.

Eric now has a second parental figure close to him during his teenage years, who also happens to be an example of the fleeting nature of power, he is changed in two ways by this. First, Eric doesn’t take his powers as much for granted as he did iotl, making him more careful overall. Secondly, and just as important, is that it makes him less hyper focused on his adoptive mother. While not exactly having a Oediupus complex, Eric idolized Margaret to no end, to the point that he was unwilling to diverge from her policies even when they weren’t working anymore. He was also jealous and fearful of anyone else than him being close to Margaret. This was partly because he realized his power stemmed from her and that she could potentially take it from him, but also perhaps because he idolized her to the degree he did. This was part of what led to his ill-advised execution of the powerful knight Abraham Brodersen, costing him a skilled commander in a time where he really needed one.

In short, we get a more careful and flexible Eric from this change to personality.

But while Eric changes, the politics around his early reign does not. He still marries Philippa of England in 1406, and his sister Catherine still marries John of Palatine-Neumarkt in 1407. Gerhard VI of Holstein still dies on time in 1404, leading to Margaret and Eric beginning to recover most of Schleswig through economic, diplomatic and political means. Much like in otl, this eventually escalates to war in 1408, which is where this timeline begins diverging from ours for real.
 
The Schleswig War
The Schleswig War

The situation in Schleswig escalated to war in 1408, with Elizabeth of Brunswick calling upon her brother Henry of Brunswick and her late husband’s brother Henry of Osnabrück for help in defending her young sons’ inheritance. More than two thirds of Schleswig had already come under Margaret and Eric’s control through peaceful means, and the Schauenburgers mostly retained Gottorp and the southern third of the Duchy. King Eric could marshal a much larger army than his enemies, but the vastness of the Kalmar Union meant that it took a long time to gather, shortening the time it could campaign effectively.

Two union armies were gathered in 1410, one in Jutland under command of Mogens Munk and one on the island of Als under King Eric and Abraham Brodersen. Munk had intended to raid the western coast of Schleswig, but Eric worried this would risk exposing them to an ambush by the Holsatian force. Not wishing to make any risky moves early in the war, Eric instead had Munk stay in east Schleswig, so that the army could quickly unite with the one on Als after Sønderborg was captured. This came to pass in August the same year, Eric would commend Abraham Brodersen for his courage and chivalrous treatment of the inhabitants of the castle when Sønderborg fell. He would go on to be the chief commander of union forces in the conflict.

The lack on any early success did little for the Schauenburgers diplomatic situation. Few potential allies were willing to support what seemed like a lost cause, and the Holsatian forces soon began to wear thin. Even so, the war was still a tug and pull of sieges. Union forces would capture territory in the summer, and the Holsatians would embark on winter campaigns trying to undo their gains before the next campaigning season. The war was costly on both sides, but having not suffered any major defeats, King Eric never had to rebuild his forces from the ground, which would have made the war a much more expensive affair. This carried on for some years, during which Margaret died and Eric began working hard to gain international recognition of his right to Schleswig. Doing so meant delaying some of the economic policies Eric intended to implement, but the King realized doing so would probably antagonize the Hansa, who’s support was of outmost importance.

1415-1416 would be the decisive years of the war. King Sigismund of Luxembourg ruled in favour of Eric’s claim to Schleswig at the council of Constance, a ruling that the Counts of Holstein would disregard entirely. More important than this were the dramatic events that transpired in Lübeck. The city's old council had been ousted by an uprising of the city's lower classes in 1408, but Eric sponsored their return in 1416. This earned him the gratitude of Lübeck, and by extension much of the Hanseatic league. Additionally, the increasingly desperate Schauenburgers had allied with Vitalian pirates, sheltering them in their ports. This was naturally not appreciated by the Hansa, who’s ships were a prime target of the pirates.

Henry of Brunswick had initially supported his nephews in the war, and for his efforts he had been given the strategic castle of Gottorp as a pawn. But by 1415, Henry's faith in the Holsatian cause was wavering, since they had not made any gains so far. Henry finally decided that he had to leave the war and allowed King Eric to take over Gottorp in exchange for a considerable sum of money. With Gottorp in his hands, Eric believed himself to be in a strong enough military and diplomatic situation that final victory was within his grasp.

Thus, in the summer of 1417 representatives of Holstein, the Hansa and several other north German states would gather in the town of Schleswig. Finally, King Eric himself arrived with his representatives, and peace negotiations could begin. Eric managed to push through his demands, that being the recognition of Schleswig in its entirety as rightfully his. With the situation on the ground being what it was, the Schauenburgers could do little to oppose this. The final treaty was signed the next year, officially ending the conflict.

The ten-year war for Schleswig had been a dearly bought victory, but in time it would pay off as Eric could add a wealthy region to his domain. If the union had suffered earlier big losses or the surrounding diplomacy not been handled as well as it was, the conflict could easier have stretched out for far longer than it did, and potentially jeopardized Eric’s legitimacy altogether. As it were, Eric had come out of it without exhausting either his monetary or political capital and had his hands free to pursue other internal and foreign goals.
 
I don't think anyone need to tell you the long-term implications of Schleswig being returned to Danish would be. But there's some interesting short-term implication like much of the land of the duchy being owned by the duke, Church, and free farmers.

Of course, another important implication is what Erik is going to do with the duchy. Will he keep it as an inheritable duchy (potential making the Duke of Schleswig the Danish version of the Prince of Wales) or will he integrate it back into Denmark like what have happened to the Duchy of Lolland.
 
I don't think anyone need to tell you the long-term implications of Schleswig being returned to Danish would be. But there's some interesting short-term implication like much of the land of the duchy being owned by the duke, Church, and free farmers.
Were the non-Frisian peasantry of Schleswig self owning to a higher degree than the rest of Denmark and/of Germany otl?

Of course, another important implication is what Erik is going to do with the duchy. Will he keep it as an inheritable duchy (potential making the Duke of Schleswig the Danish version of the Prince of Wales) or will he integrate it back into Denmark like what have happened to the Duchy of Lolland.

First he’ll need an heir at all…

Regarding this, the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Keeping the title around is likely going to happen out of convenience, and to counter any potential Schauenburgers trying to claim it as their own. With that said, Eric always made a big deal of Schleswig being part of Denmark and not a separate Duchy, to which I guess Wales’ relationship to England up until recent history could be a comparison. Schleswig has a much longer history of having its own dukes than the other Danish spontaneous duchies that cropped up here and there throughout the Middle Ages.
 
Were the non-Frisian peasantry of Schleswig self owning to a higher degree than the rest of Denmark and/of Germany otl?

I don't know about Germany, but Denmark; yes.

First he’ll need an heir at all…

Regarding this, the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Keeping the title around is likely going to happen out of convenience, and to counter any potential Schauenburgers trying to claim it as their own. With that said, Eric always made a big deal of Schleswig being part of Denmark and not a separate Duchy, to which I guess Wales’ relationship to England up until recent history could be a comparison. Schleswig has a much longer history of having its own dukes than the other Danish spontaneous duchies that cropped up here and there throughout the Middle Ages.

He can do like the king of England and keep the title until he has an heir.
 
More than two thirds of Schleswig had already come under Margaret and Eric’s control through peaceful means, and the Schauenburgers mostly retained Gottorp and the southern third of the Duchy.
It’s always Gottorp isn’t it?
Of course, another important implication is what Erik is going to do with the duchy. Will he keep it as an inheritable duchy (potential making the Duke of Schleswig the Danish version of the Prince of Wales) or will he integrate it back into Denmark like what have happened to the Duchy of Lolland.
Prince of Sønderjylland has a nice ring to it!
 
It’s always Gottorp isn’t it?

Prince of Sønderjylland has a nice ring to it!

Interesting the House of Estridsen used junker as the title of for the king’s sons and prince seems to only have become a title by 1599. The Oldenburgs titles their sons dukes (of Schleswig-Holstein) before 1599. It could be interesting if Erik made a call back to this tradition among the House of Estridsen and called his heir the Junker of Sønderjylland. Of course that’s unlikely, but so are the title prince, as the Welsh petty kings adopted it not as a local translated version of “fürst” (ruler of a principality) but as a call back to a higher Latin title and as a claim of being overlord of all of Britain. Most likely they keep Hertuge (duke) around, but they could also return to Jarl (earl), Herre (lord) or adopt Greve (count) or even Fyrst (ruling prince). It really depend on what signal they want to send. Duke is the safe choice, lord is the neutral choice, making junker a title is pretty much making it explicit that Erik plan to make Denmark a heritable instead electable kingdom, earl would be a call back to the good old days, count is a clear degradation compared to duke, prince is murky.
 
Since I’ve only done TLs set in roughly the same time and place there’s bound to be repeating elements. o_O
Ahh, I didn’t mean it like that! I meant that it’s always Gottorp that’s the problem for Danish kings in general :)
Interesting the House of Estridsen used junker as the title of for the king’s sons and prince seems to only have become a title by 1599. The Oldenburgs titles their sons dukes (of Schleswig-Holstein) before 1599. It could be interesting if Erik made a call back to this tradition among the House of Estridsen and called his heir the Junker of Sønderjylland. Of course that’s unlikely, but so are the title prince, as the Welsh petty kings adopted it not as a local translated version of “fürst” (ruler of a principality) but as a call back to a higher Latin title and as a claim of being overlord of all of Britain. Most likely they keep Hertuge (duke) around, but they could also return to Jarl (earl), Herre (lord) or adopt Greve (count) or even Fyrst (ruling prince). It really depend on what signal they want to send. Duke is the safe choice, lord is the neutral choice, making junker a title is pretty much making it explicit that Erik plan to make Denmark a heritable instead electable kingdom, earl would be a call back to the good old days, count is a clear degradation compared to duke, prince is murky.
Good points, although, if Erik marries Philippa as otl, then he might find inspiration in her family to use the word Prince?
 
Estonia - Eric looks east
Estonia - Eric looks east

Ever since the Teutonic Order had been weakened following their defeat at the battle of Grunwald in 1410, Eric had been interested in regaining the old Danish possession of Estonia. The Duchy had been pawned to the Knights when Valdemar IV of Denmark forced his brother Otto to join the Order more than half a century ago. The conditions of the pawning were murky in that it was unclear whether the King of Denmark possessed the right to redeem it. Until 1418, the war in Schleswig had prevented Eric from actively pursuing this goal, but with his southern border secured, he could begin to look across the sea.

Even in its weakened state, the Teutonic Order remained a considerable power, and starting a war without proper preparation would have been folly on King Eric’s part. He would need allies, and the most obvious one was to be found in Poland and Lithuania, the old nemeses of the order. An alliance between King Wladyslaw and Eric would sandwich the order from north and south and threaten it from both land and sea. Additionally, Eric’s father had sworn loyalty to King Wladyslaw, which had prompted the Knights to try assassinating him, so there was a history of cooperation between the houses of Gryf and Jagellion.

Alliances are sealed through marriage, and as such in 1419 negotiations began for an engagement between Hedwig, daughter of King Wladyslaw, and Bogislaw IX of Pomerania-Stolp, who was Eric’s cousin. This potential engagement was not without controversy. Eric had proposed Bogislaw as an heir in case he and Queen Philippa did not have children of their own. Additionally, since King Wladyslaw had no sons as of yet, the future husband of Hedwig seemed like a prime candidate to succeed as King of Poland. If the marriage went through, it was seemingly setting up for a union stretching from the Arctic to the Black Sea, which would reshape the political landscape of north and eastern Europe completely. As such, it was not a decision to be taken lightly.

Yet the need for an alliance against the Knights in the present outweighed future dynastic concerns for both Eric and Wladyslaw, and in 1421 Bogislaw and Hedwig were officially engaged, with the wedding itself planned to go ahead in 1424 when Bogislaw had reached adulthood. As a mean to reassure their respective subjects, Eric and Wladyslaw had both made declaration in 1420 that they would not support Bogislaw as an heir to their respective Kingdoms over any sons they themselves would have. For Wladyslaw, this came to pass in 1424 with the birth of his first son, but Bogislaw still remained an unpopular candidate in Denmark.

While Eric waited for Bogislaw to reach the agreed upon age, he began a scheme to infiltrate the Teutonic Order. Knights travelling to and from the order frequently passed through Eric’s domains, and Eric would either meet with these personally or have representatives do so in his place. In these meetings, Eric tried to get on the good side of the knights and argued that Estonia would be safer under his protection than as part of the order. These arguments would be underscored by ‘gifts’, and Eric would grant many sympathetic knights what became known in the Terra Mariana as “the medal of the King of Denmark”. From the 1420’s and onwards many high officials in the Order would express worry about how many of its members wore this medal.

Eric had become interested in chivalric orders ever since he became a Knight of the Garter upon his marriage to Queen Philippa. He was likewise inspired by his cousin Sigismund of Luxembourg who had founded the Order of the Dragon in 1408. The medals he granted to friendly Teutonic Knights was part of an order he himself was beginning to build up. Still in it’s infancy, the order used the image of the Virgin Mary as it’s insignia – the fact that Eric had chosen the patron saint of the Teutonic Order was surely no coincidence, as well as three stylized nails arranged in a ‘Y’ shape. Some medals also bore the letters V.F.D.E.I, an acronym of Vere Filius Dei Erat Iste – truly this was the son of God, a biblical quote which could be interpreted as the order’s motto. Officially the order was known as the society for the defense of the Mother of God and the Arms of Christ but colloquially it would become known as the Order of the Nails. While Eric is counted as the order’s founder, it would develop into a more structured order in the coming generations.

The increased focus on the east Baltic would also impact the movement patterns of King Eric, and as a result who he associated with. Continuing the practice of not summoning his various kingdoms’ privy councils, who’s members were high-ranking knights and clergy of each realm, Eric relied upon a single royal council in which membership was more fluid. At the beginning of his reign, most of the members came from the border regions between Sweden and Denmark, and many owned lands in both Kingdoms. During the war in Schleswig, the King had naturally been closer to his southern border more often. This meant that Eric had mostly interacted with people from that area during the war years, which was reflected in his council. It started to be domintated by Danish – in particular Jutish – members, as well as foreigners, mostly Germans.

When Eric’s focused shifted to Estonia, this resulted in him spending more time in Sweden, since that was the natural starting point for a potential attack across the Baltic. From 1418 and forward, the King’s banner became an increasingly common sight in Sweden, especially in Kalmar and Stockholm. As a result of the closer contact between the King and his Swedish subjects, there was a resurgence of Swedish membership in the royal council, as well as a decline in the proportion of Danes and Germans. This would somewhat help to mitigate the feeling of being pushed aside that many Swedish magnates had felt when the King’s attention had been towards the southern border. The King’s increased presence in Sweden also allowed for some unaddressed grievances that had arisen there during the war. Vitalian piracy had surged during the war in Schleswig, and the effects of this had been felt hardest in Sweden. Eric concluded that there would be need for economic reform to strengthen the Swedish livelihood, but it's exact nature and implementation would take some time to figure out.
 
The idea of of a Nordic Order is pretty interesting, of course a good question is what the name would end up for such an order? The Nordic Knights or the Danish Knights, I imagine in Latin it will end up the Gothic Knights through Cimbrian/Cimbri Knight is also a possibility. The next question is whether they will only be used to get a bridgehead into the Livonian Order or it will see greater use in foreign policy. I could see the Poles use them in a similar manner to how they originally used the Teutonic Knights by placing them on the Polish frontier to fight heathens and infidel, the Poles could give them land in Southern Ukraine where they could fight the Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate. The benefit for the Kalmar Union would be that it would create a place to send noble younger sons and troublemakers far from home, making them the Tatars problem. While they could grow into a problem for the Poles in future, it would create a bigger safe zone for settlements in Western Ukraine.
 
The idea of of a Nordic Order is pretty interesting,
It’s important to remember the difference between a chivalric order and a military one though. Right now Eric is using the former to build a pro-Danish faction in the Teutonic Order, not building a completely seperate sword brotherhood.

Although we will be getting to the topic of crusades soon.
 
Pomerania, Brandenburg and the Hussites
Pomerania, Brandenburg and the Hussites

Simultaneous to Eric’s eastern planning, diplomacy and plotting there was new conflicts brewing to his south, in the King’s ancestral homeland of Pomerania. Even by the relatively low standards of the Holy Roman Empire, northeastern Germany was a notoriously unruly region, with many Emperors trying and failing to enforce their authority over it’s independent-minded princes and cities. As part of his strategy to try and regain control of the region, King Sigismund had enfeoffed the Margravate of Brandenburg to Burgrave Frederick of Nuremberg, of the house of Hohenzollern. To Frederick, an important step in his task would be the subjugation of the Pomeranian Dukes whom he believed to be rightful vassals of Brandenburg.

This would be the start of a series of minor conflicts between the Frederick and the allies, which would last until 1427 though with many breaks in between. Frederick’s ambition not only brought him into conflict with the Pomeranians, but several foreign powers that preferred imperial authority to not stretch all the way to the Baltic shore. Chief among these were King Wladyslaw of Poland, and King Eric. The Pomeranian Dukes were his cousins, and administered the lands he held in the region for him. Thus, when the Dukes of Pomerania and Mecklenburg formed an alliance against Brandenburg in 1418, both Wladyslaw and Eric pledged to support them. The timing was good for Eric, who had recently gotten out of war himself. While much of the union preferred peace, there were also those among Eric’s forces who had made a living out of the war, and which he could smoothly channel into some other conflict. In general, Eric’s involvement in the Brandenburg-Pomeranian conflict would be far less intensive than his war in Schleswig, and with Brandenburg being landlocked it did not affect those not directly engaged very much.

The territorial goal of Frederick was the conquest of the Uckermark, but more than that it was to gain recognition of Pomerania being a vassal of Brandenburg. While the first goal was more concrete, the second was arguably more important – especially for the Pomeranians who stood to lose. Their hope was that through holding off the Brandenburgers, the King would come to realize that it was more realistic to have them as direct vassal rather than trying to control them through the Margraviate. While Frederick could hire mercenaries from his Franconian possessions, the Pomeranians received reinforcements from the east by and the north by sea, and the conflict would devolve into a stalemate, with brief periods of success for one side that would soon be undone by the other.

While Eric involved himself in the typical feudal squabbles of the minor Princes in the Empire, a far larger conflict was brewing in the south. Having been condemned as heretics at the council of Constance, the Hussites of Bohemia rose into open revolt after the death of King Wenceslaus in 1419, refusing to recognize King Sigismund as his successor. Initial attempts to crush the revolt were spectacularly defeated, unable to defeat the Hussites under the leadership of Jan Zizka. Worse still for Sigismund, the Hussites were soon able to go on the offensive and perform deep raids and attacks into Catholic lands, threatening to undermine his rule. The war against the Hussites was declared a crusade and began attracting zealous and ambitious knights from all over Europe, including King Eric’s realms. Those who returned with their lives told shocking stories of how entire armies of heavy cavalry shattered against seemingly impregnable wagon-fortresses or were shot to pieces by black powder weapons. Truly the Hussites were no mere peasant uprising, but a force to be reckoned with.

While seemingly not directly affecting Eric’s domain, the crusade would prove to be an important part of his diplomatic situation in the years to come. The Hussites enjoyed Polish support, which naturally made them an enemy of the Teutonic Order. When Eric allied with Wladyslaw of Poland, the Order could therefore accuse him of supporting the heretic movement. Being branded as a supporter of the Hussites would ruin Eric’s relationship with King Sigismund, who was not only the cousin and close friend of Eric, but also who’s support Eric saw as a necessity for his ambitions. Additionally, it was known that Frederick of Brandenburg refused to take up arms against the Hussites. It was thus not only out of a desire for personal glory, nor to help his friend, but as a diplomatic maneuver that King Eric in 1423 journeyed south to arrange for a northern intervention in the Hussite war. In doing so, he hoped to deflect any accusation of supporting heresy, and in return gain Imperial support against both the Knights and Brandenburg.
 
Queen Philippa’s regency and the Union of Copenhagen
Queen Philippa’s regency and the Union of Copenhagen

Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of Henry IV of England, had left her native land for Scandinavia, where she would marry King Eric and become Queen of all three of his Kingdoms in 1406, merely 12 years old. She spent her adolescence being tutored by Margaret, as well as the granddaughter of St Bridget herself. Philippa proved herself to be a capable Queen, communicating in excellent Latin with her husband, and being given lands in both Norway, Sweden and Denmark to administer as her own. Eric put great trust in his wife, ever since his childhood Margaret had been a living example that capability was not a matter of gender. During parts of the Schleswig war, Philippa had acted as his representative in Sweden, where she had done a commendable job ensuring continued support for the war. She was to be where the King could not. After ten years of marriage, no heir had been born to the couple, but Eric still saw Philippa as massively important in ensuring his legacy. In the case of Eric’s premature death, he entrusted her to guarantee his cousin’s succession, and to give her a sufficient base to do this from he further expanded her lands to include most of western and central Sweden. These lands had belonged to Margaret before her and was sometimes referred to as the Queen’s lands.

When Eric left for Germany in 1423, it was for him only natural that Philippa be left in charge of all three Kingdoms with him gone, although there were grumblings from the privy councils that this was precisely what they were supposed to do.

A large part of Philippa’s regency would be dominated by diplomacy with the Hansa. The gratitude of the reinstated old council had quickly worn off, as Eric continually expanded the rights of Scandinavian cities, making it more difficult for Hanseatic merchants to conduct trade on their own terms there. This was a policy that had started under Margaret and was ramped up under Eric. From an average of one new town each year being granted privileges in the years 1398-1412, Eric had granted new rights to two or three cities every year since Margaret’s death, likely to improve the union’s economy during the war in Schleswig. The King desired to make sweeping urban reforms in his Kingdoms, but realizing that doing so would antagonize the Hansa, he attempted to do so gradually*. Additionally, Eric often sent contradictory letters to the Hansa and the cities themselves, sowing confusion about what rules applied to whom and diverting blame from himself. Even so, by the 1420’s the Hansa really began feel the restrictions that was beginning to be placed on them.

The relationship between the Hansa and Eric were not however merely one of animosity though. Hanseatic trade remained vital for many parts of Scandinavia that relied upon the export of raw materials, as well as salt imports, and the Hansa made good money acting as the middlemen for this trade. At the same time, Eric’s engagement in the conflict with Brandenburg indirectly supported the independence of the Wendish cities of the Hansa, who otherwise might come under the influence of the Margrave. It was therefore not obvious to most in the Hansa that the answer to their problems was an armed response, neither was there consensus about the practical possibilities of such a war. The wars against Valdemar Atterdag half a century ago were still remembered, where the league – though successful on the battlefield, had proved itself unable to translate their victory to long-term gain. Their occupations of key Danish cities had quickly been undermined with little they could do about it, leading to an embarrassing evacuation by the Hansa in 1385. That was decades ago, and with the Kingdoms of the north now unified, it seemed even less likely that a head-on confrontation would bring gain to the league.

In a meeting in Flensburg in 1423, the King and representatives of six Hanseatic towns, including Lübeck, concluded that an agreement should be worked out to resolve the trade dispute. The final meeting where this was to be agreed would not take place until Eric had already left his domain, later that year in Copenhagen. It was therefore up to Philippa to negotiate an agreement with the League that would satisfy both parts. A main grievance of the Hansa was that King Eric insisted the Hanseatic merchants only used Danish coins when trading in Denmark, the League detested these coins, since they often were found to contain insufficient amounts of silver. To resolve this issue, Philippa would negotiate a currency union between the Kalmar Union and the Wendish Hanseatic cities. A new six-penny coin was introduced, which would be worth the same in both Scandinavia as in the Wendish cities. Notably, Philippa got the representatives of the League to agree that the coins minted in Eric’s realms only needed to contain 11 lod of silver while those minted in the League should contain 12. This essentially meant that Nordic coins would contain 6% less silver than the Hanseatic ones, but still be traded on a one-to-one basis, in exchange for giving up the demand that the Hansa only traded with Danish currency.

This considerable act of negotiation of Philippa had succeeded in both diffusing tension with the Hanseatic league and in a sense strengthen the economic situation of the north. The benefits would soon be felt, not least in Sweden, where Queen Philippa’s popularity rose to new levels after the agreement was signed. There is some dispute whether Philippa acted out of her own volition or carried out a plan devised together with her husband before he left for his journey. In either case, Philippa had managed the situation masterfully and ensured that Nordic-Hanseatic cooperation could continue for the time being.

*As opposed to granting 22 new towns privileges between 1412-1415 as in otl. I couldn't exactly find a natural way to express in story how insanely aggressive Eric's urban policies were in the first years following Margaret's death.
 
It reminds me I visited Vordingborg castle ruin a week ago with an archaeologist who told about the political annd economic implications of the castle. Valdemar Atterdag was the latest to build on it, and it was one of the most important royal residencies in his, his daughter’s, and Erik’s reigns.

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The reason for its economic importance was because it lay on the route from Lübeck to the Sound, to Sweden and even the eastern Baltic. While its political importance was because it was the main base for invasions of the southern Baltic coast. According to archaeologist the last castle was also more for prestige than defense, as the outside the inner royal castle, the outer castle had too thin upper walls and the moat was more for decoration than defense.

A better relationship with the Hanseatic League will likely keep Vordingborg Castle important far into the 16th century, when the main trading route out of the Baltic shift from Lübeck-Hamburg to through the Kattegat. As such I could see Erik expand both the fortification and urban part of Vordingborg and maybe even build the town’s southern port a century earlier.
 
Lancaster talent at it's finest!
Sure we can call it that, though the Dane in me want to say it's Margaret's upbringing coming through. ;)

A better relationship with the Hanseatic League will likely keep Vordingborg Castle important far into the 16th century, when the main trading route out of the Baltic shift from Lübeck-Hamburg to through the Kattegat. As such I could see Erik expand both the fortification and urban part of Vordingborg and maybe even build the town’s southern port a century earlier.
Eric clearly had some personal attatchment to the town as well, given that he went out of his way to steal the original gold goose from the tower when he left Denmark in otl. It's interesting to think about which towns would develop differently in these kinds of timelines, though I usually don't go into much detail on it.
 
Pomerania, Brandenburg and the Hussites 2: Fall of the Margrave
Pomerania, Brandenburg and the Hussites 2: Fall of the Margrave

While Queen Philippa reformed the currency of the Kalmar Union, King Eric journeyed south. The expedition would take Eric to Germany and Hungary to meet King Sigismund, and Poland where he would finally attend the wedding of his cousin Bogislaw to Princess Hedwig. It would also include a pilgrimage to the holy land, with Venice and Ragusa being stops along the way. While in Jerusalem, Eric became a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher – just like his great-grandfather Valdemar IV had been. Yet, the journey was not merely one of personal enjoyment, but a diplomatic one. Eric would be engaged in talks with King Sigismund about participation in the Hussite crusade, he would meet the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order to discuss the possibility of redeeming Estonia – no agreement was reached, but the possibility of Teutonic forces joining Nordic ones in a campaign to Bohemia was discussed. At the same time, details of what a joint Polish-Scandinavian attack on the Teutonic Order might entail was discussed with King Wladyslaw, truly Eric examined his every possibility.

There was an initial setback to the journey, however. Eric had planned to follow the river Oder at the start of his travels, but it ran straight through Frederick of Brandenburg’s domain. Still engaged in conflict with the Pomeranians, whom Eric supported, it quickly became clear that Frederick did not intend to grant the King free passage through his lands. Enraged, Eric re-routed his journey to initially follow the Elbe, but the insolence of the Margrave would not be forgotten.

From having been an ally of King Sigismund until his enfeoffment, Frederick had quickly become a chief opponent of his liege. Accusing the King of neglecting Germany in favor of his other domains, Hungary in particular, Frederick became a driving force in creating the league of Bingen in 1424. The idea was that the electors of the Holy Roman Empire would take it upon themselves to govern when Sigismund could not. It is hard to gage what Frederick and the electors who joined him believed that they were doing, it is fully possible that they truly saw their actions as being the best course of action for the Empire. Sigismund however saw only treason and a direct challenge to his authority as King, the league would have to be torn down. Luckily for Sigismund, it appeared that there was relatively little unity among the Electors. He convinced Frederick of Saxony to abandon the league in early 1425 and to instead support the King again. With this first sign of disunity, the Rhenish electors began to waver, until Frederick of Hohenzollern remained the only firm believer in the league.

It is likely that Frederick would have abandoned the league sooner or later, but by this time Sigismund’s trust in him had been entirely hollowed out. Frederick had failed to restore order in the Mark, or extending imperial authority to the Baltic, he had refused to support the King in his war against the Hussites, and lastly openly organized a league to undermine Sigismund’s authority. Frederick would have to go, and Sigismund conducted a plan with Eric about how this would be done. In 1425, Frederick tired of the constant feuding with not only the Pomeranians, but also his own nobility in Brandenburg. He retreated to Franconia and intended to transfer the regency of the Margravate to his son, John. This was the perfect excuse for Sigismund to take a note out of his father’s book. In 1371 Charles IV had retracted Otto ‘the Lazy’s right to Brandenburg on the basis of him neglecting it’s government, now Sigismund accused Frederick of the same. It was naturally assumed that Frederick would not simply accept this ruling, and that an invasion of Brandenburg would be necessary to force him out.

This is where Eric came in. Upon his return to the North, he gatherd an army and took part in an invasion of the Margravate from the north. This would in turn would open up a route to Bohemia for him to support Sigismund’s crusade against the Hussites. The army was partly Scandinavian, but in large part made up of the same Pomeranians and Mecklenburgers who had defended against Frederick for half a decade. There was also a contingent of Teutonic forces joining Eric’s invasion. They not only wanted to support the crusade in Bohemia, but Frederick had also antagonized them with his ambition to recover the Neumark which had been pawned to the order in 1402. Frederick’s son John oversaw the defense of Brandenburg, but he was a bookish young man who found little joy in picking up a sword. With an already unruly bunch of nobles to deal with, no effective resistance could be organized, and the Margraviate was quickly overran. After two years of trying and failing to mount a counterattack, Frederick had to accept that his time as Margrave was over. He relinquished Brandenburg officially in 1427, on the condition that the electoral dignity would remain his until his death, much like Otto ‘the Lazy’ had done half a century before him.

The question was of course then what was to be done with Brandenburg itself. Border territories were picked off by opportunistic Pomeranians and Mecklenburgers, while the Order entrenched itself in Neumark, but the core territory of the Mark still needed a ruler. Sigismund knew he could not simply take it for himself, given how overextended his domain already was. It would have to go to someone he could trust not to immediately begin opposing him like Frederick had, who would provide support for him in Bohemia, and who would not act as a roadblock between Sigismund and Eric. The choice fell upon John of Palatine-Neumarkt, who had played a key role in supporting the invasion of Brandenburg from the south. A skilled commander who had achieved some of the Empire's rare victories against the Hussites, John had also been married to Catherine of Pomerania - Sigismund’s cousin and Eric’s sister, although she had passed in 1426. Their son and heir Christopher was thus Sigismund’s first cousin once removed and Eric’s nephew. John was himself a nephew of Frederick of Hohenzollern.

Thus, with the defeat of Frederick of Hohenzollern, the house of Wittelsbach returned to Brandenburg fifty years after having lost it, although a completely different branch of the family. It is likely that Eric had been the one to suggest John as new Margrave, it might even have been a demand for him to go through with the invasion. In either case, both Eric and Sigismund hoped that this meant the road between Bohemia and Scandinavia would be open, as Eric prepared to take his forces to fight in the Hussite crusade.
 
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