The twin-headed Griffin
When a singly dynasty sits on multiple thrones, it is a double-edged sword for its members. On one hand, the ascension of Bogislaw I to the throne of Poland sparked hope for deepened cooperation with King Eric’s domain, on the other hand it increased the likelihood of succession disputes between the two realms. The first such arose already in 1446 with the passing of Bogislaw IX, who had managed a small partition of Pomerania from Stolp on the behalf of Eric for the last several decades, much like his father had done before him. It was quite natural that Bogislaw I of Poland wished to succeed his father in this, but Eric was none to keen to see that happen. Eric had been able to treat his cousin as a loyal vassal, and an important agent when it came to continental affairs, but he knew that such a relationship would be impossible to maintain with King Bogislaw of Poland. As such, letting him manage Stolp would likely mean giving up influence in the territory, possibly forever.
Murmurs of war began to be heard around the Baltic, but neither Eric nor Bogislaw truly wanted to fight the other. It was the alliance between Eric’s domains and Poland-Lithuania that had defeated the Teutonic Order a mere decade earlier, but if the two allies turned to enemies there was no saying that the Knights wouldn’t rebound and try to reclaim their lost territories. Additionally, there was still the hope that a new coalition of Christian Princes could be formed and launch a new crusade against the Ottomans, but a war between Eric and Bogislaw would surely dash these hopes. Finally, King Bogislaw had bigger worries than his tiny native Duchy. Though his Piast blood had secured him a smooth succession in Poland, Bogislaw was viewed as a foreigner in Lithuania and would have to enforce his rule with force of arms there. Additionally, the Hungarians had elected a Habsburg prince over Bogislaw to succeed Wladyslaw III. Both Lithuania and Hungary were higher priorities for the young King, and as such making enemies of a trusted northern ally was none to enticing for him.
As such it was agreed that a compromise solution would have to be found. A distant Griffin cousin of Eric and Bogislaw was found in the son of the Duke of Wolgast, also named Eric. He would take over the administration of Stolp on the behalf of King Eric, and to ensure that the connection to Poland wasn’t lost, he was engaged to Bogislaw’s 16-year-old sister Sophia. From a grand strategical perspective, it may have seemed like a waste for Bogislaw to give his only sister’s hand for influence in such a tiny Duchy, but since the marriage was just as much about maintaining the alliance between the two Kings it was seen as a worthy goal. As with most compromises, neither side was left truly happy. Eric II would be much harder to control by King Eric, as the two were not nearly as close as the former cousins had been, and for King Bogislaw it meant losing his direct influence over Stolp. But conflict had been avoided for now, and that was what mattered the most. A small silver lining for King Eric was that he had quietly taken back the castles granted to Bogislaw IX s fiefs in Lolland and Falster without anyone raising a fuzz about it, this was normal in Denmark where hereditary fiefs were rare. Eric transferred these castles to his son Christopher, with much the same intention as they had once been given to Bogislaw, namely, to ensure a power base to ensure his succession once the King passed.
Christopher was growing into a young man, at the same time as his father grew older and weaker, and with the passing of Bogislaw IX, the Prince of Norway became Eric’s premier representative in foreign matters. Already in the winter of 1444 he had been sent to Cracow to attend Bogislaw I’s coronation. Christopher had remained with his second cousin in Poland for a few months, before travelling to Brandenburg where he attended the wedding of his cousin, Margrave Christopher. This gave him the chance to meet several important players in German politics. The Prince was described to resemble his father, tall and graceful, though having inherited his mother’s reddish hair, and conversing equally well in both Low German, Polish and Latin. Much like Margaret had done to Eric, Christopher had received several written instructions from his parents on how to conduct himself in foreign affairs, though he seemingly did not heed these as closely as his father had. In either case, Christopher was starting to establish himself as a known figure in continental Europe, where he quite freely – and disregarding the unresolved nature of his succession – referred to himself as Prince of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
When news of Christopher’s disregard for the electoral process reached back north, there was an outcry in both Denmark and Sweden, but especially the latter. Upon his return, Queen Philippa gave her son a stern lecture about the dangers of such overreach, while Eric couldn’t help to be proud of his son’s ambition. In either case the King and Queen decided that their son would take on more domestic responsibilities as well, he already held lands in Lolland and Falster, and Phillippa agreed to cede a large portion of her Swedish lands to Christopher directly. These were concentrated around Westrogothia, leaving Philippa mainly with her lands in Nercia and Vadstena. As with his Danish lands, his territories in Sweden were to ensure his royal election in the future.
