A Look back on Scandinavia, Reigns of Eric II and the Civil War (1357 - 1400)
Since King Birgers formation of the Kingdom of Finland the once ailing line of Folke was in steady growth. Whilst the Finnish branch proved to be more fertile, the Swedish branch that traced their lineage from King Valdemar (1239 -1302) managed to survive as well. The increased ties between the royal cousins and marriages with the royal families of Denmark and Norway saw the Folkung become possibly the most prominent dynasty in the North.
Due to King Magnus I of Finland having married Sophia Estridsen of Denmark, King Valdemar married Princess Jutta (also known as Judith) Estridsen of Denmark, and surprisingly both marriages proved to be both happy and fruitful [1]. Valdemar had six children with Jutta, two of whom were boys (Princes Erik and Haakon) and four daughters (Ingeborg, Marina, Katarina and Margareta).
From there the Swedish branch grew in prestige and power and eventually King Magnus III [2] was crowned as the hereditary King of Norway in august of 1319, making him the most powerful man in the North. Though some Norweigians rebelled, these rebels led by Erling Vidkunsson eventually submitted and peace was restored.
In 1332 King Christopher II of Denmark died as a "King without a Country" after having pawned off his lands one by one. King Magnus III took advantage of this and bought Skåneland from him, only elevating his power. However when Magnus was crowned in Stockholm in 1336 as King of Sweden and Norway both, the Norweigians began to resent him due to the crowning as King of Norway not taking place in Norway.
In 1335 Magnus married Blanche of Namur, the daughter of Count John I, Marquis of Namur. The couple had two sons: Eric and Haakon.
Despite the Norweigians resentment, King Magnus managed to soothe the ruffeled weathers by naming many Norweigians to High positions of authority and generally making the personal union more equal for both parties. [3]
When Magnus III died in 1350, his firstborn son Erik reigned briefly as the King of Sweden and Norway, but died soon after in 1353. He was supposedly poisoned by his mother, and as such his brother Haakon rose to the throne. He married the young princess of Denmark, Margaret whom was the daughter of King Valdemar IV Atterdag.
The marrige had originally meant to act as a bridge for Haakon helping Valdemar IV gain Skåne, but due to him now being the King he found the idea of giving away his richest province quite reprehensible and denied Valdemar IV Skåne. These events would lead to the Valdemar crossing the Sound in 1360 and invading Skåne and Gotland.
With the deaths of Magnus III and Erik, the last member of the Folkung dynasty remaining in Sweden was Haakon VI of Sweden and Norway. Previously having planned on aiding King Valdemar IV Atterdag take over Skåne, he had married his youngest daughter Margaret to solidify the alliance. However when he became the King he suddenly had no interest in giving his lands to a foreigner. As such, in April 1360, the Atterdag crossed the sound with an army of twelve thousand men and began to siege Halland, Blekinge and Skåne.
With Danes within his lands, King Haakon called his banners to him and marched south with a force of some ten thousand. His force was purely Swedish one. As to the reason there are several theories, one of which being that the Norweigian nobles had no desire to fight a "Swedish war", or the simple pressures of logistics of mustering Norweigian troops so far from their own borders in a short period of time. Whatever the reason, in the end the Swedish armies met the Danish ones alone.
Of the battle itself there are previous few recollections, but what is known that Atterdag himself lead the Danish army, whilst Haakon lead the Swedish host in battle. The end result was a devastating defeat for the Swedes. When King Haakon died during the battle the host was thrown into confusion and if not for the decisive leadership of Bo Johanson Grip, the host would've certainly been destroyed completely. Grip managed to lead the host into strategic retreat after it became clear that the wily Atterdag was gaining ground.
With King Haakon's death, his infant son Olaf became the King of Norway; a position which was hereditary, but in Sweden a power struggle ensued. The Houses of Wasa, Grip, Oxenstierna, Tott, Brask, Bonde, Bielke and Sture began to vie for power. Some would suggest giving the crown to the only remaining branch of the Folkung line; King Erik II of Finland. The Swedish throne would remain contested until the beginning of the 70s.
Fresh from his victory, the Atterdag pressed his advantage and sailed to Gotland with a host of several thousand and captured Visby. At the aftermath of the siege, the citizens of Visby gathered their precious belongins and gave them to the invaders to save them from a sack. Whilst the conquest wasn't the most bloody in history, several churches and monasteries were still plundered for wealth. Declaring himself King of Gotland, the Atterdag sailed back to Denmark, having achieved a total victory.
However little did he know that in his victories were also the seeds of his defeat. By sacking Visby, a Hanseatic city he had made an enemy of the League. Whilst their initial conflict in 1362 known as the Battle of Helsingborg was a decisive victory for the Danes, the League merely signed the treaty of Vordinborg in order to lick their wounds and replenish their numbers... and alliances.
Back in Norway, Olaf II was being raised with his mother Margaret as regent. With the politics of Scandinavia in flux Atterdag had him brought to Copenhagen in order to ensure that Norway would not participate in the conflict to come. This would eventually result in Olaf II being a Folkung in only name, with his mannerism and education being fit for an Estridsen.
For five long years an uneasy peace reigned in the North. With Sweden in conflict with itself, Norway ruled by an infant king and the Danes celebrating their victorie, but when the cities of the Hanseatic League created the Confederation of Cologne to battle the Danes and signed a compact with Finland and Sweden, the war started anew.
With what Swedish armies remained attacking Skåne, the Finnish fleet sailing for Gotland and claiming Visby and the Confederations fleet ensuring their dominance of the Sound, the Danes were eventually forced into submission. The stipulations of the Treaty of Straslund (1370) granted Gotland back to Sweden, restored trade privilidges to the Hanseatic League and Finland gaining war reparations from Denmark, the anual income of Gotland from Sweden for a period of five years and war subsidies from the League for several more years.
However the large prize of Skåne, Blekinge and Halland Denmark managed to keep, and though the Atterdag was weakened, he was far from defeated.
Whilst Denmark officially lost the war against the League of Cologne and was forced to sign the Treaty of Straslund, it was war from being the last time that the rulers of Scandinavia would hear from Valdemar Atterdag. Whilst his armies and coffers were spent for now, and rebellions were rising in southern Jutland, he merely went back to reigning in Denmark and planning his next move.
Across the Baltic the Crown of Kaleva had just come out of Regency for King Eric II and the enthusiastic young monarch was finally released from his mothers skirts. The past four years had been spent largely in Court, with few outings east to the lands of the Rus to spend time with his relatives, but now that he was finally allowed free reign the enthusiastic young monarch spent substantial amounts of time in the Estonian Marches like his father.
With an uneasy peace in the air, the Swedish estates gathered to negotiate their dilemma of having no king. Some suggested that a King should be picked from the nobles assembled, but with each House eager for the position it became clear that there would be no compromise; hence other options were considered. Some suggested King Eric II of Finland as King due to him being the last Folkung ruler not under Danish yoke, but that did not come to anything either due to the lords not desiring to be under a personal union.
After endless days of bickering the nobles were unable to come up with a solution to appease everyone and the meeting ended with the nobles parting and forming their own groups.
Seeing his chance, the Atterdag began to soothe the ruffled feathers in Sweden and soon received the support of a formidable group of noblemen whom were willing to support a Danish monarch in hopes of ending the stalemate and bringing peace to the region. Many of these noblemen were from Götaland.
At the same time another group of nobles headed by the Grip family were attempting to create a strong faction to place a noble of Swedish blood on the throne. The peace of Straslund would not last for long and was was looming in the air.
By 1374 the Atterdag was ready again. Naming Albrecht IV of Mecklenburg as his heir, he pressed for his Swedish allies to rally to place him on the throne of Sweden as well. By 1375 he crossed the Sound once again and marched northwards from Skåne.
To the east King Eric II was fuming at the crown not being offered to him. As the last "true" Folkung monarch he raised an army of five thousand and set sail from Åbo. On his way to Sweden he first captured the island of Åland which was lightly garrisoned and set sail from there until he landed in Gästrikland.
With Eric II marching south and Valdemar IV marching north, Grip mustered what support he could and marched south to meet what he presumed to be the greater threat. The hosts met at Kolmården forest and after a furious battle Grip managed to push the Danes back, though the victory wasn't decisive it gave him some breathing space and allowed him to replenish his forces.
Meanwhile to the north, Eric II was besieging town after town, castle after castle on his way to Stockholm. His progress was slow and by all accounts the "war" was still going on by the end of the 70s, with the Danes controlling Götaland, the Swedes controlling most of Svealand and the Finns being supplied via sea and foraging controlling odd coastal towns and castles by Gästrikland and Uppland.
The largest game changer during the first decade of the Kalmar War however was the death of the Atterdag in 1379. After prolonged warfare with all that it involved, he was caught by illness and died in Skåne. With his death the Danish nobles elected Albrecht IV of Mecklenburg as Albrecht I of Denmark, and continued to press his claim on the Swedish crown.
Whilst the first four years of the conflict later on known as the Kalmar War had been slow, with only one major battle; the 80s saw the conflict becoming more and more fierce. Whilst to the south the Danes were using their superior numbers and wealth to funnel mercenaries into Sweden, and to the north the some five thousand Finns were ravaging Uppland; the Svea were proving their stubbornness by refusing to surrender. Lead by Bo Johansson Grip the independent faction was refusing to give an inch. Whilst they no longer had the numbers to challenge the Finns or the Danes in the open for long, they were melting into their forests and lakes and generally being a nuisance. The Finns had an easier time dealing with them, being used to this kind of fighting, but the Danes whom were shaken by the loss of the Atterdag and now under the careful control of Drost Henning Podebusk[4], were restricting themselves to the towns and fortifications, only marching out in force.
The war itself was slow work for all involved, whilst the occupying armies had foraged at start, they were finding it more and more difficult to get food from Sweden and as such had to rely on either ships or vulnerable caravans to import food from their homelands. The added difficulty proved both a blessing and a curse, since all sides were suffering and nobody was content.
By 1405 King Erik II had managed to subjugate what is now Gästrikland, some of Uppland, Hälsingland and some of Dalarna, but was blocked from entering Stockholm by grip and some seven thousand of the remaining Swedes; whom were waiting for an opportune moment to strike at one of the armies.
To the south the Danes under Podebusk were holding Småland and the vast majority of Västergotland, but proved to be stubborn in their digging in as they were waiting for Albrecht to be crowned as their King before continuing the costly campaign.
On the fifth of may in 1385, Albrecht of the House of Mecklenburg was crowned by the Grace of God as the King of Denmark. His first act as to acknowledge his support for the conquest of Sweden to be unified as a part of his realm. The Kalmar War took a sharp turn then, with even more money and troops being funneled into Sweden, and Podebusk being ordered to advance and destroy the Swedes lead by Grip.
With the news arriving, King Erik II pressed what he thought to be his advantage and marched towards Sigtuna with four thousand of his best. Upon arriving close to the city he maneuvered with Grip for several days before giving battle on the outskirts of the village of Kungsängen.
The battle of Kungsängen Fields which was fought in april of 1388 was a turning point in the war, and would determine the ruler of Sweden; as the Danes were fast approaching the county and the victor here would have a stronger defensive position behind the walls of Sigtuna and Stockholm.
The battle itself took place on the fields, and the armies began in normal battle array. The Finnish troops were more trained and of higher quality, but the Swedish levies under Grip had nearly a 2:1 advantage in numbers. In order to win the battle King Erik II decided to use what he had the most superiority in: heavy cavalry.
Committing his cavalry to a charge, he shattered the first three ranks of the Swedish levies whom were unused to battling heavy horse. With rank after rank being crushed under the charge of the Finnish Knights, it seemed like the battle would be won in short order, but after breaking through multiple ranks the heavy cavalry lead by the King himself were losing their momentum and when they met some large boulders at the back of the Swedish host they were forced to halt.
Sending in what reserves he had, Grip soon surrounded the King and his knights and a ferocious bloodshed ensued. The cream of Finnish chivalry fought and bled to defend their king and the rest of the Finnish host advanced in hopes of saving the Folkung monarch, but the Swedish advantage in numbers was beginning to show. Maimed by an unknown assailant (according to legend Grip himself) King Erik II fell at the Battle of Kungsängen Fields. With his death the Finnish host fell to the command of Margrave Georg II Pärn whom lead the retreat to Gästrikland.
Thinking themselves victorious, the Swedish let their guard down, but when the Danish banners began to appear in the distance they had no choice, but to fight again. With a well supplied and organized force, the Drost managed to destroy the Swedish host and capture Grip, ending the Kalmar War.
With the death of King Eric II and the destruction of Grip's host in Sweden, the Kalmar War ended with the crowning of Albrecht I of Denmark as the King of Sweden as well. The situation in Scandinavia finally cooled down, and even if the Swedish were loud in their complaints, they were not strong enough to do anything about it for now.
With Sweden and Denmark now at peace, the people were free to return to their fields and general peace was restored, even if some Danish mercenaries remained in the Götaland to ensure that no rebellions would arise. The most notable event in 1391 for Scandinavia was the trial and execution of Bo Johansson Grip, whom had led the Swedish struggle against the Danes and Finns. Sadly for Albrecht however, he would have long to celebrate his victory, as he managed to alienate the nobility of his new realms, with said nobility turning to Margaret, the daughter of Atterdag for support. After a brief war Albrecht found himself deposed in favour of his wife, dying soon after of unspecified reasons.
Margaret, having already outlived two Kings was gaining a bit of a reputation and soon after named a certain Eric of Pomerania as his heir to the Throne, considering a marriage alliance with England, but in the end deciding against that due to not wishing to get involved in the Hundred Years War.
With the defeat at Kungsängen Fields, the Finnish host was left under the command of Margrave Georg II Pärn whom after recovering the Kings body and crown returned first to Gästrikland where he slowly withdrew the Finnish host to the coast where the ships of the Navy picked them up. However despite the calls for him to return to Borga, he set sail and landed in Tallinn where he buried the King under the St.Olaf's Church.
In order to understand his actions one must understand the situation going on within the Kingdom. With King Eric II's death, the succession was...questioned. The Kings only issue was the 11 years old Princess Rikissa. With no male heir, the nobility felt that an heir must be sought elsewhere, but with the Folkung line already numbering only half the fingers of one hand, they could only find Baron Valdemar Folkung of Esbo whom was 9 years of age.
Though the Rälssi first gathered at Borga in 1389 and then 1392 and 94, no compromise could be found. many of the more conservative members were pressing Valdemar for the throne, where as the richer and more urban nobility were wishing for Princess Rikissa to succeed to the Crown of Kaleva.
It is not truly known how the Succession War started, but the attributed date is 1385 and the act is some man at arms maiming one of Lord Sune III Bååts cousins at an inn. The Bååt's despite their location in the Vanajavesi region were loyal to the Princess, and the maiming acted as the catalyst for a conflict, with the nobility calling their levies and rallying their men at arms for the conflict.
The war remained a series of skirmishes and maneuvers, but as it became clear that neither side could win this kind of war the men turned to more... brutal pursuits. Farms were burned, the womenfolk raped and castles were set to the torch. The lords hosts became little more than packs of animals preying on what they thought to be the enemy, and had the Margare of Estonia not issued an ultimatum to use the royal host to destroy both sides the Kingdom would've been on its knees for good.
With the Rälssi in attendance and arguing over whom the rightful monarch should be, the Margrave entered the Great Hall with the Crown of Kaleva and slowly advanced towards the claimants whom both rose from their seats to be crowned by him. However to everyone's surprise, he did not crown either of them, but merely walked past them to the throne sitting at the end of the hall, and placed the crown upon it.
Turning to the assembled noblemen, the Margrave held a scathing speech where he condemned the lords for their greed and injustice in attempting to place a monarch by force. Such power held his words that the assembled lords were convinced to choose a new king; this time by election rather than warfare.
In the months that followed the Rälssi finally agreed to the crowning of Rikissa as Queen Rikissa I. Soon after, an envoy from the now Margaret led Union of Kalmar arrived, proposing marriage of Rikissa to her heir Eric of Pomerania, bringing the Crown of Kaleva into the Union of Kalmar.
[1]: In OTL Valdemar married Sophia, but Jutta was his mistress.
[2]: Originally King Magnus IV in OTL, but this time descended from Valdemar rather than Magnus.
[3]: Different from OTL where Magnus IV had to make concessions due to being weakened by foreign wars, especially against Novgorod. The Crusade never happened in this timeline due to Finland acting as a border for both.
[4]: A Danish Statesman of Slavic origin and one of the Atterdags closest friends. He is acting as Regent until Albrecht can be crowned.
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Wow, sorry for a long and messy update. Thankfully I had a lot of material on the backend, but regardless I had to reconsider a lot of the succession issues and how I wanted to take it from here. I decided against the Palaiologosi this time as I feel they were a bit of a gimmick, so will instead bring Finland closer to the other Nordic Kingdoms this time around with participation in the Union of Kalmar.