Pohjolan Isännät: An Alternate History of Finland

Did this one die too or do we get an update?

I really do wish this to be continued, as it seems expertly written and intriguing to the highest degree.

OP is also most likely Finnish, so I can show up at his house with a torch and a pitchfork should there be any misunderstandings.
 
Reign of Eric I (1300 - 1343)
Reign of Eric I (1300 - 1343)
With the death of King Magnus several months prior, the Rälssi gathered to elect a new King. The end result was little in doubt, and the son of Magnus and grandson of Birger Eric was elected with little fuss. At 17 years of age he was less prepared for the role than his father had been, but more than made up for it with sheer energy and a Christian sort of idealism. He'd been raised largely by his father as his mother Sophia had died some 14 years earlier when Eric was only 3 years of age.

The early death of his mother and the influence of his many sisters (he was the sole son of the six children Magnus and Sophia had) resulted in Eric growing up a pious son, oft spending his days in study or debate with the Bishop of Åbo over some particulars of religion or custom. This did not change much in the early years of his reign as Eric focused his efforts largely on personal projects such as importing horse flesh from the Teutonic Knights to create proper 'Knights' for his realm, leaving much of the management and day to day running of the kingdom to his advisers.

With the kingdoms borders now secure, the Kingdom seemed to enter an era of peaceful prosperity as new sources of goods; largely Fur, Amber and Copper were discovered and exported via the new trade routes founded in Åbo and Vyborg into the wider world. By and far the largest trade partners were the Free Cities of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic coast, with Lübeck being the port of call for Finnish goods in the Germanies. The newfound prosperity for the first time in history began to see the native Finnish shipping industry boom, and caused the previously simple hunters and farmers to begin to view the Baltic as something more than a source of fish.

The already tapped trade route with England, for which the Finns exported vast amounts of timber, tar and hemp grew ever larger as the Finns adopted a method of slash-and-burn agriculture, cutting down large segments of their native forests to expand their fields, in the process creating vast tar pits which could then be transported westwards to help with shipbuilding and maintenance; further strenghtening the Kingdoms economy.

Though Eric had little interest in trade, he was eager to tie his realm closer to the western Catholic realms going so far as to write a personal letter to Pope Clement V by his own hand, detailing his plans to convert more and more of his people to the True Faith. The letter itself has survived in the Vatican archives to this day and remains an interesting window into the state of the Finnish religions at the time; detailing a kingdom torn by three different identities: Catholic which was rapidly spreading to encompass the coastal regions populated by Swedes and 'Finns', Orthodoxy which had arrived with the Slavic refugees only recently, but had a steady presence around the city of Vyborg, and finally the old pagan ways which dominated inland Finland.

Despite numerous attempts by both Catholic and Orthodox Bishops to convert the native Finns, they'd often agree to baptism, only to run to their nearest 'Katumajärvi'[1] to repent to the Old Gods, forcing the Priests whom discovered it to go through the song and dance again and again. In his letter, Eric detailed the new way of proselytizing he and the Bishop of Åbo had come up with, changing the target of conversion from men and tribal leaders to the wives and mothers of children whom had a tendency to be more open to the idea of a forgiving, merciful god of whom they'd teach to their children, implanting the ideals of the Church to them from an early age. Though the process of conversion turned out to be slower than many would've preferred, it was far more certain and with the passage of years more and more of the formerly pagan tribal Finns of the inland Heimokunnat began to attend Church ceremonies over pagan sacrifices and offerings.

Another inadvertent result of the vastly increased trade relations and shipping was the rediscovery of the Finns strange cousins to the south. The Finnish tribes and Estonians had long been aware of each other and their strangely similar languages, but had paid little attention to each other, with the few ties that had expected largely having been squashed when the Finnish Kingdom was formed and Estonia fell under Dano-German rule.

The story goes that a Finnish trader had sailed to Reval[2], where he had spoken Danish and German to the local merchants to make deals concerning his goods, but once the foreign merchants had left the pier so that only the merchant and some Estonian dockworkers remained he had given to cursing profusely in Finnish over the miserly ways of the locals, only for one of the dockworkers to shout at him to shut up. The fact that he had been told to shut up didn't surprise him at all, it was the language being used. Whilst one couldn't exactly call it Finnish, it was a damned close approximation. Upon returning home he told his story to his friends and it soon spread like wildfire, causing a sudden interest in 'Those Strange Cousins to the South.'

The news, such as they were began to spread around the Kingdom until it finally reached the ears of King Eric in Åbo, whom found himself intrigued by the idea of these 'Finnic Peoples' around the Baltic. Not only was the idea to a scholar such as him interesting on its own merits, he (and quite possibly his now vastly enlarged aristocracy) knew a proper casus belli and chance for expansion when they saw one. At the time however, the realm was not interested in war, so the Kings ambitions only went so far as to pen a letter to the Danish King with an offer of purchase for the duchy so that they could be brought under their 'Rightful King'. When the offer was refused, it appeared not much would come of it, especially with the Great Famine of 1315-17 breaking out in Europe due to a combination of bad weather exacerbated by sudden lack of salt. Though the Kingdom was somewhat protected by the fact that it had yet to make a full transition to an agricultural economy with large swathes of the population, especially inland relying more on hunting, fishing and gathering of berries, mushrooms and such for sustenance, the more advanced coastal regions felt the sting of its touch, losing nearly ten percent of their population in the process.

In the aftermath of the famine the Kingdom continued to prosper however, and King Eric continued his meddling with affairs of the Church, with his continued correspondences with various Popes and Bishops bearing fruit when sometime in the 1320s Pope John XXII formalised the creation of the Bishoriphic of Borga in Nyland and even went so far as to grant the status of Archbishop to the leading Finnish clergyman in Åbo, with the then Archbishop Pentti (Benedictus) Gregoriousson being made Cardinal.

A devout member of the Dominican order, Benedictus' family was a part of the 'Swedish Ascendency' which dominated much of the Kingdoms coastal cities and towns, and was well received in the halls of power in Finland and abroad. When he was named Cardinal and Archbishop in 1321, donning the red robes of a Cardinal to signify their willingness to shed blood for the Holy Mother Church, he journeyed to Rome to take his seat with the Curia. Though his service was long, lasting until 1338 having even served as Vice Chancellor from 1334 to his death, in his will he requested to be buried underneath his home Cathderal in Åbo.

For Eric however the ailments of rule were beginning to weigh heavily and when he suffered a nasty case of pneumonia in 1322 he was never truly the same, his once active nature being replaced by sickly pallor and his personality which had never truly been commanding changing to more and more hermit like. His days were spent locked within his solar with various theologians, mysticians and numerous members of the Teutonic Knights whom were urging the King to hasten the process of conversion of pagans, with force if necessary. His son and heir apparent, Prince Birger was firmly opposed to these measures and found his opposition well received by the Rälssi that gladly took on more and more of the absentee Kings power, weakening the Erican monarchy as a whole.

The discovery of gold and silver[3] in the north of the country however served as a boon, with numerous younger sons of the rapidly growing noble class rallying to the region, creating mining towns and for the first time bringing something more to the regions economy than reindeer. The King may have been absent of rule, but the prosperity continued by sheer momentum as more and more people rallied both to the growing cities in the south, as well as discovering new resource deposits deeper inland.

The latter years of King Erics reign did not cast him in a sympathetic light however, as his mental and physical health continued to deteriorate he became more and more convinced that he was to be the chosen champion of god in converting the Finnish pagans. Recruiting numerous 'advisers' from the Teutonic Knights to the south, he ordered the priests in the central parts of the country to begin forced conversions which would be backed by Germans clad in steel if necessary.

What began as 'conversion by beating' soon escalated with several smaller villages nearly depopulated when they forced to convert, fueling resentment against the King from many of the tribes nearby. In a strange alliance of convenience, the now more and more worried Orthodox Slavs near Vyborg began to quietly lend support to the Finnish and Karelian tribes with coin and iron weapons... worried that should the pagans be so heavy handedly treated they would be next. Soon... the so called 'Rape of Savolax' became a rallying cry against King Eric, and his men which had been augmented by several Teutonic Knights found themselves constantly ambushed and harried near present day Savolax.

Not a single Priest nor Knight left the region with their lives.

When news of the ambush and the loss of Catholic life reached Åbo, King Eric is said to have flown into a frenzy, spitting and cursing all the pagans and false heresies of the east, only to fall face down, clutching his heart as his fragile physique was unable to contend with the sudden burst of rage flowing through his body.

[1]: Repentance lake. A strange pagan custom where Finns would accept baptism only to wash it off so they no longer considered themselves Christian.
[2]: Present day Tallinn.
[3]: The surface mines in Kittilä and Sotkamo of present day to be precise.
 
That's a nice little surprise to find in my alert. I figure the thread to be well and truly dead. :p

Glad to hear it!

I am most certainly determined to continue this as well as I am able, but largely its rate of production is determined by how much time I have.
 
Reign of King Birger II (1343 - 1353) & The Simeonova Regency (1353 - 1357)
Reign of King Birger II (1343 - 1353) & The Simeonova Regency (1353 - 1357)
The aftermath of King Eric's reign was not a pleasant for his son Prince Birger. Though at 21 years of age he was already a man grown, he'd had to watch from the sidelines for years as his beloved fathers health, both mental and physical deteriorated and he fell deeper and deeper into a madness that had threatened to tear apart the fragile peace of faiths that constituted the Crown of Kaleva. After the Rape of Savolax the faith towards continued rule by the Line of Folke was at an all time low, and Birger had very real fears that when the Rälssi would assemble he would not be the King-Elect.

Forced to look abroad for diplomatic support, he struck a pact with Simeon the Proud, by far the most powerful Russian Nobleman and Grand Prince of Moscow, Vladimir and Novgorod, marrying his daughter Vasilisa Simeonova, gifting the Grand Prince a sizable dowry in return. Though Simeon was eager for an alliance which would anchor his north-western flank, allowing him to concentrate his efforts of defending the Rus to the South and East, he could not resist the chance to snub a man whom would be King somewhat by making the required dowry sizable enough to fund his next campaign. Birger, a man with quite a bit to lose was forced to concede to the offer, thankfully securing the diplomatic support of the Grand Prince of the Rus towards his own election.

It remains unclear how much in the know Prince Birger was as to what was about to happen in the Duchy of Estonia, but many historians have noted that the so called 'St Georges Night Revolt' which occured in the April of 1343 could not have come at a more auspicious time for the Prince.

To the south in Estonia the revolt was a brutal affair that would be remembered for generations. The Duchy had for decades been ruled by lax German enforced Danish law, and the manifold injustices had fuelled bad blood between the natives and their rulers. When the signal was given in Harria, the slaughtering of foreigners, especially Germans began in earnest. The streets ran red with German blood, and not even the women, virgins or children were spared. The plan was to,“kill all the Germans along with their wives and children. And so it happened, because they started to slay virgins, women, servants, maidservants, noblemen and commoners, young and old; all, who were of German blood, had to die.” According to some sources, the Estonians had all forsaken Christianity and were consorting with devils.

After the success in cleansing the province of Harria the Estonians elected Four Kings from amongst themselves to act as their rulers, and began their march on Reval. Upon arriving with a host of ten thousand, they besieged the city. This was a brief affair for the garrison in the capitol of the Duchy consisted of only a dozen or so Knights and a large number of Estonian armsmen whom were of questionable loyalty to killing their kinsmen. However upon conquering the city itself, the Four Kings were unsure of their position. They believed that when the Danes and Knights of the Order managed to regroup they would face an onslaught the likes of which they could not halt. Agreeing to a course of action, they sent envoys to the Kingdom of Finland to the north.

The Envoys were well received by Prince Birger, whom rushed them to present their case to the Rälssi which was ruminating the choice of King. Presenting their case the Envoys outlined their successes so far, and the fears that the Four Kings held and requested for Finland to enter the conflict on their side. Taking the chance to present himself as a visionary defending the Finnic peoples, Prince Birger launched into a sweeping speech before the Rälssi, promising to secure Estonia for the Kingdom and to mend the wounds made by his own father both. Such was the strength of his words, and the lucrative promise of more lands to conquer that the Rälssi unanymously elected the Prince Birger, crowning him Birger the second, King of Finland.

As his first edict, the King called upon all leal armsmen and nobles to rally at Åbo with their arms, armour, mounts and 'enough supplies for a full season of campaigning'.

Whilst men began to rally to the Kings banner, it would still be days or even weeks before they could set sail with any sufficiently large host to challenge the undoubtedly Knight heavy forces that the Livonian Order that had undertaken to quelling the revolt would send. As such the Four Kings were instructed in a private letter written by the now King Birger to play for time. They did not need to conquer more of the land, but this letter had quite the opposite effect. When the Four Kings spread word to the localities in Estonia that the Finns were coming to their aid, the provinces of Ösel (Saarenmaa) and Rotalia (Lääne) also rose up in revolt.

During the massacres that took place the surviving Germans and other foreigners had began to trickle to the castle of Weissenstein and the Vogt of the castle sent word of what was happening to Burchard von Dreileben, the Grandmaster of the Livonian Order. Upon hearing of what had transpired the Grandmaster sent a letter to the Four Kings requesting they explain why they would foreswear Christianity and kill so many. He requested that the Four Kings attend at the castle of Weissenstein where they would be given a chance to explain their actions. Agreeing, the Kings travelled to the castle.

The meeting hosted dozens of high ranking members of the Livonian Order, Knights and Squires and the Four Kings. Even the Bishop of Reval whom had been allowed to travel through the rebel lands was allowed to enter the halls as the negotiations began. On the fourth of may the negotiations began in earnest. The Four Kings again forsook what oaths they had made and offered to swear allegience to the Order; but only if they would have no overlords over them.

However the Grandmaster of Order wasn't receptive and demanded to know why the rebels had killed so many. The Four Kings answer of,"Any German deserved to be killed even if he were only two feet tall." Failed to impress him for some reason. The negotiations quickly broke down from there and when the Four Kings were leaving they were ambushed and slaughtered on the courtyard, leaving the rebellion leaderless. To this day the historians can only agree that the Four Kings did die that day; but the reasons are less clear. Whilst the Finnish and Estonian historians claim that the Knights simply massacred them, some claim that the Four Kings drew steel first and the Knights merely defended themselves. Regardless of the reason, their deaths resulted in the already warm war going hot.

In the Battle of Kanavere, the first true battle of the war the Estonian rebels and the Livonian Order faced off. Whilst the Knights had up until this point faced only light resistance, they now faced a larger host compromising of nearly five thousand Estonians whom were barring their passage into Estonia proper. However, the Estonians were not fools and when confronted by the heavy cavalry of the knights retreated in good order to the Kanavere bog where the Knights had to dismount in order to do proper battle. Had the Estonian force compromised of the rabble that it mostly did; people whom had simply been swept up by the idea of independence and freedom from the German yoke; the battle would've ended in a massacre, but these were the cream of the crop. Forces whom had travelled all the way to Finland or Novgorod in the past years to learn the art of combat and they put up stiff resistance. Many of them had served as mercenaries and guards to nobles, so they were well drilled and equipped as well as they could afford. Whilst not equal to Knights, they held their lines and managed to stop the advance of the much larger Livonian Host.

Back to the north however, Birger II had hastily assembled a force some five thousand strong and managed to conscript enough cogs and ancient longships to transport them across the Gulf. Landing at Reval the King of all Finns was received by joyful crowds that viewed him as a liberator and future monarch, with hundreds of men that had before hand decided to not join the rebellion picking up arms and rallying to join the Finnish host which aimed to march south. By his orders however, an additional thousand men were sent with the fleet with their aim to land near Riga.

Whilst the rebel army to the south had started to fracture with the death of its leaders; the arrival of King Birger restored its unity, allowing the host nearly ten thousand strong to continue its advance. As he expected, the Knights retreated rather than face the overwhelming numbers. When the main forces united and began to manouver with the Knights, the war was in its full spin. The forces sent westwards hastility liberated Ösel and Wiek once again before setting sail, this time for Reval.

Back on the battlefields of Estonia; the Livonian Order led by Burchard von Dreileben and the Allied Finns and Estonians once again gave battle, this time on a place called Warhill. The battle ended in a stand still, with the Finns and Estonians holed up on the hill and unwilling to come down to face the superior Livonian Knights; and the Order unwilling to either retreat or advance past and leave its flank vulrenable. The war looked to be grinding to a standstill, until Burchard von Dreileben got word from the Bishop of Riga that a Finnish fleet was sighted just off the shore with troops spilling out and preparing for a siege.

Calling for a truce, the Grandmaster requested that negotiations be held in Riga where representetives of the Order, Finland and Denmark would discuss the future of the Duchy of Estonia. Whilst the Livonian presence was mostly formal, the Finns and Danes were in furious arguments on what should be done. For a brief moment it seemed that the kingdoms would be plunged into war, but when Valdemar IV 'Atterdag' suggested that the Finns purchase the duchy, a bargain was struck. King Birger II would King Valdemar 20,000 marks of silver, and in exchange they would receive Ösel, Wiek and Estonia proper. Birger II agreed to the bargain and the Duchy of Estonia became a part of the Kingdom.

With celebrations breaking up in both, Estonia and Finland proper; the King was at a crossroads on how to manage this now conquered territory. A rich province, at least in comparison to the rest of Finland, it proved to be worth every silver mark and soldier that it had cost. Boasting a populace equal to the Crownlands, it however did have its own problems. Most of these could be traced to the rebellion, but some were simple mistakes made by the Danes (or more likely their German cronies). Many of these problems were simple to fix: cease draining the land with high taxes and stop the oppression of the native populace. Easily done with the regime change, but the status of the Duchy itself remained a problem. Having officially been a royal fief, but with the German nobility remaining in control of the land itself, the Estonians were calling for a leader of their own.

For King Birger II this proved to be a problem, since there were absolutely no capable candidates that he had seen and the Duchy itself was still in a state of flux with the borders unclear. The Estonians maintained that the borders would be drawn south of Lake Peipus, but the Livonian Order which had gotten tangled up in the conflict proved to be unwilling to give away their lands in Dorpat. As such a stable Duchy seemed a distant utopia to Birgerf. When this was combined with the bickering of the Rälssi which proved equally unable to find a suitable candidate Birger grew weary of the debate and looking south to the Holy Roman Empire deviced a solution that pleased not only the growing mining towns to the North of the Kingdom, but the Estonians as well.

Several decades ago when gold and silver had been discovered to the North, numerous aristocrats, burghers and miners had began to rally to the region, establishing towns large and small to make use of the wealth there. The largest of these was the Commune of Korsholm which had yet to gain a town charter due to its nature as a 'boom town' and its difficult location deep within the Tribal Counties (heimokunnat). The situation in Tallinn (Formerly Reval) somewhat resembled this problem and the King jumped at the opportunity to shoot two birds with one shot. In the Edict of Reval he decreed that Tallinn, Korsholm and Vanda (Vantaa) would be granted positions as "Free Royal Cities" with elected Mayors whom answered to the King alone. Though the problem of borders was too much in flux and would've ensued in a continued war, Birger neatly sidestepped the issue by naming a certain Sir Georg Pärn, a hero of the revolt to the newly created position of Rajakreivi (Margrave) and making the title "Prince of Estonia" a hereditary title passed onto the Crown Princes and Princesses.

The remainder of King Birger II's life was largely spent in attempting to solidify the position of Estonia within the realm. Spending practically more time at the southern border cooling heads of over eager Estonian burghers and militia than at court in Åbo, he became suseptible to a curse from god which arrived nearly a decade after his victory... the Black Death.

The tale goes that Birger was out in Tallinn one morning inspecting the troops and discussing a mundane matter of tariffs and tolls with the Lord Mayor of the city when he began to feel woozy, having to excuse himself to his quarters, only for the disease to grow worse in the days to come. When the boils filled with foul puss began to appear on his body he was hastily returned to Åbo and put under the surgeons knives, but despite all attempts to save his life, King Birger II could not be saved, dying in agony even as the scythe fell upon his peoples.

With the Black Death reaping a killing from the major cities of the Kingdom and hundreds dying daily, most members of the Rälssi barred their holdfasts and manors doors, refusing to exit them. In their absence, Queen Mother Vasilisa Simeonova crowned her son, the ten year old Prince of Estonia Eric as Eric II, King of all the Finns and Grand Prince of Karelia. Some might've raised a call of outrage at her actions, but they were somewhat busy trying not to die, so the crowning was allowed to proceed, though Eric II would remain under regency until he reached majority.

Much of the four year long regency was spent hiding the King from the effects of the plague and hoarding the monarchs wealth, but proving to be a skilled diplomat, the Queen Mother negotiated two marriage pacts for her son; the first with Princess Catherine Estridsen of Denmark, and when that fell through due to a sudden case of her dying from the plague, with Agrypina Gediminids, the daughter of Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania. Both realms had been dreadfully weakened by the plague, and the continued encroachments by the Teutonic and Livonian Knights saw the two realms come to terms so as to secure their borders and much weakened realms.
 
A Look back on Scandinavia, Reigns of Eric II and the Civil War (1357 - 1400)
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.

---

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.
 
The co-Reign of Queen Rikissa (1400 - 1440) & King Eric III (1400 - 1459)
The co-Reign of Queen Rikissa (1400 - 1440) & King Eric III (1400 - 1459)
With the Great Kalmar War at an end, and the Crown of Kaleva being brought into a personal union with Denmark, Norway and Sweden via a marriage of Queen Rikissa of Finland to King Eric of the Union, a fragile peace was finally forged. Each of the 'Four Crowns' had suffered greatly for their ambitions, but after decades of near unending war the North was united at last.

The Union, fragile as it was was namely ruled from Copenhagen by the person of Queen Margaret I, with King Eric as her co-monarch, but in yet another show of feudal malleability he also reigned as co-monarch for the child queen Rikissa in Åbo. Though initially he spent more time on Åbo than Copenhagen due to feeling he had more authority there, the difference in languages and culture soon became too much and Eric relocated his court back to Copenhagen, though he made sure to return at least several times to great fanfare to his Fourth Crown.

In Denmark, Queen Margaret undertook numerous sensible economic policies, making her one of the richest women in Europe, and though she soon died in 1412 at the age of 59, the great wealth she'd accumulated and put to use was inherited by her great nephew and co-monarch, King Eric, whom began putting it to use, largely in wars fought in Northern Germany, but a whiff of it wound up playing a role with the Crown of Kaleva.

Said Crown had since 'times immemorial' been passed on by election of the Rälssi, and though it had been de facto hereditary by the Line of Folke which was about to end with the death of Queen Rikissa in the future, the title being passed on by vote was not something King Eric was satisfied with. He was facing similar issues in Sweden and even Denmark, but his efforts to change the status quo there was met by a stonewall. He found members of the Rälssi far more receptive, and with several key figures being bribed by silver or high office he worked with Queen Rikissa on making the title of King of Finland hereditary.

In a highly contested election held in 1410, the motion of succession was passed however, formally cementing Eric's line as the successors to the Folkung Legacy.

Eric proved to be an absentee monarch however, with a cool relationship to his Queen. He spent more time travelling around the courts of Europe and even making pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he was dubbed Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Fransiscan Custos of the Holy Land, than ruling his realms. For the Finns this was not much of an issue, for though Rikissa had grown up to be a quiet character, hesitant of using her authority, she was at least present and things seemed to be going well enough by their own momentum.

Elsewhere however Eric's tendencies were even less well received, and his absentee nature when combined by high taxes used to fight wars in southern Jutland led to high amounts of unrest towards in him both Denmark and Sweden. Though in 1424 Sigismund, the King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor decreed Eric's gains in the region ratified, the local Holsteiners cared for it very little, forcing Eric to continue funding a number of troops in the region so as to maintain control. In a fit of genius however, King Eric also instituted the Sound Tolls in 1429, creating a steady source of royal revenue, greatly increasing his wealth and that of the sound port towns.

Though the change was popular in Denmark, it was far less well received by the Hanseatic league and other Baltic powers. He was forced to fight a series of war against the Hansa and Holstein to maintain control, and his capital in Copenhagen was even sieged once, with the King fleeing the scene, leaving the defence of the city to fend for itself. This proved to be the last straw, and in the coming years King Eric faced numerous revolts from his Danish and Swedish subjects, being forced to flee to Gotland in 1439.

With two of his four crowns in full revolt, Eric first attempted to call upon his Norwegian subjects for support, naming Sigurd Johnsson drottsete, a sort of Regent, but when the Norwegians too deposed him in 1440 in favour of Christopher of Bavaria whose own reign would be disturbingly short resulting in the Oldenburg dynasty taking the helm in Scandinavia, Eric was forced to turn to his last remaining Crown... that of Kaleva.

Queen Rikissa had never been of stern stuff, and her health had begun to falter. During a particularly cool winter, she died in November of 1440, throwing the succession in Finland to question. Though Eric had reigned as co-monarch beside her for the past forty years, he'd oft been absent and mostly reliant on his wife for his right to rule within the Realm.

Sailing from Visborg to Åbo to attend his wives funeral, Eric relied on the earlier Ordnance of Succession for his claim as the sole monarch of the Kingdom. Several revolts broke out in Satakunta and Vyborg, but with the assistance of the fleet Eric had brought from Gotland they were quickly put down, and Eric established his court in Åbo as the seventh Finnish Monarch.

Though already coming on in years, Eric was wed in 1448 to the sister of the Lord of Vanajavesi, though the union proved unfruitful. His latter years proved to be quiet indeed, with what adventures remained to him being spent in Pomerania where a series of problematic successions took much of his attention, though he worked largely via intermediaries, wary of leaving his Court for fear of losing his last Crown. These matters of succession finally dawned upon him that he too lacked an heir, and in 1456 he finally named his cousin Eric of Pomerania-Wolgast as his heir, dying two years later in 1459, having been birthed a duke only to be crowned four times, only to lose all, but one of those crowns.

Though the life of King Eric III had proven to be a tumultuous one, it was his various adventures of inheritances that dawned a time of greater power for the Crown of Kaleva. All of a sudden the Kingdom that had been stuck in the eastern corner of Western Christendom found itself with dependent territories in Gotland and the Northern Germanies, and yet another foreign Monarch...
 
I don't know why, but this TL has the same feel of a Crusader Kings II AAR; since I love that game, it's a good thing. :p
 
This feels like someone taking inspiration from CKII and EUIV random events to flavour a timeline, exactly what I plan on doing some day.

The thing about the monarch fleeing the city feels a lot like the event that can result in that in either CKII or EUIV.
 
I don't know why, but this TL has the same feel of a Crusader Kings II AAR; since I love that game, it's a good thing. :p

So offensive! I guarantee I don't have more than 2000h of crusader kings 2 on my Steam account... :p

This feels like someone taking inspiration from CKII and EUIV random events to flavour a timeline, exactly what I plan on doing some day.

The thing about the monarch fleeing the city feels a lot like the event that can result in that in either CKII or EUIV.

Hilariously that particular event actually happened OTL. That time around his queen was there to lead the defense though...
 
For those of the Paradox community, I have twice dibbed my toe in the CK2 AAR scene, but both times died due to CK2 save game corruptions after patches. If you're interested you can check 'em out here.

The Bourbons is somewhat longer, and the more popular one.
 
Great to see this is back (in a fashion)! I enjoyed the first time around a lot and it seems the good continues in this one aswell.
 
Just dropping in to confirm I intend to be continuing this.

Recently moved from the UK back to Finland so have dropped off the web so to speak, but will get to this as soon as I find the time and energy!
 
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