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[FONT=Georgia, serif]Raising a Citadel[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, serif]A story of the ages of the northern lands[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Chapter 1: Rejuvenescence[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Mæth logh skal land byggas. Men wild hvar man minæs at sitt eghet, oc late mæn nytæ iafnæth, tha thurftæ mæn ækki logh wich.[/FONT]


[FONT=Georgia, serif]Centre for Danish Medieval History, Kalundborg, 1987[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Taking one of the few seats left in the room, Birgitta sat down just in time for the guest speaker to finish up his introduction. The room was packed with the latest crop of history-teachers-in-training, but for all of the room's stifling atmosphere, she was still glad she'd managed to get there approximately on time: As much as he seemed old enough to have experienced half his material first-hand, Ulrik Thyge was still one of the more renowned people in his field, and the topic of his lecture had long been a favourite of Birgitta's.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]» Despite recent arguments in politically charged circles concerning her actions, a few things do remain relatively uncontroversial about Magrete Valdemarsdatter, chief amongst them her importance as a de facto monarch of the Nordic feudal period. Historically viewed as a vigorous monarch of great ability and insight, she has in recent years been cast more as a power-hungry usurper, intent more on increasing personal power than taking care of those who owed her fealty, but even now, there is a general consensus concerning the weight of her personality, and the gravity of the mark it has left upon our mutual history. Therefore, a matter of frequent discussion has been the formative years in the life of this ruler: Her position as a woman in power being quite a rarity in the period, and her expressed pragmatism revealing her as a person with a clear understanding of realpolitik, it seems vital for a proper understanding of the period that one likewise understands the foundations of the ideas entertained by this critical actor. «[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]» Unfortunately, as has been frequently noted, the Nordic feudal period, even this late, is one characterized especially by its comparative dearth of surviving sources. For the many scholars accustomed to working with later times and seeking the earliest incidence of whatever trend with which they may be engaged, particularly those used to the age of the press, a century later, this has often proved frustrating, and few places is this dearth more apparent than in the pre-regnal life of Magrete Valdemarsdatter. Prior to the death of her brother, Duke Christopher, she was, after all, of little importance, and even after this event, the succession long seemed to favour the husband of her sister, Ingeborg – It is thus no surprise that few, particularly in what was then the quite sparsely populated north, thought to record in meticulous detail the life of this woman who would later leave her mark on history. «[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]» So what do we know of this Lady of the Danes, whom history has seemingly favoured? Precious little, but matters of importance nevertheless: Born in 1353 as the youngest of six children, she was the only one of them still alive at the time of the birth of her own first child, Oluf Håkonsson, fathered by her husband, King Håkon Magnusson, to whom she'd been wed at the age of ten, as the result of a series of turbulent political moves derided by Birgitta of Sweden as childish play. Beyond the fact that she spent the remainder of her youth in Akershus, under the tutelage of Merete Ulvsdotter, daughter of the very same Birgitta who had criticized the events leading to her presence there, little is known for certain, but it seems likely that these years have played a crucial part in the formation of her later political views; Birgitta herself being renowned for her outspoken nature, and her daughter seemingly sharing at least part of this trait. In fact, while officially, the young queen of Norway remained well within the bounds of her expected duties as a wife and mother, staying out of the matters of power and dominion until the death of her father in early 1379, a unique surviving letter dated to December 1375, only half a year after the birth of her second son, hints at another story: Apparently written in the hand of the queen herself, it seems to be part of a longer-lasting correspondence between herself and Henning Podebusk, the powerful Drost of her father, King Valdemar. Though seemingly innocent, the numerous inquiries as to the health of His Majesty, who had, according to other records, only recently recovered from a bout of illness, as well as the indignant complaints at the behaviour of certain local German traders, have been interpreted by some historians as indicative of a plot between the two; a plot the culmination of which would then be the decisive claim at the throne only four years later. «[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]**[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Nyborg Castle, Nyborg, 1380[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]It was summer, and though it should have been warmer, Henning Podebusk was thankful for the brief respite offered by the gentle evening breeze. Turning away from watching the sun set over the western wall, he now regarded the grand hall of the castle. It was curious, in a way; for all that it was a solid and admirable structure, if nevertheless seemed so small in comparison with the entirety of the realm. To have all the powerful men of the land – and the one woman, he corrected himself – gathered there was a queer feeling, and not one with which he was entirely comfortable. As the drost, he was used to the games of rule and dominion, to fights both of the tongue and the sword, yet he could not shake the feeling that it was better, that it was somehow more in tune with almighty God's wishes for creation, that the secular lords be left to mind their own affairs, caring as little as possible for one another.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]And yet, such was not the way things could be. In these last few years, he had managed more and more of the late ailing king's businesses, doing things that less generous persons might even call plotting, and for things to come to their natural conclusion, the lords the land must be gathered in unison. Their support was vital, and in any case, for all that he distrusted gatherings like this, a king could not rightfully be elected without a Danehof, and it would be no parliament if those in power were not present. Thus, he had resigned himself to the natural course of events, trusting the Lord to take care of him as he went about business.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]In truth, it had gone blessedly well, everything considered. The letters exchanged between him and the lady since the first signs of her father's deteriorating health some five years past had paid off, and even the political maneuvering that had been done by necessity in those years had turned out easier than one might have expected. Though the late majesty had once pointed towards the son of his eldest daughter as a successor, the lords of the realm would have their voice heard – the king was, after all, elected by their mercy – and with said daughter long since passed on, and few Danes being too fond of the Mecklenburgers, any alternative at all would have seemed a divine gift. Even the late king himself had found his relations with the Germans soured, like those with their countrymen in the Hansa, and by comparison, the son of Valdemar's still-living and surprisingly politically adroit youngest daughter, now the queen of Norway, was easier to deal with. The queen's promises of gifts, in her position as regnant for her son, had done little harm, too.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Gathering himself, he headed back to the hall, somewhat reluctantly. However well it had gone, it was still troublesome, and even though the matter was now finally settled, he was not overjoyed to be spending his time in the company of men who would like nothing better to throw him in stocks and seize his position for themselves. And yet, it would hardly be chivalrous to let his young majesty and his lady mother alone with such company for long. For all that he disliked it, he had experienced business such as this before. They, he reminded himself, had not.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]**[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]The Podebusk Estates, Halland, 1380[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Sitting in his chambers, in the chilly autumn draft that his stinginess did not allow him to banish with an extravagant fire, Henning Podebusk wondered, not for the first time, if the summer had truly been more of a respite than he realized. He shook his head: Gisela, his wife, would have scolded him if she knew that he was wasting his time with such idle thoughts. For all that he had a great many challengers for the position, the job as chief advisor and de-facto co-ruler to a child king of two crowns and his wilful, if inexperienced, mother was an unenviable lot at times. But he had letters to write: The Hansa were still bickering about their temporary claim to Scania, the Mecklenburgers in both Sweden and Mecklenburg proper were acting up again, and now, it seemed that Tue Galen, the marshal and Scanian governor, was trying to align himself with them, against the Crown.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]Not for the first time, he wondered if he should have stayed in Rügen.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]**[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]The death of Valdemar Atterdag seems to have been more or less expected in most of Denmark. In particular, the preserved recordings of the drost, or seneschal, of the time, Henning Podebusk, have served to clue us in on the way the Danish nobility during the latter half of the 1370s conspired to prevent the son of the king's deceased daughter Ingeborg, the German Albrecht IV of Mecklenburg – not to be confused with his uncle, King Albrecht of Sweden – from attaining the Danish throne. Immediately following the death of Valdemar in late 1379, letters thus went out to all co-conspirators, some of which can still be found in the national archives, asking them to confirm their position and support the young Oluf II, and he was hence formally declared the successor at the Danehof the following June. His håndfæstning, while showing some concessions to the nobility, was still milder than one might have expected: He was to call the Danehof once every year, to guarantee the influence of the nobility, and he was to return all lands unlawfully seized by his predecessor, but compared to the harsh håndfæstning of Christoffer II, which his father had likewise been made to follow, it was a great step forward for the influence of the Crown.[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]It was a greater shock when, the following autumn, the young king's father, King Haakon of Norway, likewise passed away. While the succession was relatively straight-forward, as the Norwegian Crown was hereditary, the strain of coping with the administration of both realms so suddenly has doubtlessly been tough on the king as well as his regnant mother, both of whom must also have been personally affected, on some level, by the losses of their family, and who would soon be forced to deal with enemies on virtually every border.[/FONT]

“[FONT=Georgia, serif]Danish Monarchy in the Late Feudal Period” by Gabriella Eklund, Tylöskog Press 1981
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