Erik of Pomerania

{{Short description|King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1381/1382–1459)}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Erik

| image = Erik I, 1382-1459, hertig av Pommern konung av Danmark Norge och Sverige - Nationalmuseum - 15058.tif

| image_size = 220px

| caption =

| succession = King of Denmark and Sweden

| moretext = (more...)

| reign = 1396 (de jure) or 28 October 1412 (de facto){{spaced ndash}}24 September 1439

| coronation = 17 June 1397, Storkyrkan, Kalmar, Sweden

| predecessor = Margaret I

| successor = Christopher III

| regent = Margaret I (until 1412)

| reg-type = Regent and co-sovereign

| succession2 = King of Norway

| reign2 = 8 September 1389{{spaced ndash}}4 June 1442

| coronation2 = 1392, Oslo Cathedral

| predecessor2 = Margaret

| successor2 = Christopher

| regent2 = Margaret (until 1412)

| reg-type2 = Regent and co-sovereign

| regent3 = Sigurd Jonsson (1439{{ndash}}1442)

| succession4 = Ruler of Gotland

| reign4 = 8 September 1439{{spaced ndash}}4 June 1449

| succession5 = Duke of Pomerania

| reign5 = 1449{{spaced ndash}}1459

| predecessor5 = Bogislav IX

| successor5 = Sophie I

| regent5 = Maria of Masovia (1446{{ndash}}1449)

| birth_date = 1381 or 1382

| birth_place = Darłowo Castle, Pomerania

| death_date = 24 September 1459 (aged 76–78)

| death_place = Darłowo Castle, Pomerania

| burial_place = St. Mary's Church, Darłowo, Poland

| spouses = {{marriage|Philippa of England|1406|1430|end=d.}}
Cecilia (morganatic)

| house = Griffin (by birth)
Estridsen (by adoption)

| father = Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania

| mother = Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

| signature =

}}

Erik of Pomerania{{efn|Norwegian and Swedish: {{lang|se|Erik av Pommern}}, {{langx|da|Erik af Pommern}}, {{langx|de|Erich von Pommern}}, {{langx|pl|Eryk Pomorski}}}} ({{circa}} 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Erik VII as King of Denmark (1396–1439) and has been called Erik XIII{{efn|Referring to Erik of Pomerania as King Erik XIII of Sweden—as on an 18th-century monument in Landskrona stating that the town was founded by King Erik XIII in 1413—is a later invention, counting backwards from Erik XIV (1560–68), who adopted his numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden. It is not known how many historical Swedish monarchs were named Erik before this one (at least six were).}} as King of Sweden (1396–1434, 1436–39). Erik was ultimately deposed from all three kingdoms of the union, but in 1449 he inherited one of the partitions of the Duchy of Pomerania and ruled it as duke until his death in 1459.{{cite web|url = https://snl.no/Erik_av_Pommern|title=Erik Av Pommern|publisher=Store norske leksikon|author=Erik Opsahl|access-date=1 June 2018}} His epithet of Pomerania was a pejorative intended to insinuate that he did not belong in Scandinavia.Dick Harrison in Kalmarunionen {{ISBN|978-91-7789-167-3}} 2020 p. 70

Succession background

File:WartislawVII.Maria.JPG

Erik was born in either 1381 or 1382 in Darłowo (formerly Rügenwalde), Pomerania, Poland. Named Bogusław (Bogislaw) at birth, he was the son of Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania, and Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Bogislaw's great-aunt Margaret I, who ruled the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, wanted her realm to be unified and peaceful, and so made provisions in the event of her death. She chose Bogislaw as her heir and successor.

In 1389, Bogislaw was brought to Denmark to be raised by Queen Margaret. His name was changed to the more Nordic-sounding Erik. On 8 September 1389, he was hailed as King of Norway at the Ting in Trondheim. He may have been crowned King of Norway in Oslo in 1392, but this is disputed.

Erik's father Wartislaw died between November 1394 and 23 February 1395.{{cite journal|last=Zdrenka|first=Joachim|year=1995|title=Die Pilgerfahrten der pommerschen Herzöge ins Heilige Land in den Jahren 1392/1393 und 1406/1407|journal=Baltische Studien|publisher=Elwert|location=Marburg|volume=81|issue=127|pages=10–11}} When Wartislaw died, his thrones were all attained by Erik as the heir.[https://narratively.com/the-king-who-became-a-pirate/ The King Who Became a Pirate], Story by Anja Klemp Vilgaard · Illustrations by Darya Malikova · Edited by Shawna Kenney · 20 April 2020, narratively.com.

In 1396, Erik was proclaimed as king in Denmark and then in Sweden. On 17 June 1397, he was crowned king of the three Nordic countries in the cathedral of Kalmar. At the same time, a union treaty was drafted, declaring the establishment of what has become known as the Kalmar Union. Queen Margaret, however, remained the de facto ruler of the three kingdoms until her death in 1412.{{cite web|url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=15392|title=Erik av Pommern|publisher=Svenskt biografiskt lexikon|access-date=1 June 2018}}{{cite web|url = http://landskronahistoria.se/profiler/erik_av_pommern.html|title=Erik Av Pommern|publisher=landskronahistoria|author=Lenore Lindström|access-date=1 June 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.norgeshistorie.no/senmiddelalder/makt-og-politikk/1010-kalmarunionen.html|title=Kalmarunionen|publisher=University of Oslo|author=Hans Jacob Orning|access-date=1 June 2018}}

Marriage

File:Queen Philippa of Dacia.jpg

In 1402, Queen Margaret entered into negotiations with King Henry IV of England about the possibility of an alliance between the Kingdom of England and the Nordic union. The proposal was for a double wedding, whereby, King Erik would marry King Henry's second daughter, Philippa of England, and Henry IV's heir Henry, Prince of Wales, would marry Erik's sister, Catherine of Pomerania (c. 1390–1426).{{cite web|url=https://nbl.snl.no/Filippa_Av_England |title=Filippa Av England|publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon|author=Terje Bratberg|access-date=1 June 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/3/0434.html|title=Cathrine, Prinsesse, var en Datter af Hertug Vartislavs VII af Pommern|publisher=Dansk biografisk Lexikon|access-date=1 June 2018}}

The double wedding did not come off, but Erik's wedding to Philippa of England was successfully negotiated. On 26 October 1406, he married the 12-year-old Philippa in Lund. The wedding was accompanied by a purely defensive alliance with England. After Philippa's death later in 1430, Erik replaced her with her former lady-in-waiting, Cecilia, who became his royal mistress and later his morganatic spouse. The relationship was a public scandal and is mentioned in the royal council's official complaints about the King.[http://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/erik-af-pommern-ca-1382-1459/ Erik af Pommern ca. 1382–1459] (Danmarkshistorien){{cite book | last = Higgins | first = Sofia Elizabeth | title = Women of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries | url = https://archive.org/details/womeneuropeinfi00unkngoog | publisher = Hurst and Blackett | year = 1885 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/womeneuropeinfi00unkngoog/page/n178 169]–171}}

Reign

File:Eric the Pomeranian coin 14th c.jpg

File:Erik af Pommerns kroningsbrev (fladt foto).jpg

File:Kong Erik av Pommern PI XX 1.jpg) within an inescutcheon upon a cross over all; Quarterly: in Dexter Chief, three lions passant in pale crowned and maintaining a Danebrog upon a semy of hearts (representing Denmark); in Sinister Chief: three crowns (representing Sweden or the Kalmar Union); in Dexter Base: a lion rampant (Folkung lion) (representing Sweden); and in Sinister Base: a griffin segreant to sinister (representing Pomerania).|left]]

File:Emperors John, Sigmund & Eric.jpg ([http://libris.kb.se/bib/p3npmprqmvzkqg7f Libris listing]) pp. 11-12 King Erik (right) met with Emperors John VIII Palaiologos and Sigismund in Buda]]

File:Erik af Pommern og Margrete 1. - kongehyldningsmonumentet i Viborg.jpg]]During the early period of his reign, King Erik made Copenhagen a royal possession in 1417, thereby assuring its status as the capital of Denmark. He also usurped the rights of Copenhagen Castle from the Bishop of Roskilde, and from then on, the castle was occupied by him.{{cite book| last=Lund| first=Hakon| editor=Bramsen, Bo| title=København, før og nu - og aldrig| chapter=Bind 1: Slotsholmen| isbn=87-7807720-6| year=1987| publisher=Palle Fogtdal| location=Copenhagen| language=da| ref=lund}}

From contemporary sources, Erik appears as intelligent, visionary, energetic, and a firm character. That he was also a charming and well-spoken man of the world was shown by his great European tour of the 1420s. Negatively, he seems to have had a hot temper, a lack of diplomatic sense, and an obstinacy that bordered on mulishness. Erik was described by the future Pope Pius II as having "a beautiful body, reddish yellow hair, a ruddy face, and a long narrow neck … alone, without assistance, and without touching the stirrups, he jumped upon a horse, and all women were drawn to him, especially the Empress, in a feeling of longing for love".Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, book 6, 1400–1500, by Troels Dahlerup

From 1423 until May 1425, Erik went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After arriving there, he was dubbed Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, and subsequently himself dubbed his pilgrim fellows, among them, Ivan Anz Frankopan. During his absence, Queen Philippa served as regent of the three kingdoms from Copenhagen.Fratris Felicis Fabri Evagatorium in Terrae sanctae, Arabiae et Aegypti peregrinationem, Felix Fabri

Almost the whole of Erik's sole rule was affected by his long-standing conflict with the Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein. He tried to regain South Jutland (Schleswig) which Queen Margaret had been winning, but he chose a policy of warfare instead of negotiations. The result was a devastating war that not only ended without conquests, but also led to the loss of the South Jutlandic areas that he had already obtained. During this war, he showed much energy and steadiness, but also a remarkable lack of adroitness. In 1424, a verdict of the Holy Roman Empire by Sigismund, King of Germany, recognising Erik as the legal ruler of South Jutland, was ignored by the Holsteiners. The long war was a strain on the Danish economy as well as on the unity of the north.{{cite web|url=https://malmo.se/Kultur--fritid/Kultur--noje/Arkiv--historia/Kulturarv-Malmo/E-G/Erik-av-Pommern.html|title=Erik av Pommern 1382-1459|publisher=Kulturarv Malmö|author=Mimmi Tegnér|date=2010|access-date=1 June 2018|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717183456/https://malmo.se/Kultur--fritid/Kultur--noje/Arkiv--historia/Kulturarv-Malmo/E-G/Erik-av-Pommern.html|url-status=dead}}

Perhaps Erik's most far-ranging act was the introduction of the Sound Dues (Øresundtolden) in 1429,{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5010-5|pages=279|language=en}} which was to last until 1857. It consisted of the payment of sound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave the Baltic Sea passing through the Sound. To help enforce his demands, Erik built Krogen, a powerful fortress at the narrowest point in the Sound, in the early 1400s.{{cite journal|last=Nielsen |first=Heidi Maria Møller | title=Krogen: The Medieval Predecessor of Kronborg | journal=Château Gaillard: Études de castellologie médiévale |volume=23 |year=2008 |page=322 |url=http://www.academia.edu/download/33214303/Krogen.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} This resulted in the control of all navigation through the Sound, and thus secured a large stable income for his kingdom that made it relatively rich, and which made the town of Elsinore flower. It showed his interest in Danish trade and naval power, but also permanently challenged the other Baltic powers, especially the Hanseatic cities against which he also fought. From 1426 to 1435, he was at war with the German Hanseatic League and Holstein. When the Hanseats and Holsteiners attacked Copenhagen in 1428, King Erik was absent from the city at Sorø Abbey and did not return, so Queen Philippa managed the defense of the capital.{{cite web|url = http://mfs.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1957Ethistoriskrids22-40.pdf|title= Øresund og øresundstold, et historisk rids

|publisher = Handels- og Søfartsmuseets årbog 1957; s. 22-40|author= Aksel E. Christensen|access-date=1 June 2018}}

During the 1430s, the King's policy fell apart. In 1434, the farmers and mine workers of Sweden began a national and social rebellion which was soon used by the Swedish nobility in order to weaken the power of the King. The Engelbrekt rebellion (1434–1436) was led by Swedish nobleman Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (c. 1390 – 4 May 1436). The Swedes had been affected by the war with the Hanseatic League (1426–35) which affected trade and disturbed Swedish exports with Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Pomerania. The rebellion caused erosion within the unity of the Kalmar Union, leading to the temporary expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden. In Norway, a subsequent rebellion in 1436 was led by Amund Sigurdsson Bolt (1400–1465). It resulted in a siege of Oslo and Akershus Castle but ended in a ceasefire. In 1438 a new rebellion led by Hallvard Graatop erupted, in Eastern Norway, but this rebellion was also put down.{{cite web|url = https://runeberg.org/nfad/0256.html|title=Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson|year=1881|publisher = Nordisk familjebok|access-date=1 June 2018}}{{cite web|url = https://nbl.snl.no/Amund_Sigurdsson_Bolt|title=Amund Sigurdsson Bolt|publisher = Norsk biografisk leksikon|author= Magne Njåstad|date=9 June 2017|access-date=1 June 2018}}

Erik had to yield to the demands of both the Holsteiners and the Hanseatic League. On 17 July 1435, he signed the Peace of Vordingborg with the Hanseatic League and Holstein. Under the terms of the peace agreement, Hanseatic cities were excepted from the Sound Dues and the Duchy of Schleswig was ceded to the count of Holstein.Philippe Dollinger, Die Hanse (The Hanse), vol. 5 (Stuttgart: Kröner 1998), p.371, ISBN 3-520-37105-7

Coup d'état

When the Danish nobility subsequently opposed his rule and refused to ratify his choice of Bogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania as the next king of Denmark, Erik left Denmark in response and took up permanent residence at Visborg Castle in Gotland, which led to his deposition through coup d'état by the National Councils of Denmark and Sweden in 1439.{{cite web|url=http://www.ruegenwalde.com/greifen/bog-9/bog-9.htm|title=Bogislaw IX|publisher=ruegenwalde.com|access-date=1 June 2018}}

In 1440, Erik was succeeded by his nephew Christopher of Bavaria, who was chosen for the thrones of both Denmark and Sweden. Initially the Norwegian Riksråd remained loyal to Erik and wanted him to remain king of Norway. In September 1439, Erik had given Sigurd Jonsson the title of drottsete, under which he was to rule Norway in the King's name. But with the King isolated in Gotland, the Norwegian nobility also felt compelled to depose Erik through a coup d'état in 1440, and he was formally deposed in 1442, when Sigurd Jonsson stepped down as drottsete, and Christopher was elected king.{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Sigurd_Jonsson|title=Sigurd Jonsson|publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon|author=Erik Opsahl|access-date=1 June 2018}}

At the death of King Christopher in 1448, the next monarch was Erik's kinsman, Christian of Oldenburg (the son of Erik's earlier rival, Count Theodoric of Oldenburg), who succeeded to the throne of Denmark, while Karl Knutsson Bonde succeeded to the throne of Sweden. A rivalry ensued between Karl and Christian for the throne of Norway. In 1450, Karl was forced to relinquish the throne of Norway in favour of King Christian.{{cite book |last=Flemberg |first=Marie-Louise |title=Filippa: engelsk prinsessa och nordisk unionsdrottning|year=2014|publisher=Santérus|location=Stockholm|language=sv|isbn=978-91-7359-072-3|id={{LIBRIS|14835548}} |pages=341 & 434}}{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/3/0479.html|title= Christian (Christiern) I, 1426-81, Konge|publisher =Dansk biografisk Lexikon|author=Carl Frederik Bricka|access-date=1 June 2018}}File:Eric the Pomeranian of Denmark, Norway & Sweden grave 2010 (1).jpg

Duke of Pomerania

For ten years, Erik lived in Gotland where he fought against the merchant trade in the Baltic.

From 1449 to 1459, Erik succeeded Bogislaw IX as Duke of Pomerania and ruled Pomerania-Rügenwalde, a small partition of the Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp (Polish: Księstwo Słupskie),The Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Inc. 1999. as "Erik I". He died in 1459 at Darłowo Castle

(German: Schloss Rügenwalde), and was buried in the Church of St. Mary's at Darłowo in Pomerania.[http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_f%C3%B8r_Reformationen/Erik_7._af_Pommern?highlight=erik%20af%20pommern Erik 7. af Pommern] (Danmarks historie)

The Burgermeister of Kiel to King Christian III of Denmark wrote that Erik encouraged a joint expedition by Didrik Pining and Hans Pothorst to investigate the Northwest Passage. Their voyage after Erik's death is alleged to have reached Greenland and engaged in combat with the Inuit.{{cite book |last=Bowen |first=Frank C. |title =America Sails the Seas |publisher =Robert M. McBride & Company |date =1938 |location =New York |page =25 }}

Titles and styles

Erik's full title was: "King of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the Wends and the Goths, Duke of Pomerania".[http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/middelalder/diplom_vise_tekst.prl?b=741&s=n&str= Diplomatarium Norvegicum]

Family tree

{{Tree chart |border=0| | | | | | | | | | |Valdemar|Valdemar=Valdemar IV of Denmark}}

{{Tree chart |border=0| | | |Bogislaw| | |Ingeborg| |Margaret|Bogislaw=Bogislaw V of Pomerania|Ingeborg=Ingeborg of Denmark|Margaret=Margaret I of Denmark}}

{{Tree chart |border=0|Bogislaw| |Wartislaw|v|Maria| |Wartislaw=Wartislaw VII of Pomerania|Maria=Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Bogislaw=Bogislaw VIII of Pomerania}}

{{Tree chart |border=0|Bogislaw| |Catherine| |Erik| | |Erik=Erik of Pomerania|Catherine=Catherine of Pomerania|Bogislaw=Bogislaw IX of Pomerania}}

{{Tree chart |border=0| | | | |Christopher| | | | |Christopher=Christopher of Bavaria (King of Denmark)}}

File:Eric the Pomeranian of Denmark, Norway & Sweden statue 2010 Darłowo.jpg

Notes

References

Other sources

Albrectsen, Esben (1997) Fællesskabet bliver til : 1380–1536 (Oslo : Universitetsforl.) {{ISBN|82-00-22790-1}}
Christensen, Aksel E. (1908) Kalmarunionen og nordisk politik 1319–1439 (Oslo: Gyldendal) {{ISBN|87-00-51833-6}}
Haug, Eldbjørg (2000), Margrete – den siste dronning i Sverreætten (Oslo: Cappelen) {{ISBN|82-02-17642-5}}
Haug, Eldbjørg (2006) Provincia Nidrosiensis i dronning Margretes unions- og maktpolitikk (Trondheim : Institutt for historie og klassiske fag) {{ISBN|9788277650470}}
Larsson, Lars-Olof (2003) Kalmarunionens tid (Stockholm: Prisma) {{ISBN|91-518-4217-3}}

External links

[https://narratively.com/the-king-who-became-a-pirate/ The King Who Became a Pirate], Story by Anja Klemp Vilgaard · Illustrations by Darya Malikova · Edited by Shawna Kenney · 20 April 2020, narratively.com

{{s-ttl|title=King of Norway|years=1389–1442|regent1=Margaret I|years1=1389–1412}}

{{s-ttl|title=King of Denmark|years=1396–1439|regent1=Margaret I|years1=1396–1412}}

{{s-ttl|title=King of Sweden|years=1396–1434|regent1=Margaret I|years1=1396–1412}}