Magnus Eriksson

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Magnus Eriksson, also known as Magnus IV of Sweden or Magnus VII of Norway (1316 – 1377) was king of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, king of Norway from 1319 to 1343, and king of Skåne from 1332 to 1360. He was the son of Duke Erik Magnusson and Princess Ingeborg of Norway. He was the grandson of King Magnus Ladulás of Sweden and Haakon V Magnusson of Norway. He married Blanche of Namur in 1335.

King of Sweden, Norway and Scania

Magnus Eriksson was the grandson of Magnus Ladulás, son of Duke Erik Magnusson and Princess Ingeborg, daughter of the Norwegian King Haakon V Magnusson. He was born in Norway in April or May 1316, and when he was only three years old, in 1319, he was elevated to king of Norway upon the death of his maternal grandfather, and on July 8 of the same year he was elected king of Sweden., after reaching a union treaty between the two countries. Initially her mother, Duchess Ingeborg, took control of the government in both kingdoms, but in 1322 Swedish nobles removed her from power, which fell to her council. The same situation occurred in Norway in 1323, where she was appointed a regent. The union between the two kingdoms was then restricted to a defensive alliance. In 1323, Sweden signed the Peace of Nöteborg with Russia, a country with which there had been constant friction.

Most probably in 1331 Magnus came of age, as he was crowned in 1336 in Stockholm. Later he took advantage of a request for protection made by the inhabitants of Scania to try to annex the region. Skåne, then a Danish possession, was threatened by Holstein. Magnus bought the region for 34,000 silver marks and then named himself Rex Sveciae, Norvegiae et terra Scaniae (king of Sweden, Norway and Scania). The Danish king Valdemar IV subsequently refused to recognize Sweden's right to Scania and the two kingdoms went to war. On the one hand, Magnus wanted to maintain possession of Skåne, and on the other, to assert his mother's property rights over a castle in Denmark. Peace was signed in the autumn of 1343, and the king of Denmark formally ceded Skåne and Halland to Magnus.

In the years following the war with Denmark, the kingdom was immersed in a deep financial crisis, which the king tried to combat by raising taxes. He forced the council members to pay large sums, and even charged his sister high taxes for her wedding. This situation generated discontent in the population, in addition to the fact that both the king and his wife, Blanche of Namur, whom he had married in 1335, led a life of waste. The king frequently ignored the advice.

In Norway there was also great effervescence, as Magnus, bypassing the council, intended to govern from Sweden. Although an agreement was reached, Norwegian discontent continued and in 1343 Magnus' youngest son, Haakon Magnusson, was elected the new king of Norway. Magnus, however, continued as regent of the kingdom, since the new king was only about four years old, but control of the government actually fell into the hands of the Norwegian council.

The following year (1344) Magnus's eldest son, Erik Magnusson, was chosen as heir to the throne of Sweden. At that time, King Magnus started a new war against Russia and marched to Finland to confront the Russian army. At first he was successful in the campaigns, but later there were resounding failures, so that Magnus gradually abandoned the war, without signing peace. Magnus later sought to gain territory in Estonia and Livonia, and also went to war with the Hanseatic League, which did not produce good results, so peace was agreed upon through negotiations by Magnus's brother-in-law, Albert II of Mecklenburg.

The uprisings against Magnus II Eriksson

For his Russian campaign, Magnus had obtained a loan from the Holy See. The Pope, upon not receiving payment on the agreed date, threatened Magnus and several of the kingdom's most influential men with excommunication. This generated irritation, which increased when Magnus tried to reduce the power of the nobles through high taxes. The discontent culminated in the uprising, sponsored by the country's notables, of Erik Magnusson, Magnus' eldest son, in 1356. In the agreements of 1357 Magnus had to cede a large part of the kingdom to Erik (Finland and southern Sweden). Father and son again came into conflict, and Magnus had to ask King Valdemar of Denmark for help by signing a treaty in 1359. However, Magnus and Erik reconciled and agreed to share the government. Following the sudden death of Erik Magnusson that same year, Magnus once again became sole ruler of all of Sweden. The king of Denmark felt deceived by Magnus, declared war on him, and began a campaign against Skåne that would lead him to conquer the region, after the capture of Helsingborg Castle in 1360, thanks to the crime of Albert II of Mecklenburg. In 1361 he took Borgholm Castle on the island of Öland, conquered the entire island, and sacked the city of Visby on the island of Gotland. Magnus decided to send emissaries to Germany in order to gain the support of the Hanseatic League. The league decided to support him, through an agreement with Magnus' delegates, with very high conditions for Sweden. Magnus refused to ratify the agreement. The atmosphere of tension led to the intervention of King Haakon VI Magnusson of Norway, Magnus' youngest son, who rose up against his father and imprisoned him in November 1361.

In February 1362, Haakon VI Magnusson was formally elected king of Sweden, but shortly afterwards he reconciled with his father, and they agreed to rule jointly. The war against Valdemar did not lead to any result, so negotiations began in 1362. The following year Sweden's position towards Denmark changed radically, when Haakon Magnusson married Valdemar's daughter, Princess Margaret, after obtaining the annulment of his first marriage to Isabella of Holstein. At that time, several notable men from the country, political adversaries of the government, were exiled; They sought the protection of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg, and offered the crown of Sweden to his son, Albert. In November 1363, Albert arrived with an army in Stockholm, was acclaimed by the city's inhabitants, and in February 1364 was elected king of Sweden. Magnus II and his son did not have the strength to confront Albert, so in June 1364 they only retained the territories of Vestrogotia, Värmland and Dalsland. In the summer of 1365, Magnus and Haakon attempted to recover the lost territory, but were defeated at the Battle of Gata Forest, near the town of Enköping. On that occasion, Magnus himself was taken prisoner. He remained in prison until 1371, when his ransom was paid and peace was negotiated with the Mecklenburgs. He spent his last days in Norway with his son, and drowned in 1374, in the Bømlafjorden fjord. It is not known where his grave is located.

Magnus II Eriksson as a person

Although Magnus Eriksson has been considered by historians as a weak, indolent and naive monarch, his government was notable for the works he carried out in the field of law. Magnus promulgated a large number of statutes, in which he abolished slavery, sought to reduce violence, as well as increased the power of the king to assume the role of arbitration. He issued laws applicable to the entire country, the so-called national laws of King Magnus Eriksson.

Magnus II Eriksson received the nickname Magnus Smek ('Magnus honey') during his lifetime. The nickname allegedly comes from his contemporary Saint Brigid, who accused him of homosexuality. The above, however, cannot be corroborated.

Children

Magnus and Blanche of Namur had two children:


Predecessor:
Birger Magnusson
King of Sweden
with Erik Magnusson (1356-1359)
with Haakon Magnusson (1362-1364)

1319 - 1364
Successor:
Albert III of Mecklenburg
Predecessor:
Haakon V Magnusson
King of Norway
1320 - 1355
Successor:
Haakon VI Magnusson
Predecessor:
Valdemar IV of Denmark
King of Escania
1322 - 1360
Successor:
Valdemar IV of Denmark
  • Wd Data: Q314457
  • Commonscat Multimedia: Magnus IV of Sweden / Q314457