1.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
2.
Magnus IV of Sweden
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Magnus IV was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII from 1319 to 1343, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By adversaries he has been called Magnus Smek, referring to Magnus Eriksson as Magnus II is incorrect. The Swedish Royal Court lists three Swedish kings before him of the same name, Magnus was born in Norway in April or May 1316 to Eric, Duke of Södermanland and Ingeborg, a daughter of Haakon V of Norway. Magnus was elected king of Sweden on 8 July 1319, under the regencies of his grandmother, Helwig of Holstein, and his mother, Ingeborg of Norway, the countries were ruled by Knut Jonsson and Erling Vidkunsson. Magnus was declared to have come of age at 15 in 1331 and this provoked resistance in Norway, where a statute from 1302 stipulated that a king came of age at the age of 20, and a rising by Erling Vidkunsson and other Norwegian nobles ensued. In 1333, the rebels submitted to King Magnus, in 1332 the King of Denmark, Christopher II, died as a king without a country after he and his older brother and predecessor had pawned Denmark piece by piece. King Magnus took advantage of his neighbours distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a amount of silver. On 21 July 1336 Magnus was crowned king of both Norway and Sweden in Stockholm and this caused further resentment in Norway, where the nobles and magnates desired a separate Norwegian coronation. A second rising by members of the nobility of Norway ensued in 1338. In 1335 he married Blanche of Namur, daughter of John I, Marquis of Namur, and Marie of Artois, the wedding took place in October or early November 1335, possibly at Bohus castle. As a wedding gift Blanche received the province of Tunsberg in Norway and they had two sons, Eric and Haakon, plus at least three daughters who died in infancy and were buried at Ås Abbey. Opposition to Magnus rule in Norway led to a settlement between the king and the Norwegian nobility at Varberg on 15 August 1343, in violation of the Norwegian laws on royal inheritance, Magnus younger son Haakon would become king of Norway, with Magnus as regent during his minority. Later the same year, it was declared that Magnus older son, thus, the union between Norway and Sweden would be severed. This occurred when Haakon came of age in 1355, on 12 August 1323, Magnus concluded the first treaty between Sweden and Novgorod at Nöteborg where Lake Ladoga empties into the Neva River. The treaty delineated spheres of influence among the Finns and Karelians and was supposed to be an eternal peace, but Magnus relations with Russia were not so peaceful. In 1337, religious strife between Orthodox Karelians and the Swedes led to a Swedish attack on the town of Korela and Viborg, a Swedish commander named Sten also captured the fortress at Orekhov. In this treaty, the Swedes claimed that Sten and others acted on their own without the consent of the king, in 1335, Magnus outlawed Thralldom for thralls born by Christian parents in Västergötland and Värend, being the last parts of Sweden where slavery had remained legal. The Novgorodians retook the fortress in 1349 after a seven-month siege, while he spent much of 1351 trying to drum up support for further crusading action among the German cities in the Baltic States, he never returned to attack Novgorod
3.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
4.
Christopher II of Denmark
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Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state, being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a possible heir to the throne. As a young man with the title of Duke of Estonia, among other things he arrested Archbishop Jens Grand in 1294. But later on he joined the opposition and went into exile at the death of Eric in 1319 and he received a bankrupt estate in which entire regions of the kingdom were mortgaged to German and Danish magnates. The conditions of the charter were very hard, because they limited his ability to assess taxes, Christopher could make no decision regarding the realm without the consent of the nobility and the bishops. The privileges of the nobility and the church were included in the charter and this shift of power away from the king would last until 1660. Despite signing the charter, King Christopher ruled as if it did not exist, since he could not tax the church or Danish nobles he levied disastrous taxes on the German territories and peasants. During the next years Christopher tried to strengthen his position by reviving Erik’s policy of warfare against the duchies, counties and this resulted in new mortgages and taxes, and very soon he was in conflict with both the church and the magnates. During a rebellion in 1326 he was overthrown by an alliance between Danish magnates and Holstein Count Gerhard III and Count Johann I of Holstein-Kiel. Christopher was forced into abdication and exile, while the 12-year-old Duke Valdemar of Southern Jutland was made a king of Denmark under the regent, Count Gerhard. They forced the Valdemar in his charter to separate southern Jutland from Denmark so that never again would the King of Denmark rule there. Knud Knudson Porse took Halland for himself for his services to Count Gerhard, the squabbling over who got which pieces of Denmark broke down the alliances which had forced Christopher out of the country. Suddenly, with the help of Henry of Mecklenburg, Christopher stood poised at Vordingborg with 2000 mounted German knights, unfortunately for Christopher they allowed themselves to be surrounded and were forced to surrender. After a peasant uprising in Jutland which was crushed ruthlessly by Count Gerhard and he readily accepted and Denmark ceased to exist as a united kingdom. Christopher was restored as Danish king 1329–1330 by the co-operation of Count Johan, most of his country was mortgaged, and he had no chance of holding real royal power. Jutland for example was mortgaged for 100,000 silver marks which had to be laid on the table all at once or the mortgage was not redeemed and it was an enormous mortgage and impossible to pay. Count Gerhard took all of Jutland as his personal property, Count Johan did the same on Funen and Zealand. In 1331 Christopher attempted to use a conflict between Counts Gerhard and Johan by joining the latter ended in a clear military defeat at Dannevirke
5.
Haakon VI of Norway
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Haakon Magnusson was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as Haakon Magnusson the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather, Haakon V. Haakon was the son of Magnus Eriksson. His older brother Eric was meant to succeed their father on the throne of Sweden, Magnus greatly favored Haakon over Eric, leading to the latters rebellion and seizure of Southern Sweden. Eric died in 1359, and Haakon became co-ruler of Sweden with his three years later. The two reigned over Sweden together until 1364, when they were deposed in favor of Magnus sororal nephew, Albert of Mecklenburg, Magnus and Haakon tried to retake the Swedish throne, but without success. In 1363, Haakon married Margaret, daughter of Valdemar IV of Denmark, the marriage, itself a significant element in the Nordic power struggle, resulted in the birth of one son, Olaf. Haakons continuous conflicts with his father-in-law ended only with the death in 1375. Haakon seized the opportunity to have his son elected Valdemars successor, upon his death in 1380, Haakon was succeeded by Olaf, with Margaret as regent. Olaf died childless seven years later, and Haakons widow proceeded to assert authority over all three Scandinavian kingdoms as their first female monarch, Haakon was born in 1340, most likely in Sweden, though the exact date and location of his birth remain unknown. He was the son of Magnus Eriksson, king of Sweden and Norway. His older brother Eric was a king of Sweden in opposition to his father between 1356 and 1359. Haakon and his family belonged to the Swedish House of Bjelbo, which had succeeded the House of Eric in Sweden. Haakon was a great-grandson of Haakon V of Norway through his legitimate daughter, Ingeborg. Another noteworthy ancestor of Haakon, through his paternal grandfather Eric Magnusson, Haakon was raised in Norway, to prepare the young prince to later rule the kingdom in his own right. During the early autumn of 1343, the most prominent members of the Norwegian Council of the Realm attended a meeting with Magnus at Varberg Castle. On 15 August 1343, letters were issued throughout Norway and Sweden stating that the King and the Council had decided to place Haakon on the throne of Norway. Barely a year later, representatives of the cities and the general public assembled at Båhus Castle, the next in line to the Norwegian throne would then be his older brother Eric and his descendants, but the provision became moot when Eric died in 1359. The meetings at Varberg Castle in 1343 and at Båhus Castle in 1344 were later ratified in another meeting in the port city of Bergen as late as 1350
6.
Regent
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A regent is a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency, a regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title, if the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a Regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons and this was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, in the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to terms such as Regency era. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, as of 1 December 2016, Liechtenstein is the only country with an active regency. The term regent may refer to lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of director, some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the Board of Regents. The term regent is used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th century, in the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized state as a regentschap. Consequently, in the state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati. Again in Belgium and France, Regent is the title of a teacher in a lower secondary school. In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent and they also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is a training to be a Jesuit. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution as part of the formation toward final vows, list of regents Viceroy, an individual who, in a colony or province, exercised the power of a monarch on his behalf
7.
Valdemar IV of Denmark
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Valdemar IV Atterdag or Waldemar, Danish, Valdemar Atterdag, was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. Here he acted as a waiting for a comeback. Following the assassination of Count Gerhard III by Niels Ebbesen and his brothers, but Valdemar was a clever and determined man and realized that the only way to rule Denmark was to get control of its territory. Ebbesen attempted to liberate central Jutland from the Holsteiners at the siege of Sønderborg Castle on 2 November 1340, under Christopher II, Denmark went bankrupt and was mortgaged out in parcels. Valdemar sought to repay the debt and reclaim the lands of Denmark, the first opportunity came with Helvigs dowry. The mortgage on the rest of northern Jutland was paid off by taxes collected from Valdemars peasants above the Kongeå, in 1344, he recovered North Friesland, which he immediately taxed to pay off the debt on southern Jutland. The over-taxed peasants grew restive under the constant demands for money, Valdemar next set his sights on Zealand. The bishop of Roskilde, who owned Copenhagen Castle and town and he was the first Danish king to rule Copenhagen, a possession of the Bishop of Roskilde. Valdemar was able to capture or buy other castles and fortresses until he could force the Holsteiners out, when he ran out of money, he took Kalundborg and Søborg Castles by force. While in the midst of that campaign, he went to Estonia to negotiate with the Teutonic Knights who controlled Estonia, around 1346 Valdemar IV initiated a crusade against Lithuania. Franciscan chronicler Detmar von Lübeck noted that Valdemar IV traveled to Lübeck in 1346, however, the crusade against the Lithuanians came to nothing, instead Valdemar went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He succeeded and was made a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in honor of his accomplishment and he was censured by Pope Clement VI for not getting prior approval for such a journey. Upon his return, Valdemar gathered an army, in 1346, he took back Vordingborg Castle, the main headquarters of the Holsteiners. By the end of the year, Valdemar could claim all of Zealand as his own and he made Vordingborg his personal residence, expanded the castle, and built the Goose Tower which has become the symbol of the town. Valdemars reputation for ruthlessness against those who opposed him made many think carefully about switching sides and his tax policy crushed the peasants who feared to do anything but pay up. By 1347 Valdemar had thrown out the Germans and once again Denmark was a nation, with his increased income, Valdemar was able to pay for a larger army and by treachery came into possession of Nyborg Castle and eastern Funen Island and the smaller islands. Valdemars attention had just turned to Skåne, held by Sweden, in 1349 Bubonic Plague arrived unexpectedly. Tradition has it that came to Denmark on a ghost ship that beached itself on the coast of northern Jutland
8.
Kalmar Union
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The Union was not quite continuous, there were several short interruptions. Legally the countries remained separate sovereign states, but with their domestic, one main impetus for its formation was to block German expansion northward into the Baltic region. The main reason for its failure to survive was the struggle between the monarch, who wanted a strong unified state, and the Swedish and Danish nobility which did not. Diverging interests gave rise to a conflict that would hamper the union in several intervals from the 1430s until its breakup in 1523 when Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden. Norway continued to remain a part of the realm of Denmark–Norway under the Oldenburg dynasty for nearly three centuries until its dissolution in 1814. Then Union between Sweden and Norway lasted until 1905, when a grandson of the incumbent king of Denmark was elected its king, the union was the work of Scandinavian aristocracy wishing to counter the influence of the Hanseatic League. Margaret, a daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark, married King Haakon VI of Norway and Sweden, Margaret succeeded in having her son Olav recognized as heir to the throne of Denmark. In 1376 Olav inherited the crown of Denmark from his grandfather as King Oluf III, with his mother as guardian. The two kingdoms were united in a union under a child king, with the kings mother as his guardian, later. On 2 February the next year, she was recognized as regent of Norway. Their common enemy was the Hanseatic League and the growing German influence over the Scandinavian economy. The Nordic union was established on 17 June 1397 by the Treaty of Kalmar, signed in the Swedish castle of Kalmar on Swedens south-east coast, at each junction, installation of a new monarch tended to mean a break-up of the union for a while. Eric of Pomerania, however, became the monarch of all three kingdoms, at Kalmar, the 15-year-old Eric of Pomerania was crowned king of all three kingdoms by the archbishops of Denmark and Sweden, but Margaret managed to remain in control until her death in 1412. It is said that contemporaries of the Union would not recognize the term, Union of Kalmar—that they just understood that much of the time. While the term meaning Treaty of Kalmar was known already at the time, the Swedes were not happy with the Danes frequent wars on Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg, and Pomerania, which were a disturbance to Swedish exports to the European continent. Furthermore, the centralization of government in Denmark raised suspicions, the Swedish Privy Council wanted to retain a fair degree of self-government. The unity of the union eroded after the Danish defeat against the German Hanseatic League in the 1430s, even to the point of armed rebellion, erik was deposed as the union king and was succeeded by his nephew, the childless Christopher of Bavaria. In the power vacuum that arose following Christophers death, Sweden elected Charles VIII king with the intent to reestablish the union under a Swedish king, during the next seven decades struggle for power and the wars between Sweden and Denmark would dominate the union
