Albert, King of Sweden
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Albert | |
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Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | |
Reign | 1384–1412 |
Predecessor | Magnus I |
Successor | Albert V |
Born | c. 1338 Mecklenburg |
Died | 1 April 1412 (aged 73–74) Doberan Abbey |
Burial | |
Spouses | |
Issue |
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Mecklenburg-Schwerin | |
Father | Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg |
Mother | Euphemia of Sweden |
Albert (
Background
He was the second son of Duke
In 1384 he inherited the ducal title of Mecklenburg and united it with Sweden in a personal union. Albert based his claims to the Swedish crown upon his family ties: his mother being Magnus's sister, whose paternal grandfather was King Magnus III, Albert claimed first place in the Swedish order of succession after the dethronement or deaths of all of the children of Magnus IV; and through a Swedish princess Christina, a daughter of Sverker II who was King of Sweden from 1196 to 1208.
Reign
In 1363, members of the Swedish Council of Aristocracy, led by
Albert was proclaimed
The arrival of Albert led to eight years of civil war in Sweden between Albert's and Magnus's supporters. In a battle near
With the help of Danish and Swedish allies, King Haakon managed to temporarily beat back Albert and lay siege on Stockholm in 1371. However, the siege was short-lived; with military help from the Swedish nobility in Stockholm, Albert was able to beat back the Norwegians and the Danes. A peace agreement was signed, with the condition that Magnus be released and allowed to travel freely back to Norway (where he had also been king until 1355 and now spent the rest of his life). Albert had secured the Swedish crown, but was also forced to make a belated coronation oath in which he agreed to extensive concessions to the Swedish nobility in the regency council. Bo Jonsson (Grip) used this power to personally usurp 1,500 farms and he soon became Sweden's largest landowner, controlling a third of the entirety of the Swedish territory and possessing the largest non-royal wealth in the country.
Deposition
Albert kept the crown of Sweden for another 19 years, but most of western Sweden did not support his reign. When he attempted to introduce
Albert returned to Mecklenburg, remarried, had another son and reigned as Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin until his death, seven months before Margaret's in 1412. He had finally formally abdicated his Swedish throne in 1405, but until then still styled himself King of Sweden and his second wife Queen Agnes. His tomb is in the Doberan Minster in Bad Doberan, Germany.
Marriages and children
In 1359 Albert married Richardis of Schwerin in a marriage contracted in Wismar on 12 October 1352. The King and Queen had two children:
- Eric (died 1397), Swedish crown prince[5] and ruler of Gothland
- Richardis Catherine (died 1400), married in Prague in 1388 to Emperor Charles IV's fifth son John of Bohemia (1370–1396), Margrave of Moravia and Duke of Görlitz (Lusatia).
In February 1396 in Schwerin Albert married Agnes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (died 1430/1434). They had a son:
- Albert V of Mecklenburg (died 1423), Duke of Mecklenburg and Schwerin
Ancestry
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Further reading
- Suvanto , Seppo (2014) [2008]. "Bo Jonsson (Grip)". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland 1. Svenska tiden [Biographical Dictionary of Finland 1. The Swedish period], blf.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- Nordman , Viljo Adolf (1938). "Albrecht, Herzog von Mecklenburg, König von Schweden". Annales Academiae Scientarium Fennicae, B (in German). XLIV. Helsinki, Finland: Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian Toimituksia (Finnish Academy of Science and Letters). A good overall German source describing Albert's life.
References
- ^ "Albrekt af Mecklenburg, konung i Sverige". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ Jones 2000, p. 890.
- ^ Albrekt of Mecklenburg biography Nordisk Familjebok (1876), p. 371–372
- ^ "Kungahusets symboler". www.kungahuset.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Nordman, Viljo Adolf in Albrecht Herzog von Mecklenburg König von Schweden, Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian Tuomituksia B:44:1, Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki, 1939 p. 336.
Bibliography
In English
- Demitz, Jacob Truedson preface by Dr. ISBN 9789189179639pp. 28–29, 110, 151–152, 169 & 191
- Jones, Michael, ed. (2000). The New Cambridge Medieval History: c.1300-1415. Vol. VI. Cambridge University Press.
In Swedish
- Nordberg, Michael I kung Magnus tid. (Stockholm: Norstedts, 1995) ISBN 978-9-119-52122-4, in Swedish.
- Den svenska historien: Medeltid 1319–1520. (Stockholm: Bonniers, 1966) p. 74–83, in Swedish.
- Hagen, Ellen Margareta – Nordens drottning. (Stockholm: Saxon & Lindströms förlag, 1953), in Swedish.
- Larsson, Lars-Olof Kalmarunionens tid. (Stockholm: Prisma, Andra upplagan 1997) ISBN 91-518-4217-3, in Swedish.
External links
- Media related to Albert III, Duke of Mecklenburg at Wikimedia Commons