Eric XIV of Sweden

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Eric XIV
Gustav I
SuccessorJohn III
Born13 December 1533
Tre Kronor Castle, Stockholm, Sweden
Died26 February 1577 (aged 43)
Örbyhus Castle, Örbyhus, Sweden
Burial1 April 1577
Västerås Cathedral, Västerås
Spouse
Lutheran
SignatureEric XIV's signature
Image of King Eric on a wall of Stockholm Palace

Eric XIV (

Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Estonia, after it placed itself under Swedish protection
in 1561.

While he has been regarded as intelligent and artistically skilled, as well as politically ambitious, early in his reign he showed signs of mental instability, a condition that eventually led to insanity. Some scholars claim that his illness began early during his reign, while others believe that it first manifested with the Sture murders.

Eric, having been imprisoned and deposed, was most likely murdered. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that he probably died of arsenic poisoning.[2]

Early years

Queen Elizabeth I of England, to further the negotiations regarding the marriage. By Steven van der Meulen
1561

Eric XIV was born at Tre Kronor Castle, the morning of 13 December 1533. His mother died before his second year. In 1536, his father, Gustav Vasa, married Margaret Leijonhufvud (1516–1551), a Swedish noblewoman.

Eric's first teacher was the learned German

Calvinist Dionysius Beurraeus (1500–67). Dionysius taught both Eric and his half-brother John, and seems to have been appreciated by both. Eric was very successful in foreign languages and mathematics. He was also an informed historian, a good writer and familiar with astrology
.

When Eric started to appear in public, he was referred to as "chosen king" (Swedish: utvald konung) and after the meeting of parliament in Stockholm in 1560, he received the title of "hereditary king" (Swedish: arvkonung).[3] In 1557, Eric was assigned the fiefdoms of Kalmar, Kronoberg and Öland. He took up residence in the city of

Kalmar
.

Against his father's wishes, Eric entered into marriage negotiations with the future

Queen Elizabeth I of England and pursued her for several years. Tensions between Eric and his father grew. Eric also made unsuccessful marriage proposals to, among others, Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587), Renata of Lorraine (1544–1602), Anna of Saxony (1544–1577) and Christine of Hesse
(1543–1604).

Rule

The news of his father's death reached Eric as he was on the point of embarking for England to press his suit for the hand of Queen Elizabeth. Back in Stockholm he summoned a Riksdag, which met at Arboga on 15 April 1561. There he adopted the royal propositions known as the "Arboga articles", considerably curtailing the authority of the royal dukes, John and Charles, in their respective provinces.[4] He was crowned as Eric XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Eric. He and his brother Charles adopted regnal numbers according to Johannes Magnus's partly fictitious history of Sweden. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Eric, as well as pretenders about whom very little is known.[5]

From the start of his reign, Eric was in opposition to the

high treason by Eric's order.[4]

Unlike his father, who had been satisfied with ruling an independent state, Eric tried to expand his influence in the

Sture Murders, Eric himself stabbing Nils Svantesson Sture.[4] The king probably thought of the killing as an execution rather than murder.[6]

Downfall

After the Sture homicides, John was imprisoned and Eric's conflict with the nobility came to its climax. Early in 1568, Eric seemed to recover his reason, and attempted to reconcile with John on the condition that the latter recognized Eric's marriage with Karin Månsdotter. This marriage was solemnized in July, Karin crowned Queen, and their infant son Gustav pronounced Prince-royal.[7] However, in the fall of 1568, asserting Eric's insanity, the dukes and the nobles rebelled, and after some resistance, Eric was imprisoned by his brother Duke John, who took power on 30 September. Jöran Persson was assigned much of the blame for the actions directed against the nobility during Eric XIV's reign and was executed shortly after John III had incarcerated Eric, who was legally dethroned in January 1569 by the Riksdag.[8][9]

Imprisonment and death

For the next eight years the ex-king was a source of anxiety to the new government. Three rebellions – the

exhumed and modern forensic analysis revealed evidence of lethal arsenic poisoning
.

Family and descendants

Karin Månsdotter as drawn by her husband
Karin Månsdotter, Eric XIV and Jöran Persson, in Georg von Rosen's painting of 1871
One of King Eric's coins

Eric XIV had several relationships before his marriage.

With Agda Persdotter:

  1. Virginia Eriksdotter (1559–1633; living descendants)
  2. Constantia Eriksdotter (1560–1649; living descendants)
  3. Lucretia Eriksdotter (1564–after 1574) died young.

With

Karin Jacobsdotter
:

  1. An unnamed child, died April 1565.

Eric XIV finally married Karin Månsdotter (1550–1612) on 4 July 1568; their children were:

  1. Sigrid
    (1566–1633; born before the marriage), lady-in-waiting, wife of two noblemen.
  2. Gustaf
    (1568–1607; born before the marriage), mercenary
  3. Henrik (1570–74)
  4. Arnold (1572–73)

Eric XIV in literature

The life of Eric XIV is the subject of an 1899

play by Swedish playwright August Strindberg (1849–1912). The love story of Eric XIV and Karin Månsdotter is the subject of a 1942 historical novel Karin Månsdotter by Mika Waltari
.

See also

References

  1. ^ Andersson, Ingvar (1953). "Erik XIV". Svenskt biografisk lexikon. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  2. ISBN 91-85057-47-9
    , p. 109
  3. ^ Eric XIV biography, XS4All, archived from the original on 27 October 2009
  4. ^ a b c Bain 1911, p. 738.
  5. ^ Almgren, H. Löwgren, A och Bergström, B. (2007) Alla Tiders Historia Gleerups Utbildning AB page 117.
  6. ^ Dahlström, G och Swahn, J-Ö (red). (1984) Bra Böckers Lexikon Bra Böcker AB. Book nr 7-page 76
  7. ^ a b Bain 1911, p. 739.
  8. ISBN 91-46-13566-9
    pp. 263 & 265
  9. ^ Michael Roberts in The Early Vasas p. 239

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eric XIV of Sweden.
Eric XIV
Born: 13 December 1533 Died: 26 February 1577
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gustav I
King of Sweden

1560–1569 		Succeeded by
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