Haakon VI
Haakon VI | |
---|---|
King of Sweden | |
Reign | 1362–1364 |
Predecessor | Magnus IV |
Successor | Albert |
Co-ruler | Magnus IV of Sweden |
Born | possibly August 1340 Likely Sweden |
Died | September 11, 1380 Oslo, Norway | (aged 40)
Burial | |
Spouse | |
Issue | Olaf II of Denmark |
House | House of Bjelbo |
Father | Magnus IV of Sweden |
Mother | Blanche of Namur |
Haakon VI (
Haakon was the younger son of Magnus Eriksson, king of both Norway and Sweden. His older brother Eric was meant to succeed their father on the throne of Sweden, while Haakon was made king of Norway in his father's lifetime. Magnus greatly favored Haakon over Eric, leading to the latter's rebellion and seizure of Southern Sweden. Eric died in 1359, and Haakon became co-ruler of Sweden with his father three years later. The two reigned over Sweden together until 1364, when they were deposed in favor of Magnus' sororal nephew, Albert of Mecklenburg, by a clique of exiled Swedish noblemen led by Bo Jonsson Grip. Magnus and Haakon tried to retake the Swedish throne, but without success.[2]
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, Olav. Haakon's continuous conflicts with his father-in-law ended only with the latter's death in 1375. Haakon seized the opportunity to have his son elected Valdemar's successor, defeating the claims of his and his wife's Mecklenburg relatives.
Upon his death in 1380, Haakon was succeeded by Olav, with Margaret as regent. Olav died childless seven years later, and Haakon's widow proceeded to assert authority over all three Scandinavian kingdoms as their first female monarch.
Early life
Haakon was born in 1340 (possibly in mid-August), most likely in
Accession in Norway
Haakon was raised in Norway,
Barely a year later, representatives of the cities and the general public assembled at Båhus Castle, where they hailed Haakon as their king and took the oath of perpetual fealty and servitude to him.[2][3] Though the meeting at Båhus Castle forged historic ties to the old elective monarchy in Norway, the acclamation documents created by the Council of the Realm stipulated that Haakon was to rule over only parts of Norway, and it was also carefully documented that the Norwegian Law of Succession would apply if he were to die leaving no legitimate son, thereby ensuring that the hereditary monarchy would be upheld.[2][3][9][10] 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.[2] The meetings at Varberg Castle in 1343 and at Båhus Castle in 1344 were later properly ratified in another meeting in the port city of Bergen as late as 1350.[2]
Magnus abdicated his Norwegian throne sometime between 8 and 18 August in 1355. Haakon would then rule as the sole king in the kingdom, though his father continued to exercise control over Norway in the following years, albeit not in name anymore.[2][3][9] The first documented event in which Haakon acted as sole king and ruler over his kingdom was on 22 January 1358, when he sent a letter of approval for the privileges in the capital city of Oslo.[2] Norway in 1355 was actually partitioned between Haakon and Magnus: Magnus had specifically requested the territories of Hålogaland and the Norwegian islands in the North Sea at the ratification meeting in Bergen in 1350. Magnus additionally held the territories of Tønsberg and Skien, and he was also the real ruler over the territories of Borgar and most of Bohuslän which were held as personal fiefs by Queen Blanche. Because of this, the realm of Magnus was centered in the south-east, up against the important south-Swedish countryside and the Swedish-held Scania province.[2][11]
Accession in Sweden
As king, Haakon was immediately pulled into his father's internal strife in Sweden, where a growing conflict eventually had erupted into open warfare. Eric was discontent with his father's rule, likely because he had not been granted a membership in the Swedish Council of the Realm, and because of favouritism Magnus had shown his youngest son.[12] With Eric as a rallying figure, a part of Sweden's most powerful nobility rose up in rebellion against the rule of Magnus. The rebellion was short-lived however and Magnus and Eric made peace with each other a year after the conflict erupted.[13] Eric "XII" was elevated to King of Sweden and was made co-ruler with his father in the subsequent peace agreement. Eric was also given dominion over Southern Sweden.[14] It all took a dramatic turn when Eric suddenly died of the plague in 1359. In accordance with the peace agreement between father and eldest son in 1357, the Swedish nobility soon deposed Magnus and elected Haakon as King of Sweden in Uppsala 15 February 1362. From 1357 Haakon had styled himself "Lord of Sweden",[2] but dropped this title upon his election and styled himself "King of Norway and Sweden".[15][16]
Marriage
In 1359,
Rebellion in Sweden
In 1363, former members of the Swedish Council of the Realm, led by Bo Jonsson Grip, arrived at the court in the
In early 1365, Haakon and Magnus assembled a large army in Västergötland, consisting mainly of Norwegians, but also a large number of Swedes from the said province, and marched on the German-held city of Stockholm. On 27 February, Haakon issued a proclamation against Albert of Mecklenburg and his supporters, encouraging the local populace to stir up in rebellion against the German usurper. The Norwegian army entered Uppland through Västerås and clashed against the Swedish-German army in the disastrous Battle of Gataskogen where Haakon and Magnus suffered a devastating defeat and Magnus was captured and taken prisoner by the Germans; which he would remain for six years.[3][29]
The chief foreign policy of Haakon was now to retrieve Sweden from the Germans and his father from captivity. He was still in possession of West Sweden and found that he could rely on the support from several noblemen who were displeased with the Germans. The war between Norway and Sweden continued, and Haakon soon found himself in need of allies. He entered into an alliance with King Valdemar, the father of his wife, which was something that later would dramatically concentrate the Norwegian foreign policy to the east, rather than to the traditional west.[3][29][30][31] After a turbulent conflict and war against the North German cities and the Hanseatic League, Haakon was again free to turn his attention to Sweden, and launched a successful campaign against the Germans in Sweden. The military campaign ended in the Siege of Stockholm in 1371, where it looked like Haakon could decisively defeat the Germans and acquire revenge for his defeat at the Battle of Gataskogen; but Albert and his German supporters managed to withstand the siege and Haakon was forced to sign a peace treaty. The treaty was signed on 14 August 1371, and Haakon would have to be content with having his father released from captivity against a large ransom. When released, Magnus resumed ruling his remaining domains in Norway and Sweden until his death in 1374 only three years later.[3][29][30][32]
Foreign policies in the east
In 1361, Valdemar had invaded and conquered the Swedish province of Scania, as well as the two islands of Öland and Gotland, and captured the major Hanseatic town of Visby in the process.[33] In 1361, the Hanseatic League's fleet launched a counter-strike at the Danish fleet, culminating in the Battle of Helsingborg in which the Danish fleet inflicted a devastating defeat upon the League's fleet. Furthermore, the League was forced to accept a humiliating truce, which eventually led to the unfavourable Treaty of Vordingborg, severely curtailing the League's power and influence.[34] In Norway, Haakon had shifted his political and foreign affairs towards the east, and the reconquest of his Swedish kingdom was in particular his strongest motivation for the alliance with the recuperating Danish kingdom.[2] The alliance between the Norwegians and the Danes threatened to shift the political and military power in the Nordic and Baltic areas, and in 1365 a series of German protests in the city of Bergen eventually forced the Hanseatic office on Bryggen in the city to be closed until 1366, which temporarily damaged the trade for the kingdom.[2] Valdemar was unable to enforce the fragile peace with the Hanseatic cities, and in 1367 the League founded the Confederation of Cologne against Denmark and Norway to counter the growing ambitions of the two allied kings. The Confederation renewed their alliance with German-held Sweden and assembled a large fleet of warships and subsequently assaulted the Norwegian coast and continued to raid it all the way to Agder. Also, the Confederation launched a successful campaign against Valdemar in Denmark, which turned out to be disastrous for Valdemar's plans to reassemble the Danish kingdom. The Confederation raided and pillaged the Danish coast, invaded the province of Danish-held Scania, and even captured and looted the city of Copenhagen through a successful siege. This, in combination with the rebellious nobles in Jutland, forced Valdemar to flee his kingdom during Easter in 1368. Realizing the futility in a prolonged and costly war, as well as Haakon's wavering support for the disastrous conflict, Valdemar appointed his friend and advisor, Rigsdrost Henning Podebusk, to negotiate peace with the Confederation in his absence.[1][2][3][9][18][33][34][35] The Confederation agreed to a truce, but only on the promise of having Valdemar acknowledge their right to tax exemption on trade across the entire Baltic Sea and renewed fishing rights in the Danish Sound. In addition to this, the Confederation forced Valdemar to grant the Hanseatic League a considerable amount of influence over the future Danish king-elections, including the right to veto against any throne candidate.[33] Lastly, the Confederation put several towns on the coast of Scania and Helsingborg Castle under the control of the Hanseatic League for a fixed period of fifteen years.[18]
On 24 May 1370, representatives from the Hanseatic cities, Denmark and Norway signed the Treaty of Stralsund at Båhus Castle and formally ended the war between them, the treaty included an extension of the already established truce for an additional five years. Through this treaty, the Hanseatic League reached its pinnacle of power in the region with a virtual monopoly on lucrative trade. The defeat at the hands of the Hanseatic cities was another humiliating blow to the foreign policies of Haakon in the east. Not only did the power of the monarch gradually weaken under the mounting pressure and influence of the Hanseatic cities, but the Norwegian trade also suffered as a consequence of the Hanseatic monopoly.[34][35][36][37][38] Haakon became less interested in Danish affairs following the military failures against the Hanseatic cities, and would again turn his attention to his chief foreign policy of retaking Sweden from the Germans, something which he would have some limited success with in the following years. However, Haakon would gain a renewed interest in Danish affairs when the opportunity to have his son elected king of Denmark arose upon Valdemar's death in 1375.[2][3][39]
Danish succession
On 24 October 1375, Valdemar succumbed to illness and died at
Domestic policies
In 1349, the
Military policies
Throughout the reign of Haakon, the Norwegian military was extensively reformed. The military structure was altered from that of the traditional leidang peasant conscription to under the direct control of loyal Norwegian lords. His Norwegian predecessor had pursued a domestic policy to establish a functional civil service in his realm, also extending to the military. This was however not continued by Haakon who elected to transfer more power and military responsibilities on to loyal lords. As a consequence, Haakon would be able to field much larger armies, but it became increasingly expensive to maintain this system. Because of the war against Sweden and the aggressive Norwegian policies in the east, Haakon had to mortgage and borrow money at an unprecedented scale to maintain his armies, and had to increasingly rely on the Norwegian nobility and the rich German merchants. The substantial rise in foreign debt would eventually come to shift the political power in Norway, and gradually weakened the power of the monarch.[9]
Later life and death
Nearing his final days, Haakon was exhausted by the almost constant warfare and the straining conflict with his cousin, Albert of Mecklenburg. It has been speculated that this, in addition to the considerable financial difficulties of Haakon's reign, may have contributed to his early death.[49][52] Haakon never ceased to pursue his inherited responsibility to reclaim the lost Swedish territories, and would in March 1380 issue letters to prepare for war against the Germans in Sweden. The letters requested that the leidang fleet should be assembled and made ready for departure. Apparently, the Germans had broken the previous peace treaty and conspired to wage war against Haakon. However, there are no existing records of any war or battles fought during this period of time.[2] Sometime during the late summer or early in the autumn[2] Haakon died in Oslo,[2] barely reaching the age of forty. He was buried in St. Mary's Church in Oslo. His son succeeded him as the King of Norway with Queen Margaret acting as his regent.[2][3][39]
Family tree
Eric, Duke of Södermanland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blanche of Namur | Magnus IV of Sweden | Valdemar IV of Denmark | Euphemia of Sweden | Albert II of Mecklenburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albert of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Olaf II of Denmark | Albert IV of Mecklenburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Citations
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Håkon 6 Magnusson (den yngre) – Store norske leksikon". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27.
- ^ Nordberg (2001), p. 69-72
- ^ Grethe Authén Blom Norsk Historisk Tidskrift Oslo 1981 s. 425
- ^ Ingebjørg Håkonsdatter (Store norske leksikon)
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- ^ Nordberg (2001), p. 72-73
- ^ Nordberg (2001), p. 74-75
- ^ Nordberg (2001), p. 76
- ^ a b c a b c d Etting, p. 12.
- ^ Nordberg (2001), p. 77
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- ^ Den svenska historien: Medeltid 1319-1520. Bonniers (1966), s. 74-83
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- ^ Margaret of Denmark By Mary Hill. Page 52-55
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