Valdemar, Duke of Finland
Encyclopedia
Valdemar Magnusson was a Swedish prince, heir to the throne of Sweden and Duke of Finland
.
and his queen Helvig of Holstein
. At the coronation of his older brother King Birger of Sweden, Valdemar became the duke of Finland
. At the same time, Valdemar married to Kristina, the daughter of Torgils Knutsson, constable and virtual ruler of Sweden during the early reign of King Birger.
, Valdemar married Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
, the daughter of Eirik II of Norway
and his second wife, queen Isabella Bruce. Maternally, Ingeborg was a niece of Robert the Bruce. At the same time, his brother Eric, Duke of Södermanland
married Ingeborg of Norway
, daughter of King Haakon V of Norway
. In 1316, Valdemar and Ingeborg had a son who probably died young.
In 1306, in an event known as the Håtuna games
(Håtunaleken), King Birger was taken captive by his brothers on the Håtuna royal estate in Uppland
and taken as prisoner to Nyköping Castle
(Nyköpingshus). In 1308, Valdemar and Eric were forced by King Eric VI of Denmark
to release King Birger, but they did so under humiliating conditions. When King Birger was free, he sought aid in Denmark and the strife began anew.
By 1315, Valdemar and his elder brother Eric managed to wrest large parts of the Swedish kingdom from their brother. Valdemar gained Turku
and Häme
castles with a lion's share of Finland
, the castle of Stockholm
, most of Uppland
, and Borgholm
castle with the island of Öland
. Eric was in possession of Kungahälla
, which he had been given during his exile by the Norwegian king, and northern Halland
which he had been given by King Eric VI of Denmark.
The careers and their lives of the two brothers were ended by the treachery of their brother King Birger. During an event known as the Nyköping Banquet
(Nyköpings gästabud), Valdemar and his brother Eric Magnusson
were arrested and chained, the night between the 10th and 11th of December 1317. No one knows for certain how the two brothers died. They either starved to death or were murdered.
At the imprisonment of their husbands, their wives became the leaders of their spouses followers. On 16 April 1318, the two duchesses entered into a treaty in Kalmar
with Esger Juul, Archbishop of Lund
and Christopher
, brother of Eric VI of Denmark
and Duke of Halland-Samsö, to free their husbands. Later the same year their husbands were confirmed to have died.
The dower of Valdemar's widow Ingeborg had included the island of Öland
. Ingeborg was styled Duchess of Öland from at least 1340, surviving her late husband long after his death and staying in Sweden until her own death.
Duke of Finland
Duke of Finland was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with the feudal customs, and often meant a veritably independent principality...
.
Background
Valdemar was the third son of King Magnus III of SwedenMagnus III of Sweden
Magnus III Ladulås of Sweden, Swedish: Magnus Birgersson or Magnus Ladulås was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290....
and his queen Helvig of Holstein
Helvig of Holstein
Hedwig of Holstein was a Swedish queen consort, spouse of King Magnus III of Sweden. She was the child of Gerhard I, Count of Holstein and Elisabeth of Mecklenburg .-Biography:...
. At the coronation of his older brother King Birger of Sweden, Valdemar became the duke of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. At the same time, Valdemar married to Kristina, the daughter of Torgils Knutsson, constable and virtual ruler of Sweden during the early reign of King Birger.
Political career
In December 1305, Torgils was arrested and in February 1306, he was executed. Valdemar subsequently divorced his wife claiming that they were spiritually related (baptism siblings), Torgils having been his godfather. In the fall of 1312 in a double wedding in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Valdemar married Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway was a medieval Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish princess, Duchess of Uppland, Öland and Finland, with a seat in the regency government of her nephew, Magnus IV of Sweden.-Family:Ingeborg was the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and Isabel Bruce...
, the daughter of Eirik II of Norway
Eirik II of Norway
Eirik Magnusson was the King of Norway from 1273/80 until 1299.-Background:He was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg Eriksdatter, daughter of King Eric IV of Denmark. Eric descended from St...
and his second wife, queen Isabella Bruce. Maternally, Ingeborg was a niece of Robert the Bruce. At the same time, his brother Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric Magnusson was a Swedish prince, Duke of Svealand, Södermanland, Dalsland, Västergötland, Värmland and North Halland and heir to the throne of Sweden. He was the father of King Magnus who became king of both Norway and Sweden.-Background:...
married Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway , was a Norwegian and by marriage Swedish princess and royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway and Sweden...
, daughter of King Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
. In 1316, Valdemar and Ingeborg had a son who probably died young.
In 1306, in an event known as the Håtuna games
Håtuna games
The Håtuna games were a 1306 conflict between king Birger Magnusson and his two brothers, the dukes Eric and Valdemar.-Background:...
(Håtunaleken), King Birger was taken captive by his brothers on the Håtuna royal estate in Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
and taken as prisoner to Nyköping Castle
Nyköping Castle
Nyköping Castle in Nyköping, Sweden, is a Mediaeval castle from the Birger Jarl era, partly in ruins. The castle is mostly known for the ghastly Nyköping Banquet which took place here in 1317.-Construction:...
(Nyköpingshus). In 1308, Valdemar and Eric were forced by King Eric VI of Denmark
Eric VI of Denmark
Eric VI Menved was King of Denmark and a son of Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg.He became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered 20 November by unknown assailants...
to release King Birger, but they did so under humiliating conditions. When King Birger was free, he sought aid in Denmark and the strife began anew.
By 1315, Valdemar and his elder brother Eric managed to wrest large parts of the Swedish kingdom from their brother. Valdemar gained Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
and Häme
Häme
Häme is the name of a geographical region in Finland. It is an ancient Finnish word, etymologically related to sápmi, the endonym of the Sami people...
castles with a lion's share of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the castle of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, most of Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, and Borgholm
Borgholm
Borgholm is a city and the seat of Borgholm Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 3,093 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea....
castle with the island of Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
. Eric was in possession of Kungahälla
Kungahälla
Kungahälla was a medieval Norwegian settlement in southern Bohuslän at a site which is presently located in Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County in Sweden...
, which he had been given during his exile by the Norwegian king, and northern Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
which he had been given by King Eric VI of Denmark.
The careers and their lives of the two brothers were ended by the treachery of their brother King Birger. During an event known as the Nyköping Banquet
Nyköping Banquet
The Nyköping banquet was king Birger of Sweden's Christmas celebration December 11, 1317 at the Nyköping Castle in Sweden...
(Nyköpings gästabud), Valdemar and his brother Eric Magnusson
Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric Magnusson was a Swedish prince, Duke of Svealand, Södermanland, Dalsland, Västergötland, Värmland and North Halland and heir to the throne of Sweden. He was the father of King Magnus who became king of both Norway and Sweden.-Background:...
were arrested and chained, the night between the 10th and 11th of December 1317. No one knows for certain how the two brothers died. They either starved to death or were murdered.
At the imprisonment of their husbands, their wives became the leaders of their spouses followers. On 16 April 1318, the two duchesses entered into a treaty in Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
with Esger Juul, Archbishop of Lund
Diocese of Lund
-External links:* from Nordisk Familjebok, in Swedish...
and Christopher
Christopher II of Denmark
Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
, brother of Eric VI of Denmark
Eric VI of Denmark
Eric VI Menved was King of Denmark and a son of Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg.He became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered 20 November by unknown assailants...
and Duke of Halland-Samsö, to free their husbands. Later the same year their husbands were confirmed to have died.
The dower of Valdemar's widow Ingeborg had included the island of Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
. Ingeborg was styled Duchess of Öland from at least 1340, surviving her late husband long after his death and staying in Sweden until her own death.
Ancestry
Sources
- Lindqvist, Herman Historien om Sverige. Från islossning till kungarike (Norstedts: 1997)
- Harrison, Dick Jarlens sekel: en berättelse om 1200-talets Sverige (Ordfront. 2002)
- Bergman, Mats Nyköpingshus. En rundvandring i historia och nutid (Almqvist & Wiksell. 1992)
- Mannervik, Cyrus Sagor och sägner - Från Nordens forntid och medeltid (AV Carlsons. 1958)