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Eric I, Duke of Mecklenburg (after 1359, probably in 136526 July 1397) was a
Eric's father attempted to consolidate his position as King of Sweden in 1364 and again in 1386. Queen Article
(in Swedish) at guteinfo.com
Eric I, Duke of Mecklenburg (after 1359, probably in 136526 July 1397) was a Duke of Mecklenburg
This list of dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg dates from the origins of the German princely state of Mecklenburg's royal house in the High Middle Ages to the monarchy's abolition at the end of World War I. Strictly speaking, Mecklenburg's p ...
and heir to the throne of Sweden.
Life
Eric was the eldest son ofAlbert, King of Sweden
Albert (german: Albrecht, sv, Albrekt av Mecklenburg; c. 1338 – 1 April 1412) was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412.
Background
He was the second son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and ...
, and Queen Richardis, a daughter of Count Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
of Schwerin.
He was married on 12 or 13 February 1396 to Sophie, the daughter of Duke Bogislaw VI of Pomerania-Wolgast. They had no children.
Eric's father attempted to consolidate his position as King of Sweden in 1364 and again in 1386. Queen Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I ( da, Margrete Valdemarsdatter; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian k ...
intervened and defeated Albert in the battle of Åsle, in the vicinity of Falköping
Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...
, in 1389. Albert and Eric were captured during this battle. They were released in 1395 after three years of negotiations involving Hinrich Westhof and Johann Niebur, the mayors of Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
.
Later that year, Albert tasked Eric with the reconquest of Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
. In the summer of 1396, Eric landed on the island with an army and in the spring of 1397, he defeated Sven Sture, who then had to swear allegiance to Albert III. Also in 1397, the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united into the Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
, which cemented the position of Queen Margaret I.
Duke Eric (as he was called) died of the plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
in 1397 on his estate called Landeskrone or Kronvall in Klintehamn
Klintehamn () is a locality in Klinte on the Swedish island of Gotland with 1,350 inhabitants in 2010.
Transportation
Klintehamn is a shipping port on the west coast of Gotland where timber and agricultural products are shipped to mainland Swe ...
south of Visby
Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...
(in Gotland). He was buried in St. Mary's Church, also known as Visby Cathedral
Visby Cathedral ( sv, Visby domkyrka), formally Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral (''Visby S:ta Maria domkyrka'') is a cathedral within the Church of Sweden, seat of the Diocese of Visby, Bishop of Visby. It lies in the centre of Visby, the main town ...
, where part of his original gravestone is on display.(in Swedish) at guteinfo.com
References and sources
* Jörgen Bracker: ''Klaus Störtebeker – Nur einer von ihnen. Die Geschichte der Vitalienbrüder'', in: Ralf Wiechmann: ''Klaus Störtebecker: ein Mythos wird entschlüsselt'', Fink, Paderborn/München, 2003, , pp. 9–59 * Matthias Puhle: ''Die Vitalienbrüder: Klaus Stortebeker und die Seeräuber der Hansezeit'', 2d ed., Campus Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1994,External links
Sources