Erik Johansson Vasa (c. 1470 – 8 November 1520) was a Swedish noble and the Lord of

Rydboholm Castle Rydboholm Castle (''Rydboholms slott'') is a castle located near the village of Rydbo in Österåker Municipality, Stockholm County, Uppland, Sweden. Building The castle dates back to the medieval period. The castle, with the three interconn ...

Roslagen Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago. Historically, it was the name for all the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, including the eastern par ...

. His son would rule as King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

from 1523–1560.

Biography

He was born around the year 1470 to Johan Kristiernsson Vasa and Birgitta Gustafsdotter Sture in a village named

Örby Örby is a residential area in Söderort, Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. It has an area of 159 hectares and 4,720 inhabitants. History Örby got its name from the Örby Manor (''Örby slott''), as does the neighbouring residential area of ...

in the province of

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' 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. On the small uninhab ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He was one of four children from Johan and Birgitta. His father Johan was a first cousin of Knut Tordsson (Bonde), father of King

Charles VIII of Sweden Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450). Regnal name Charles was the ...

. His mother Birgitta was a sister of

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder ( sv, Sten Sture den äldre; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist for ...

. Erik Johansson Vasa was a faithful adherent of the

Sture Sture () was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud' (compare the Swedish word ''stursk'' and the Old Norse ...

s, a powerful and influential family in Sweden from the late 15th century to the early 16th century, and was notorious for his irritable and arbitrary temper. He assisted the Stures in fighting against the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

, who controlled most of Sweden during the early 16th century. When the Danes, led by King

Christian II of Denmark Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

, conquered Sweden and seized the capital city Stockholm in 1520, several members of the Sture party were executed in the

Stockholm Bloodbath The Stockholm Bloodbath ( sv, Stockholms blodbad; da, Det Stockholmske Blodbad) was a trial that led to a series of executions in Stockholm between 7 and 9 November 1520. The event is also known as the Stockholm massacre. The events occurred af ...

in November of that year. Among those executed was Erik Johansson Vasa on 8 November 1520. His first son, Gustav Eriksson Vasa, had escaped from Denmark some time before this event, and survived. He became King

from 1523 until his death in 1560 and founder of the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

. His reign marked the final secession of Sweden from the Danish dominated

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 had dated from 1397.

Personal life

He married Cecilia Månsdotter Eka (c. 1476–1523) and had eight children with her. All of their children were born in either

Orkesta Orkesta was a parish with 1103 inhabitants (2003), located in Vallentuna Municipality, Stockholm County in Sweden. The parish is since 2006 a part of Vallentuna parish. See also *Orkesta Runestones The Orkesta Runestones are a set of 11th-cent ...

in the present-day county of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Their children were: # Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560) would become King

in 1523.Gustav's gravestone gives his year of birth as 1485, but according to his son Charles IX he was born in 1488, while his nephew Per Brahe gave 1495 as his year of birth, and historian Erik Göransson Tegel the year 1490. Brahe and Tegel agree, however, that Gustav was born on Ascension Thursday and on 12 May, and these dates coincided in 1491 and 1496. #

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa (1497 – 31 December 1536), also called ''Margareta Vasa'' and ''Margareta of Hoya'', was a Swedish noblewoman, sister of king Gustav I of Sweden. Between 1525 and 1534, she commanded Vyborg Castle on several occasio ...

(1497 – 31 December 1536) #Johan Eriksson (b. 1499, d. young) #Magnus Eriksson (1501–1529) #Anna Eriksdotter (1503–1545), nun at

Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...

#Birgitta Eriksdotter (b. 1505, d. young) #Marta Eriksdotter (1507–1523) #Emerentia Eriksdotter (1507–1523)

References and Notes

Other sources

*Ahnlund, Nils. ''Gustav Adolf the Great''. Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasa, Erik Johansson 1470 births 1520 deaths Year of birth uncertain Erik Johannson Swedish rebels Vasa Johansson, Erik Vasa Johansson, Erik People executed by the Kalmar Union 15th-century Swedish people 16th-century Swedish people People executed in the Stockholm Bloodbath 16th-century executions by Denmark