HOME

TheInfoList



OR:


no, Olav Håkonsson , house = Bjelbo , father =
Haakon VI of Norway Haakon VI of Norway ( no, Håkon, sv, Håkan; August 1340 – 11 September 1380), also known as ''Håkan Magnusson'', was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnus ...
, mother =
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 ...
, birth_date = , birth_place =
Akershus Castle Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...
,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, death_date = , death_place = Falsterbo Castle,
Falsterbo Falsterbo (, outdatedly ) is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's histor ...
, place of burial=
Sorø Abbey Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand. After Denmark became Lutheran in 1536, the abbey was confiscated by the Crown. The a ...
,
Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, religion =
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
} Olaf II of Denmark (December 1370 – 3 August 1387) was
King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...
as Olaf II (though occasionally referred to as Olaf III) from 1376 and
King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...
as Olaf IV from 1380 until his death. Olaf was the son of 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 ...
and King
Haakon VI of Norway Haakon VI of Norway ( no, Håkon, sv, Håkan; August 1340 – 11 September 1380), also known as ''Håkan Magnusson'', was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnus ...
, and grandson of kings
Magnus IV of Sweden Magnus IV (April or May 1316  – 1 December 1374; Swedish ''Magnus Eriksson'') was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII (including Iceland and Greenland) from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By ...
and
Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...
.


Reign

When his grandfather
Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...
died, Olaf was just five years old. He was proclaimed
king of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...
by a
Danehof Danehof ("Danish Court") was the name of the Danish medieval parliament which played a certain role between c. 1250 and 1413. The precondition of the Danehof – like that of the Håndfæstning - was the growing power and opposition among Danish ...
in
Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km ...
the following year. His mother, Queen Margaret, was to serve as regent due to his young age. His proclamation included the title "true heir of Sweden" added at his mother's insistence since his paternal grandfather, Magnus IV, had been king of Sweden until forced to
abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
. Olaf was hailed as king in
Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
, including the towns controlled by the
Hanseatic league The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
since the Treaty of Stralsund in 1370. Queen Margaret signed a
coronation charter The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the ...
on behalf of Olaf, who was too young to rule until he came of age at fifteen. In the charter Olaf agreed to meet with the Danehof at least once a year and return properties his grandfather Valdemar IV had confiscated during his reign. Olaf became
king of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...
on his father's death in 1380. Even when Olaf reached his majority in 1385, his mother ruled through him. With his ascent to the Norwegian throne, Denmark and Norway were thus united in a personal union ruled from Denmark. Denmark and Norway would have the same king, with the exception of short
interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
s, until Norway's independence from Denmark in 1814, as a result of the
Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel (Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the ...
.


Death and aftermath

Olaf died unexpectedly at
Falsterbo Falsterbo (, outdatedly ) is a town located at the south-western tip of Sweden in Vellinge Municipality in Skåne. Falsterbo is situated in the southern part of the Falsterbo peninsula. It is part of Skanör med Falsterbo, one of Sweden's histor ...
hus in August 1387 at age 16. He was buried at
Sorø Abbey Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand. After Denmark became Lutheran in 1536, the abbey was confiscated by the Crown. The a ...
on the Danish island of Zealand where his grandfather and, later, his mother, were also buried. Rumors immediately arose that Olaf had been poisoned. Following her son's death, Margaret united all three Scandinavian kingdoms in a
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
. Huitfeldt, Arild. Danmarks riges Krønike After Olaf, no Norwegian king was to be born on Norwegian soil for more than 550 years, until
Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...
, born in 1937, became king in 1991. Olaf's death was also the end of the male line of the
House of Bjelbo The House of Bjelbo ( sv, Bjälboätten), also known as the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten''), was an Ostrogothian Swedish family that provided several medieval Swedish bishops, jarls and kings. It also provided three kings of Norway and o ...
in
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 ...
. In 1402 he was impersonated by the
False Olaf The False Olaf (died 1402) was a man who impersonated Olaf II of Denmark and Norway, who had actually died in 1387. Prussian historian Johann von Posilge reported that in 1402 a poor sick man came to the country and stayed near the village of Gr ...
.


References


Other sources

*Albrectsen, Esben ''Danmark-Norge 1380–1814. B. 1 Fællesskabet bliver til : 1380–1536'' (Danske historiske forening. 1981) {{DEFAULTSORT:Olav 04 Of Norway 1370 births 1387 deaths 14th-century monarchs of Denmark 14th-century Norwegian monarchs House of Bjelbo Medieval child rulers Oluf 02 Sons of kings